California Takes a Stand on Fracking
You’ve heard of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing–the process by which oil and natural gas are removed from the earth by shooting a high-pressure water, sand, and chemical mixture into the rock deep inside the earth, pushing the oil and natural gas to the surface. It’s a highly controversial drilling technique with potentially serious environmental consequences. […]
College Athletes: To Pay or Not to Pay?
They bring in billions of dollars in revenue and tons of recognition for colleges, yet they themselves are not allowed to profit from their skills in any way. This has always been the role of college athletes, even at Division I schools that can make thousands or even millions by using the athlete’s image for […]
Are Drive-Thru Lanes Hitting the Road?
It’s been a long day of school and practice. You’re starving, but you don’t have a lot of money or time. What will you do? If you’re like most Americans, you’ll go through the drive-thru line of your favorite fast food restaurant. But that might be getting harder to do, as some cities are now […]
Amazon’s HQ2 Announced
The coming holiday season means, among other things, Amazon boxes on doorsteps and Amazon trucks on the highway. For many of us, it can be hard to remember a time before the online shopping giant. Ever since Amazon announced that they would be building a second U.S. headquarters–known as HQ2–cities large and small have been […]
Stock Market Plummets: Crisis or Capitalism?
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 1,500 points (more than 6%). This was the worst fall in six years, and at one point, the biggest one-day drop in history. So should we panic? What Caused the Plunge? The drop wasn’t caused by any one fundamental thing. Instead, there were a number […]
Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline (Again)
Last year, btw wanted to know your thoughts about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Earlier this month, President Obama formally rejected the permit that would allow its completion. Let’s take a closer look about what has happened and what it means. Pipeline Timeline It begins with TransCanada, the company that wants to build a 1,179-mile pipeline […]
Recalling Recalls
Pretty much any product you can purchase–food, a car seat, or medicine, for example–can be subject to a recall. This means that a significant and hazardous defect in the product has been identified and and action is taken by the company to alert the public that a particular product might cause injury or damage. Last […]
The Economics of Terrorist Groups
Last month, btw published news of “cultural vandalism” committed by the Islamic State (which is variously referred to as IS, ISIS, and ISIL). The extremist group appeared to have destroyed ancient artifacts in the Middle East because the objects were viewed as religiously offensive. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that ISIS has been […]
Shored Up: West Coast Labor Dispute
It is easy to take for granted how our goods make their way to us. That is, until something happens that grinds the process to a halt. This happened all along the West Coast as a nine-month old dispute involving dockworkers and shipping companies caused a major disruption in international trade. The ordeal recently ended […]
Examining the European Debt Crisis
The overall economy of Europe is in big trouble. For the past three years, the European countries bound together by economics have been engaged in ongoing talks over the best way to solve current problems and devise solutions for the future. To understand what is happening, btw brings you a big-picture view. The Brief History […]