United States

Idle mining cars on a train track in La Oroya, Peru. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiemme/2874972806/">Max Opp (exoppholdsvaer) (flickr)</a>

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Toxic Work in Peru

La Oroya, Peru, is one of the ten most polluted places in the world, according to the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based global health agency.

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Still Getting Nickel and Dimed

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the New York Times best-seller Nickel and Dimed, recently visited a few of the families she profiled in her book to check in on how the recession was affecting their lives.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlagman17/793391037/">Urban Poor Associates (UPA) (flickr)</a>

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One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Livelihood

In March of 2008, over 250 people from 34 different countries gathered to talk about trash in Bogotá.

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So All May Eat

“Everyone, regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat healthy food while being treated with dignity.” This is the philosophy of So All May Eat, a cafe in Denver, Colorado.

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Tina in Philly makes her own laundry detergent and cuts washcloths out of old towels. Lisa in New York pays for everything in cash and leaves her card at home so she isn't tempted to use it if she doesn't really need to.

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The Plight of America's Working Poor

Who are the working poor? And how do we help them move up the economic ladder?

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The Emotional Toll of Letting Employees Go

I don't think anyone would say it's easy to tell someone they no longer have a job. Especially Shelly Polum, an executive with Ram Tool, a small tool-and-die-cast manufacturer in Grafton, Wisconsin.

A Mongolian herder at work. The drop in demand for cashmere made from the soft fibers of Mongolian goats is putting many herders out of work. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dersmee/213525073/in/set-72157594344690942/">Smee (flickr)</a>

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Downturn in the Gobi

The global economic downturn seems to be hitting every corner of the world — including the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

Many New Yorkers line up for a tasty and inexpensive snack at one of the city's many street carts. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roberttorzynski/2806795571/">btorzyn (flickr)</a>

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Lost your NYC job? Become a street vendor

Job losses in New York City has created a black market in a commodity you might not expect: street vending permits.

A new mobile technology is helping battle HIV in Biwindi, Uganda where most people walked days through the tough terrain to get medical care. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/youngrobv/2282046318/">youngrobv (Rob & Ale)</a>

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Uganda's New Mobile Technology

Could you imagine having to walk a full day to get medical care, and then wait weeks to learn your test results?

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The Roots of Green Living

Are the people who've lived on this planet the longest the best-suited to protect it?

Liza O’Reilly thinks so.

A new demographic survey on foreign workers in the US shows that the largest number of foreign-borne doctors are from India and nurses are from the Philippines. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/interplast/1535149053/">Sara Anderson (flickr)</a

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Is Your Doctor from India and His Nurse Filipino?

There are an estimated 17,553,000 foreign workers in the United States.

Early childhood education could be the best way to raise a nation's collective I.Q. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebolasmallpox/1077726302/sizes/m/">horizontal.integration (flickr)</a>

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Raising Our Collective Intelligence

Are we simply born with a predetermined IQ, or can it go up or down depending on what happens to us in life?

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So, How Much is a Trillion Anyway?

The U.S. government has been handing out huge sums of money to keep the economy afloat in recent months. The Fed's Toxic Asset Relief Program and stimulus package alone total over $1 trillion. But how much is a trillion anyway?

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