President Trump is expected to announce that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Paris climate accords, a global pact designed to fight climate change. The following Cornell University experts, including COP21 delegates, discuss the ecological, economic, health and political impacts of this move.

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Veterinary Medicine

---

Cornell physicists, Saul Teukolsky and Lawrence Kidder, who played a vital role in validating the detection of gravitational waves, comment on the news and are available for interviews.

Arts and Sciences

---

The 2019 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a Norway spruce from Florida, New York, will be cut down on Thursday and transported to New York City, arriving this Saturday, Nov. 9. Daniel Weitoish, an arborist at Cornell Botanic Gardens, says the Norway spruce is an excellent choice for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

New York City

---

Arthur Wheaton, an automotive expert with Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, says that while the ban makes sense in a country plagued by pollution, obstacles remain.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---

On Monday, Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn stripped his royal consort – Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi – of her official ranks for “repeated disobedience and attempts to of interference with royal affairs.” The palace order comes three months after Sineenat – rumored to be the king’s longtime mistress – was given the official title of royal consort. Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says the move is a sign of the King’s newfound absolutism.

International

Arts and Sciences

---

Robert Gravani, Karl Pillemer and Jessica Spaccio offer advice for a safe and stress-free holiday.

Human Ecology

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---

Global wildlife population declined sixty percent over the past four decades, according to the Living Planet Report 2018, released this week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Amanda Rodewald says the report should be considered as a warning for people to change habits before making our planet unsuitable for people, too. Steven Osofsky says while using nature’s resources at a rapid rate may help global societies flourish now, we face significant negative impacts over time.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---

The heads of the world’s two largest economies are scheduled to meet this weekend to face-off on a range of issues – from trade to North Korea’s provocations.

Arts and Sciences

---

Kristin Roebuck, professor of history at Cornell University, is a historian of modern Japan and says that procedures around Emperor Akihito’s abdication highlight the power of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to both preserve and modernize elements of the royal tradition. 

International

Law and Policy

Arts and Sciences

---

The National Weather Service warns of above-normal temperatures for the northeastern region of the United States through Thursday. Cornell University experts comment on the year’s first summer heat and explain how it may affect plants.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---