By Elizabeth Hewitt for Reasons to be Cheerful.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration Amid black-eyed Susans and purple wildflowers growing between rows of solar panels at Connexus Energy’s headquarters in Ramsey, Minnesota, Rob Davis has seen hover flies, swallows and a hummingbird moth. “It’s just like being in a nice, natural place,” says Davis, Connexus public affairs lead. “But it’s also just a visual delight, because there’s so many things to see when you sit and wait.” When the array was installed almost a decade ago, the initial plan was to keep gravel around the panels. .
As smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets New York and much of the East Coast, it s causing a wide range of health effects - and not just for people. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the effects can be as minor as eye and respiratory-tract irritation, but worsening to asthma and even causing heart failure. And humans aren t the only ones feeling the effects of smoky skies - wildlife is compromised through loss of habitat, food and water sources. .
Scientists, if you communicate only with people at your own level of expertise, how will you recruit the best and brightest, engage the public and change the world? Kylie Ahern takes ‘dumbing down’ to task