BY: ROB HOFFMAN In the consumeristic vortex of modern life, it’s important to constantly remind ourselves that, despite the encouragement of blinking advertisements and slick marketing specialists, for-profit business is rarely erected out of the kindness of the CEO’s heart—and…
Global Stage
Photos capture the 20km expanse of Fukushima’s radioactive-rubble overtaken by nature
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Though human-made environmental disasters like Fukushima cripple the earth, nature always gets the last laugh. A recent survey established a thriving region of untapped wildlife in the abandoned and overgrown expanse of Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. Following in…
Turns out earthworms are doing more to fight climate change than most people
BY: SYDNEY MCINNIS Climate change – it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. In this case, that someone is the misunderstood, soil-dwelling earthworm. Microbes, which are tiny, single-celled organisms, live alongside worms, buried beneath the earth’s soil.…
Sweden makes moves to completely discontinue fossil fuel use and run entirely off renewables
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Sweden just released its 2016 budget, which is likely to break a few hearts in the oil sector. The budget, which was made public a few weeks back, reveals plans to spend an additional $546 million (US)…
2 hrs in nature could save you from being one of the 5 billion with vision problems by 2050
BY: JESSICA BEUKER By the year 2050 half of the world’s population—an estimated five billion—will be nearsighted. Of those people, one billion falls into a high-risk category, putting them at severe risk for permanent blindness. There are however, preventative measures…
NASA just released over 8,400 historic photos of the Apollo mission that will give you chills
BY: DAVID LAO Over 8,400 unprocessed photos of the Apollo space project have just been released on image-sharing service Flickr as part of the Project Apollo Archive, a photo gallery documenting Apollo missions 7 to 17. The Flickr account containing…
California puts an expiry date on SeaWorld by banning the breeding of killer whales
BY: JESSICA BEUKER On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission approved a $100 million expansion of killer whale tanks in SeaWorld San Diego—but with conditions. In a last minute amendment that followed the daylong meeting, the commission banned the breeding…
This genius artist created the most provocative public awareness project you have ever seen
BY: CONNOR BRIAN Photos: © Erik Ravelo The image of an obese eight-year-old boy nailed to the back of Ronald McDonald is a provocative one, and is part of a series of photos that has managed to spark wide debate…
World’s best teacher doesn’t believe in tests and lets kids choose what they learn
BY: JESSICA BEUKER There is a school in the rural town of Edgecomb, Maine that is unlike any other. Every classroom has a library, there are no standardized tests, and every religious and cultural holiday is not only respected, but…
Ghostly photos of workers might taint your fond memories of your favourite childhood toys
BY: CONNOR BRIAN The truth is innocence is never pure, not even your childhood memories are safe. The excited squeals of a child unwrapping their presents is a warm embrace, and not often does the thought of millions of labourers…
These stories of dying people experiencing their final wish will tug on your heart strings
BY: JESSICA BEUKER “Would you like to have the opportunity to sail again?” Kees Veldboer asked Mario Stefanutto. The terminally ill retired seaman replied, “impossible.” Stefanutto was restricted most of the time to a hospital bed, only ever leaving when…
Chernobyl’s evacuation zone has unintentionally created a human-free oasis for countless rare animals
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Recent surveys of the thriving animal population within Chernobyl’s disaster zone rekindles the awkward truth that if humans were to disappear from the face of the planet, it would likely be the greatest turn of events that…
The face of a California farmer staring at gaunt brown grass will haunt me forever
BY: TYLER FYFE It had been a year of broken records. Mostly though, it had been a year of broken families. The state is suffering the worst drought in 500 years and above the burned-over countryside hangs the acrid smell…
American universities are using hilariously simple-yet-effective ways of eliminating food waste
BY: SWIKAR OLI A study out of University of Michigan says that just in 2010, Americans generated 35 million tons of food waste–97 per cent of which gets thrown away–making food waste “the single largest component of the municipal waste stream…
Here’s what happens when average people are forced to face their own carbon footprint
BY: CONNOR BRIAN All Photos and Captions: © Neil Baird As we point our fingers, aiming our blame for climate crisis at governments and corporate giants, is there an unseen area that we suppress from our field of vision? It…
LA takes a radical new approach to combating homelessness—actually helping them
BY: SWIKAR OLI While some cities tackle their homeless crisis by removing them from public spaces, Los Angeles is going with a totally novel approach to addressing the rapidly-growing issue—actually helping them. Over the next year, the city has pledged…
This Cockfighter wants to save the dying sport, because animal cruelty is just “family tradition”
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS Somewhere in Ixmiquilpan, Mexico a cockfight could be going on right now. People gather around a cockpit to watch two roosters face off with razor blades attached to their legs. The first gamecock to brutalize the other…
Sweden just proved that a 6-hour workday is more productive, profitable and less mind-numbing
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Peppered with periodic texting-breaks, daydreaming sessions and excessive water consumption to increase bathroom time—the eight-hour work day is beginning to look more like an excuse to waste time than an opportunity for increased production. In Sweden, a…
Dispensaries are giving wildfire survivors free weed in Northern California
BY: TYLER FYFE Two Northern California dispensaries understand the trauma of watching your home and entire property rise in plumes of smoke. This why Care By Design and AbsoluteXtracts medical marijuana dispenseries are attempting to ease the burden of stress with…
Lazy and eco-conscious? Painting your roof white is the easiest way to fight climate change
BY: ROB HOFFMAN When I first heard about urban rooftop gardens, I thought it was one of the coolest building-design ideas of all time. They’re good for the environment and provide the practical benefit of locally grown food. However, a…