Hurricane Melissa tore off roofs and stripped trees of their leaves, including in many parts of Jamaica hit by Hurricane Beryl a year earlier.
Closely examining the claims companies make about a product can help you separate hype from reality. Flavio Coelho/Moment via Getty ImagesTechnological innovations can seem relentless. In computing, some have proclaimed that “a year in machine learning is a century in any other field.” But how do you know whether those advancements are hype or reality?
The most meaningful gifts reflect the recipient’s values and identity – and the giver’s, too. Halfpoint images/Moment via Getty ImagesEvery fall I anticipate the winter holidays with almost childlike joy. I look forward to familiar traditions with friends and family, eggnog in my coffee, and the sense that everyone is feeling a little lighter and more connected.
Hospitality workers are likely to be hit hard by the law. Mulevich/ShutterstockThe Greek government has passed a law allowing private employers to extend shifts to 13 hours per day in their main job, framed in terms of “flexibility” and “growth”. It’s marketed as voluntary and fairly paid, but effectively it dismantles the standard eight-hour day, despite survey data showing workers overwhelmingly oppose it.
gorodenkoff/Getty ImagesGender equality at work has barely improved over the past ten years, with paid work opportunities held back by women doing the bulk of unpaid work in the home, new research shows.
Alex Segre/ShutterstockUniversal basic income (UBI) has supporters across the political spectrum. The idea is that if every citizen received a payment from the state to cover their living costs, it this will allow them the freedom to live as they choose.
In the run-up to the 2024 election, future prime minister Keir Starmer labelled wealth creation Labour’s number one mission. “It’s the only way our country can go forward,” he declared. “We should nourish and encourage that – not just individuals but businesses.”
Starmer was right, in theory. But wealth creation is a slippery concept. Essential for economic and social progress, it can also work against both. It’s therefore vital to distinguish between “good” and “bad” wealth.
Cattle, the No. 1 cause of tropical deforestation, roam on tropical forest land that was stripped bare in Acre, Brazil. AP Photo/Eraldo PeresThe world is losing vast swaths of forests to agriculture, logging, mining and fires every year — more than 20 million acres in 2024 alone, roughly the size of South Carolina.
Benjamin DoyleThe Cop30 climate summit is under way in Brazil under the shadow of US president Donald Trump’s second term. Delegates from around the world have poured into the Amazonian port of Belém for the conference, which promises to focus on economic development and the fight against global poverty, as well as green tech and finance.
'Big-box' supercenters can contribute to overpurchasing by shoppers Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesImagine walking out of a Walmart, Target or Costco. As you push your large shopping cart to your car, you ask yourself: Did I really need all that stuff?
The answer is you probably didn’t.
