1. Free ESL classes to begin Sept. 6

Lee University’s Language and Literature Department is offering English as a second language classes for free to the community through its Center for English Language and Literacy (CELL).

Literacy classes begin Sept. 6 and conversation classes begin Sept. 8 with levels for beginners and advanced students. 

The program is led by Dr. Chris Blake, associate professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and linguistics, and Dr. Betsy Poole, assistant professor of Spanish and linguistics. 

“English is not an easy language to learn,” says Blake, “and I never cease to be amazed by the stories of current and former students in our program who have made such great progress in a short period of time. Of course, this would not be possible without the incredible talent of Lee’s TESOL students and the generous support of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.”

Classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Walker Memorial building. 

For more information or to register for classes, visit www.leecell.org or contact [email protected] (423) 614-8223.

2. The government will no longer be sending free COVID-19 tests to Americans

Due to lack of funding, the government will not be sending anymore free COVID-19 tests to Americans starting in September. 

The government started sending free tests back in January and by May over 350 million tests had been given away to over 70 million households. 

“Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, Sept. 2 because Congress hasn’t provided additional funding to replenish the nation’s stockpile of tests,” the ordering website says.

NPR says the program will still accept orders before Sept. 2. 

For more information, click here. 

3. ‘Zombie ice’ from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches

A study released on Monday claims Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea levels by 10 inches. 

Zombie ice is doomed ice, attached to thicker ice but not being maintained by the larger glaciers. The larger glaciers are not receiving enough snow to maintain the entirety of the glacier. 

“It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet,” said co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. “This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now.”

There have been many predictions about how much the sea levels will rise, including one from the journal Nature Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The study looked for balance, finding that 3.3% of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt.

For more information, click here.