SPONSORED BY  | | | | November 3, 2023: How humans start wildfires and a zoomable map of the universe. Plus, what makes a country's citizens happy? —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Since 2012, the World Happiness Report has been ranking countries according to their level of happiness. The latest report ranks Finland as the happiest country in the world, followed by Denmark and Iceland. The countries with the lowest levels of happiness are Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sierra Leone. The United States ranks 16th on the report. But not all countries experience the same kind of happiness. In a recent study, researchers used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), an innovative methodology in the field of happiness, to look at the diversity of kinds of happiness.
What they found: A country's culture plays a big role in happiness and can be analyzed in terms of individualism, power distance, masculinity and uncertainty. People in capitalist countries like Canada, the U.K. and the U.S value qualities such as assertiveness (typical of high levels of masculinity). On the other hand, Finland and Norway have social welfare systems that offer a higher degree of economic and social security and predictability along with low levels of masculinity. (More feminine societies show a preference for cooperation, care, altruism, and equity. They also, in general, show higher levels of happiness. Just saying.)
What the experts say: "Governments should design and implement policies that are tailored to the country's unique characteristics, such as economic circumstances and cultural values," write Maria Conceição Pereira, Filipe Coelho and Graca Silva. Conceição and Coelho are professors at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and Silva is a professor at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. "To promote collective happiness, more than acting on single factors, policy makers must ensure that the ingredients are combined in the right way." | | | Humans caused an astounding 19,543 wildfires on Forest Service land in California between 2000 and 2022, according to public Forest Service records. Statewide, 95 percent of all wildfires are reportedly human-caused. The sources are campfires, cigarettes, careless use of trucks, chain saws or other equipment. Others are caused by illegal fireworks, as well as power generation.
Why this matters: California wildfires blamed on humans between 2012 and 2018 were on average 6.5 times larger than those caused by lightning strikes, and they killed three times as many trees. They often start near developed land with fewer trees and later in the season when grasses are especially combustible. They're also more expensive because they tend to threaten houses—more than half of wildfire-fighting costs come from defending homes.
What the experts say: "Don't be doing stupid stuff in the woods," says Craig Thomas, founder of the nonprofit Fire Restoration Group. "These forests can't tolerate human recklessness." | | | Credit: Amanda Montañez; Source: Brent Skaggs/USDA Forest Service (data) | | | • NASA asteroid mission Lucy discovered a tiny surprise moon orbiting the asteroid Dinkinesh. | 4 min read | | | • A preserved river landscape from the time before Antarctica was icebound was found more than a mile below the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. | 4 min read | | | • Rich nations haven't met their promises to provide aid to developing countries to adapt to climate extremes, the U.N. says in a new report. | 3 min read | | | • Godzilla films are the longest continually-running film franchise, first appearing in the 1950s, with a new iteration due out this December. Many modern plotlines function as a reminder of the unseen debts we owe nature—and what happens when they come due, writes Asher Elbein, a science and culture journalist based in Austin, Texas. "The granddaddy of movie monsters still has a lot to tell humanity," he says. | 6 min read | | | SPONSORED CONTENT BY Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation | A New Era in Spinal Cord Injury Science | We are on the cusp of a new era in spinal cord injury research, where cures are finally within reach. The Reeve Foundation serves as a catalyst at this critical moment, uniting academics, scientists, and industry in a new model of collaboration.
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| | | ICYMI (Our most-read stories of the week) | | | • To Lead a Meaningful Life, Become Your Own Hero | 6 min read | | | • A Possible Crisis in the Cosmos Could Lead to a New Understanding of the Universe | 8 min read | | | • Heart Attacks and Strokes Will Rise with Extreme Heat | 2 min read | | | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) | | | Every speck or glob of light you see here is a galaxy. The James Webb Space Telescope Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey looks at a very small area in the sky for long periods of time to get "deep-field" images of the vastly remote objects across the universe. And now you can explore a mosaic of those observations in a zoomable map. It's mind-boggling. | | | We made it to the end of another week! I wish you a relaxing weekend. I myself will be taking a much-needed vacation for two weeks. You'll be in good hands with my colleague Robin Lloyd, who will keep you up-to-speed on the most important science discoveries each day. | Send any feedback to Robin or me at newsletters@sciam.com. Today in Science will be back in your inbox on Monday! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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