“Having the World Cup back on U.S. soil is very important in developing the sport of Ski Jumping in this country and across the world,” enthuses one ski jumping trainer about the return of the Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup to historical site Lake Placid, NY, after over three decades. As heart-warming as this news may be for North American winter sports aficionados, it’s hard to feel as optimistic about ‘developing’ the future of snow sports when climate change is already heavily impacting events even today.
As an American writer living in Berlin, I strain to understand and express some of the differences between my two homes. So many exceptions to any rule, no broad-brushstroke of a short essay is going to begin to capture anything but the most basic generalization. Still, let me try. Here’s a story plucked from memory.
Photo Credit: The Vegan Burger: vaaseenaa/Getty Images
It’s cool to be vegan, but are all those meat substitutes really so healthy for the environment and for us? Turkey or tofurkey, vegan schnitzel or beefsteak? Standing in front of a supermarket freezer, it’s up to you whether to choose between conventional or plant-based meat.
Photo Credit: Hannah Quinque, Winter on the beach
Last fall, I had the privilege of spending a semester abroad. What better place to go for a North American Studies Profile graduate than across the pond?
Even if said pond happens to be the Baltic Sea rather than the Atlantic Ocean, my journey did take me to the “North American University in the Heart of Europe”, i.e., the Republic of Lithuania. And if you’re asking yourself: “What is it doing there?” or perhaps even: “What were you doing there?” let me introduce you to this one-of-a-kind place called LCC International University.
The Marshall Plan has become synonymous for massive help, for bringing about a herculaneum task and having a country rise again from the ashes. Originally designed to help Europe get back on track after the devastations of World War II, it has a much broader meaning today. In discussions about how to rebuild Ukraine at some point in the future, there’s again talk of the need for a Marshall Plan. However, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and look at what the original Marshall Plan was all about.
Photo Credit: “Boardroom” by Evening_T/Getty Images
Women representation on corporate boards remains a problem in many countries around the world. Yet the introduction of quotas to address this issue has caused debates among current and future leaders.
Norway was the first country to introduce binding quotas for women on corporate boards back in 2003, and the initiative has been successful. But the recent passage of a law to enforce the women’s quota in Germany, after earlier efforts didn’t seem to lead to the intended consequences, has reignited debate about the pros and cons of quotas for women in the U.S. and Europe alike. “When women are not represented at the leadership table, then it’s hard for women to be represented as consumers of your brands,” says Robin Vogel, 56, vice president of global strategic sourcing at the American candy company Mars, Inc. Having majored in engineering at college, Vogel knows first-hand how underrepresented women are in certain fields. But throughout her career, she just pushed on. “Walking into a meeting room where the majority of the attendees are men may have impacts on a number of women,” she admits. “Frankly, I got used to it.”
