News + Politics

Flying Dirty: Why Airlines Emissions Rise Even When They Try to Cut

Airlines are increasing their carbon footprint despite cutting per-passenger emissions.

Even as the airline industry took strides to reduce its carbon footprint, passenger numbers have been booming — until the pandemic, at least. In fact, every single one of the world's 58 largest airlines increased its total carbon emissions between 2017 and 2018.

The Virus Is Hitting Women in Academia Harder

Lockdowns are disproportionately hurting female researchers, affecting their career prospects and the future of fair policymaking.

In the first lesson that Italian social demographer Alessandra Minello recorded for her class at the University of Florence during the lockdown, her 2-year-old son can be heard playing his trumpet in the background. Minello quickly realized that “night and dawn — when he’s asleep — are my only options for recording.”

That leaves her no time to work on the academic research she wants to get published. So when a male colleague told her that the lockdown was giving him more time to focus on his writing, she wanted to scream.