When the Lights Go Out

By Karen Ramirez California, the fifth largest economy in the world, is known for its sunny weather, palm trees, beaches and the Hollywood sign. Unfortunately, this idyllic Californian dream has taken a hit as recent power outages have affected millions of Californians. These power blackouts are the result of the…

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From Fire to Flood

By Karen Ramirez On December 22nd 2017, the Thomas Fire became California’s largest wildfire in modern history. It was contained on January 12th 2018 after burning 1,141 km2 of mountainous terrain and 1,600 structures in the Southern Californian counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara. This fire was frightening not just…

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Crooked Borders: Taking a Closer Look at Gerrymandering

By Karen Ramirez and Simon Dürr Political parties have been redrawing voting districts to maintain political power ever since the US was founded, but gerrymandering, as this practice is called, has recently been under heightened scrutiny due to its increasing impact on US electoral results. The rising sophistication and success of…

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