Satellites pinpoint the hottest neighborhoods during heat waves

+ rethinking how to fertilize crops; EU combats child sex abuse online US Edition - Today's top story: Satellites zoom in on cities' hottest neighborhoods, some 10+ degrees hotter, to help combat the urban heat island effect [View in browser]( US Edition | 14 June 2022 [The Conversation]( It isn’t even summer yet, and a ferocious combination of heat and humidity has put nearly one-third of the U.S. population under a heat advisory today. The heat index is expected to get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Minneapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati and across large parts of the Midwest and Southeast. If that sounds miserable, some urban neighborhoods will get hit much harder. IUPUI Professor Dan Johnson studies urban heat islands using satellites to pinpoint the neighborhoods facing the highest risks. [He describes common physical characteristics of the hottest urban neighborhoods](, places that can get 10 degrees hotter or more than leafier streets just a few miles away. Often, he writes, these are predominantly Black and Hispanic, sometimes formerly redlined neighborhoods, and they tend to be poorer communities where many residents lack a way to cool off. Also today: - [Sentencing of fighters for Ukraine could break international law]( - [How to avoid elder abuse]( - [Men were accused of being witches in Russia’s history]( Stacy Morford Environment + Climate Editor A street fan provides relief on a hot summer day in New York City. Stephen Chernin/Getty Images [Satellites zoom in on cities’ hottest neighborhoods, some 10+ degrees hotter, to help combat the urban heat island effect]( Daniel P. Johnson, IUPUI Satellites are playing a crucial role in helping cities prepare and respond to extreme heat, a leading weather-related killer. Environment + Energy - [Fertilizer prices are soaring – and that’s an opportunity to promote more sustainable ways of growing crops]( Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University Farmers are contending with huge spikes in fertilizer prices. The Biden administration is paying US companies to boost synthetic fertilizer production, but there are other, more sustainable options. Science + Technology - [EU law would require Big Tech to do more to combat child sexual abuse, but a key question remains: How?]( Laura Draper, American University The EU’s proposed regulations don’t align with existing technology. They’re likely to fail – or to break the internet as we know it. Arts + Culture - [Tumblr’s enduring appeal reveals the potency of the web’s cultural memory]( Jeanna Sybert, University of Pennsylvania Despite a mass exodus of users in 2018, Tumblr continues to be a place that fosters fandom and subcultures. Now, Gen Zers searching for a dose of early-2010s internet nostalgia are signing up. Health + Medicine - [Elder abuse comes in many forms – appropriate Adult Protective Services referrals can help reduce mistreatment]( Marian Liu, Purdue University World Elder Abuse Awareness Day highlights the increasing population of older adults around the world and the accompanying rise in elder mistreatment. Politics + Society - [Russians with diverse media diet more likely to oppose Ukraine war]( Ekaterina Romanova, University of Florida Most Russians get their news from government-controlled television. But those who look to Telegram, an online platform, are more likely to have views that break from the official position. - [When all else fails to explain American violence, blame a rapper and hip-hop music]( A.D. Carson, University of Virginia Since rap music emerged in mainstream culture in the late 1980s, conservatives have derided its lyrics and imagery as violent. But hip-hop artists argue those images reflect urban realities. - [‘Show’ trial of foreign fighters in Donetsk breaks with international law – and could itself be a war crime]( Robert Goldman, American University The prosecution and death sentences handed out to two British and one Moroccan national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops contravenes the Geneva Conventions. Ethics + Religion - [Where the witches were men: A historian explains what magic looked like in early modern Russia]( Valerie Kivelson, University of Michigan The idea of a ‘witch’ was usually female in Western Europe, but not so in Orthodox Russia – partly because of the period’s rigid social hierarchies. - [Patriarchy and purity culture combine to silence women in the Southern Baptist Convention – and are blocking efforts to address the sexual abuse scandal]( Julie Ingersoll, University of North Florida Accused men were protected by the SBC while the women who dared to speak up were called sluts, adulteresses, Jezebels and even agents of Satan. A scholar of evangelicalism writes about this culture. From our international editions - [New USB-C charger rule shows how EU regulators make decisions for the world]( - [Retracing Belgium’s dark past in the Congo, and attempts to forge deeper ties]( - [French parliamentary elections continue to redraw the political map, amid record low turnout]( Today's graphic [A bar graph based on a study using simulations of 99 U.S. cities estimated that replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump in a recently built home would cut carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 44% in 2022.]( From the story, [Biden just declared heat pumps and solar panels essential to national defense – here’s why and the challenges ahead]( - - About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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