Animal agriculture’s potential financial risks | Science

2023-01-26T20:09:14+00:00January 26th, 2023|Categories: Publications|

With a contribution of 16.5% to global greenhouse gas emissions (1), animal agriculture is a key driver of climate change, second only to fossil fuels. Soy production—three-quarters of which is used as livestock feed (2)—and beef production are the top two drivers of deforestation in the Amazon (3). Livestock farming poses a risk to more than 17,900 species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (4). Because the environmental threats posed by animal agriculture can translate into a range of business risks for animal protein suppliers, environmentally responsible businesses are safer investments than those that cause harm (5). Therefore, businesses within the animal agriculture industry should measure and disclose their environmental impacts, and financial institutions should protect themselves from losses by investing in businesses that are good environmental stewards.

Published in: "Science".

Restore Iran’s declining groundwater | Science

2023-01-12T21:09:12+00:00January 12th, 2023|Categories: Publications|

Iran’s climate varies from arid to semiarid, but the country’s use of groundwater is three times higher than the global average (1). In the past few decades, groundwater extraction through pumping has caused irreparable damage to Iran’s plains (2). The groundwater supply, which is decreasing by 6 billion cubic meters annually, is the source of about 55% of Iran’s water consumption (3). Iran must take steps to protect the quality and quantity of its groundwater.

Published in: "Science".

Hard, not easy | Science

2022-12-15T23:09:14+00:00December 15th, 2022|Categories: Publications|

In a speech at Rice University in September 1962, US President John F. Kennedy announced plans for human spaceflight to the Moon by saying, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they …

Published in: "Science".

Assess and reduce toxic chemicals in bioplastics | Science

2022-11-24T22:08:57+00:00November 24th, 2022|Categories: Publications|

To promote a circular economy and mitigate pollution, the bioplastics industry has begun to phase out polymers derived from petrochemicals (1–3). This action is a positive step, but it doesn’t affect the many bioplastics on the market, which also contain potentially harmful additives. Given that bioplastics will likely replace polymers, it is crucial to determine which bioplastics cause the least harm.

Published in: "Science".

Welcoming Taiwan’s diaspora scientists | Science

2022-11-17T20:09:09+00:00November 17th, 2022|Categories: Publications|

Academia Sinica, the highest research academy in Taiwan, recently announced 19 newly elected Members and 3 Honorary Members (1) after a 2-year pandemic delay. Because in 2020, the Taiwanese authority declared that only Taiwanese citizens could be nominated as Members of Academia Sinica (2), another five candidates remain pending (1). This decision undermines the inclusiveness of Academia Sinica and the scientific community in Taiwan.

Published in: "Science".

Be the voice for scientists in Iran | Science

2022-11-10T23:08:51+00:00November 10th, 2022|Categories: Publications|

Iran’s fundamentalist government has long feared students and academics, because independent thinking and inquiry are at odds with the extreme rhetoric of a repressive religious regime that discourages questioning or testing—especially when those asking …

Published in: "Science".

The challenge of open access incentives | Science

2022-10-20T22:09:01+00:00October 20th, 2022|Categories: Publications|

In their Editorial “Public access is not equal access” (9 September, p. 1361), S. Parikh et al. explain that moving from a scientific publication model in which the subscriber pays to access content to a model in which the author pays an article processing charge has the potential to affect publication quality. In subscriber-based models, journals have incentives to publish high-quality work because better articles should lead to more subscribers. In open access models based on author publication fees, the publishers make more money by publishing more articles. Quantity incentives increase while the relative importance of the quality declines. The publishing industry must work to counteract this potentially harmful incentive structure.

Published in: "Science".

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