Public health officials had an unprecedented tool for near-instant, widespread communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox epidemic: social media.

Now, one of the first studies of its kind, led by a health policy expert with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has found that X (Twitter at the time of the events) brought advantages — as well as disadvantages — in getting the word out.

Carbon taxes are widely seen as one of the most effective policy options for reducing emissions. However, the main rationale behind initially low carbon taxes is often not to reduce emissions but to generate tax revenues or meet international expectations, according to a study published in the Cell Press journal One Earth on August 13. As noted by the authors, the observations cast doubt on whether carbon taxes should always be viewed as climate policies.