In a country where nearly 60 million tons of food are thrown away each year—close to 40% of the national supply—wasted meals have become more than just a moral or economic dilemma. They are a climate liability. As policymakers, businesses, and communities search for solutions, Massachusetts stands out for its innovative approach to keeping food […]
Every day, I walk seven minutes down Rue Orfila to the Gambetta Metro Station to take Line 3 toward Levallois. The transit part of my commute stays the same, but my short walk often changes. I vary which side of the street I take and when I cross, picking without rhyme or reason. Lately, however, […]
Earth Day feels like a funeral now. Not one with black veils or organ music—but a well-staged, well-catered wake. A jazz trio hums near the Science Center. Someone hands out succulent cuttings. There are cookies shaped like the Earth, iced in HUDS-friendly greens and blues—flavorless, but photogenic. A booth gives away bamboo forks in rice-paper […]
Due to the rapid industrial development over the past 300 years, the Earth’s biodiversity has taken an extreme hit—increased pollution, resource depletion, habitat destruction, and climate change—yet many protective measures are being aggressively targeted by the current presidential administration. Over the past few weeks, President Donald Trump has attempted to modify the Endangered Species Act […]
Hi my little tariffs, Apologies for the two-week hiatus. Shockingly, I have school and midterms—eye roll. Just kidding! It was 72 degrees and sunny in Paris. No work was done. But I wasn’t kidding about the midterms. Anywhoseldorf, welcome to the fourth edition of Abreast on Abroad: “Travel Diary Dump: Part Un.” As I’ve mentioned […]
Editor’s note: The Independent’s annual Weed Issue arrives amid upheaval on Harvard’s campus. On April 14, University President Alan Garber ’76 declared in a message to the community that Harvard would not comply with the terms set forth by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2 billion on multi-year grants as […]
I smoked for the first time my sophomore year of high school. Smoke might be generous—I took a few puffs off my crush’s gas station cart before she ditched me for a Zoom therapy appointment, leaving me to watch “The Office” with her best friend (whom I had just met, and was incidentally drop-dead gorgeous). […]
“It is just like any other farming,” I often tell people when I mention that I was brought up growing marijuana. Depending on where my listeners are from, that tends to get a mixed reaction. So let me clarify from the jump: I didn’t grow weed by myself, my family wasn’t running a commercial-scale operation, […]
In a dimly lit Eliot dormitory that doubled as an arena of absurdity, a cadre of unconventional knights gathered at their makeshift round table to challenge a gargantuan dragon that loomed over their consciousness—a beast as enigmatic as any myth. The knights readied their chalice—a crystal-clear, single-chamber bong bestowed upon them by Merlin, the very […]
She wore a Miu Miu headband and carried a pastel tote bag as she stepped out of the dispensary, clutching a few 5mg hybrid gummies and a pre-roll “for later.” I passed the storefront—blush-pink shelves, botanical product cards, a wall of tastefully labeled vapes—and thought: we didn’t decriminalize weed. We domesticated it. Not repaired the […]