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California’s monarch butterflies critically low for 2nd year

The western monarch butterfly population wintering along California’s coast remains critically low for the second year in a row, a count by an environmental group released Thursday showed.

The count of the orange-and-black insects by the Xerces Society, a nonprofit environmental organization that focuses on the conservation of invertebrates, recorded about 29,000 butterflies in its annual survey. That’s not much different than last year’s tally, when an all-time low 27,000 monarchs were counted.

Cheryl Schulz.
Schulz

A 2017 study by Washington State University researchers, led by Cheryl Schulz, associate professor of biological sciences, found the species likely will go extinct in the next few decades if nothing is done to save it.

The monarch is now under government consideration for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The decision on whether the butterfly will be listed as threatened is expected by December.

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Washington Post

Evangelicals Love Donald Trump for Many Reasons, But One of Them Is Especially Terrifying

The story of Gog and Magog is central to the bloody eschatology long embraced by millions of American evangelicals. In recent years, End Times has gained special political currency as believers have seen any number of Middle East conflagrations as fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy, notably the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the war in Syria. Gog and Magog took on fresh relevance earlier this month, when the Trump administration assassinated Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

What may be less obvious is how Trump’s disdain for international governing bodies like NATO also dovetails almost perfectly with End Times theology, whether he realizes it or not.

Matthew Avery Sutton.
Sutton

Matthew Avery Sutton, a Washington State University history professor and author of American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism, says evangelicals who believe the end is near have always been hostile to any sort of international organizations. That’s because they believe biblical prophecies that say that in the last days, a world leader who preaches peace will emerge and move toward a one-world government. In fact, the prophecy goes, that leader will be the Antichrist who will force the world to accept a false religion and persecute people who don’t accept him as a Messiah.

Evangelicals love Trump’s talk of pulling out of NATO, his attacks on the UN, and his trashing of the Paris climate change accord. “They hate the UN,” Sutton says. “Trump’s unilateralism is also music to their ears.”

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Mother Jones

WSU Tri‑Cities exhibition showcases art from faculty and staff statewide

An exhibition at Washington State University Tri‑Cities will showcase art professionally created by WSU faculty and staff from across the state now through Feb. 28 at the WSU Tri‑Cities Art Center.

A grand opening for the exhibition is scheduled for 5 p.m.–7 p.m. on Jan. 31 in the WSU Tri‑Cities Art Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will feature a range of styles of art, including interactive and electronic sculptures, ceramics, photography, painting, drawing and more. It will specifically feature works from 16 faculty and staff from the WSU Tri‑Cities, WSU Vancouver and WSU Pullman campuses.

At the grand opening on Jan. 31, attendees will have the opportunity to meet many of the artists featured, enjoy wine and light refreshments, as well as get an up‑close look at the works of art.

Remarks begin at 5:30 p.m.

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WSU Insider

WSU public policy director predicts global political division will persist

During Economic Forecast Breakfast, Cornell Clayton said divide driven by inequality, instability and cultural identity issues

One of the major effects of a global political economy that has changed rapidly in recent decades is political division, which will likely continue as the presidential election approaches.

Cornell Clayton.
Clayton

That’s according to Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University, who didn’t make many promises during a panel discussion Thursday at the annual 2020 Economic Forecast Breakfast at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. But Clayton confidently said that unless the challenges presented by the new economic reality — wealth inequality, employment instability and cultural identity issues — are sufficiently addressed, sharp political divisions in U.S. politics will continue.

“We are living in an unpredictable, chaotic political world,” Clayton said.

Since the end of the Cold War, the emergence of global trade organizations coupled with technological advancements has created global prosperity and investment. But Clayton said that it has also fostered inequality.

“What inequality does is it creates political instability and political anxiety, and we’ve seen that in our society and other societies around the world,” Clayton said.

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The Columbian

Data analytics expert to lead degree program

Jan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta

A highly successful educator and researcher committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and problem solving, Nairanjana “Jan” Dasgupta has been named director of the Program in Data Analytics at Washington State University.

Dasgupta is the Boeing Science/Math Education Distinguished Professor in Mathematics and Statistics at WSU and an expert and practitioner in data analytics, the science of examining large volumes of raw data to extract useful information, such as patterns, correlations and trends. She has been on faculty in mathematics and statistics at WSU since 1996 and was instrumental in establishing the interdisciplinary data analytics degree program in 2016.

She is also founding director of the WSU Center of Interdisciplinary Statistical Education and Research (CISER) and an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association.

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WSU Insider