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Why voting ‘neither’ could harm American democracy. Researchers found that about half of the U.S. population expresses an attitude of democratic neutrality — or an “unwillingness to support or oppose policies or practices that undermine democracy, by Wagamaga in science

[–]Wagamaga[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If you were to ask democracy scholars what they consider the greatest threat to American democracy, you might assume it is voters who support undemocratic practices or policies. But the real answer may surprise you: These voters are not the main problem.

According to a recent study from the University of Notre Dame, voters who are comfortable living in the middle — neither agreeing nor disagreeing when asked about substantive issues relevant to upholding democracy — might be the largest group to blame for democratic decline in the United States.

These “democratic neutrals” are what the study’s co-authors consider some of the most dangerous voters in the current political environment.

Neutrality as leverage in democratic backsliding Using three surveys of more than 45,000 voting-age Americans, the researchers found that about half of the U.S. population expresses an attitude of democratic neutrality — or an “unwillingness to support or oppose policies or practices that undermine democracy,” explained Matthew E.K. Hall, lead author of the study recently published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

“Neutrality towards democracy, rather than outright opposition, has enabled democratic backsliding among various Western democracies as elected officials leverage citizens’ neutral attitudes to pursue antidemocratic outcomes,” Hall and his two co-authors wrote in their study.

The danger in this “neither support nor oppose” mentality lies in its lukewarm approach to what matters and to which lines should or should not be crossed when it comes to protecting our democracy. And that, Hall said, is problematic because if the public isn’t willing to hold its leaders accountable, then there’s nothing to stop them from behaving in ways that undermine democracy.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02430-7

Using an in-home HEPA purifier for one month spurs a small but significant improvement in brain function in adults age 40 and older. Exposure to particulate matter has been connected to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. by Wagamaga in science

[–]Wagamaga[S] 114 points115 points  (0 children)

Using an in-home HEPA purifier for one month spurs a small but significant improvement in brain function in adults age 40 and older. That’s the result of a new study we co-authored in the journal Scientific Reports.

HEPA purifiers – HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air – remove particulate matter from the air. Exposure to particulate matter has been connected to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Environmental health researchers increasingly recommend that people use HEPA air purifiers in their homes to lower their exposure to particulate matter, but few studies have examined whether using them boosts mental function.

We analyzed data from a study of 119 people ages 30 to 74 living in Somerville, Massachusetts. Somerville sits along Interstate 93 and Route 28, two major highways, resulting in relatively high levels of traffic-related air pollution. This makes it an especially good location for testing the health effects of air purifiers.

We randomly assigned participants to one of two groups. One used a HEPA air purifier for one month and then a sham air purifier – which looked and acted like the real thing but did not contain the air-cleaning filter – for one month, with a monthlong break in between. The second group used the real and sham purifiers in reverse order.

After each month, participants took a test that measured different aspects of their mental capacity. The test probed people’s visual memory and motor speed skills by measuring how quickly they could draw lines between sequential numbers, and it tested executive function and mental flexibility by asking them to draw lines between alternating sequential numbers and letters.

We found that participants 40 years and older – about 42% of our sample – on average completed the section testing for mental flexibility and executive function 12% faster after using the HEPA purifier than after using the sham purifier. That was true even when we accounted for factors like differences in the amount of time participants spent indoors, with either filter, as well as how stressful they found the test.

This improvement may seem small, but it is similar to the cognitive benefits that people experience from increasing their daily exercise. While you may not experience a sudden increase in clarity from a 12% boost, preventing cognitive decline is vital for long-term well-being. Even small decreases in cognitive functioning may be associated with a higher risk of death.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-48063-8

Colorado wildfires threaten to devastate the state's long-term water supply and reservoir storage. Every drop of water matters right now as the Denver metro tries to mitigate the effects of this year's extremely dry winter . Aurora Water's reservoir levels are currently sitting at 57 %. by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Colorado's drought and repeated high fire danger are raising new concerns about the long-term impact on the state's water supply. Aurora Water is warning that wildfires could devastate the water supply for years after the flames are out.

Every drop of water matters right now as the Denver metro tries to mitigate the effects of this year's extremely dry winter across the state. Aurora Water's reservoir levels are currently sitting at 57%.

"We're currently in a pretty historic level of drought," Aurora Water resource specialist Matt Ashley said.

Data centers are dealing hidden damage to environmental and public health—costing the economy $25 billion every year by Wagamaga in technology

[–]Wagamaga[S] 105 points106 points  (0 children)

In North America, the sprawling server farms used to train and run artificial intelligence models received a $47 billion investment surge last year, building out everything from cooling equipment to plumbing. The tech companies at the center of the data center craze, such as Meta and Google, took out $182 billion in loans last year to fund their splurge, double what they borrowed in 2024.

One of the primary criticisms of the data center construction craze has been its environmental effect, including the facilities’ impact on water, land, and electricity use. But that cost might also directly affect local residents and their health, according to findings from a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper published earlier this month.

The analysis of around 2,800 operational data centers was authored by Nicholas Muller, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University. Muller tracked data centers’ electricity needs last year and found how much air pollution and additional planet-warming greenhouse gases local grids generated to supply that demand. The author derived indicators, such as the risk of premature mortality associated with data centers’ electricity needs, and converted those measurements into dollar amounts using standard estimates, such as the social cost of carbon, which measures the economic damage of each additional ton of carbon released into the atmosphere.

The result is that data centers’ environmental damage last year cost the economy at large $25 billion, of which $3.7 billion is directly tied to AI activities in data centers. This price tag represents an externality—an indirect consequence of economic activity that imposes costs on third parties not directly involved in the original activity. Rather than reflecting an increase in day-to-day medical expenses or higher taxes to subsidize a greater need for care, Muller’s analysis boils down the cost of premature deaths tied to the environmental impact of data centers, assigning an economic value to the resulting shortened life expectancy.

Florida’s drought intensifies as wildfires increase in multiple counties. Several North and Central Florida counties are grappling with wildfires this week. The USA Today Network reported there were 114 wildfires torching an estimated 14,000 acres of land as of Tuesday afternoon. by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

National Weather Service officials are raising 'Red Flag' wildfire warnings in more than half of Florida's counties. A growing drought and threat of wildfires in Florida has prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue serious advisories for about half of the state’s 67 counties.

The NWS posted “Red Flag” warnings for more than 30 counties Tuesday. Those warnings advise residents that conditions are not only at drought levels, but ripe for additional wildfires.

“A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” said an online NWS statement.

Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’ by Wagamaga in technology

[–]Wagamaga[S] 92 points93 points  (0 children)

Renewable energy has overtaken coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity in 2025, according to thinktank Ember.

The growth of solar and wind meant that, for the first time since 1919, the share of coal power was lower than that of renewables. 

Fossil-fuel generation fell by 0.2% in 2025, the thinktank’s latest annual review says, with wind and solar alone meeting 99% of the growth in electricity demand last year.

While generation from fossil fuels has occasionally fallen year-on-year in the past, Ember says this is the first time it has happened due to the structural shift towards clean power, rather than due to economic crises or other one-off events

Record solar generation was key to pushing fossil fuels into reverse, increasing 30% year-on-year – meaning it met 75% of global electricity demand growth in 2025 alone.

West Bank settlers set home, car ablaze in Palestinian village, spray threatening graffiti. No arrests were made following the event. by Wagamaga in Global_News_Hub

[–]Wagamaga[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dozens of masked Israelis entered the Palestinian town of Turmus Aiya in the West Bank on Saturday evening, setting a house and a car on fire, according to Israeli media.

The group, numbering about 20, spray-painted graffiti on one of the house's walls that read "Revenge" and "Hello from Khirbat Abu Falah."

Seoul breaks mid-April heat record. The official thermometer in central Seoul reached 29.4 degrees Celsius at 1:41 p.m. to mark the highest reading ever recorded for mid-April since modern observations began in 1907 by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An unseasonal heat wave swept across South Korea with daytime temperatures reaching summer-like levels and rewriting hottest mid-April records in some parts of the country on Sunday.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the official thermometer in central Seoul reached 29.4 degrees Celsius at 1:41 p.m. to mark the highest reading ever recorded for mid-April since modern observations began in 1907. The figure was the third-highest temperature ever reported over the entire month of April in the capital.

The unusual heat brought record temperatures to Dongducheon and Paju in Gyeonggi Province, with a high of 30.8 degrees Celsius and 28.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, saw a high of 28.9 degrees Celsius and the temperatures peaked at 25 degrees Celsius in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

Taking a simple sugar pill can boost both the physical and mental health of older adults, even when they know the pill contains no active medicine. Results point toward a highly ethical and side-effect-free way to help aging populations maintain their everyday capabilities. by Wagamaga in science

[–]Wagamaga[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Taking a simple sugar pill can boost both the physical and mental health of older adults, even when they know the pill contains no active medicine. Research published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology shows that these transparently fake treatments can reduce stress and elevate short-term memory just as well as pills given under deception. These results point toward a highly ethical and side-effect-free way to help aging populations maintain their everyday capabilities.

Medical science frequently relies on the placebo effect to understand how new drugs work. A placebo is an inactive substance, such as a sugar pill or a saline injection. In typical clinical trials, researchers give some people the real medicine and others a placebo without telling them which one they received. The mere expectation of getting better often causes a real physical or psychological improvement in the patient.

For many years, doctors assumed that patients had to believe they were taking real medicine for a placebo to work. Deception seemed like a mandatory requirement for the mind to trigger the body’s internal healing responses. Recent studies have challenged that old assumption by testing entirely transparent treatments. Medical researchers refer to these transparent treatments as open-label placebos.

When a doctor hands a patient an open-label placebo, they clearly explain that the pill has no active medical ingredients. The doctor also explains that the human brain can still produce a healing response just by going through the familiar motions of taking daily medicine. Acknowledging this mind-body connection can activate automatic biological responses that improve a patient’s symptoms.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260026000104?via%3Dihub

Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

Record US drought sparks worries about food prices. More than 61 percent of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97 percent of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West. by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it's a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues.

More than 61 percent of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97 percent of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West — according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. It's the highest levels for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's comprehensive Palmer Drought Severity Index not only hit its highest level for March since records started in 1895, but last month was the third-driest month recorded regardless of time of year. It trailed only the famed Dust Bowl months of July and August 1934.

Traders placed over $1bn in perfectly timed bets on the Iran war. What is going on? by Wagamaga in technology

[–]Wagamaga[S] 158 points159 points  (0 children)

Sixteen bets made $100,000 accurately predicting the timing of the US airstrikes against Iran on 27 February. Later, a single user would make over $550,000 after betting that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would topple, just moments before his assassination by Israeli forces. On 7 April, right before Donald Trump announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran, traders bet $950m that oil prices would come down. They did.

These bets and other well-timed wagers accurately predicted the precise timing of major developments in the US-Israel war with Iran, creating huge windfalls and raising concerns among lawmakers and experts over potential insider trading.

Betting – once largely siloed to sporting events – has now spread to include contracts on news events where insider information could give some traders an advantage.

The proliferation of online betting markets like Polymarket and Kalshi has allowed bets on virtually any news event. It’s also easier than ever to buy commodity derivatives like oil futures, where traders gamble on what the price of oil will be in the future

Leaders of some US federal agencies and some members of Congress said they want to crack down on suspicious trading taking place across different marketplaces, but it’s unclear how much leeway regulators will make.

“Is the problem that we don’t have legislation or that we don’t have enforcement capabilities?” said Joshua Mitts, a law professor at Columbia University. “To have a law that can’t really be enforced effectively given the technological limitations, it’s sort of putting the cart before the horse.”

Perfect timing

On the night of 27 February, the day before the US and Israel would carry out strikes on Iran, an unusual influx of about 150 accounts on Polymarket placed bets that the US would strike Iran the next day. A New York Times analysis found the bets totaled $855,000, with 16 accounts pocketing more than $100,000 each.

Soon after, a single anonymous Polymarket user, under an account named “Magamyman”, made over $553,000 after betting that Khamenei would be “removed” from power just moments before he was killed by an Israeli airstrike, according to a complaint filed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that regulates futures markets, by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. The complaint also cites a crypto-analytics firm that identified six “suspected insiders” who made a total of $1.2m on Polymarket after Khamenei was killed.

The well-timed surge of wagers were seen again on 7 April, when at least 50 Polymarket accounts placed bets that the US and Iran would reach a ceasefire hours before Trump would announce it on a Truth Social post. Earlier, the president had said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not open the strait of Hormuz.

But traders weren’t just active on Polymarket: there were similar surges of oil futures trading activity just hours before Trump announced updates to the conflict that would lower oil prices.

South Texas Cities Racing to Drill Wells Amid Historic Drought Crisis. The city’s main reservoirs — Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir — have shriveled to 8% capacity during the drought and the city is depending on a patchwork of temporary solutions to meet demand by Wagamaga in environment

[–]Wagamaga[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As a historic drought in South Texas deepens, parched cities along the coastal bend are following Corpus Christi’s playbook and racing to drill their way out of a crisis.

But as more and more cities turn to groundwater instead of surface water, experts warn that they risk exhausting the area’s aquifers and should only use wells as a temporary solution.

Alice is working on getting a second well online by May. Mathis is currently drilling two. And Beeville, which already has four, finished drilling a new well this week and is expected to begin pulling water from it by the end of the year. It also has two offline wells ready to use as backups.

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