Planets & Transits
New Moon in Leo August 12, 2026
The New Moon arrives in Leo August 12 at 8:36 PM UTC, and with it comes a singular...
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- Written by: Jules Pretty, University of Essex
If we want to see well-being and health improve, policies that promote a greener economy should be pursued. Redefining what we think of as prosperity, encouraging the consumption of green goods and services – and moving away from an emphasis on material consumption – could save governments money, as well as lead to better lives for its citizens.
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- Written by: Natalia Kucirkova, The Open University
Often seen in art and business, hybrid solutions are gaining increased attention in education. In the classroom, the blend of traditional and new teaching methods, and the mix of online and face-to-face learning – known as the “hybrid classroom” – is posing profound questions about the lessons of the future.
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- Written by: Clare L. Stacey, Kent State University
There are two million home care workers in the United States. They change diapers, administer medications, bathe and dress people and transfer the immobile from one place to another.
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- Written by: Thomas Kochan, MIT Sloan School of Management
The economy added 257,000 jobs in January for an average gain of 336,000 over the last three months. More importantly, the report showed that real wages grew by 1.5% in 2014, the biggest gain since before the Great Recession. And job openings rose 3.7% in January, the biggest increase since 2001, signaling companies are having a hard time filling positions, which should put more upward pressure on wages.
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- Written by: Marian Wang, ProPublica
Nestled in the woods of central Minnesota, near a large lake, is a nature sanctuary called the Audubon Center of the North Woods. The nonprofit rehabilitates birds. It hosts retreats and conferences. It's home to a North American porcupine named Spike as well as several birds of prey, frogs, and snakes used to educate the center's visitors.
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- Written by: Mary Hansen and Liz Pleasant, YES! Magazine
Narendra Varma loves chocolate. However, he’s also co-founder of Our Table Cooperative, a farm and grocery cooperative that aims to provide locally sourced, organically grown food to the city of Sherwood, Oregon. That means his love of chocolate is complicated.
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- Written by: Cat Johnson, Shareable
The Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) in the greater Washington DC area helps over 130 churches, synagogues, schools and other institutions save money and make investments in environmental sustainability, worker equity, and community organizing.
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- Written by: Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
For years people have been running around Washington yelling that the United States was at risk of becoming Greece. There may actually be a basis for such concerns, but not for the reason usually given.
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- Written by: Pamela Snow, Monash University
A new batch of Australian five-year-olds has just started school, eager to learn to read and write. Unfortunately for them, English has one of the most difficult spelling systems of any language, thanks to the way it developed.
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- Written by: Peter Barnes, YES! Magazine
After 30 years, the practice of paying every resident—including children—at least $1,000 has made Alaska one of the least unequal states in America. Here's what the rest of us can learn.
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- Written by: Christopher P. Loss, Vanderbilt University
Not since the 1960s has a sitting President engaged in issues around higher education as frequently as Barack Obama. He’s had little choice.
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- Written by: Cat Johnson, Shareable
An independent, civil society organization campaigning for a fairer sharing of wealth, power and resources, Share the World's Resources recently released Sharing As Our Common Cause, a report detailing all the ways sharing can act as a unifying force to address multiple planetary crises.
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- Written by: Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
After President Obama’s State of the Union Address Tuesday night, today’s discussion has largely focused on his tax proposals. While these are important measures, two other areas he addressed raise issues that will have at least as many consequences.
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- Written by: Richard Fuller, Ensia
It’s time to pay attention to a startling stealth killer. What’s the leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries?
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- Written by: Mridu Khullar Relph
Farmers in the high Himalayas partner with a U.S.–based nonprofit to cultivate medicinal plants — and the environmental and economic benefits they offer. Nepalese residents learn cultivation skills needed to move their medicinal plant enterprises from foraging to farming — an environmental and economic win-win.
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- Written by: Robert Faris, Harvard University
No one disputes the importance of affordable access to high-speed internet for economic growth in the 21st century. The United States has seen consistent and rapid growth in its broadband infrastructure since the internet became popular in the 1990s, offering more households and businesses connectivity at faster speeds.
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- Written by: Alessandro R Demaio, Harvard University
The World Health Organization (WHO) has just released its Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases, the second in a series tracking worldwide progress in the prevention and control of cancers, lung disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It focuses on how to reach the internationally agreed overarching target of a 25% reduction of premature mortality from these four major non-communicable diseases by 2025.
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- Written by: Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
One of the big end of the year sports news items was Jim Harbaugh leaving the San Francisco 49ers to become head football coach at the University of Michigan.
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- Written by: Thomas Frank, Salon
Let me tell you about this one stretch of Hillsborough Road in Durham, North Carolina. It’s between two freeways, just a short drive from the noble towers of Duke University, and in the space of about a mile, you will find a McDonald’s, a Cracker Barrel, a Wendy’s, a Chick-fil-A, an Arby’s, a Waffle House, a Bojangles’, a Biscuitville, a Subway, a Taco Bell, and a KFC.
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- Written by: Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
With the holiday season upon us, the time for end of year lists is fast-approaching. To beat the rush, today I give my list of the top dead and enduring myths of 2014.
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- Written by: Andre Spicer and Carl Cederström
Religious aspects aside, for many people Christmas has been that unique time of the year when the demands of work finally disappear, if only for a brief period.
