Al Jazeera: Turning ocean plastic into art and fuel in British Columbia

There are approximately 268,000 tonnes of plastic floating in our oceans, which equates to an average of five trillion individual pieces. It is now believed that plastic waste can be found on every beach in the world, from the busiest beaches to the most isolated and uninhabited islands.

The plastic debris not only harms ocean ecosystems but also find its way to the world's coasts and into the food chain. More than one million seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals die every year from ingesting plastic - and these numbers are set to increase. [...]

One of the ways Ocean Legacy is attempting to address the growing interest in plastics is by using an inclusive and multifaceted approach with the aim of developing a complete zero waste clean-up programme. This includes spatial mapping, which involves communities exposed to plastic waste and allows them to report and act on the situation.

Practical clean up expeditions around Canada's west coast are also one of Ocean Legacy's methods. They organise teams from a pool of up to 5,000 volunteers to get together and physically collect plastic debris from shorelines across the country which is then transported for recycling and repurposing.

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Jacobin Magazine: June 17, 1953

It began in East Berlin and spread out across the German Democratic Republic. Over half a million workers went on strike, and around a million East Germans — close to 10 percent of the population — joined the protest. [...]

But what was most surprising was how quickly workers radicalized. A routine strike in East Berlin grew into a nationwide rebellion. In some towns, inter-factory strike committees and embryonic soviets formed. [...]

Police files were opened, and the names of collaborators read out to a mass meeting. Meanwhile, they directed the fire brigade to rid the town walls of regime propaganda, and ensured that food and energy supplies were in rebel hands. [...]

With the partial exception of small strike waves in 1956, 1960–61 and 1970–72, barely any significant struggles spilled beyond individual workplaces between 1953 and 1989. [...]

The defeat of 1953 and the  decades of repressive rule that followed ensured that the heights achieved in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Merseburg, and Görlitz in just one day in 1953 would not be repeated over months of protesting in 1989.

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Bloomberg: Do North Koreans Actually Make Money?

Quartz: Why are Americans so sad?

Suicide rates in the US have increased nearly 30% in less than 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported June 7. These mind-numbing statistics were released the same week two very famous, successful and beloved people committed suicide—Kate Spade, a tremendous entrepreneur, trendsetter and fashion icon, and Anthony Bourdain, a distinguished chef and world traveler who took us on gastronomic journeys to all corners of the world through his TV shows. [...]

The fact that so many Americans have mental illnesses is critically important as one in six Americans takes a psychiatric drug, most commonly antidepressants, anxiety relievers, and antipsychotics. In addition, more than one in three US adults are also prescribed pain reliever for physical pain. And, physical pain substantially increases risk for suicide. [...]

These are all valid concerns and critically important to address, but they are only part of the problem. As the CDC pointed out in its report, more than half of the suicide deaths in the US did not have a known diagnosed mental health condition. So, while there are many reasons for raising concerns about our fragmented mental health system, the treatment gap and associated factors, I don’t think it is sufficient to understand our increasing suicide rates. One needs to look more broadly at underlying factors to understand why the suicide rate is increasing so significantly.  [...]

I believe it’s also worth considering whether higher levels of stress are driving more Americans to take psychoactive substances and, in extreme cases, take their own lives. Last year, eight in 10 U.S. adults reported feeling stressed during their day, and 44% reported that their stress levels had increased over the past five years. Most people state their stress is due to concerns about the future, money, work, the political climate, and violence and crime.

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Financial Times: What to expect next after May staves off Brexit rebellion