As an apex predator that can harm human beings and domestic animals, the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is feared in many parts of the nation. However, “the reasons to fear alligators are unfounded, as they are not aggressive beasts, although as large predators they should be respected,” said Frank Mazzotti, professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

Floodwaters are in the headlines. Mud is in the photographs. Death toll numbers force a nation to look up. But for children, the disasters continue long after the rain stops. Solutions include prioritizing school repairs and reopenings after a natural disaster, and adding school curricula and activities on how to strengthen Indonesia’s islands against future calamities.

At 7 a.m., as the sun rises over Seoul, the nearby granite slopes of Bukhansan are already alive. Elderly hikers in neon visors tap their trekking poles like drumbeats, exhaling clouds of mist into the crisp, pine-scented air.

Road salt has long been treated as an unavoidable cost of winter safety, but the tax it quietly imposes on ecosystems and infrastructure is far larger than its price per ton suggests.

Recent Gallup polling shows that alcohol consumption in the United States has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 90 years, with drinkers reporting they are drinking less—and less frequently. A record low of 54% of adults are now drinking in the US, down from 67% just a few years ago. Younger adults, aged 18–35, are driving this decline, as they increasingly prioritize their health.