For Palestinian refugees, beauty is just as vital as food and water

+ climate change is outpacing the evolution of species US Edition - Today's top story: In the face of death, destruction and displacement, beauty plays a vital role in Gaza [View in browser]( US Edition | 25 November 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( A humanitarian tragedy has unfolded in Gaza over the past seven weeks, with 70% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents losing their homes or fleeing from them. Packed into emergency shelters, many Gazans lack access to food, clean water and medicine. These resources are vital. But so is another: finding and creating beauty. As art philosopher Arthur Danto once noted, beauty, while optional for art, is not an option for life. Clark University visiting scholar Stephanie Acker and research partner Devora Neumark have spent years studying the creative and resourceful ways in which refugees beautify their surroundings. There is [nothing superficial about this impulse](, the two scholars have found. “Simple acts – rearranging a home, sweeping the floor or intentionally placing an object – allow refugees to infuse an area with their own identity and taste,” they write. “They provide a way to cope when one has little control over anything else.” This week we also liked articles about [Rep. George Santos’ prolific lies](, how Philadelphia’s coffee shop baristas feel about the [gentrification happening in their midst](, and the [benefits to society of educating people while they’re incarcerated](. Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor A Palestinian boy climbs on a painted wall in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City in 2015. AP Photo/Hatem Moussa [In the face of death, destruction and displacement, beauty plays a vital role in Gaza]( Stephanie Acker, Clark University When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter − and serves as a form of resistance and resilience. Temperature sensitivity makes western fence lizards vulnerable to climate change. Greg Shine/BLM [Lizards, fish and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough]( Michael P. Moore, University of Colorado Denver; James Stroud, Georgia Institute of Technology From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough. Sociology researchers at Temple University interviewed 61 Philadelphia baristas who work in gentrifying neighborhoods. Maskot/Getty Images [Are rents rising in your Philly neighborhood? Don’t blame the baristas]( Geoff Moss, Temple University When it comes to gentrification, Philadelphia baristas say they’re ‘part of the problem.’ But as low-wage workers, where else should they live and work? - [Education linked to better employment prospects upon release from prison]( Ben Stickle, Middle Tennessee State University; Steven Sprick Schuster, Middle Tennessee State University People who get an education while serving time are less likely to return to prison and more likely to enter the job market, an analysis finds. - [Why George Santos’ lies are even worse than the usual political lies – a moral philosopher explains]( Michael Blake, University of Washington A political philosopher writes that voters may put up with some degree of deception from politicians, but they may not accept being lied to unnecessarily. - [Digitized records from wildlife centers show the most common ways that humans harm wild animals]( Tara K. Miller, University of Virginia; Richard B. Primack, Boston University Hundreds of wildlife rehabilitation centers across the US and Canada treat sick and injured animals and birds. Digitizing their records is yielding valuable data on human-wildlife encounters. - [Every state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task]( - [West Bank’s settler violence problem is a second sign that Israel’s policy of ignoring Palestinians’ drive for a homeland isn’t a long-term solution]( - [Forensic anthropologists work to identify human skeletal remains and uncover the stories of the unknown dead]( The Conversation Quiz 🧠- Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( For maximum protection from bacteria when preparing your Thanksgiving turkey, the USDA recommends that you ... - A. Baste it with Neosporin - B. Boil it for 10 minutes before cooking - C. Leave it unwashed - D. 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