A family of gray wolves was recently spotted in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, and Oregon Wildlife officials are hoping this indicates a resurgence of the species. The number of wolf groups in the area has been bumped up to three since the August sighting. The new…
Hurricane Ian was the first major natural disaster to hit the central west coast of Florida in 70 years. Residents of the respective counties were struck with panic, as this incident was something not usually on the radar for the area. In contrast, citizens of…
Overdoses from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids define the third wave of the opioid epidemic, and the coronavirus pandemic has only made it worse. Fentanyl is primarily responsible, but non-fentanyl synthetic opioids (NSOs) pose unique challenges. Recently, a new NSO, isotonitazene (ISO), was found in…
Since 1999, more than 500,000 people have died from opioid overdoses in the U.S.—the victims of America’s opioid epidemic. In the 2010s, state and local governments filed thousands of lawsuits against companies that make and distribute the drugs seeking to hold them accountable. A handful…
There is a lot of plastic in the world. Since 1950, more than 7,800 million tonnes of plastic have been produced, generating 6,300 million tonnes of waste, of which approximately 9% was recycled, according to Life. Plastic waste has its own host of issues, but…
A striking paper published by the Johns Hopkins Institute has been making the rounds, once again heaving the cultural-political trenches erected around COVID-19 into disorder and galvanizing yet another round of controversy. The paper in question, A literature Review and Meta-analysis of the effects of lockdowns…
Since mid 2020, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has worked to implement initiatives meant to return Florida to normal as much as possible in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Even at times when these initiatives conflicted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)…
This brief serves as an update on last semester’s feature on manatees and their alarming mortality rate. Since November, local advocacy groups are rushing to expand the public’s knowledge and to increase awareness. Manatees are essential to Florida’s unique aquatic ecosystem: they act characteristically as…
As the final days of November begin to get crossed out on the calendar and the page flips to December, so approaches the end of another year of the world battling COVID-19. Obviously, this time of year always comes with a lot of traveling and…
The latter half of this fall semester can be characterized by increased scrutiny from both students and school employees alike of the Physical Plant for the use of Roundup on campus, a chemical known for containing glyphosate which was declared a probable carcinogen by the…
