Signals

(April 2019) - We analyze the impact of outdoor temperature on high-stakes decisions (immigration adjudications) made by professional decision-makers (US immigration judges). In our preferred specification, which includes spatial, temporal, and judge fixed effects, and controls for various potential confounders, a 10°F degree increase in case-day temperature reduces decisions favorable to the applicant by 6.55 percent. This is despite judgements being made indoors, "protected" by climate control. Results are consistent with established links from temperature to mood and risk appetite and have important implications for evaluating the influence of climate on "cognitive output."

It’s not just the planet and not just our health – the impact of a warming climate extends deep into our cortical fissures

A process called biofortification puts nutrients directly into seeds and could reduce global hunger, but it’s not a magic bullet

Are AI-generated sermons the future of faith? With religious attendance falling, faith groups are turning to new technologies to attract members.

As tensions mount in the South China Sea, Vietnam is dredging and filling in land, fortifying barriers and erecting new structures to create hundreds of acres.

Making cement -- the most commonly used substance on Earth after water -- is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions. It generates CO2 both through combustion of fossil fuels & through chemical processes. Sublime Systems thinks it has solved both sides of that equation. I talk with the CEO.

Xenobots may change how we think about intelligence.

Ancestral lands will be returned to the Shasta Indian Nation as part of a massive Klamath River dam removal project.

Global study reveals dirty air is second only to malnutrition as cause of death among under-fives

State’s transport department given a 2045 deadline to fully decarbonize and achieve zero emissions under agreement

Eating meat with a lower carbon footprint often means killing more animals and treating them more poorly.

The largest earthquake to hit Taiwan this century rattled the entire island overnight, collapsing buildings, damaging roads, and shutting down...

An innovative insurance program is paying daily wage laborers in India a portion of their income on days the temperature breaches a threshold.

Multiple groups are working to keep Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from doubling the number of centers in the country, fearing environmental devastation.

A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers from, amo…

Automakers are exploring energy storage as a way to help utilities and save customers money, turning an expensive component into an industry asset.

As heat waves creep north, they are baking schools that previously did not need air conditioning. Fixing the problem will be neither cheap, nor easy.

This cohort study investigates the associations between air and noise pollution exposure in pregnancy through age 12 years with the development of psychotic experiences, depression, and anxiety at 13 to 24 years of age.

Mexico City gets about a quarter of its water from a system that is running dry. Some say it could be unable to provide water by June 26, known as “Day Zero” in the metropolitan area of 22 million.

First phase of trial starts this month and includes rice and pasta

Experts say booming demand for holidays afloat mean ocean liners’ burden on the environment is growing

Ministers say network of 27 radar dishes in Pembrokeshire crucial to defend against ‘increasing belligerence in space’

‘Pioneering’ facility will extract precious metal from up to 4,000 tonnes of scrap circuit boards a year

Nvidia’s yearly AI chip refresh may not start this year.

Tech firms have been spending historic amounts of money on AI—but will it pay off?

Their shares have fallen 11.8% from last month’s peak but more AI breakthroughs may reassure investors

They claimed X's AI chatbot, Grok, had spread "false information on ballot deadlines."

The move comes 50 years after Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce paid leave for both parents.

A victory for Donald Trump in November’s presidential election could add 4bn tonnes of US emissions by 2030 compared with Joe Biden’s plans

Chelsea flower show to focus on water reuse as gardeners prepare for shortages caused by climate crisis