Beaches are for everyone, except when they're not

+ conservatorships are ripe for abuse; Chaucer the spy US Edition - Today's top story: Who owns the beach? It depends on state law and tide lines [View in browser]( US Edition | 19 July 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Most of us can’t afford to own beachfront property, but in principle we all have the right to walk along some portion of the beach in virtually every U.S. state with a coast. As University of Florida law professor Thomas Ankersen explains, property owners’ control typically stops at the high tide line. In practice, though, owners often want to keep the public off their property, and this can lead to legal battles. Or they may install sea walls to reduce erosion, blocking public access in the process. As rising seas eat away at beaches, it’s small wonder that the [water’s edge has become a hotly contested space](. Also today: - [Flaws in monitoring international bioweapons research]( - [The Israeli right’s productive relationship with American evangelicals]( - [The discovery that put the hunt for exoplanets into high gear]( Jennifer Weeks Senior Environment + Energy Editor If you want to stroll the shoreline, know your rights. Normanack/Flickr [Who owns the beach? It depends on state law and tide lines]( Thomas Ankersen, University of Florida In principle, some portion of the shoreline is public land along virtually all US coasts. But these can sometimes overlap with private property interests, creating confusion and conflict. Economy + Business - [Why conservatorships like the one controlling Britney Spears can lead to abuse]( Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia The case of Britney Spears, who is trying to end her father's conservatorship, illustrates why the legal arrangement is rife for abuse. Arts + Culture - [Calls to cancel Chaucer ignore his defense of women and the innocent – and assume all his characters’ opinions are his]( Jennifer Wollock, Texas A&M University Chaucer’s career as a secret agent helped him assume different disguises in his writing. Some scholars interpret this role-playing as Chaucer being sexist and anti-Semitic. Health - [New COVID-19 vaccine warnings don’t mean it’s unsafe – they mean the system to report side effects is working]( Justin Vesser, University of Virginia Ongoing tracking is meant to spot very rare risks – like the connection between the Johnson & Johnson shot and Guillain-Barré syndrome. And it relies on public reporting. Ethics + Religion - [Evangelical support for Israel is neither permanent nor inevitable]( Walker Robins, Merrimack College The political alliance between American evangelicals and Israel's right wing may have peaked during the Trump administration. Environment + Energy - [Report from Europe’s flood zone: researcher calls out early warning system gridlock amid shocking loss of life]( Jeff Da Costa, University of Reading Catastrophic floods in north-western Europe have shown how badly early warning systems can fail. - [The next big financial crisis could be triggered by climate change – but central banks can prevent it]( Garth Heutel, Georgia State University; Givi Melkadze, Georgia State University; Stefano Carattini, Georgia State University It isn't just the effects of climate change that could destabilize the financial system, it's also fossil fuel assets losing value. The good news is that central banks can fix it. Politics + Society - [Bioweapons research is banned by an international treaty – but nobody is checking for violations]( Gary Samore, Brandeis University The sketchy history of international efforts to control bioweapons suggests that nations will resist cooperative monitoring of gene hacking for medical research. Science + Technology - [Are there any planets outside of our solar system?]( Jean-Luc Margot, University of California, Los Angeles Billions of galaxies are in the universe, with billions of stars in every galaxy. Could billions of planets be out there too? Trending on site - [Why some younger evangelicals are leaving the faith]( Terry Shoemaker, Arizona State University Disaffected young evangelicals and those who left the church describe an out-of-touch institution not in line with their political beliefs, a scholar found - [When Americans recall their roots, they open up to immigration]( Claire L. Adida, University of California San Diego; Adeline Lo, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Lauren Prather, University of California San Diego; Melina Platas, New York University Abu Dhabi; Scott Williamson, New York University Abu Dhabi Research suggests that reminding Americans – Democrats and Republicans – of their family history creates empathy for immigrants and more favorable views toward immigration. - [Mindfulness meditation can make some Americans more selfish and less generous]( Michael J. Poulin, University at Buffalo It's easy to assume that the practice has few, if any, downsides. But a new study explored some of its social repercussions. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s graphic [A chart showing the likelihood that an immigration judge would allow an unaccompanied minor to stay based on the judge's ideology.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? 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