Standing up for science

The EPA disbanded our clean air science panel. We met anyway – and found that particle pollution regulations aren't protecting public health [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 29 October 2019 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair [Jennifer Weeks] A note from... Jennifer Weeks Environment + Energy Editor Critics accuse the Trump administration of diminishing the role of science across many federal agencies over the past three years, through actions such as dissolving advisory committees. But when the Environmental Protection Agency disbanded a panel of experts who had been appointed to review the science around fine particle air pollution, the scientists made an unusual decision: They would keep meeting on their own and send their input to EPA. North Carolina State University environmental engineering professor Christopher Frey, who chairs the now-independent panel, explains the group’s key finding: [Current regulation of fine particle pollution isn’t strong enough](. Also today: - [Origins of the Reformation]( - [Pet costumes for Halloween]( - [AI arms race]( Top story Vehicles are a major source of particulate air pollution. Deliris/Shutterstock [The EPA disbanded our clean air science panel. We met anyway – and found that particle pollution regulations aren’t protecting public health]( H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University Scientists who were appointed to advise the EPA on air pollution kept meeting independently after the agency dissolved their panel. They say current regulations aren't strict enough. Ethics + Religion - [Before Martin Luther, there was Erasmus – a Dutch theologian who paved the way for the Protestant Reformation]( Katherine Little, University of Colorado Boulder Martin Luther is credited with initiating the split in Christianity that came to be called the Protestant Reformation. But don't count out Erasmus, an early proponent of similarly radical ideas. - [Lebanon uprising unites people across faiths, defying deep sectarian divides]( Mira Assaf Kafantaris, The Ohio State University Lebanon's 1989 peace deal ended a civil war by sharing political power between religious factions. That created a society profoundly divided by religion – something today's protesters hope to change. Arts + Culture - [Why we love big, blood-curdling screams]( Frank T. McAndrew, Knox College The human scream – a response we share with our primate relatives – is more nuanced than you might think. Economy + Business - [Half a billion on Halloween pet costumes is latest sign of America’s out-of-control consumerism]( Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University Halloween is yet another holiday that has become a mere ritual of America's very conspicuous consumption. - [Wildfire rebuilding: Taxes are better than bans for keeping homeowners from rebuilding in fire-plagued areas]( Alexander Smith, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Some Californians want to ban people from living in wildfire-prone areas. Behavioral economics offers a less heavy-handed approach to reducing the costs and risks. Health + Medicine - [Zombie flu: How the 1919 influenza pandemic fueled the rise of the living dead]( Elizabeth Outka, University of Richmond The 1918-1919 flu claimed millions of lives worldwide. Could it also have given birth to the viral zombie? Politics + Society - [Is the US losing the artificial intelligence arms race?]( James Johnson, Middlebury Institute of International Studies The US defense community is coming to understand that AI will significantly transform, if not completely reinvent, the world's military power balance. From our International Editions - [Humanity’s birthplace: why everyone alive today can call northern Botswana home]( Vanessa Hayes, University of Sydney Genetic analysis has traced the evolutionary footsteps of modern humans all the way back to a prehistoric wetland that spanned parts of modern-day Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. - [How the ‘Original Internet Godfather’ walked away from his cybercrime past – interview]( Dionysios Demetis, University of Hull Two days with former online fraudster, Brett Johnson, who once made it onto the infamous US Most Wanted list. - [A small New Zealand songbird that hides food for later use provides insights into cognitive evolution]( Rachael Shaw, Victoria University of Wellington The New Zealand robin has learnt to hide left-over food for later consumption, and it turns out that male birds with the best spatial memory have the greatest breeding success. Video of the day - [Enable images to see the chart]( [Forward this email to your friends]( Ask them to sign up at [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111