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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: How to Make Sustainability Science and Artificial Intelligence Work Together
PANAMA CITY, Panama, Oct. 30 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute issued the following news:
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Book publication
How to make sustainability science and artificial intelligence work together
October 28, 2026
By Vanessa Crooks
A new comprehensive volume shares how AI can be used as a tool to advance sustainability goals, while also considering the environmental impact of this technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) pops up in every aspect of human activity and has fundamentally changed how we process information and make decisions. Its capacity for analyzing large amounts
... Show Full Article
PANAMA CITY, Panama, Oct. 30 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute issued the following news:
* * *
Book publication
How to make sustainability science and artificial intelligence work together
October 28, 2026
By Vanessa Crooks
A new comprehensive volume shares how AI can be used as a tool to advance sustainability goals, while also considering the environmental impact of this technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) pops up in every aspect of human activity and has fundamentally changed how we process information and make decisions. Its capacity for analyzing large amountsof data and identifying complex patterns may help solve the most difficult social and environmental issues.
But AI's environmental footprint remains a public concern and a dilemma for how to ethically and sustainably harness this technology.
An edited volume, titled "Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence -- Reshaping Tomorrow: Perspectives on AI's Role in Fostering Sustainable Development", brings together international scholars from environmental science, technology, policy, and ethics, to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainability.
Edited by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) fellow Annika Bush, the book offers a concrete framework for researchers, policymakers and industry leaders for how to optimize the use of AI for sustainability, while ensuring the responsible development of AI.
"AI offers innovative tools and approaches to tackle complex global challenges, but also raises critical questions about energy consumption, algorithmic bias, and equitable access to technology, all of which are fundamental to achieving sustainable development goals," states Bush, a postdoctoral researcher funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) PRIME Fellowship, and hosted by the STRI's Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative and the University of Bremen / Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research.
"This book is among the first comprehensive volumes to systematically examine AI's dual role as both a tool for and a challenge to sustainable development," adds Bush.
Book contributors delve into global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development, and how AI can offer potential solutions, while addressing the paradox of using computationally intensive technologies to solve environmental problems. They also offer frameworks for AI governance approaches, and pathways toward sustainable artificial intelligence.
While the concept of sustainability once focused on environmental conservation, it evolved into a comprehensive framework, based on scientific research and policy development, that considers the interconnection of social and ecological issues, such as inequality, climate change, economic viability, and more.
With the rise of AI, new challenges arise, but also new opportunities that require science-backed approaches to guide efforts.
Bush points out that another goal is ensuring that communities most affected by climate change and environmental degradation can participate in developing and deploying relevant AI solutions, to enhance the effectiveness and equity of these technologies.
"We invite researchers, practitioners, policymakers, students, and concerned global citizens to engage with the ideas presented here and contribute to the ongoing development of approaches that utilize AI for sustainability," she says. "By combining technical innovation with ethical reflection, scientific rigor with social awareness, and global perspective with local knowledge, we can work collectively toward technological solutions that genuinely advance human flourishing within planetary boundaries."
Published on October 12, 2026, by Springer Nature Link, in Cham, Switzerland, this book is part of Springer's Sustainable Development Goals Series.
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About the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, STRI is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. Our mission is to understand tropical biodiversity and its importance to human welfare, to train students to conduct research in the tropics and to promote conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. Watch our video, and visit our website, Facebook, X and Instagram for updates.
Reference: Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence -- Reshaping Tomorrow: Perspectives on AI's Role in Fostering Sustainable Development, ISBN 978-3-032-13395-3, 2026, Editon 1, X, 285 p. 42 illus., 36 illus. in color. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-13396-0
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Original text here: https://stri.si.edu/story/book-publication
Inter-American Development Bank: 'Long-Term Care Benefits and Functional Deterioration in Older Adults - Evidence From the Catalan/Spanish SAAD Registry (2015-2024)'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Long-Term Care Benefits and Functional Deterioration in Older Adults: Evidence from the Catalan/Spanish SAAD Registry (2015-2024)."
Here are excerpts:
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Population ageing is raising the demand for long-term care (LTC), leading many countries to develop publicly funded LTC systems. However, little is known about whether the benefits these systems provide help preserve the functional autonomy of the people who receive them. We use the administrative registry of
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Long-Term Care Benefits and Functional Deterioration in Older Adults: Evidence from the Catalan/Spanish SAAD Registry (2015-2024)."
Here are excerpts:
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Population ageing is raising the demand for long-term care (LTC), leading many countries to develop publicly funded LTC systems. However, little is known about whether the benefits these systems provide help preserve the functional autonomy of the people who receive them. We use the administrative registry ofthe Catalan LTC system, covering 320,618 individuals aged 60 or over who entered between 2015 and 2024, and follow them for two, three, five and seven years. Because applicants are assessed and reassessed with the same standardised instrument (the BVD), we observe repeated, comparable measures of functional capacity, down to the level of individual daily-living tasks. We proceed in three steps. First, we estimate how the intensity of exposure to each benefit (informal home care, formal home care, day centre care and institutional care) is associated with death, grade deterioration and within-grade deterioration. Second, we compute life-years and deterioration-free years gained using regression-standardised survival curves. Third, we analyse the size and composition of functional decline among survivors. Greater benefit intensity is associated with lower mortality: full exposure to each benefit is associated with between 0.36 (institutional care) and 1.40 (informal home care) additional life-years over seven years, relative to no benefit. Among survivors, higher intensity is also associated with a greater probability of recorded deterioration, most markedly in institutional care. This pattern is consistent with survival-deterioration selection and with benefits responding to need, rather than with care causing decline. Losses in indoor mobility, changing body position and continence/toileting are most strongly associated with institutional care. Estimates are associations, not causal effects. The results show the value of routine functional assessment data for evaluating LTC policy in ageing societies.
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View full text here: publications.iadb.org/en/long-term-care-benefits-and-functional-deterioration-older-adults-evidence-catalanspanish-saad
[Category: IADB]
Inter-American Development Bank: 'How Shocks Travel: The Cross-Border Impact of Natural Disasters in Firm Networks'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "How Shocks Travel: The Cross-Border Impact of Natural Disasters in Firm Networks."
Here are excerpts:
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Do the boundaries of the multinational firm shape how shocks propagate through global production networks? We link U.S. Bill of Lading microdata, geocoded natural disaster records, and cross-border ownership data to trace the transmission of exogenous supply disruptions from foreign suppliers to U.S. importers. Exploiting the quasi-random timing and location
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "How Shocks Travel: The Cross-Border Impact of Natural Disasters in Firm Networks."
Here are excerpts:
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Do the boundaries of the multinational firm shape how shocks propagate through global production networks? We link U.S. Bill of Lading microdata, geocoded natural disaster records, and cross-border ownership data to trace the transmission of exogenous supply disruptions from foreign suppliers to U.S. importers. Exploiting the quasi-random timing and locationof natural disasters in a staggered event-study design, we document that disasters abroad generate sharp, persistent export declines at affected suppliers, shocks that propagate downstream, reducing the growth rate of U.S. importers total purchases by up to 25 percentage points. Transmission, however, is far from uniform: non-MNC buyers contract roughly twice as much as importers belonging to global corporations, and intra-firm relationships contract about a third less than arms-length ones. These patterns point to the internal networks of multinational firms as shock absorbers that attenuate and redirect supply-side disruptions, suggesting that firm boundaries are not merely organizational choices but also determinants of macroeconomic resilience.
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View full text here: publications.iadb.org/en/how-shocks-travel-cross-border-impact-natural-disasters-firm-networks
[Category: IADB]
Inter-American Development Bank: 'Does Generative AI Narrow Education-based Productivity Gaps? Evidence From a Randomized Experiment'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Does Generative AI Narrow Education-based Productivity Gaps? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment."
Here are excerpts:
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Does generative artificial intelligence (AI) reinforce or reduce productivity differences across workers? Existing evidence largely studies AI within firms and occupations, where organizational selection compresses educational heterogeneity, leaving unclear whether AI narrows productivity gaps across individuals with different levels of education.
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Does Generative AI Narrow Education-based Productivity Gaps? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment."
Here are excerpts:
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Does generative artificial intelligence (AI) reinforce or reduce productivity differences across workers? Existing evidence largely studies AI within firms and occupations, where organizational selection compresses educational heterogeneity, leaving unclear whether AI narrows productivity gaps across individuals with different levels of education.A related question is whether the productivity gains from AI reflect productive use of the tool or mere delegation, fading once AI is unavailable, and whether the answer differs across education groups. We address both questions using a randomized online experiment outside firms, in which 1,174 adults aged 2545 complete an incentivized, workplacestyle business problem-solving task with or without a generative-AI assistant, followed by a non-AI-assisted follow-up module. AI increases performance for all participants, with substantially larger gains for lower-education individuals. In the control group without AI, higher-education participants outperform lower-education participants by 0.548 standard deviations; with AI, this gap falls to 0.139 standard deviations, closing about three-quarters of the initial gap. Chat-log measures explain both why this gap narrows and why it does not disappear: lower-education participants successfully obtain substantial assistance from AI, while higher-education participants use the tool somewhat more effectively across several margins. The follow-up results showthat these gains are not purely driven by delegation; treated participants do not perform worse than controls once AI is removed, and lower-education participants retain part of their gain, although a sizable education gap re-emerges. Consistent with this interpretation, intensive use of the assistant produces strong task performance regardless of how much time and effort participants devote themselves, but follow-up performance is substantially higher only when intensive AI use is combined with sustained effort on the task. We interpret these findings as evidence that generative AI narrows effective productivity differences in task execution while underlying human-capital differences continue to shape unassisted performance and effective use of the tool.
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View full text here: publications.iadb.org/en/does-generative-ai-narrow-education-based-productivity-gaps-evidence-randomized-experiment
[Category: IADB]
Inter-American Development Bank: 'Delta of Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Infrastructure Investment: Evidence From Cost-Benefit Appraisal'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Delta of Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Cost-Benefit Appraisal."
Here are excerpts:
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This paper examines whether infrastructure projects that incorporate sustainability, inclusion, and resilience (SIR) components differ from traditional investments in economic appraisal outcomes. Using a harmonized dataset of World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank projects across energy, transport, and water sectors in Latin
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper on Oct. 30, 2026, entitled "Delta of Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Cost-Benefit Appraisal."
Here are excerpts:
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This paper examines whether infrastructure projects that incorporate sustainability, inclusion, and resilience (SIR) components differ from traditional investments in economic appraisal outcomes. Using a harmonized dataset of World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank projects across energy, transport, and water sectors in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, we identify SIR-oriented operations through text-mining and compare them with non-SIR projects using a propensity score matching approach. Results show no statistically significant differences in standard cost benefit indicators such as internal rates of return, benefit cost ratios, or total economic costs between SIR and non-SIR projects. However, SIR projects exhibit a distinct cost structure: a higher share of discounted capital expenditures and relatively lower operating and maintenance costs, suggesting more investment-intensive designs and better long-term adaptation. This difference has important policy implications: by concentrating costs upfront and reducing recurrent expenses, SIR projects improve cost predictability, enhance resource allocation efficiency, and strengthen fiscal responsibility. At the same time, current appraisal methods fail to capture the broader benefits of SIR investments, underscoring the need for improved data and valuation frameworks to measure resilience and inclusion gains. This study provides one of the first empirical assessments of SIR considerations in economic appraisal and highlights the priority of advancing methodologies to reflect their true value.
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View full text here: publications.iadb.org/en/delta-sustainable-inclusive-and-resilient-infrastructure-investment-evidence-cost-benefit-appraisal
[Category: IADB]
IDB Approves $750 Million Loan to Improve Assistance for Vulnerable Households in Uruguay
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Approves $750 Million Loan to Improve Assistance for Vulnerable Households in Uruguay
October 29, 2026
WASHINGTON - The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved $750 million in financing to expand the coverage of social programs for vulnerable Uruguayan households with children and adolescents and improve their access to benefits.
The project is expected to benefit more than 410,000 children and adolescents up to age 17, aims to increase social
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Approves $750 Million Loan to Improve Assistance for Vulnerable Households in Uruguay
October 29, 2026
WASHINGTON - The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved $750 million in financing to expand the coverage of social programs for vulnerable Uruguayan households with children and adolescents and improve their access to benefits.
The project is expected to benefit more than 410,000 children and adolescents up to age 17, aims to increase socialprogram coverage among economically vulnerable children and adolescents from 82.4% to 85.6%, and reduce the time to process a benefit application from 67 to 30 days. The operation will also strengthen economic protection during pregnancy and early childhood.
"When these types of initiatives are timely and support families at critical junctures in life, their true value becomes evident. This project relies on digital technologies to streamline procedures, reduce wait times, and ensure assistance reaches everyone entitled to it. It focuses on supporting children and adolescents living in vulnerable households, which is both a responsibility of any government working to meet the needs of its citizens and an investment in a more promising future for Uruguay," said Miguel Porrua, representative of the IDB Group in Uruguay.
The plan calls for gradually implementing a new financial support scheme for children and adolescents, with benefits scaled by household vulnerability and life stage, plus enhanced incentives for pregnant women and young children. The amounts will be linked to the Basic Food Basket (Canasta Basica Alimentaria) and adjusted periodically to preserve purchasing power.
The plan also includes mechanisms to promptly identify pregnant women eligible for social assistance, which is expected to increase coverage from 86.7% to 95% for at least four months of pregnancy.
The program will also support efforts to simplify and modernize processes for accessing and managing benefits in order to enroll more eligible households. This work includes expanding the Single Service Window (Ventanilla Unica) for nationwide coverage.
The operation aligns with the IDB Group's Country Strategy for Uruguay 2026-2030 and will contribute to the well-being of vulnerable children and youth through cash transfers with better coverage, targeting, and adequacy.
The IDB loan has a 25-year repayment term, a five-year grace period, and a three-year disbursement period.
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About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the Bank works with the region's public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise, and
knowledge, it promotes growth and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website: https://www.iadb.org/en.
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-approves-750-million-loan-improve-assistance-vulnerable-households-uruguay
Board of Governors to meet Nov. 10
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The U.S. Postal Service posted the following news release:
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Board of Governors to meet Nov. 10
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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in an open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, in Washington, DC. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room.
A public comment period will begin immediately following the adjournment of the open session. During this period, members of the public present at the meeting may comment on any item or
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The U.S. Postal Service posted the following news release:
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Board of Governors to meet Nov. 10
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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in an open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, in Washington, DC. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room.
A public comment period will begin immediately following the adjournment of the open session. During this period, members of the public present at the meeting may comment on any item orsubject listed on the agenda for the open session. Registration of speakers at the public comment period is required. Speakers must register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bog-11-10-2026. Each registered speaker will be allowed 2 minutes for comment. Registration to speak during the public comment period shall end on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Individuals who submit written comments in advance will have their comments read into the record. These submissions must relate to one or more items or subjects listed on the open session agenda. The Postal Service reserves the right to exclude written submissions that do not pertain to items listed on the agenda as required. Additionally, the Postal Service reserves the right to exclude submissions for inappropriate content or language. Written comments must be received by Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. Comments may be emailed or mailed to the Office of the Board of Governors:
Email: BOG-inquiries@usps.gov
Mail: Office of the Board of Governors
USPS Headquarters
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260-0004
Participation in the public comment period is governed by 39 C.F.R. 232.1(n).
The board's expected agenda is:
Public comments
Open session meetings of the USPS Board of Governors are available on live audio webcasts at https://about.usps.com/who/leadership/board-governors/#sessions. Three hours after the conclusion of the open session meeting, a recorded audio file will be available for listening. In compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the audio webcast will be open-captioned.
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Original text here: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/1030-board-of-governors-to-meet-nov-10.htm
