Author: Kontrast.at

– Advertisement – Globally, most energy still comes from climate-damaging fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. At the same time, the share of renewable energy is growing, especially in the electricity sector. The EU and China are leading this expansion. Economist Nikolaus Kowall explains how far the energy transition has actually progressed and […]

– Advertisement – Good news from Ecuador: rainforests can recover faster than previously thought. A study by TU Darmstadt shows that biodiversity on abandoned agricultural land in Ecuador returned to more than 90 per cent of its original level within 30 years. However, researchers warn that this recovery only works if intact primary forests are […]

– Advertisement – An analysis by Global Witness and the energy information service Rystad estimates that the additional profits of the 100 largest oil and gas companies reached $23 billion in the first month of the war. By the end of the year, this figure could rise to $234 billion. Five EU finance ministers are […]

– Advertisement – Since the beginning of 2026, Zohran Mamdani has been mayor of New York City. The democratic socialist ran on a clear platform and is now starting to implement it. After around 100 days in office, the first figures show the direction: from autumn 2026 there will be 2,000 free kindergarten places, and […]

– Advertisement – There is a side effect of wind turbines and wind farms that is still rarely discussed: offshore wind farms, located in coastal waters, are creating new habitats under the sea. Around their foundations, protected reef-like structures are forming, where more crabs settle than on the surrounding seabed. These wind farms are therefore […]

– Advertisement – Elon Musk is more than an eccentric entrepreneur. In “Muskism”, journalist Ben Tarnoff and historian Quinn Slobodian describe him as a political actor and a symbol of a new ideology: the fusion of technology, capital and power. In an interview with Kontrast, they explain how Musk, through platforms like X, not only […]

– Advertisement – The world today seems more unstable than it has been for a long time: wars in Iran, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, plus countless minor military conflicts that barely make the news in Europe. So is war an inevitable part of human nature? Peace researcher Werner Wintersteiner disagrees: wars are not […]

– Advertisement – For more than five years now, Croatia has been increasingly focusing on making train travel free for children, schoolchildren and older people. The offer, which began as a temporary pilot project, has led to a sharp increase in passenger numbers. Now the government has expanded the programme once again: since the beginning […]

– Advertisement – Mental health issues account for one in five visits to the family doctor. In addition to costs, the situation often results in a lack of suitable solutions for those affected. Social prescribing plays a crucial role in assisting patients who struggle with loneliness, stress, or low social participation. The result of the […]

– Advertisement – In 2022, the democratically governed US state of Massachusetts introduced a millionaire tax. Anyone earning more than a million dollars a year pays an additional 4 percent tax. Despite all the warnings from critics, the evidence shows that the economy continues to grow, the rich have not moved away, and the population […]