+ will electric cars lead to quieter roads? US Edition - Today's top story: Flood maps show US vastly underestimates contamination risk at old industrial sites [View in browser]( US Edition | 1 August 2022 [The Conversation]( Thousands of factories once lined the waterfronts of U.S. cities, churning out textiles, chemicals and many other products. Most of the buildings are long gone, often replaced by parks or surrounded by neighborhoods, but the pollution they dumped into the water and soil can remain. In many cases, that pollution [was never documented](, write sociologists Thomas Marlow, James Elliott and Scott Frickel. When these legacy sites flood today â and that risk is rising â the water can overwhelm common pollution containment methods, the scholars write. Using historical directories, they mapped thousands of these legacy sites onto new flood risk maps and found that the U.S. is vastly underestimating the flood contamination risk. Also today: - [Has Supreme Court exhausted âreservoir of goodwill?â](
- [Why soaring inflation is a problem around the globe](
- [Local school activism plays out along segregated lines]( Stacy Morford Environment + Climate Editor
Maywood Riverfront Park was built on the site of eight former industrial properties in Los Angeles County. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
[Flood maps show US vastly underestimates contamination risk at old industrial sites]( Thomas Marlow, New York University; James R. Elliott, Rice University; Scott Frickel, Brown University Climate change is colliding with old factory sites where soil or water contamination still exist, and the most vulnerable populations are particularly at risk. Politics + Society -
[Confidence in the Supreme Court is declining â but there is no easy way to oversee justices and their politics]( Eve Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University Lower federal court judges follow a formal code of ethics, but this does not apply to Supreme Court justices, leaving potential conflicts of interest unchecked. -
[Partisan or not? Local election officials donât tilt elections in favor of their partyâs candidates]( Joshua Ferrer, University of California, Los Angeles Have these officials used their authority to interfere with Americaâs democratic process? Science + Technology -
[Helping cells become better protein factories could improve gene therapies and other treatments â a new technique shows how]( Daniel N. Hebert, UMass Amherst; Lila Gierasch, UMass Amherst Gene therapies and vaccines are often injected into muscle cells that are inefficient at producing desired proteins. Making them work more like liver cells could lead to better treatment outcomes. Environment + Energy -
[How to keep teen athletes safe from heat illness as sports practice begins amid a brutally hot summer]( Susan Yeargin, University of South Carolina The first two weeks of preseason training are the toughest as playersâ bodies acclimatize to running hard in the heat. An exercise scientist explains the risks. -
[If all the vehicles in the world were to convert to electric, would it be quieter?]( Erica D. Walker, Brown University Noise pollution is a serious problem, and cars make a lot of it. But roads are also a factor. Education -
[City residents who support neighborhood schools are often divided by race and purpose]( Hava Rachel Gordon, University of Denver Different views of gentrification drive divisions that keep school activists separated by race. -
[How to college: 4 essential reads for incoming first-year students and their parents on mental health, libraries and more]( Kiersten Tate, The Conversation Starting college after finishing high school is an exciting phase of a studentâs life. But students need to prepare for the new challenges college brings. Economy + Business -
[Inflation is spiking around the world â not just in the United States]( Christopher Decker, University of Nebraska Omaha Labor market disruptions, supply chain strains and the war in Ukraine have taken a toll everywhere. Trending on site -
[Taking certain opioids while on commonly prescribed antidepressants may increase the risk of overdose]( -
[How do grand juries work? Their major role in criminal justice, and why prosecutors are using them to investigate efforts to overturn the 2020 election]( -
[Russiaâs withdrawal from the International Space Station could mean the early demise of the orbital lab â and sever another Russian link with the West]( Reader Comments ð¬ âAll of Platoâs criticisms of democracy as an approach to government cited in The Republic are on full display in most of our democracies today, and I think most of us would agree with that. But I think most of us would agree that we arenât in an age of emergent philosopher kings either, and that we havenât much enthusiasm for a return to kings, tyrants or oligarchs. We recognize the importance of process in the endless struggle to maintain a balance between our public and private interests.â â Reader Curtis Carpenter on the story [An antidemocratic philosophy called âneoreactionâ is creeping into GOP politics]( - -
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. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( Youâre receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](