In the News
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September 26, 2019
Christopher Douglas, associate professor of economics at UM-Flint, says that middle class income is higher than it’s ever been, while at the same time consumer prices are lower now than they were in the 1950s and ’60s, the era that many would consider the golden age of the middle class: “Your middle-class income just goes a lot farther now compared to back then. … If you’re middle class, now is the time to be alive.”
MLive -
September 26, 2019
“The Constitution provides for impeachment in cases of ‘treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors,’” wrote Leah Litman, assistant professor of law. “Trump sought to use the extensive powers of his office to get a foreign government to open an investigation that would be damaging to a political rival. He also enlisted the assistance of his personal lawyer to help him in that endeavor. If that does not amount to a ‘high crime or misdemeanor,’ it is a fair question whether anything will.”
NBC News -
September 25, 2019
“Household consumption — food, housing, transportation, apparel and other personal services — is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Everything you eat or wear, or every time you drive, you add to the global total emissions. The typical American’s annual per capita carbon footprint is over five times the world per capita average,” wrote Morteza Taiebat, a doctoral student in environment and sustainability, and Ming Xu, associate professor of environment and sustainability, and civil and environmental engineering.
PBS NewsHour -
September 25, 2019
“People generally report higher levels of auditory and visual distraction in open workspaces. Of course, some people are able to focus better than others. For others, there’s distraction just because they see others moving around or gathering to talk or whatever,” said Greg Laurence, associate professor of management at UM-Flint, whose research shows that personalizing an open workspace can reduce the negative effects of working with little privacy.
NBC News -
September 25, 2019
“These lower standards harm our children. … Obesity and poor diet can worsen mental health for children, including anxiety and depression, and can decrease school performance. … And because overweight and obese children are more likely to become obese adults with preventable illnesses, poor nutrition in childhood increases costs for all of us,” wrote Anne Kittendorf, assistant professor of family medicine, on the loosening of federal school-lunch nutrition rules.
Bridge Magazine -
September 24, 2019
Katherine Freese, professor emerita of physics, was quoted in a story about a new experiment that found that invisible neutrino particles—the smallest known matter particles in the universe — cannot weigh more than one electron volt, which is one 500,000th the mass of the electron, the next-lightest particle.
Scientific American -
September 24, 2019
“It has force, but only for a very brief amount of time, which means that a fairly substantial octocopter like we’re flying only sees a blip in its motion,” said Ella Atkins, professor of aerospace engineering, and electrical engineering and computer science, explaining that the drone she equipped with a nail gun to fix roof tiles shouldn’t go awry when the nail is fired because there is only slight recoil from the gun.
NewScientist -
September 24, 2019
“We’ve made some strides, but not a whole lot. I happen to know there’s an incredible network of black singers out there … and yet they’re not getting the calls from the big houses and probably should be,” said Naomi André, professor of Afroamerican and African studies, women’s studies and the Residential College, commenting on the paucity of black singers at the Met and other opera houses.
The Associated Press / The New York Times -
September 23, 2019
Peter Adriaens, professor civil and environmental engineering, says a federal rollback of emission standards will likely affect auto companies’ positions in the stock and capital markets and make it harder to sell more fuel-efficient cars: “Are you sure you’re going to be able to recoup all that investment if there is no policy that says you should go towards more fuel-efficient cars?”
TIME -
September 23, 2019
“We have a stark choice — leave them a world being destroyed by fossil fuels, or a world that is more sustainable, just, and powered by clean energy. The world’s youth understand this and are making sure we all understand it. Their activism is making a real difference,” said Jonathan Overpeck, professor and dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability.
ABC News
