On America’s broken system of paying for nursing care and hospitals’ failure to value nurses’ impact on the quality of patient care:Betty Rambur, URI professor of nursing and Routhier Chair for Practice
“Until nurses are not an expensive labor cost for hospitals but are seen as revenue generators and as vanguards of quality…we’re going to keep having this problem.”
Vox.com
On Chernobyl under threat in Ukraine, and the concern for interruptions in power:Bahram Nassersharif, URI distinguished professor and nuclear engineering program director
“The reactors that are not operating still need cooling and depend on the electrical grid for running their cooling systems (pumps, control systems, valves). So grid connectivity is essential for cooling the reactors.”
The Irish Times
On “rogue” black holes wandering the Milky Way, and their potential to wreak havoc in space, sucking up everything in their path:Douglas Gobeille, URI teaching professor of physics
“They are not vacuum cleaners, otherwise we’d be in one.”
Mashable.com
On the debate over whether President Lincoln suffered from smallpox as he delivered the Gettysburg Address:Andrea Rusnock, URI professor of history
“It’s important to remember that smallpox was incredibly frightening, because one out of three people [wasn’t] going to survive. For Lincoln to have smallpox and then recover—it’s such a precarious moment in our nation’s history.”
The Scientist
On the often-overlooked threat to supply chain problems from climate change:Austin Becker, URI associate professor and chair of marine affairs
“Climate change is a slow-moving crisis that is going to last a very, very long time. …Every coastal community, every coastal transportation network is going to face some risks.”
Slate.com
On the benefits of eating a plant-based diet:Maya Vadiveloo, URI assistant professor of nutrition and food sciences
“The combination of fiber and phytochemicals from whole plant-based food sources that are nutrient dense and satiating have independent effects on things like cholesterol and blood pressure.”
TODAY.com
On plans by electric truck maker Rivian to build a manufacturing plant on an old farm in rural Georgia, and the unexpected pushback regarding the social and environmental impacts:Emily Diamond, URI assistant professor of communication studies and marine affairs
“Climate change issues… affect the entire world, but the costs of addressing them have to be paid at the local level.” The clash over the Rivian plant “is a perfect example of that tradeoff.”
The Christian Science Monitor