WATER SECURITYWater Scarcity Predicted to Worsen in More than 80% of Croplands Globally Published 10 May 2022 Global warming is inexorably leading to water scarcity, and more than 80 percent of the world’s croplands will be affected by this scarcity by 2050. One way to mitigate the effects of growing scarcity is improving irrigation infrastructure

PANDEMICWHO Estimates Nearly 15 Million Deaths Linked to COVID Pandemic Published 5 May 2022 The World Health Organization said more than twice as many people died as a result of the COVID pandemic than official data shows, if including deaths of other causes that might not have occurred in more typical times. The World Health Organization

MISINFORMATIONDHS’s ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ Assailed by Lawmakers By Rob Garver Published 5 May 2022 A proposed new DHS working group focusing on countering disinformation has run into a buzzsaw of opposition from members of Congress. Some have characterized the would-be Disinformation Governance Board as an Orwellian body threating free speech. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in

SURVEILLANCEThe Movement to Ban Government Use of Face Recognition By Nathan Sheard and Adam Schwartz Published 5 May 2022 Our faces are unique identifiers that can’t be left at home, or replaced like a stolen ID or compromised password. Facial recognition technology facilitates covert mass surveillance of the places we frequent, people we associate with,

MISINFORMATIONDoes Free Speech Protect COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation? By Sharon Beckstrand Published 5 May 2022 “The Supreme Court has held that many kinds of false statements are protected speech under the First Amendment,” says Stanford University’s Michelle Mello. “The Supreme Court’s general finding is that false statements can often be valuable in terms of allowing people

WILDFIRESGuidance for Holistic Home and Community Wildfire Protection Published 5 May 2022 Once they have a foothold, severe wildfires can quickly overwhelm a community, particularly one that is densely packed. To shield houses against such a fierce threat, a thorough defense is key. Once they have a foothold, severe wildfires can quickly overwhelm a community, particularly

SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITYCybersecurity Guidance for Supply Chain Risk Management Published 5 May 2022 A new update to the NIST’s cybersecurity supply chain risk management (C-SCRM) guidance aims to help organizations protect themselves as they acquire and use technology products and services. A vulnerable spot in global commerce is the supply chain: It enables technology developers and vendors

WILDFIRESHow Our Bushfire-Proof House Design Could Help People Flee Rather Than Risk Fighting the Flames By Deborah Ascher Barnstone Published 5 May 2022 Building houses better at withstanding the impacts of climate change is one way we can protect ourselves in the face of future catastrophic conditions. I’m part of a research team that developed

FOOD SECURITYFarming the Next Front in Russia’s War on Ukraine By Heather Murdock Published 4 May 2022 In recent months, food shortages resulting from the war in Ukraine have circled the globe, with price hikes of 20% to 50% for ordinary bread reported from Brazil to Pakistan and Egypt. Ukraine and Russia are among the

DISINFORMATIONWhat Research Reveals About Disinformation and How to Address It Published 4 May 2022 Stanford scholars from across the social sciences are studying the threats disinformation poses to democracy. Here is some of their research. Over the past decade, the spread of disinformation online has become a problem facing the U.S. and the world. Increasingly, domestic