In the News
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January 22, 2025
“There are land-use implications of an energy transition that we haven’t really come to terms with. We haven’t grappled with how we’re going to do it, and where does it make the most sense?” said Sarah Mills, director of the Center for EmPowering Communities at the Graham Sustainability Institute, after the proposed lease of state-owned land to a solar energy developer caused a furor among residents of Gaylord, Michigan.
Bridge Michigan -
January 22, 2025
“What I can tell you for sure is that for all claims about the ‘deep state,’ most federal workers are committed and thoughtful — as a group, they are not ideologues carrying water for one party or the other. They just want to get their job done. If you’re going to take a hacksaw to the federal workforce, you’re going to lose a lot of good people,” said Nicholas Bagley, professor of law.
The Washington Post -
January 21, 2025
“Mercury is the tricky one because it’s really close to the sun, so you’re always looking into twilight. It’s going to be the one that is tough to see, and it doesn’t show up in the evening until late in (February),” said Shannon Murphy, instructional outreach coordinator for the Department of Astronomy, discussing the planet parade that will be visible starting in late January and culminate in an alignment of seven planets Feb. 28.
Bridge Michigan -
January 21, 2025
Despite falling wholesale electricity prices over the last year, that doesn’t necessarily mean consumers’ actual bills are lower, says Catie Hausman, associate professor of public policy: “We also all pay a fair amount for things like new transmission or new distribution infrastructure. And costs in a lot of the country are not falling for those other components of our bills.”
Marketplace -
January 21, 2025
“Much of China’s population decline is rooted in entrenched structural reasons: Without fundamental structural transformations — from enhancing the social safety net to eliminating gender discrimination — the trend of population decline cannot be reversed,” said Yun Zhou, assistant professor of sociology.
Reuters -
January 20, 2025
Although we’re not there yet, artificial intelligence could mean big changes for how, and how long, employees work in the future, says Ari Shwayder, lecturer of business economics and public policy: “If you start to think about things like automation or AI … you don’t need your customer service people to work as much or as many hours because you can have an AI bot do a lot of the work for them.”
Marketplace -
January 20, 2025
“This study provides yet another example that a healthier diet, with fewer processed foods, is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline,” said Judith Heidebrink, clinical professor of neurology, on research that shows eating greater amounts of red meat increases the likelihood of cognitive decline and dementia.
UPI -
January 20, 2025
Companies could respond to tariffs by buying a product in the U.S. rather than from another country, or they may raise prices for consumers to offset the cost of the tariff, said Alan Deardorff, professor emeritus of public policy and economics: Tariffs “are like a sales tax, in the sense that consumers everywhere are going to end up paying.”
NBC News -
January 17, 2025
“We think this has implications for understanding the effects of climate change because we’re seeing this unlikely relationship between the immune system and temperature … and we’re seeing it at much lower temperatures than expected,” said Jordan Lucore, doctoral student in anthropology, who found that the immune health of monkeys in Costa Rica took a nosedive when exposed to warmer temperatures.
The Cool Down -
January 17, 2025
“Even if the rate is significantly lower than that, we’re still going to have a big increase in the number of people and the family and societal burden of dementia because of just the growth in the number of older people,” said Kenneth Langa, professor of internal medicine, commenting on research that shows the number of Americans who develop dementia each year will double over the next 35 years.
The New York Times
