Letting Uncle Sam do your taxes + making muscles after 50 | Top 5

+ Brad Pitt's nonprofit housing flop US Edition - Today's top story: How Brad Pitt's green housing dream for Hurricane Katrina survivors turned into a nightmare [View in browser]( US Edition | 6 February 2022 [The Conversation]( Welcome to Sunday. Our top five stories of the week are below. Editor’s pick: The Beijing Olympics opened Friday. Pundits predict little grassroots political activity at the games because the coronavirus has sharply limited the number of spectators. Still, the hours of luge, skiing and hockey being broadcast throw a spotlight on China’s standing as a global citizen. Phillip Stalley, a professor of environmental diplomacy, explored China’s record on climate change in an article for our environment desk. “A common misconception is that China either lacks climate policies or fails to implement them,” Stalley writes. “The reality is that China has a robust set of climate and energy policies and a strong track record when it comes to fulfilling its pledges to the international community.” But that [doesn’t mean that the country is doing enough](. “When it comes to China’s approach to climate change, the problem is not a lack of policy implementation but rather a lack of policy ambition,” Stalley writes. Emily Costello Managing Editor Brad Pitt walks past one of the first homes built in New Orleans by his Make It Right Foundation in this 2008 photo. AP Photo/Alex Brandon [How Brad Pitt’s green housing dream for Hurricane Katrina survivors turned into a nightmare]( Judith Keller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign So much went wrong with the homes built by the Make It Right Foundation that its low-income homebuyers were deprived of the financial security they were promised. The government could toss the 1040 in the trash. Kameleon007iStock via Getty Images [The IRS already has all your income tax data – so why do Americans still have to file their taxes?]( Beverly Moran, Vanderbilt University A tax expert explains why the US continues to use such a complex and costly income tax system. - [50-year-old muscles just can’t grow big like they used to – the biology of how muscles change with age]( Roger Fielding, Tufts University As people age, the chemical signaling pathways in muscles become less potent, and it gets harder to build muscle and maintain strength. But the health benefits of strength training only increase with age. - [New flood maps show US damage rising 26% in next 30 years due to climate change alone, and the inequity is stark]( Oliver Wing, University of Bristol; Carolyn Kousky, University of Pennsylvania; Jeremy Porter, City University of New York; Paul Bates, University of Bristol A street-by-street analysis shows where the risks are rising fastest and also lays bare the inequities of who has to endure America’s crippling flood problem. - [What’s NATO, and why does Ukraine want to join?]( Alastair Kocho-Williams, Clarkson University One of Putin’s demands for de-escalating conflict with Ukraine is NATO blocking Ukrainian membership. Understanding what NATO is, and why Ukraine wants to join, clarifies why Putin wants this. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( Enjoy reading The Conversation? Share us with your three closest friends: [Click here to share](mailto:Insert%20your%20friends%27%20emails?subject=Check%20out%20The%20Conversation&body=I%27ve%20been%20reading%20this%20fact-based%20news%20source,%20and%20definitely%20think%20you’d%20find%20it%20interesting%20as%20well.%20It%20has%20academic%20experts%20writing%20understandably%20about%20stories%20in%20the%20news,%20based%20on%20their%20research.%20I%20learn%20something%20new%20every%20time%20I%20read%20it.%0D%0DYou%20can%20check%20it%20out%20here:%20%0D About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](