Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3h

Another king tide in the southeast: Ft. Pulaski, Charleston, Norfolk, Carolina Beach.

Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

Assaad Razzouk @assaadrazzouk.bsky.social · 7h

Good climate news this week
1 Global: Renewables generation surpasses coal for 1st time
2 Global: Renewables have cut fossil-fuel imports for more than 100 countries
3 Global: Solar and wind generation grew in 1st half by more than overall demand increased in the same period

1/5

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

AAUP @aaup.org · 4d

“If we aren't free to pursue research and teaching based on wherever the knowledge leads us, we are not truly working in the service of the public.”

— Rana Jaleel, associate professor at UC Davis & Chair of the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom & Tenure

How Academic Freedom in Universities Generates the Greatest Value for Society

Academic freedom is at the foundation of one of the most powerful and fundamental ideas about universities. Learn about how academic freedom has contributed to broad benefits in society and UC Davis f...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 23h

None of this is possible without the explicit consent of an administration whose antipathy to expertise runs deep.

joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/with-malic...

With Malice Toward All and Charity for None: Oct. 10-11 CDC (Un)Firing Edition

A post interpreting the Friday night firing of more than 1,000 CDC experts only to have some of these layoffs termed an ‘error’ & reversed on Saturday night.

joshuasweitz.substack.com

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 1d

American public universities are unmatched engines of personal success and national prosperity. At the same time, university leaders must acknowledge the concerns underlying these critiques and forge common ground to protect our nation’s investment in education.

www.highereddive.com/news/dont-le...

Don’t let polarization undermine the vital role colleges play in the US

Colleges must refocus energy on supporting students and reestablishing higher education’s value, the head of the University of California, Davis writes.

www.highereddive.com

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 1d

Some areas of the Outer Banks shoreline have retreated more than 200 feet in the past two decades... The houses in Rodanthe and Buxton that have tumbled into the ocean recently were behind a dune line when they were built, some more than 50 years ago.

www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...

What to know about NC houses tumbling into the ocean, from construction to cleanup

Videos of NC beach houses falling into the ocean are like little movies in which inanimate objects get clobbered by an irresistable force.

www.newsobserver.com

Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

Todd Wolfson @proftwolf.bsky.social · 2d

I am proud to say that MIT has rejected Trump's poison compact. MIT President Sally Kornbluth: "Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education."
@aaup.org @aft.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social @uaw.org
links.mit.edu/nl3/N5Jy2cKq...

Regarding the Compact

links.mit.edu

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 2d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

Samuli Reijula @samulireijula.net · 2d

excellent essay: The Origin of the Research University open.substack.com/pub/asterisk...

The Origin of the Research University

Universities have existed for more than a thousand years — and for almost all of that time, they weren’t centers of research. What changed in 19th century Germany?

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Nobel peace prize 2025 live: María Corina Machado wins for work promoting democratic rights in Venezuela

US president had been conducting campaign to influence prize committee

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 2d

🔺BREAKING: Maria Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

Donald Trump misses out as Venezuela’s main opposition leader is given the award

Maria Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

www.thetimes.com

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August (Gift Article)

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3d

A South Korean battery component maker has backed out of plans to build a $152.5 million electrolyte manufacturing facility that would have brought 190 jobs to Haywood County in West Tennessee.

www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/oc...

EV battery component company backs out of plans for $152M West Tennessee facility | Chattanooga Times Free Press

A South Korean battery component maker has backed out of plans to build a $152.5 million electrolyte manufacturing facility that would have brought 190 jobs to Haywood County in West Tennessee.

www.timesfreepress.com

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3d

MIT is a global community whose international engagement bestows benefits well beyond the Cambridge campus.

news.mit.edu/2025/attract...

By attracting the world’s sharpest talent, MIT helps keep the US a step ahead

Just as the US has prospered through its ability to draw talent from every corner of the globe, so too has MIT thrived as a magnet for the world’s most keen and curious minds, contributing to America’...

news.mit.edu

1

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August (Gift Article)

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

1

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 3d

Georgia Planning Association fall conference is beginning in Athens.

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 5d

"Any university leader who signs on to this compact would betray everything good and solid about the university and would do deep and permanent harm to the United States and the world."
newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 7d

The Journal of the American Planning Association is now included in American Planning Association membership.
#japaplanning planning.org/japa/

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Reposted by Bruce Stiftel

AAUP @aaup.org · 9d

AAUP President Todd Wolfson unpacks the dangerous consequences of the Trump administration’s compact, which aims to exert ideological control over universities and colleges. As Wolfson makes clear, this partisan incursion into higher education affects ALL sectors.

@proftwolf.bsky.social

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 6d

"[I]n the end, he wasn’t really about parking. Don was an economist, and his mission was to help people understand the underlying economics of public goods and services. Parking was simply the vehicle, one might say, that he chose to do so."

open.substack.com/pub/futureof...

How Don Shoup Changed The World

Nobody thought much about parking until this UCLA economist wrote about it. Now, nobody thinks about parking the same way.

open.substack.com

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 7d

The Journal of the American Planning Association is now included in American Planning Association membership.
#japaplanning planning.org/japa/

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 7d

DePaul University has told faculty it will immediately reduce spending following a 30% decline in international enrollment this fall. The move is the latest by U.S. colleges to cope with the disruptive education and immigration policies of President Donald Trump.
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10...

Fewer foreign students and fewer dollars make U.S. colleges feel the pinch

Dozens of schools in the U.S. have announced budget cuts in response to Trump administration policies that are upending higher education.

www.japantimes.co.jp

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Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 7d

"[I]nternational students are thought to have contributed around $50bn to the US economy in 2023 in tuition, rent, food, taxes and a host of other ways."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Small US college towns reel amid Trump immigration crackdown: ‘They need international students’

From Ohio to Florida, the US government’s clampdown on students from abroad threatens rural universities and local businesses

www.theguardian.com

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 8d

Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

Bruce Stiftel @brucestiftel.bsky.social · 9d

"Police responded to reports of a car driving at members of the public at 09:31 on Thursday morning, after which officers quickly declared a major incident...

"Eyewitnesses describe how security staff prevented the attacker from getting into the synagogue."

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Manchester synagogue attacker named as Jihad Al-Shamie

Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British man of Syrian descent, is named as the synagogue attacker.

www.bbc.com