The world’s forests play a far greater and more complex role in tackling climate crisis than previously thought, due to their physical effects on global and local temperatures, according to new research. “The biophysical factors don’t cool the planet, but they do change the way we experience heat, and that matters,” said Deborah Lawrence, professor at the University of Virginia and the lead author. “The heart of the tropics is at the heart of the planet and these forests are critical for our survival.”
Tropical forests cool the world by more than 1 degree Celsius, increase rainfall, and shield people and crops from deadly heat, researchers said, showing the climate benefits of trees go beyond sucking planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the air. In a new study (led by UVA environmental scientist Deborah Lawrence) released on Thursday, they outlined different ways the Earth, its climate and its inhabitants rely on forests.
The University of Virginia hosted a virtual Medical Center Hour on Wednesday. Speakers said racism within health care is an ongoing public crisis, leading to higher mortality rates. Dr. Brian Wispelwey, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, was one speaker on the call. “People of color, our black and brown patients, are ending up much more on general medicine. So part of the decision was to start looking to that,” he said.
With 554 applicants from Arlington Publci Schools, UVA ranks second, behind Virginia Tech (594).
In a fact that may surprise anyone who knows even a few of his films or has a sense of his filmmaking ups and downs, Robert Aldrich was born into tremendous wealth and power, in Rhode Island in 1918. His grandfather was a Republican senator and a self-made millionaire. His aunt even married John D. Rockefeller Jr. As a young man, Aldrich attempted to fit the family mold, majoring in economics at the University of Virginia, but eventually he had had enough–of that life but also of the right-wing politics surrounding that life.
Many, if not most of us, have googled a symptom or doctor’s diagnosis at one time. A Virginia Beach woman, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is taking that curiosity to another level. At age 11, Delaney Liskey had a terrifying experience, a sudden loss of sight in one eye. … Delaney’s inquisitive nature eventually led her to the University of Virginia and now the prestigious Mayo Clinic, where she’s on track to receive her PhD in biomedical sciences.
The National Minority Quality Forum is listing Dr. Taison Bell with UVA Health on it’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health list.
Troubling trends in education, physical health and mental well-being among young people predate COVID-19. But the pandemic’s disruptions of daily routines, emotional support networks and vaccination rates have raised those concerns to crisis levels. “This is really not just a story of an initial shock, then recovery. What we’ve seen are patterns of lost learning persistent, and in some cases being even stronger, in 2020-21,” said Jim Soland of the University of Virginia, an affiliated research fellow at the assessment nonprofit Northwest Evaluation Association.
Miles Coleman, the associate editor of the election forecaster ‘Sabato’s Crystal Ball’ at UVA’s Center for Politics, says he thinks both parties used Tuesday’s session to reinforce their overall political message. “For Democrats, that seems to be, ‘if you stick with us, we’ll continue to build an inclusive government that looks like the country,’” Coleman says in an email. “For Republicans, casting Jackson as weak on crime could be another way to show that Biden – and his appointees – are simply ‘in over their heads.’”
(Podcast) Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson spent hours on defending her representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees and denying she’d been too lenient in child pornography cases. Saikrishna Prakash, a University of Virginia law professor and former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, and Margaret Russell, a law professor at Santa Clara University, join Judy Woodruff to discuss the hearing.
Kim Forde-Mazrui, director of UVA’s Center for the Study of Race and Law, takes a different view. He said that the Supreme Court’s use of strict scrutiny, based on its reading of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, leads to a kind of “color-blindness” that ignores historic and systemic racism. “The Supreme Court’s rule that race should generally be ignored has actually prevented policies that could help to reduce the racial gap,” he said. He added that the ERA, as currently written, could cause the Supreme Court to treat sex the same way, with a kind of “sex-blindness,” he said,...
(Commentary) Finally, selective colleges can ask for far less to determine an applicant’s chances. Stephen Farmer, the vice provost for enrollment at the University of Virginia, wonders if there is a “more iterative way” of asking for materials. Instead of making the application process an enormous burden students must finish all at once, information from applicants could be gathered in chunks at different stages of the process.
(Co-written by Sara Rimm-Kaufman, Commonwealth Professor of Education) Rude seems to be in style – we see unruly passengers on airlines, hurtful comments online, and impasses among legislators. Can the pendulum swing in the other direction for this next generation? We think so, and we see educators making this happen.
This week is National Poison Prevention Week, and UVA Health and the Blue Ridge Poison Center are talking about common causes.
The African drone and data academy that held in Malawi has come to a close, and the organizers celebrated this feat with a closing ceremony. … UNICEF thanked the participation and support of the participating institutions, including the University of Virginia.
Two projects reflect how environmental justice can be achieved for places where loss have been experienced. The Tamir Rice Memorial in Cleveland illustrates how a space can evoke memory. The Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia illustrates how a space can acknowledge slavery and servitude.
(Editorial) Some students at the University of Virginia, including the editorial board of the school’s newspaper, think that “hateful rhetoric is violent – and this is impermissible.” So they oppose an April appearance by Pence. They say Pence’s past statements condemning non-heterosexual lifestyles, as well as his past vilification of immigrants, invites attacks on both groups and should rob him of his right to speak on the Grounds.
UVA alumnus Justin Anderson was far more than a spectator on Sunday. He started an NBA game for the first time in a year and a half and was a major player in the Pacers’ win, tallying 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 36 minutes. Anderson’s performance was the high point to-date in his multi-year fight to work his way back into the NBA.
No Washington National will ever wear number 11 again. It will always belong to [UVA alumnus] Ryan Zimmerman. The Virginia Beach native will have his number retired by the club on June 18 during the club’s series with the National League East rival Phillies. It will be part of Ryan Zimmerman Weekend, which will begin the day before.