Quick hits: States stepping up efforts against spotted lanternfly; how medical coding affects health-care disparities; ready for the 2024 solar eclipse? - Entrepreneur Generations

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

States are expanding their efforts to defend against the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that destroys hardwood trees, crops and other plants. Read more here.

Here's a neat trick: Google has a new tool that allows you to watch a time-lapse animation of how your town has changed since 1985. Read more here.

Some 15,000 acres in western Texas and northern Mexico now comprise the world's largest international dark-sky reserve, an area protected from artificial nighttime lights to benefit astronomy research, natural habitats, and more. The reserve is also the only one to cross an international border. The only other such reserve in the U.S. is in central Idaho.

We rarely think about medical coding when considering sources of rural-urban health-care disparities, but codes can play a major role in the quality of care patients receive and can affect large-scale data analyses of rural health issues. Read more here.

A record number of wolves from Yellowstone National Park were killed this winter after surrounding states made it easier to hunt them. Wolf biologists in the park are worried about how the loss will affect the ecosystem. Read more here.

The 2017 solar eclipse was a huge financial boon for towns in the path of totality, but required a lot of planning. On April 8, 2024, another solar eclipse will cross the United States. It'll be the last total eclipse most people in the U.S. will see until 2077 (though an annular eclipse will cross the western U.S. on Oct. 14, 2023). Is your town in the path of totality? Read more here.

Here's a cautionary tale about drive-through animal parks: A collared anteater that had been in a drive-through zoo in Virginia was moved to an indoor facility in northeast Tennessee and died of rabies, the first known case of the disease in an anteater. An investigation suggests it was infected by a rabid raccoon that had gotten inside of the fence at the zoo. Read more here. Read more here.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/8hAnmL0 Quick hits: States stepping up efforts against spotted lanternfly; how medical coding affects health-care disparities; ready for the 2024 solar eclipse? - Entrepreneur Generations

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