An Off Day on Uranus, a Wildfire in Prospect Park and Dispatches from COP29

A wildfire in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park was in part linked to
drought conditions nationally. Plastic waste is set to grow with
our expanding economy, but potential solutions look promising.
Drops in gonorrhea and early-stage syphilis point to the first
decline in sexually transmitted infections in 20 years. Voyager 2’s
fly-by of Uranus in the 1980s collected data that led scientists to
believe the planet’s moons were inactive. A reassessment of those
data shows that Uranus could have just been having an off day.
Plus, Alec Luhn reports from the 29th Conference of the Parties to
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29)
in Azerbaijan. Recommended reading: Melting Glaciers Are Causing
Billions of Dollars of Damage  The U.S. Has Its First Plan for
Plastic Pollution. This Is What’s in It  This Astoundingly
Simple Ancient Technique Is Helping to Beat Back Drought 
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