Our picksFlu virus may go pandemic; smallpox threat; Sandy’s lesson unheeded, and more

Published 24 October 2017

· Climate scientists, local officials discuss preparing for future flooding

· Will the world’s most worrying flu virus go pandemic?

· Smallpox could again be a serious threat

· 5 years after Superstorm Sandy, the lessons haven’t sunk in

· Is populism making a comeback in Latin America?

· California’s Deadliest Wildfires Were Decades in the Making. ‘We Have Forgotten What We Need to Do to Prevent It’

· Why did 4 US troops die in Niger? Even the military doesn’t know.

Climate scientists, local officials discuss preparing for future flooding (Kimberly Cauvel, Skagit Valley Herald)
As the climate changes, storm surge, a rise in sea level and more intense rain — meaning more will fall in shorter periods of time — will bring more frequent and longer-lasting flooding to this town.

Will the world’s most worrying flu virus go pandemic? (Ed Yong, The Atlantic)
There’s good news and bad news.

Smallpox could again be a serious threat (Gregory D. Koblentz, Slate)
If we don’t take steps now, synthetic biology could let bad actors re-create the devastating virus.

5 years after Superstorm Sandy, the lessons haven’t sunk in (Frank Eltman and Wayne Parry, AP)
Five years after Superstorm Sandy was supposed to have taught the U.S. a lesson about the dangers of living along the coast, disaster planning experts say there is no place in America truly prepared for climate change and the tempests it could bring.

Is populism making a comeback in Latin America? (Robert Muggah, Brian Winter, Foreign Policy)
Having rejected its demagogues just a few years ago, the region is now poised to welcome them back.

California’s Deadliest Wildfires Were Decades in the Making. ‘We Have Forgotten What We Need to Do to Prevent It’ (Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times)
Even though the current fire season has burned less acreage than in 2012 or 2015, it has claimed the highest number of lives.

Why did 4 US troops die in Niger? Even the military doesn’t know. (Zack Beauchamp, Vox)
The mysterious deaths of four US Special Forces troops during an early-October mission in Niger has gone from a military tragedy to a roaring political controversy because of President Donald Trump’s feud with the widow of one of the soldiers killed in the operation. The Pentagon just made things even murkier.