Insurance giant shifts entire $130 billion portfolio to ethical investments
Reinsurance companies maintain very large investment portfolios and therefore have a major influence on many stock-listed multinational corporations. That’s why it is important that Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer, has announced that they are 90 percent of the way through shifting Read More...
Marshmallow test: Cameroonian toddlers show more self-control than German kids
The marshmallow test measures an individual’s self-control and ability to delay gratification—a personality trait associated with being successful in life. For the first time, researchers have tested a group of non-western kids. The study shows that Cameroonian toddlers are much more capable of Read More...
Volvo becomes first car maker to stop making gas vehicles in 2019
One had to be the first. Volvo has announced that from 2019 onwards all their cars will be partially or completely battery-powered. The company refers to a “historic end” to building models that only have an internal combustion engine. The move by the Scandinavian car manufacturer underlines Read More...
Happiness researcher explains what our children need to succeed in life
Parents want their children to succeed in life. But, according to this happiness expert, their teachings are too much focused on short term results. Here are the lessons you should teach your children Read More...
France to end sale of diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040
France aims to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral 10 years later, Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said on Thursday at a presentation of measures to keep up momentum on the Paris climate agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron wants to press ahead with Read More...
Study: 8-week mindfulness course increases workplace effectiveness by 6 percent
Last year, my co-author Karen Gifford and I had an opportunity to partner with the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) and Seyfarth Shaw LLP to offer an eight-week mindfulness and meditation program. We used our book, The Anxious Lawyer, Read More...
China’s mega city will run entirely on renewable energy
If it were in any other country, the idea of creating a new city four times the size of Manhattan powered entirely by renewable energy might sound far-fetched. But this is China, where extraordinary projects are becoming almost the norm. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting Read More...
African countries turn their overcrowded urban centers into 'smart cities'
Kigali, Rwanda Vision City, Rwanda’s largest housing project, sits on a hill overlooking the rest of Kigali. Its rows of whitewashed villas and townhouses stand out against the green landscape and shacks made of scrap metal and mud, in the slum in the valley below. Outside the main office, a Read More...
Google spun out a new company that heats your home with geothermal energy
X, the "moonshot" division of Google's parent company Alphabet, has spun out a new geothermal heating and cooling company called Dandelion, the company announced Thursday. Dandelion comes from a previously undisclosed project at X that began two years ago. It'll be run as a separate Read More...
These Montana moms created a nonprofit that welcomes refugees to their city
After seeing the tragic photo of a drowned Syrian refugee—Aylan Kurdi, age 3— laying face down on a beach in Turkey, Mary Poole got her book club together in Montana and asked “what can we do about this?” Together, they decided to create a nonprofit to help refugees called Soft Landing. Read More...