How tourists are destroying the places they love – Der Spiegel, August 21, 2018
Over the past weeks, we’ve read dozens of articles on the rising backlash against tourism. This one is a bit long but particularly well researched. Mass tourism has created over-tourism, and, in many beautiful spots, the infrastructure and the local population are buckling under the pressure and the predatory nature of modern tourism. The travel industry is choking on its own success: “Tourism is a phenomenon that creates many private profits but also many socialized losses.”
Don’t worry about feeling sad: on the benefits of a blue period – AEON, August 23, 2018
Some recent research suggests that experiencing not-so-happy feelings actually promotes psychological wellbeing and that painful times confer benefits that make us happier over the long term. The reasons are twofold: (1) It is during adversity that we connect most closely with people, (2) Experiencing adversity also builds resilience.
We’re in a new age of obesity. How did it happen? You’d be surprised – The Guardian, August 15, 2018
An interesting—and controversial—take on obesity.
Excessive hours and intense work are bad for your career – Here’s why – World Economic Forum, August 24, 2018
A new scientific report comes to the (obvious) conclusion that “all work and no play might just hamper your career prospects and damage your health.”
In World’s ‘Happiest’ Countries, Signs of a Happiness Gap – The New York Times, August 26, 2018
The Nordic countries regularly top the annual list of the world’s happiest nations, but their reputation as “happiness superpowers” masks the difficulties of a significant part of their population. Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland led the 2018 rankings of the World Happiness Report, and Sweden placed ninth. But in these five Nordic countries, an average of 12.3 percent of the population is “struggling” or “suffering.”
A Striking Stat:
What kills 5 million people a year? Not disease, bad healthcare
Five million people die each year because of poor-quality healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. Significantly more than the 3.6 million people who die from not having any access to care—five times more than deaths from HIV/AIDS—and three times more than deaths from diabetes—in the same countries. Healthcare QUALITY matters.
Source: Study by Harvard, Stanford and other researchers, 9/5/18
Access the study in The Lancet
