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Esther Ngumbi

Esther Ngumbi

7 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Esther Ngumbi is Assistant Professor of Entomology and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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  1. More Floods Mean Worse Soil
    ngumbi7_ WILL VASSILOPOULOSAFP via Getty Images_flood WILL VASSILOPOULOS/AFP via Getty Images

    More Floods Mean Worse Soil

    Oct 26, 2023 Esther Ngumbi shows how extreme wet conditions can damage the symbiotic ecosystem that underpins our food system.

  2. Tackling America’s Racial Disparities in Science
    ngumbi6_Misha FriedmanGetty Images_woman in STEM Misha Friedman/Getty Images

    Tackling America’s Racial Disparities in Science

    Jan 29, 2021 Esther Ngumbi proposes four ways to increase the representation of women and people of color in STEM fields.

  3. Is the Rebellion Against Science Over?
    ngumbi5_GettyImages_pencefauci Getty Images

    Is the Rebellion Against Science Over?

    Oct 6, 2020 Esther Ngumbi reflects on how science, its public standing, and its role in policymaking have fared during the pandemic.

  4. A Pandemic of Hunger
    ngumbi4_LUIS TATOAFP via Getty Images_coronaviruskenyafoodaid Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

    A Pandemic of Hunger

    May 12, 2020 Esther Ngumbi warns that the COVID-19 crisis is aggravating food insecurity in developing and developed countries alike.

  5. Putting a Price on Soil
    ngumbi3_FLORENT VERGNESAFP via Getty Images_soilafricafarm Florent Vergnes/AFP via Getty Images

    Putting a Price on Soil

    Jan 3, 2020 Esther Ngumbi asks what we need to do to get more people to care about such a strategic asset as soils.

  1. hausmann117_TONY KARUMBAAFP via Getty Images_africawindfarm Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

    A Better Approach to Climate Finance

    Ricardo Hausmann

    By harnessing the capabilities of developing countries, we can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities. This approach would not only advance crucial climate goals but also ensure that a larger share of the world’s population can enjoy the fruits of the clean-energy transition.

    shows how developing countries can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities.
  2. ghosh83_CHRISTIAN MONTERROSAAFP via Getty Images_trump cop CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Bad COP

    Jayati Ghosh says the Paris climate agreement’s future depends on how other countries respond to the new US administration.
  3. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Are Tariffs Worth It?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg thinks the risks and costs for the US will far outweigh any potential political or geopolitical benefits.
  4. schalatek1_Resul RehimovAnadolu via Getty Images_cop29 Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images
    Free to read

    Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise?

    Liane Schalatek warns that rich countries are once again shirking their responsibility to provide adequate climate finance.
  5. mazzucato77_PABLOPORCIUNCULAGettyImages_G20_summit_prostest PABLO PORCIUNCULA/Getty Images

    How Global Public Investment Should Work

    Mariana Mazzucato & Jonathan Glennie

    Addressing problems like climate change and biodiversity loss calls for new thinking about how to mobilize the huge volume of financing that will be needed. International cooperation must be re-framed as a collective endeavor in which all countries benefit, contribute, and make investment decisions together.

    propose a new model to unlock financing for action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and other issues.
  6. palacio163_Dominika ZarzyckaSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_cop29finance Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    COP29 Must Deliver the Goods

    Ana Palacio hopes that geopolitical uncertainty will not thwart ambitious, credible climate-finance commitments.
  7. ngilman1_Ivan LiemanAFP via Getty Images_rwandagorilla Ivan Lieman/AFP via Getty Images

    Interspecies Money Is Here

    Nils Gilman & Mutesi Rusagara look beyond the first ever payments to animals and see a new model for human-wildlife economic collaboration.
  8. strain33_TheWashingtonPostGettyImages_make_america_wealthy_again The Washington Post/Getty Images

    A Trump Boom?

    Michael R. Strain thinks the president-elect’s economic policies could be wildly successful if he avoids his worst impulses.
  9. GettyImages-2072805051

    Nicholas Agar on Elon Musk, AI, the futurism industry, and more

    Nicholas Agar urges us not to put too much stock in Musk-style “Mars-shots,” describes how the humanities needs to evolve in our time of disorienting change, suggests that humanists might soon get bored with artificial intelligence, and more.

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