Insights

A growing library of articles we’ve found worth reading, on the environment, sustainability, and the ideas behind For Better Purpose. We didn’t write these, we gather them so you can explore the issues your votes help address and make up your own mind. Each link opens the original source.

  • Families & Poverty

    World Bank

    What does being poor actually mean?

    Poverty is about more than income. A look at what it means to be poor across health, schooling, water, and power, not just money.

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  • Families & Poverty

    Our World in Data

    Extreme poverty: how far we’ve come, and how far there is to go

    The share of people in extreme poverty has fallen dramatically, yet around one in ten still live on very little. A grounded look at the progress and the distance left.

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  • Clean Water

    UNICEF

    Why safe water is about far more than thirst

    Clean water shapes children's health, nutrition, and schooling, yet one in four people worldwide still go without safely managed drinking water.

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  • Renewable Energy & Innovation

    International Energy Agency

    Renewables: where they stand and what’s slowing them down

    The world's leading energy authority on the role renewables play today and the hurdles, from grids to permitting, to scaling them faster.

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  • Education & Science

    UNESCO

    Education: what you need to know and why it matters

    The UN's education agency on why schooling is one of the best investments a society can make, and what it takes to reach every child.

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  • Education & Science

    Our World in Data

    How the world got educated, and who’s still left behind

    Two centuries ago almost no one could read; today most people can. A clear look at that transformation, and the children still missing out.

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  • Renewable Energy & Innovation

    Our World in Data

    Why did renewables get so cheap, so fast?

    Solar and wind followed steep learning curves that fossil fuels never did, going from costly to the cheapest power around in little more than a decade.

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Insights

What does the limitation of capitalization mean in the Creative Society

Our current economic system is basically just a pursuit of “profit maximization”. It gave birth to countless problems in the world: poverty, hunger, slavery, violence and wars.

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Want to go green? Here’s 20 fun facts about sustainability

Let’s delve into what we can do to nurture our stunning natural surrounds with 20 facts about sustainability to help us support the land that gave us life.

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How India’s Fishermen Turn Ocean Plastic Into Roads

In an innovative project, fishermen in Kerala collect ocean plastic for recycling, cleaning the ocean in the process.

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The Polar Imperative

WHOI researchers tackle big questions in a melting world

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Does the ocean produce oxygen?

It’s easy to think of the world’s forests as the planet’s “lungs.” Trees pump out oxygen—the same stuff we breathe in. The bigger the tree the more oxygen it releases. But most of our breathable air doesn’t come from land. It comes from the world’s oceans.

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California. Scientists of The Ocean Cleanup have conducted the most extensive analysis ever of this area.

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Understanding the lesser-known human causes of climate change

The evidence for climate change worldwide is plentiful. Records show an average global temperature rise of over 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century, contributing towarming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, retreating glacier cover, decreased snowfall, and more.

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What Lies Beneath Melting Glaciers and Thawing Permafrost?

Across the planet, ice is rapidly disappearing. From mountain tops, the poles, the seas, and the tundra. As the ice melts, it’s exposing new surfaces, new opportunities, and new threats — including valuable mineral deposits, archaeological relics, novel viruses, and more.

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Is the Great Barrier Reef making a comeback?

The world’s largest reef saw record growth after years of bleaching, but it’s not out of the woods yet

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What is Sustainability? How Sustainabilities Work, Benefits, and Example

In business and policy contexts, sustainability seeks to prevent the depletion of natural or physical resources, so that they will remain available for the long term.

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How Climate Change Impacts Water Access

The water cycle is part of our everyday lives, but climate change may have dire consequences for everyday water access.

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Ask an Amazon Expert: Why We Can’t Afford to Lose the Rainforest

Scientist and National Geographic Fellow Dr. Thomas Lovejoy is leading a charge to combat deforestation and protect the Amazon.

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Sustainability is the ability to exist and develop without depleting natural resources for the future.

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WHAT DOES “SUSTAINABILITY” MEAN IN BUSINESS?

A growing number of organizations are integrating sustainability into their business strategy—realizing they can do well by doing good.

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What Is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions.

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