Donald Trump at the G7 meeting in May with Donald Tusk, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel and the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni. The US president has persistently low ratings across Europe.
Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

More than three-quarters of the world has little or no confidence in Donald Trump’s global leadership and his signature policies, with support for the American presidency collapsing fastest among America’s traditional allies in Europe, according to new polling by the Pew Research Center.

In many countries, support for the US president is now below that of George Bush in 2004, following the Iraq invasion. Globally, two-thirds of respondents describe Trump as “arrogant and dangerous”.

The research conducted across …

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Americans’ feeling of freedom is declining. In 2006, 91% of Americans were satisfied with the freedom in their lives. Today, it’s 75%.

The 16-percentage-point decline is dramatic — but looking at how far the U.S. has fallen in comparison with the rest of the world, the decline is even worse. The U.S. ranked 11^th when Gallup asked this question in 2006 (among 118 countries). In 2016, the U.S. came in 71^st (among 139 countries). This puts the U.S. in the bottom half of all countries measured. (emphasis added)

This decline isn’t happening in other wealthy democracies. Denmark, Finland and Canada were all tied for first in 2006 — 96% of people in each country expressed satisfaction with their freedom. Today, those figures are virtually unchanged, and all of them remain in the top 11.

Two things typically come to mind when people think about their personal freedom — …

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Credit: EcoWatch

The rapid growth in renewable energy continues to put a dent in the demand for coal.

Coal India, the world’s biggest coal mining company and producer of 82 percent of the country’s coal, announced the closure of 37 mines that are financially “unviable.”

The sites make up roughly nine percent of the total mines operated by Coal India. The company is expected save Rs 800 crore ($124 million) from the closures.

India’s energy market is undergoing a rapid transformation as it moves away from fossil fuels. Last month, the country cancelled plans to build nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations.

Notably, solar has been cheaper than coal-based electricity in India for the past several months. According to Quartz:

“At an …

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Credit: Oil Price

As Tesla prepares to jump into the electric truck market, Daimler is poised and ready to take on the competition.

Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has been investing heavily in the global truck business for years. The German automaker now has five commercial truck brands: Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Freightliner Trucks, Mitsubishi FUSO, Western Star, and BharatBenz.

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Credit: Business Insider

The actual policies contained in the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the Senate Republican plan introduced on Thursday to repeal and replace Obamacare, would help some Americans a lot. The biggest winners are households making $250,000 a year or more, which would see two different taxes targeting them repealed; households with millions in investment income would come out particularly far ahead.

And because the bill substantially weakens regulations for both individual and employer plans, millions of people who still get insurance will see the extent of their coverage shrink, and …

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Here, celery is harvested and made ready for market. But last year, farm labor shortages forced growers to let $13 million worth of their crops go unpicked, left to rot in the fields.
Credit: Paul Wellman

Last year marked the fifth consecutive year Santa Barbara County’s agriculture industry has struggled with labor shortages, which have ranged from 15 to 26 percent. Farmers, therefore, must leave crops to rot in the fields. An estimated $13 million of strawberries, broccoli, leafy greens, and other unharvested produce were plowed under last year, up from five years ago when losses amounted to an estimated $4.4 million, according to the region’s Grower-Shipper Association.

Central Coast growers do not receive government subsidies for mowing unpicked berries and veggies as Midwestern farmers do for destroying wheat or barley. Some area growers have insurance for losses from heat waves or pests but not for lack of workforce.

Five …

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