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In a recent interview with Wired, billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates made clear she is no friend of hustle culture and nonstop busyness. My parents were countercultural. They actually taught us that you needed breaks, she says. We took Sundays off as a family, and guess what else? My parents actually taught me the importance of rest, of taking a short nap every day. Building quiet, restful moments into your day doesnt just help you think more clearly and feel better physically, she continues. It also helps you check in with yourself and your values. It is important to know who you are as a person and to live in that direction and in that lane, even when the world calls you to move in different ways, she says. Naps are clearly one (research-backed) way to do that. But in interviews and social media posts throughout the years, French Gates also recommends another way to take a pause from busyness and get back in touch with yourself The Book of Awakening by poet and cancer survivor Mark Nepo. The book she reads almost every day When Wired asked French Gates to name a book she thought everyone should read, she mentioned Nepos book. That made me curious and prompted me to dig into what the book is all about and why she is such a huge fan. Rather than a novel that spins a story of a nonfiction book designed to teach you about a particular subject, The Book of Awakening is a collection of short essays, one for each day of the year. Theres no need to read from cover to cover, you can dip in and out whenever you feel the urge. Which is apparently just what French Gates does. In a 2018 social media post she explained, I open The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo almost every day and years later, I still get something new out of it every time I turn a page. It was illustrated by a much marked-up page from her personal copy of the book. A daily read to quiet the mind Put that together with the latest Wired interview, and its clear French Gates has been perusing this particular book for more than seven years and still finding valuable nuggets within. What kind of insights is she discovering there? Marks writing helps me step back, be still, and center myself particularly on days that feel especially chaotic, or when I need a moment of quiet, French Gates continues. Helping people find enough stillness to remember what truly matters to them and notice the grandeur of the world is just what Nepos book promises. As Amazons description puts it, this spiritual daybook is a summons to reclaim aliveness, liberate the self, take each day one at a time, and to savor the beauty offered by lifes unfolding. It aims to help readers stay vital and in love with this life, no matter the hardships. Psychologists (and Oprah) agree with French Gates This all might sound a little woo-woo to some hard-charging entrepreneurs. But hard science suggests that taking even just a few minutes out of your day to cultivate a sense of awe in this way can have impressive benefits. Research by UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner and others shows awe reduces stress, loneliness, and depression, and nudges us to be kinder and more generous to others. It even seems to have physical benefits, including reduced inflammation. The idea of taking a quiet moment outside of the hustle and bustle each day to reflect and reconnect with yourself is also endorsed by plenty of other super-achievers besides French Gates. Oprah Winfrey (who also recommended Nepos book) always takes a moment to pause and set an intention before every big event in her day. I never go downstairs to tape a show. Any kind of media appearance that I dont have a conversation by myself alone, I need time alone, she has said. Again, this isnt hocus-pocus. Psychologists explain that touching base with our values and intentions primes our mind to pay attention to what really matters to us when things get busy. Just as someone who just bought a Toyota will suddenly notice all the Toyotas on the road, someone who takes a moment to recommit to gratitude is more likely to notice the bright spots in their day. Read daily for more self-awareness and awe If taking a quiet moment each day to cultivate awe to quiet your mind and remember your values appeals to you, then French Gates has offered the same, simple advice for years. Pick up a copy of The Book of Awakening and leave it somewhere handy. Naps refresh the mind and body. This book will refresh your spirit, she insists. Jessica Stillman This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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In a reversal from previous years’ pollution reductions, the United States spewed 2.4% more heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels in 2025 than in the year before, researchers calculated in a study released Tuesday. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to a combination of a cool winter, the explosive growth of data centers and cryptocurrency mining, and higher natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Environmental policy rollbacks by President Donald Trumps administration were not significant factors in the increase because they were only put in place this year, the study authors said. Heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas are the major cause of worsening global warming, scientists say. American emissions of carbon dioxide and methane had dropped 20% from 2005 to 2024, with a few one- or two-year increases in the overall downward trend. Traditionally, carbon pollution has risen alongside economic growth, but efforts to boost cleaner energy in recent years decoupled the two, so emissions would drop as gross domestic product rose. But that changed last year with pollution actually growing faster than economic activity, said study co-author Ben King, a director in Rhodium’s energy group. He estimated the U.S. put 5.9 billion tons (5.35 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent in the air in 2025, which is 139 million tons (126 million metric tons) more than in 2024. The cold 2025 winter meant more heating of buildings, which often comes from natural gas and fuel oil that are big greenhouse gas emitters, King said. A significant and noticeable jump in electricity demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining meant more power plants producing energy. That included plants using coal, which creates more carbon pollution than other fuel sources. A rise in natural gas prices helped create an 13% increase in coal power, which had shrunk by nearly two-thirds since its peak in 2007, King said. Its not like this is a huge rebound, King said. Were not sitting here claiming that coal is back and going to dominate the sector or anything like that. But we did see this increase and that was a large part of why emissions went up in the power sector. It will take time for data to reflect Trump policies King said the list of more than two dozen proposed rollbacks of American environmental policies by the Trump administration hadn’t been in place long enough to have an effect in 2025, but may be more noticeable in future years. Its one year of data so far, King said. So we need to see the extent to which this trend sustains. Solar power generation jumped 34%, pushing it past hydroelectric power, with zero-carbon emitting energy sources now supplying 42% of American power, Rhodium found. It will be interesting to see what happens as the Trump administration ends solar and wind subsidies and discourages their use, King said. “The economic case for adding renewables is quite strong still,” King said. This stuff is cost-competitive in a lot of places. Try as they might, this administration cant alter the fundamental economics of this stuff. Before the Trump administration took office, the Rhodium team projected that in 2035 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would have fallen between 38% and 56% compared to 2005 levels, King said. Now, the projected pollution drop is expected to be about one-third less, he calculated. Experts say pollution increase is an ominous sign Others who were not involved in the Rhodium report said last year’s increase in emissions is an ominous sign. Unfortunately, the 2025 U.S. emission increase is likely a harbinger of whats to come as the U.S. federal leadership continues to make what amounts to a huge unforced economic error by favoring legacy fossil fuels when the rest of the world is going all in on mobility and power generation using low-carbon technology, primarily based on renewables and batteries, said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck. Overpeck said that favoring fossil fuels will harm both the U.S. economy and air quality. Longtime climate change activist Bill McKibben said bluntly: It’s so incredibly stupid that the U.S. is going backwards on this stuff.” The Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement it wasn’t familiar with the Rhodium Group report and is carrying out our core mission of protecting human health. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Seth Borenstein, AP science writer
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The BBC plans to ask a court to throw out U.S. President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the British broadcaster, court papers show.Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021. The claim, filed in a Florida federal court, seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.The speech took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.The BBC had broadcast the documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.The broadcaster has apologized to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejects claims it defamed him. The furor triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.Papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Miami say the BBC will file a motion to dismiss the case on March 17 on the basis that the court lacks jurisdiction and Trump failed to state a claim.The broadcaster’s lawyers will argue that the BBC did not create, produce or broadcast the documentary in Florida and that Trump’s claim the documentary was available in the U.S. on streaming service BritBox is not true.It will also argue that Trump has failed to “plausibly allege” the BBC acted with malice in airing the documentary.Attorney Charles Tobin, for the BBC, said Trump can’t prove actual damages because he won reelection by a commanding margin, and carried Florida by 13-point margin, better than his 2016 and 2020 performances. He said the documentary also couldn’t have harmed his reputation because it aired after Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including allegations he “directed the crowd in front of him to go to the Capitol.”The BBC is asking the court to postpone discovery the pretrial process in which parties must turn over documents and other information pending a decision on the motion to dismiss. The discovery process could require the BBC to hand over reams of emails and other materials related to its coverage of Trump.“Engaging in unbounded merits-based discovery while the motion to dismiss is pending will subject defendants to considerable burdens and costs that will be unnecessary if the motion is granted,” Tobin wrote.If the case continues, a 2027 trial date has been proposed.“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case,” the BBC said Tuesday in a statement. “We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.” Jill Lawless and Brian Melley, Associated Press
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