U.S. life expectancy continued falling in 2021, a pandemic update

While I've mentioned the pandemic in passing several times this month and last, I haven't made it a focus of any single post since Vox explains 'How American conservatives turned against the vaccine,' a pandemic update two months ago. It's time to rectify that omission in the context of revisiting the largest drop in life expectancy since World War II. Watch U.S. life expectancy drops in 2021 from WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana.


WISH-TV didn't provide a video description, so I'm quoting The Hill.

A study by researchers at the Urban Institute, the University of Colorado and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) estimated that the U.S. life expectancy dropped last year to 76.6 years, down more than two years from the rate in 2019. At the same time, life expectancy rates in other wealthy countries increased between 2020 and 2021, after registering a smaller decrease the year before.

“While other high-income countries saw their life expectancy increase in 2021, recovering about half their losses, U.S. life expectancy continued to fall,” VCU sociologist Steven Woolf, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “This speaks volumes about the life consequences of how the U.S. handled the pandemic, and in a country where the U.S. Constitution and the 10th Amendment grant public health authority to the states, I believe the U.S. catastrophe speaks volumes about the policies and behaviors of U.S. governors — at least some of them.”

Life expectancy has dropped the most in recent years among Hispanic and Black populations, which researchers attributed to “the legacy of systemic racism and inadequacies in the U.S. handling of the pandemic.”

Ryan Masters, a sociologist at the University of Colorado and the study’s lead author, said high rates of obesity and heart disease made the U.S. population more vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic than populations in other wealthy countries.

As I wrote last year, "the pandemic is responsible for most of the drop, [but] other causes, like the opioid epidemic and systemic racism making the pandemic worse for minorities, played roles in lowering life expectancy." All of this is still true, which is why I also wrote "returning to the pre-pandemic normal isn't good enough."

Follow over the jump for total U.S. deaths last year and the effect on the populations of states.

Good economic news for election day

While I'm actually in a doomy mood, I'm just not up to posting something appropriately pessimistic.  Instead, I'm going to update Good economic news from Michigan universities with the latest good economic news.  I'm in need of cheering up after tonight's election results.

I begin with the national picture from the University of Michigan: Consumer sentiment in October highest in seven years, posted October 31, 2014.

ANN ARBOR—Consumer confidence posted its third consecutive monthly gain in October, rising to its highest level since July 2007, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

Conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) since 1946, the Surveys monitor consumer attitudes and expectations.

"Consumers have been gradually regaining their economic footing in the past several months, with confidence rising to the highest level since the start of the Great Recession," said Richard Curtin, director of the surveys. "This is not the first time such a strong rebound has occurred, but this time it appears to have more forward traction. Consumers have not overreacted to the negative news of a global slowdown or Ebola, nor to the positive news of lower gas prices. Instead, consumers have kept their focus on improved job and wage prospects. Finally, five years after the start of the recovery, consumers have begun to adopt the expectations and behaviors that have driven past expansions."

The October gain was due to improved personal finances as well as a more favorable outlook for the overall economy, according to Curtin. Indeed, consumers reported the most favorable personal financial expectations as well as the most positive year-ahead outlook for the national economy in the past seven years. What the survey did not find was any negative impact on confidence from the global economic slowdown, military conflicts, or Ebola. None of these issues was mentioned by more than a few respondents; instead, respondents emphasized improved wage and employment prospects due to a stronger economy. Gains in holiday spending are expected to be the best in several years, benefiting from higher confidence as well as falling gas prices at the pump.

Trick or Treat!  Hey, a treat!

Next, Wayne State University with the local economic picture in Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index remains strong in October, finishing at 54.7 , posted November 3, 2014.

DETROIT— The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for October is 54.7, down slightly from September’s 59.4.  A PMI value above 50 generally suggests economic growth.

“We continue to enjoy a bright economic outlook, said Timothy Butler, associate professor of supply chain management at Wayne State’s School of Business, who interpreted this month’s results.  Key indicators for growth include the New Orders Index, the Finished Goods Inventory Index and the Employment Index.  In fact, the Employment Index has remained over 50 since July 2012.”

Purchasing managers’ confidence continues to be up, with 93.4 percent believing the Southeast Michigan economy will remain stable or become more stable over the next six months, while only 6.7 percent anticipate a less stable economy.

Respondents reported prices were up for resins, aluminum and steel for the month, while oil and copper were down in price. They also noted the Ebola crisis disrupted air transportation and reported travel cost increases.

Professor Farnsworth approves in general, although I'm sure that he's not too keen on Ebola.

Follow over the jump for economic reports from Florida, Colorado, and Georgia.

Siding Spring and other Mars news

Today, Comet Siding Spring flies by Mars.  Here are the stories about the event that I included in the past two Overnight News Digests on Daily Kos.

JPL/NASA: Comet Siding Spring: A Close Encounter with Mars

Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will make a very close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, 2014. Passing at a distance of only 87,000 miles (by comparison that's little more than 1/3 the distance between Earth and our moon), it’ll be a near miss of the Red Planet. Find out how NASA’s Mars orbiters will evade the onslaught of dust particles from the comet.

Space.com via LiveScience: Comet's Mars Flyby Sunday Has Scientists Abuzz
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
October 17, 2014 11:06am ET

A comet's close shave with Mars this weekend could reveal some key insights about the Red Planet and the solar system's early days, researchers say.

Comet Siding Spring will zoom within 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) of Mars at 2:27 p.m. EDT (1827 GMT) on Sunday (Oct. 19). Scientists will observe the flyby using the fleet of spacecraft at Mars, studying the comet and any effects its particles have on the planet's thin atmosphere.

"On Oct. 19, we're going to observe an event that happens maybe once every million years," Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, said in a news conference earlier this month. "This is an absolutely spectacular event."

Follow over the jump for the rest of the Mars news since MAVEN at Mars from the University of Colorado, including a video and story about MAVEN.

More good economic news from Colorado and Florida

I wasn't done with good economic news from the perspective of Business as Usual (BAU).  Here are two stories I originally included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Ebola in the U.S.) on Daily Kos over the weekend that also trumpet "Good news, everyone!"  Yeah, enjoy it while it lasts.

University of Colorado: Colorado business confidence dips but remains positive to finish year, says CU-Boulder Leeds School
October 1, 2014

The confidence of Colorado business leaders continues to be positive heading into the fourth quarter and has moderately increased compared with a year ago, according to the most recent Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

It’s not as bullish, however, as it was a quarter ago with slight drops across the board resulting in a current overall reading of 59.5, down from 61.2 heading into the third quarter of 2014.

“I wouldn’t put too much concern in a slight dip in the numbers,” said economist Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the Leeds School’s Business Research Division, which conducts the LBCI. “Last year and this year, we’re growing at the fastest rate in terms of employment growth that we’ve seen since the year 2000, so we’re really on a very, very strong growth rate for jobs year over year.”

University of Florida: UF: Florida's September consumer sentiment reaches post-recession high
September 30, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Floridians’ consumer sentiment this month reached its highest level since before the Great Recession began and after it ended, according to a monthly University of Florida survey. The index inched up one point from August to 83 -- a level not seen since April 2007.

“This is a welcome development given that consumer sentiment has been flat for the last few months,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “While we are still about 10 points behind where we would like to be at this point in a recovery, confidence among Floridians is heading in the right direction.”

The small rise, which parallels an uptick in confidence nationwide, was broad-based among all ages and income levels. Of the five components that comprise the survey, two rose, two declined and one remained unchanged.

Yes, I'm in an "I can't be all DOOM all the time" mood right now.  I also know that these aren't business as usual times.  I hope posting the above gets the unwarrented optimism out of my system.

MAVEN at Mars from the University of Colorado

I concluded Mars update for MAVEN's arrival with "stay tuned for more on MAVEN" later.  It's later, so here are the two top stories from tonight's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (MAVEN at Mars) on Daily Kos.  Both of them are follow ups to the lead story from Space news from the University of Colorado.

NASA mission led by CU-Boulder achieves Martian orbit Sept. 21
September 21, 2014

The spacecraft for a NASA mission to probe the climate history of Mars led by the University of Colorado Boulder slid seamlessly into orbit at about 8:24 p.m. MDT on Sunday, Sept. 21, the last major hurdle of the 10-month, 442-million-mile journey.

The orbit insertion included the firing of several thruster engines to shed velocity from the spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN mission. The maneuver allowed the gravity of Mars to capture the MAVEN spacecraft into an elongated, 35-hour orbit. In the coming weeks MAVEN’s orbit will be reduced to an elliptical, 4.5-hour orbit in order to collect science data.

MAVEN will now begin a six-week commissioning phase that includes testing the instruments and science-mapping sequences. After that, MAVEN will begin its one-Earth-year primary mission, taking key measurements of Mars’ upper atmosphere.

CU-Boulder instrument onboard MAVEN sends back first images of Mars
September 24, 2014

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has obtained its first observations of the extended upper atmosphere surrounding Mars.

The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument obtained these false-color images eight hours after the successful completion of Mars orbit insertion by the spacecraft at 10:24 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 21 after a 10-month journey.

The image shows the planet from an altitude of 36,500 kilometers, or 22,680 miles, in three ultraviolet wavelength bands.  Blue shows the ultraviolet light from the sun scattered from atomic hydrogen gas in an extended cloud that goes to thousands of kilometers above the planet’s surface.  Green shows a different wavelength of ultraviolet light that is primarily sunlight reflected off of atomic oxygen, showing the smaller oxygen cloud. Red shows ultraviolet sunlight reflected from the planet’s surface; the bright spot in the lower right is light reflected either from polar ice or clouds.

Here's to more from MAVEN.

Space news from the University of Colorado

I'm traveling this weekend,* so once again I'm taking advantage of Blogger's ability to program entries in advance.  If all goes as planned, I'll be in Boulder, Colorado, when this posts.  To mark my visiting the home of the Buffalos, I'm posting space news from the University of Colorado, which I just happened to have already included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Solar storm and aurora) on Daily Kos.  Handy, that.

University of Colorado: CU-Boulder to host free event Sept. 21 to watch orbit insertion of Mars spacecraft
September 10, 2014

The public is invited to attend a watch party at the University of Colorado Boulder on Sunday, Sept. 21, when NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, designed to understand past climate change on Mars, inserts itself into orbit after a 10-month journey to the planet.

The orbital insertion, the most important maneuver of the mission, will involve firing six thruster engines to shed velocity from the spacecraft, allowing it to be captured into Mars orbit. Televised by NASA, the event will be shown at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) Space Technology Building on the East Campus.

CU-Boulder is leading NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN mission. The event is free and open to the public, although seating will be limited. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and there is free parking. The orbit insertion, expected to last 34 minutes, will begin at 7:50 p.m. and end at 8:24 p.m.

Unfortunately, I will miss this, as I will be back in Detroit when it happens.  Darn.

I conclude with an event that already happened.

University of Colorado: CU-Boulder alum and NASA astronaut Steve Swanson set for return to Earth
September 9, 2014

After spending nearly six months on the International Space Station, University of Colorado Boulder astronaut-alumnus Steve Swanson is slated to drift back to Earth in a Russian space capsule Sept. 10 before banging down on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

Swanson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from CU-Boulder in 1983, launched to the International Space Station, or ISS, March 26 aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-12 rocket and served as flight engineer for Expedition 39. Since late May, Swanson -- who considers Steamboat Springs, Colo., his hometown -- served as space station commander for Mission 40 on the ISS.

Swanson’s return will end 169 days in space, a mission that covered almost 72 million miles in orbit. The return journey from the ISS to Earth is expected to take about three and a half hours.

Colorado is expected to have a close election for the U.S. Senate and probably Governor, too, so expect more entries with stories from the state until election day.

*It's business--Coffee Party board meeting.  I'm an officer of the board.

Healthier and more sustainable cities

Time to revisit the topic of The intersection of public health and the environment, how to design cities that are healthier and more sustainable.  I begin with research from the University of Connecticut I originally included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Shark Week) on Daily Kos: Older Cities May Be Good for Your Health by Colin Poitras on August 12, 2014.

Older cities with compact neighborhoods that encourage walking and biking are generally healthier places to live than many newer cities with wide, multi-lane streets designed for cars, a new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut and University of Colorado-Denver shows.

The researchers looked at street network patterns in 24 medium-sized California cities with populations between 30,000 and 100,000. They then looked for correlations between street patterns and network density and health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and asthma.

The health data was gleaned from about 50,000 adults who completed the California Health Interview Survey over multiple years.

What they found was that the more intersections a city had, the better people living there generally felt. An increased intersection density was significantly linked to reduction in obesity at the neighborhood level and in obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease at the city level.

Pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods are good for their residents health.  It's one of the reasons why I enjoy living where I do, because it's probably the most walkable neighborhood I've ever lived in.

Follow over the jump for two more articles from Arizona State University I used in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Bardarbunga eruption).

Gliese 832c and other space and astronomy news

I'm running a week behind on my space news compendiums, so without any further ado, here is the the space and astronomy news from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Gliese 832c) on Daily Kos,* beginning with the headline story from Space.com.

Nearby Alien Planet May Be Capable of Supporting Life
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
June 25, 2014 04:48pm ET

A newfound alien world might be able to support life — and it's just a stone's throw from Earth in the cosmic scheme of things.

An international team of astronomers has discovered an exoplanet in the star Gliese 832's "habitable zone" — the just-right range of distances that could allow liquid water to exist on a world's surface. The planet, known as Gliese 832c, lies just 16 light-years from Earth. (For perspective, the Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years wide; the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years away.)

Gliese 832c is a "super-Earth" at least five times as massive as our planet, and it zips around its host star every 36 days. But that host star is a red dwarf that's much dimmer and cooler than our sun, so Gliese 832c receives about as much stellar energy as Earth does, despite orbiting much closer to its parent, researchers said.

Follow over the jump for the rest of that week's news.

Asteroid impact tied to Eocene extinction and other space and astronomy news

I've already shared today's top astronomical news in Happy Summer Solstice 2014!  It's time to pass along all the space and astronomy stories I collected for Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Fathers Day).  First, Becky Oskin of LiveScience reports on an ancient disaster in  Russia's Popigai Meteor Crash Linked to Mass Extinction.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — New evidence implicates one of Earth's biggest impact craters in a mass extinction that occurred 33.7 million years ago, according to research presented here Wednesday (June 11) at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles precisely dated rocks from beneath the Popigai impact crater in remote Siberia to the Eocene epoch mass extinction that occurred 33.7 million years ago. Popigai crater is one of the 10 biggest impact craters on Earth, and in 2012, Russian scientists claimed the crater harbors a gigantic industrial diamond deposit.

The new age, which is later than other estimates, means the Eocene extinction — long blamed on climate change — now has another prime suspect: an "impact winter." Meteorite blasts can trigger a deadly global chill by blanketing the Earth's atmosphere with tiny particles that reflect the sun's heat.

Apophis Day may be postponed until 2068, but it is coming.  We should be prepared.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the week's space and astronomy news.

Biodiversity and space news from University of Colorado

To mark Floods in Colorado from ABC News and University of Colorado becoming the most read entry of the year so far with 841 page views, placing it in fourth ahead of Second Year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News: Examiner.com, which has 747 page views, I present these two news items from the University of Colorado, Boulder originally included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (IgNobel Prizes).

First, from the university's YouTube channel, Undergraduate researchers at CU-Boulder net rare bumblebee.

Undergraduate researchers working on a CU-Boulder bumblebee survey discover the return of the western bumblebee to the area. The western bumblebee has been in steep decline across most of its range, which stretches across the western United States and Canada.

Good biodiversity news!

Next, DANDE, followed by the press release about the satellite and its launch.

A satellite designed and built by CU-Boulder undergraduate students is slated to launch into Earth orbit over the weekend. Known as the Drag and Neutral Density Explorer satellite, or DANDE, the spacecraft will collect data 200 to 300 miles above the Earth to help scientists better understand drag forces on satellites, including the effects of solar activity that increase atmospheric density, casing satellite orbits to degrade more quickly. Watch as project co-leaders discuss the satellite, its mission and the hands-on experience of building a satellite for NASA.

University of Colorado, Boulder: CU-Boulder student-built satellite slated for launch by NASA Sept. 15 - See more at: http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2013/09/11/cu-boulder-student-built-satellite-slated-launch-nasa-sept-15#sthash.sBB8JqDK.dpuf
September 11, 2013

A small beach ball-sized satellite designed and built by a team of University of Colorado Boulder students to better understand how atmospheric drag can affect satellite orbits is now slated for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 15.

The satellite, known as the Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer satellite, or DANDE, is designed to investigate how a layer of Earth’s atmosphere known as the thermosphere varies in density at altitudes from about 200 to 300 miles above Earth. There are thousands of satellites orbiting Earth at those altitudes, most of which eventually degrade, lose altitude and burn up in the atmosphere.
...
DANDE is carrying an accelerometer, a wind and temperature spectrometer, an onboard computer, an orientation control system and radio equipment to send back data to Earth in real time. DANDE, whose primary investigator is COSGC Director Chris Koehler, will launch aboard a commercial Falcon-9 Space-X rocket that also will carry satellites from the Canadian Space Agency, Cornell University and Utah State University.

Good space and engineering education news!

That's it for news from Colorado for this campaign season.  Time to move on to Alabama and Massachusetts, both of which had primary elections this past Tuesday.

Floods in Colorado from ABC News and University of Colorado

I wrote about my hopes for the Colorado recalls in Elections to watch today.

Unlike NYC and Toledo, where I really don't have a preferred result, I strongly hope the recalls fail.

They succeeded.  I'm disappointed enough to change the subject to another disaster afflicting Colorado, one caused by bad weather and most likely climate change, the flooding around Boulder and other towns in the north of the state.  ABC News gives the big picture in Colorado Floods: Crews Rescue Families, Animals.

Emergency responders help those trapped by the devastating flooding.

Wow.  That's a very comprehensive report for network TV news exploring not only the human rescue effort and the weather, but also the use of drones and the rescue of people's livestock an pets.  I highly recommend watching the entire 7+ minutes.

The floods were bad enough that the University of Colorado at Boulder announced Friday CU-Fresno State football game postponed.

Saturday’s football game between the University of Colorado and Fresno State has been postponed, university officials decided Friday morning.

After careful consideration, CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano has decided that the university will not hold a football game tomorrow, and that school officials will discuss a possible make-up date for the game.

“Even though the weather is improving, Boulder is still designated as a national emergency site,” the chancellor said. “Our community is hurting. Many of our students are displaced from their homes, including many of our student-athletes. This is not an appropriate time for us to hold a game that would put pressure on the community, both in terms of security/emergency personnel, but also in diverting attention from people in need.”
...
This is the third game in CU history that has been postponed; in 1963, the CU-Air Force game in Colorado Springs was delayed two weeks after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; and in 2001, CU was set to travel to Pullman to play Washington State on Sept. 15 but all college games were called off after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. That game was made up in the 2004 season but was played in Seattle.

Note how rare an event cancelling a football game is.  It's an example of messing with people's entertainment, and Americans are loath to have to do that.

That's not the only closure or cancellation on campus.  The day before, the university announced Campus still closed; select family housing units remain under evacuation overnight.

The University of Colorado Boulder will remain closed through Friday as rain continues to fall and more storms are expected through tomorrow.

With the current weather conditions and the continuing possibility of flash flooding, the evacuations of the Faculty/Staff housing unit, Athens Court and the ground floor of Newton Court will remain in place. The evacuation has impacted 220 units and 355 family housing residents.
...
“I want to assure parents and others that we have not had any reports of missing students or serious injuries,” said Louise Vale, Vice Chancellor for Administration. “The majority of our campus is well above the flood plain and is not at risk of flash flooding. We want to make sure the buildings are safe before we open them.”

The current assessment is that 25 percent of campus buildings have some form of water damage, including seepage in basements. Contractors have been brought in to pump out water from the basements of Fleming, Norlin and Electrical Engineering.
...
All events on Thursday have been cancelled and many will be cancelled Friday as well, including the Pearl Street Stampede. Ralphie’s Corral prior to the Saturday football game has also been cancelled.

That's just Boulder.  I haven't yet checked the news from the other university towns in the state such as Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, and Golden to find out about the damage and cancelled events there.  I might do that later.  Until then, everyone out there stay safe and dry.