Build, baby, build

Edition: US - Today's top story: A year after Hurricane Harvey, some Texans are using outdated flood risk maps to rebuild [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 25 August 2018 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Editor's note Hurricane Harvey, one of the most costly disasters in U.S. history, made landfall in Texas a year ago today. The storm caused record flooding in Houston, spurring talk of taming the city’s laissez-faire approach to growth. But a year later, geographer Wanyun Shao reports that local officials are [greenlighting development in flood zones](. “A pro-building, pro-expansion mentality still permeates the city,” she writes. Advertising has become obsolete – that is, unless you’re a Russian agent, according to Assistant Professor of Law Ramsi Woodcock. In the internet age, he writes, we can easily get our information on [what to buy without annoying ads](. The University of Maryland has accepted legal and moral responsibility for the death of Jordan McNair, a football player who died after training staff failed to diagnose and treat heatstroke he suffered during practice earlier this year. But Joseph Cooper, a University of Connecticut scholar on race and sports, believes [other culprits are to blame](, including stereotypes about black athletes’ ability to withstand pain. Jennifer Weeks Environment + Energy Editor Top stories Businesses in Humble, Texas, part of metropolitan Houston, surrounded by floodwater from Hurricane Harvey, August 29, 2017. AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File [A year after Hurricane Harvey, some Texans are using outdated flood risk maps to rebuild]( Wanyun Shao, University of Alabama Hurricane Harvey swamped much of Houston in 2017, causing more damage than all other US hurricanes except Katrina. But now the city is authorizing construction in zones at high risk for flooding. Times Square is the Mecca of advertising. Reuters/Chip East [Advertising is obsolete – here’s why it’s time to end it]( Ramsi Woodcock, University of Kentucky In the information age, advertising is no longer needed to inform consumers.That means its primary role is to manipulate. Brains vs. brawn: Does big-time college sports value black student-athletes? Brynn Anderson/AP [Dangerous stereotypes stalk black college athletes]( Joseph Cooper, University of Connecticut Although University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair died from heatstroke during practice, his death also resulted from a culture that exploits black players, says a professor who studies race and sports. Arts + Culture [The lies we tell on dating apps to find love]( David Markowitz, University of Oregon Researchers analyzed troves of messages sent between matches and found that the fibs people tell are usually rational ones that serve a purpose. [Michael Cohen’s guilty plea? ‘Nothing to see here’]( Jennifer Mercieca, Texas A&M University Trump's surrogates have deployed tried and true rhetorical techniques to defend the president. Ethics + Religion [What the grieving mother orca tells us about how animals experience death]( Jessica Pierce, University of Colorado Denver A growing body of evidence points to how animals are aware of death, can experience grief and will sometimes mourn for or ritualize their dead. [For some Catholics, it is demons that taunt priests with sexual desire]( Elizabeth McAlister, Wesleyan University While many American Catholics believe demons and exorcism to be part of a distant past, an expert explains how beliefs that sexual desires could be part of demonic temptation still persist. Environment + Energy [An alternative to propping up coal power plants: Retrain workers for solar]( Joshua M. Pearce, Michigan Technological University The Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy Plan would help the declining coal industry, but a study shows many coal workers could transition to a new industry – solar – and earn more money. [Many native animals and birds thrive in burned forests, research shows]( Derek E. Lee, Pennsylvania State University The Trump administration wants to step up logging, saying it will benefit wildlife by reducing forest fire risks. But wildfires create habitat for threatened Spotted Owls and many other species. Politics + Society [4 reasons why anti-Trump Latino voters won’t swing the midterms]( Steffen W. Schmidt, Iowa State University Democrats hoping that Latinos will punish the Republican Party for Trump's immigration policies haven't looked hard enough at the demographics, location and concerns of these 27.3 million voters. [Civil lawsuits are the only way to hold bishops accountable for abuse cover-ups]( Timothy D. Lytton, Georgia State University In the wake of new revelations about clergy sex abuse and cover-up in Pennsylvania, civil lawsuits brought by abuse victims may be the only effective way to hold Catholic church officials accountable. Science + Technology [What makes some species more likely to go extinct?]( Luke Strotz, University of Kansas Death is inevitable for individuals and also for species. With help from the fossil record, paleontologists are piecing together what might make one creature more vulnerable than another. [Genetically modified mosquitoes may be best weapon for curbing disease transmission]( Jason Rasgon, Pennsylvania State University For several billion people mosquitoes are more than a nuisance -- they transmit deadly diseases. Now genetic modification may prove the most effective defense against the mosquito, preventing disease. Economics + Business [Hurricane season not only brings destruction and death but rising inequality too]( Junia Howell, University of Pittsburgh A new study shows that natural disasters enrich white victims while hurting people of color, worsening wealth inequality. And government aid contributes to the problem. [Venezuela’s ‘desperate’ currency devaluation won’t save its economy from collapse]( Benjamin J. Cohen, University of California, Santa Barbara Venezuela recently devalued its bolivar by 95 percent to tame rabid hyperinflation that has been sending prices on everyday goods through the roof. If history is a guide, it won't work. Education [Could college textbooks soon get cheaper?]( Jenny Adams, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Michael Ash, University of Massachusetts Amherst An English and economics professor explain why America's college textbook industry might undergo radical change that makes books more affordable, similar to what happened in medieval times. [Despite predictions of their demise, college textbooks aren’t going away]( Norm Friesen, Boise State University Although textbooks are often said to be on their way out, their usefulness in the transmission of knowledge suggest textbooks won't be obsolete anytime soon, the author of a book on textbooks argues. Health + Medicine [New antidote could prevent brain damage after chemical weapons attack]( Janice Chambers, Mississippi State University Five years after the first chemical weapons attacks in Syria that killed more than 1,400 people, a team at MSU may have solved the problem of getting nerve agent antidotes inside the brain. [Could the future edge in college sports be mental wellness?]( Bradley Donohue, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Student athletes may sometimes be put on a pedestal, but they experience problems just like any student. They sometimes may be harder to reach, however. A novel program suggests a winning approach. 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