How atheism helped create the modern world

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both oil and gas exported from Russia bring in significant revenue that can be used to support the Russian war in Ukraine. But the export revenue from oil sales is much greate r than export revenue from gas sales. If the West stops buying oil this really hurts Russia – more than if the West stopped buying gas. Back in May, the EU agreed to ban all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, at least those that are delivered by sea. That was a good move. Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to the European Union. Russia has realized that cutting natural gas doesn’t affect their export revenue (like oil does) but it affects the economies of EU countries a lot more. Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year , with Germany, Italy, and Netherlands the top three importers in actual volumes of gas. Germany had imported more than 50% of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. By the end of June, … [Read more...] about Russia Threatens, EU Reduces, US Industry Helps To Untangle The Natural Gas War In Europe.

A Kakapo parrot sits on its eggs in this undated handout image, in New Zealand in this undated handout image. Jake Osborne – Department of Conservation/Handout via REUTERS WELLINGTON — The population of New Zealand’s kakapo, an endangered flightless parrot, has increased 25% in the last year to 252 birds following a good breeding season and success with artificial insemination, the conservation department said Tuesday. The kakapo have been nearly wiped out by introduced predators such as stoats as the birds cannot fly. The problem has been exacerbated by inbreeding, very low fertility – only 50% of eggs are fertilized – and as they only breed every two or three years when native rimu trees fruit. The population of the kakapo, which is the world’s heaviest parrot, is now at its highest number since the 1970s. “There were just 86 kakapo when I first started working as a kakapo ranger in 2002. That number was scary. Having a breeding season with 55 chicks feels like a very … [Read more...] about New Zealand’s endangered kakapo parrot gets a big population boost

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Covid-19 pandemic and the related fundamental shift in how people live and work have led many individuals to seek purposeful careers . According to a 2021 Gartner study , the Great Resignation saw 56% of American employees want to contribute more to society as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. LinkedIn's LNKD 2022 Global Green Skills Report has found that as climate change begins to have adverse effects around the world and countries look to mitigate its impacts, more people are starting to acquire new skills and pursue ventures that equip them for careers in tomorrow's green economy . A recent McKinsey report mentioned that businesses are also actively looking to position themselves and advance their long-term commercial interests in the green economy, with increasing venture capital investments flowing into cleantech and zero-emissions technologies. Despite the growing interest in … [Read more...] about This New Talent Marketplace Aims To Better Connect Workers With Climate Careers

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There are countless ways for one to connect with a destination. For the gastronome, local flavors are telling of a country’s diverse culinary culture. Art and design enthusiasts will most likely head to museums, architectural landmarks and gallery spaces as a means for enriching the travel experience. Adventure seekers will head to less-beaten paths, all in search of an adrenaline rush. For the beauty and wellness advocate, healing traditions of a region are the biggest draws for packing a bag and hopping on a plane. It was in May of this year when Malaysia finally opened its borders to foreign visitors. It had been over a decade since my last visit to the beautiful Southeast Asian federal country. A full spa tour itinerary was an opportunity to return and get to know the Malay Peninsula better. YTL Hotels’ Spa Village was an irresistible concept that inspired me to finally book my ticket and make room reservations after … [Read more...] about Reconnect With Self Love And The Divine Feminine At Tanjong Jara Resort’s Spa Village

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Gallery: The 93 Global Billionaires In Oil And Energy, 2016 87 images View gallery The incredibly powerful combination of fracking and horizontal drilling has sent U.S. natural gas supplies through the roof and prices through the floor. With marketed production increasing about 35% since 2008 to ~78 Bcf/d, prices have plummeted over 60% to around $3 per MMBtu. Check this U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) graphic to see just how historically low our gas prices really are, here . Last year brought the lowest gas prices we have seen since 1999 - and prices will remain low for as far as our modelers forecast. EIA just projected here that U.S. gas production will increase 1-2% per year in the coming decades, surging to 85 Bcf/d in 2020 and onto more than 100 Bcf/d by 2035 and even more in the subsequent years. This unstoppable rise in U.S. gas production stems mostly from an … [Read more...] about Why U.S. Natural Gas Prices Will Remain Low

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Latin America is going bad – very bad. Many of the region's large economies have lurched toward leftist populism in recent years. With the election of former guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro to the presidency, Colombia seems to be another victim of the trend. But for such leftists, the big prize is still to be captured: Brazil. With almost half of South America's economy and population and bordering ten countries, what happens in Brazil is always relevant for the Americas and the world. The country's upcoming presidential election is a case in point. The two leading candidates, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, both have plenty of detractors. Local and foreign media cover their campaigns and road to the election. There is seldom coverage of those who work outside the political party system to try to influence Brazil's future. I want to highlight some of them here. I will only focus on non-religious organizations … [Read more...] about Promoting The Free Economy In Brazil

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As this energy transition continues to move forward in a somewhat halting fashion, prodded along by energy and climate policy decisions, it is becoming increasingly apparent that displacing a substantial percentage of current fossil fuel usage on a global scale will require a far more diverse set of solutions than just more subsidies for wind and solar. Not that such subsidies are being abandoned, of course: Quite the opposite, in fact. Robert Bryce reported Sunday at Forbes that the Manchin/Schumer cornucopia of climate spending (cynically titled the “Inflation Reduction Act”) passed on a strictly partisan vote by the Senate would direct another $113 billion to just those two rent-seeking industries over the coming decade. Fortunately, the bill also recognizes that subsidies for those two industries alone won’t do the trick. Manchin’s own statement on the huge tax and spending package recognizes that reality, stating … [Read more...] about Hydrogen A Winner As Manchin Forces A Diverse Energy Transition Policy Approach

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It hides in plain sight in a Seattle neighborhood. A building that would not attract even a hint of curiosity. Inside it’s a bit of a different story as this seemingly bare-bones structure serves as the fulfillment center for Blue Nile , the world’s largest Internet retailer of diamond jewelry. It’s easy to view Blue Nile solely as an early eCommerce success story but perhaps its greatest feat is the ability to produce and ship jewels in a highly efficient manner  based on the individual requirements of an online order. This efficiency is one of the ways it earns the trusts of customers making a highly emotional purchase. The nondescript nature of the facility is due to security concerns. The merchandise is highly valuable, consisting of diamonds, colored gems and precious metals. Inside, multiple doors are used to enter and leave certain areas for security purposes. Workers were not identified in the story for the same … [Read more...] about How Blue Nile Delivered A Million Pieces Of Bridal Jewelry

Small business owners spent much of the last two years trying to move forward as the ground shifted beneath their feet. From extended closures and supply chain issues to labor shortages and changing health regulations, the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 brought one unprecedented challenge after another. advertisement Early in the pandemic, the global B2B marketing team at American Express recognized this turbulent new landscape and responded by creating an education platform called Business Class. The platform quickly grew into a widely used source of information and support. It’s a big reason why American Express earned a spot on Fast Company ‘s 2022 list of Best Workplaces for Innovators. A NEW LEARNING PLATFORM “When the financial crisis happened, our small businesses needed customers, so we created Small Business Saturday to encourage people to visit local stores,” says Clayton Ruebensaal, executive vice president of Global B2B Marketing at American … [Read more...] about A big assist for small businesses

Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Bergen's new paperback is "The Rise and fall of Osama bin Laden." from which this article is, in part, adapted. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) In 1961, after a CIA-backed invasion of Cuba failed spectacularly, President John F. Kennedy said of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, "Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan." Peter Bergen Last week, President Joe Biden took a victory lap when he announced that the US had tracked down and killed its most wanted terrorist, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was living in a house in Kabul, Afghanistan. Don't expect a similar celebration on August 30, the first anniversary of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended the longest war in American history. Any realistic assessment of that action shows that it … [Read more...] about Opinion: Biden’s Afghanistan exit decision looks even worse a year later