Month: March 2022

With the US presidential election weeks away, we have the tempting possibility of a viable political solution to the looming climate crisis. If elected, a Biden administration may deliver sweeping climate legislation. But there is no guarantee of what that might ultimately look like or when it will happen. And under the current administration, theRead moreRead more

Early results from the two leading US Covid-19 vaccine trials are expected in November, in what will likely be a major milestone in the race to end the pandemic. The final leg of the race, however, will be actually getting people vaccinated. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has offered guidance onRead moreRead more

For the past five months, Melinda Webster has lived on an icebreaker ship frozen in an ice floe near the North Pole. For Webster, a sea ice geophysicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, it was an ideal observatory. She and a team of 14 other scientists set out, as part of the largest polarRead moreRead more

The fossil fuel industry has not been doing well lately. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, growth in global demand had slowed to 1 percent annually. Now, lockdowns and distancing to stop the spread of the coronavirus have decimated the industry. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released projections of rapid short-term decline in globalRead moreRead more

Europe suffered a big Covid-19 outbreak in the spring, then subsequently suppressed the virus while the United States continued to struggle. But now cases in Europe are surging once again: France is bringing back a lockdown, the UK is escalating restrictions, and even Germany, widely seen as a coronavirus success story, is again imposing closures,Read moreRead more

The third — and largest — coronavirus wave is hitting the US just in time for the presidential election, with surges in key Midwestern swing states. Numerous polls suggest voters may be taking their pandemic pain and panic with them to the ballot boxes in these places: President Donald Trump isn’t just down in nationalRead moreRead more

More frequent Covid-19 testing is one key to help end the pandemic. But as individuals, we can’t rely on testing alone to protect ourselves and others. Take this recent example: Public health officials in New Zealand reported on a cluster of cases that likely spread aboard a long-haul flight. Yet the suspected index cases —Read moreRead more

The recent results of Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials from teams at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer and BioNTech have been some of the most exciting and promising developments in the pandemic to date. All three vaccine candidates appear to be highly effective against Covid-19, the research teams say. Pfizer and BioNTechRead moreRead more

Some of the managers in this year’s top flight. Source: Inpho DUBLIN AND WEXFORD have been the surprise packages of the Allianz Hurling League so far, going unbeaten in the opening three rounds of action. Cork have responded well to their 2021 All-Ireland final hammering, winning every game so far. Their form was crowned byRead moreRead more

IT WAS AFTER her club defeated Slaughtneil in the 2020 All-Ireland camogie club semi-final that Stacey Kehoe could see a hectic schedule of events coming down the line. The concluding stages of that competition was delayed until the end of last year due to the Covid pandemic. There was also a high-profile fight to protectRead moreRead more