Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Oct. 29, 2024
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The Actual Risks of Geoengineering
Hurricanes Helene and Milton sparked conspiracy theories about government-created weather events via geoengineering, the large-scale, intentional manipulation of the earth's processes to modify weather. These theories are false; there is no evidence that any entity created the storms. But according to RAND's Emmi Yonekura, the risks associated with geoengineering are real.
While major actors--including the United States, China, and the United Kingdom--have experimented with weather modification in the past, hostile use of environmental modification has been banned globally for decades. Today, scientists are studying a range of geoengineering approaches that are largely aimed at addressing the accelerating effects of climate change. These include stratospheric aerosol injection to reflect sunlight, large-scale reforestation, and direct air carbon capture and storage. Most of these technologies are in their infancy and have yet to be adopted by a major global actor.
Geoengineering comes with real environmental risks, such as potential changes to precipitation patterns; potential water pollution and nutrient runoff; ecosystem disruption; and large energy and water demands. Implementing geoengineering could lead to geopolitical risks as well.
So, Yonekura concludes, conspiracy theories about the recent hurricanes are indeed false. But ironically, they do point to the open risk that geoengineering may still pose.
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Promoting Social-Emotional Well-Being Among High School Students
In many high schools, students' social-emotional well-being has become a priority because of concerning mental health and well-being outcomes among adolescents. In fact, a new RAND study shows that high school educators believe their students struggle with anxiety, depression, apathy, and communication skills. The authors also explore ways to help education leaders address this issue. For example, schools need sustained funding and structural supports for mental health specialists. They also need to intentionally hire socially and emotionally competent principals, district leaders, and support staff.
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Does 'Mercurial Leadership' at SpaceX Risk National Security?
The capabilities of the commercial company SpaceX have become key to supporting U.S. military objectives. For example, the Pentagon hopes that SpaceX satellites will drastically improve connectivity in remote environments. But under CEO Elon Musk, the company has taken unpredictable actions that could affect geopolitical events. According to RAND's Douglas Yeung, such unpredictability can affect the ability of federal agencies to deploy technologies for critical services, such as responding to disasters or supplying military forces. This is why the U.S. government must continually assess how to adopt emerging technologies while also ensuring productive, reliable partnerships with vendors.
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** RAND Recommends
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- Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising. But this doesn't guarantee that armed conflict is on the horizon, RAND's Naoko Aoki told CNBC: "North Korea would not want to fight when some of its troops are in Ukraine fighting someone else's war."
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- RAND's Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, spoke to Christiane Amanpour about the future of the Israel-Hamas war: "The death of Sinwar was clearly a major blow to Hamas but it doesn't fundamentally alter the terms of the conflict."
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- The United States has--for the most part--deftly handled the Pacific Islands region, according to RAND's Derek Grossman. No matter who wins the U.S. presidential election, the country has "considerable momentum versus China in the region, and it should seek to capitalize further in the future," he says.
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** Events
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Racial and Socioeconomic Divides in Algebra Teaching and Learning
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 (Online)
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Addressing Imploding Health Care Systems: Is Primary Care Reform Really the Answer?
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 (Online)
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Expert Views on State-Level Policies for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Thursday, November 14, 2024 (Online)
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** Apply for RAND's Summer Associate Program
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Are you a graduate student? Do you want to help tackle the world's toughest policy problems? Applications for our Summer Associate Program are now open. Apply by December 2nd for an opportunity to spend summer 2025 at RAND.
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