Your Mileage May Vary is an advice column offering you a new framework for thinking through your ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions. This unconventional column is based on value pluralism the idea that each of us has multiple values that are equally valid but that often conflict with each other. Here is a Vox readers question, condensed and edited for clarity.I live in an isolated part of a developed country, relatively far from anything else, and am struggling with my relationship to flying in the face of climate change. Most advice on minimizing flying seems tailored to more connected areas in the US or Europe we have no trains or buses, and its a 12+ hour drive to the nearest city. Ive considered moving to a more connected area where these would be options, but then Id experience the same angst any time I wanted to visit my family where I currently live. Ive tried to take the approach of flying less frequently and staying for longer periods of time, but I feel resentful toward the carefree way I see friends around me approaching this issue, like flying out every month to watch a game. I feel like Im torturing myself with guilt over something that no one cares about, and that the good I do by avoiding the one roundtrip I would take on a vacation per year is erased by the behaviour of my peers. On the other hand, the contribution my annual flight would make, in terms of global emissions and demand in the airline industry, is minuscule. I feel generally opposed to making climate change about individual actions, but flying is also something that is such a privileged action that it feels like a special case. I also feel conflicted because I dont think I deserve to travel if I cant do it ethically, but the strategies often proposed as alternatives are not available to me. Dear Resentfully Landbound, Your question has me thinking about Greta Thunberg. In 2019, the Swedish activist wanted to attend a climate conference in the US, but she refused to fly because of the high carbon emissions associated with air travel. So instead, she traveled across the Atlantic by boat. On rough seas. For two weeks.Should we all be doing what Thunberg did?I think Thunberg is a heroic young activist, and theres value in activists who take a purist approach, like refusing to ever fly. But the value lies less in their individual action and more in their ability to serve as a powerful jolt to our collective moral imagination to shift the Overton window, the range of behaviors that seem possible. Thunbergs well-publicized sailing voyage, for example, helped convince others to fly less. But to say her approach has been a potent rhetorical tool is different from saying its a model that every individual should follow to a tee. For one thing, not everyone can sail the seas for two weeks whether because of the time required, a physical health condition, or some other factor. And its not clear that all people should forgo all flying. Thats because we each have multiple values. Yes, protecting our planet is a crucial value. So is, say, nurturing relationships with beloved family members and friends who live abroad. Or developing a career. Or learning about other cultures. Or making art. So, even though minimizing how much we fly is a virtuous thing to do, some thinkers would caution you against treating that as the only relevant value. Take contemporary philosopher Susan Wolf, who wrote an influential essay called Moral Saints. She argues that you shouldnt actually strive to be a person whose every action is as morally good as possible who is as morally worthy as can be. If you try to optimize your morality through extreme altruistic self-sacrifice, she says, you end up living a life bereft of the personal projects, relationships, and experiences that make up a life well lived. You can also end up being a crappy friend or family member.We often think of virtues as being connected to morality, but Wolfs point is that there are non-moral virtues, too like artistic, musical, or athletic talent and we want to cultivate those, too.If the moral saint is devoting all his time to feeding the hungry or healing the sick or raising money for Oxfam, then necessarily he is not reading Victorian novels, playing the oboe, or improving his backhand, she writes. A life in which none of these possible aspects of character are developed may seem to be a life strangely barren. In other words, its okay even desirable to devote yourself to a variety of personal priorities, rather than sacrificing everything in pursuit of moral perfection. The tricky bit is figuring out how to balance between all the priorities, which sometimes conflict with each other.In fact, I think part of the appeal of the purist approach is that it actually makes life easier on this score. Even though it demands extreme self-sacrifice, the extreme altruist never has to ask herself how much of the luxury (in this case, flying) to allow herself. The right answer is clear: none. By contrast, if youre trying to balance between different values, its nigh on impossible to arrive at an objectively right answer. Thats very uncomfortable we like clear formulas! But I tend to agree with philosophers like Bernard Williams, who argue that its a fantasy to think we can import scientific objectivity into the realm of ethics. Our ethical life is just too messy and multifaceted to be captured by any single set of universally binding moral principles any systematic moral theory. And if thats so, we have to look at how compelling we find the case for each competing value. Its often obvious to us that we shouldnt give equal weight to all of them. For example, Im obsessed with snorkeling, and Id love to be able to travel to all the top snorkeling destinations this year, from Hawaii to the Maldives to Indonesia. But I know I cant justify taking infinite flights for infinite snorkeling trips during a climate emergency! At the same time, that doesnt mean I wont ever go on any trip whatsoever. I do sometimes let myself travel by air, especially if its for a purpose that is not only pleasurable but also essential to a life well lived, like nurturing relationships with friends and family members who live far away. And when I fly, I try to make those miles really count by staying for a longer time. This is basically what youre already doing: Ive tried to take the approach of flying less frequently and staying for longer periods of time, you write, describing the one roundtrip I would take on a vacation per year. I think thats a reasonable approach, especially given the lack of trains and buses in your area.So, even though you framed your dilemma as a question about whether or how much to fly, I dont actually think the flying bit is your real problem. The real problem is this bit: I feel resentful with the carefree way I see friends approaching this issue, like flying out every month to watch a game. I feel like Im torturing myself with guilt over something that no one cares about.To be clear, its totally understandable to feel resentful; what your friends are doing does sound excessive. But the issue is that your resentment is making you miserable. And a virtuous but miserable life is not likely to be sustainable.Some do-gooders can go to altruistic extremes without feeling resentful or judgmental. They may be able to forgo flying entirely and use that choice to create new forms of meaning and connection and to enrich other aspects of their lives, so that they dont become joyless, judgy, or one-dimensional moral optimizers of the sort Wolf described. But most of us are not in that category. And unless you are, I wouldnt counsel you to go down the purist path, because resentment and judgmentalness can cause their own harm. They harm you, they harm the relationship between you and the targets of your judgment, and they can ultimately harm the cause itself because theyre off-putting to others and they make being climate-friendly seem impossibly hard. If youre like most of us, a path of moderation will probably work better. You can decide on a balance that you think is reasonable for example, one roundtrip flight per year and stick with that. Once youve done that, ditch the guilt thats torturing you. Thatll help diffuse the resentment, some of which I suspect is actually resentment toward yourself, because of how youve been torturing yourself. But that on its own might not be enough to get rid of all the resentment, because flying once annually still might feel like a big sacrifice relative to what your peers are doing. So one key intervention here is to expand your aperture, to look at what a broader group of people are doing, so that you dont feel youre sacrificing for the sake of something that no one cares about. More people care than you might think! A study published in Nature Communications found that 80 percent to 90 percent of Americans are living in a false social reality: They dramatically underestimate how much public support there is for climate policies. They think only 37 percent to 43 percent support these policies, when the real proportion of supporters is roughly double that. (And support is high across the world.) The study authors note that this misperception poses a challenge to collective action on problems like climate change, because its hard to stay motivated when you think youre alone in caring. Concretely connecting with others who are choosing to fly less will help bring this home for you, and make you feel that youre part of a community that shares your values. Networks you can reach out to include Stay Grounded, We Stay on the Ground, and Flying Less. The sense of belonging and camaraderie you get from being part of such a group can help you form positive emotional associations with your reduced-flying lifestyle youll feel like youre gaining something, not just losing. I think thats especially important given that resentment can actually feel good in the short term (even if it damages our well-being in the long term). Righteous indignation is a rush; it gives us an energy boost. So we cant expect the brain to give it up just like that we need to replace it with something else that feels good. The best candidate may be the pleasant emotion that philosophers and psychologists have identified as resentments exact opposite: gratitude. Next time you feel resentment bubbling up, go out in nature and do something you enjoy birding, hiking, swimming and really savor it. Pay close attention to each sound, each smell. Remind yourself that your reduced-flying lifestyle is helping to preserve this source of pleasure. In other words, its enabling you to get more of what you love. As you do that, I hope youll feel not only proud that youre living in line with your values, but also very grateful to yourself. Bonus: What Im readingThis dilemma reminded me not just of Greta Thunberg, but also of Simone Weil, a WWII-era philosopher who died early because she starved herself, refusing to eat more than people in occupied France. She was a moral saint if ever there was one. And as this excellent essay in the Point Magazine notes, Weil is a saint, but many couldnt stand her. Shes admirable for how much she cared about others suffering, but is her extreme self-sacrifice actually exemplary, in the sense that we should all follow her example? I dont think so. I also finally picked up a book thats been on my to-read list for ages: Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar. It does a beautiful job telling stories about extreme altruists and getting you thinking about the pros and cons of the purist path. Im enjoying Isaiah Berlins essay The Pursuit of the Ideal, in which the moral pluralist philosopher argues that theres no one right way to live, whether on the individual or state level. Utopias have their value, Berlin writes, since nothing so wonderfully expands the imaginative horizons of human potentialities but as guides to conduct they can prove literally fatal. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

The current frenzy around artificial intelligence has spread like a shockwave.It started among engineers inspired by a 2017 research paper. Next came venture capitalists eager to profit from a new boom. They were followed by government officials racing to impose regulations. Now its labors turn.More than 200 trade union members and technologists gathered in Sacramento this week at a first-of-its-kind conference to discuss how AI and other tech threatens workers and to strategize for upcoming fights and possible strikes.The Making Tech Work for Workers event was convened by University of California labor centers, unions, and worker advocates and attracted people representing dock workers, home care workers, teachers, nurses, actors, state office workers, and many other occupations. A key takeaway from the proceedings: Workers of all stripes are determined to fight during contract negotiations and amid day-to-day operations for the right to negotiate more control over how AI is deployed within companies. Union representatives detailed ways AI threatens jobs, from screenwriting to driving taxis to ringing people up as a cashier. It takes a toll on your physical and mental health when tech tracks your every movement, said Luis, an Amazon worker from Californias Inland Empire who asked CalMatters not to use his last name due to fear of retribution. He felt like he couldnt stop moving or get help from coworkers when lifting heavy objects. That led to back pain that made it hard to sleep at night, and feelings of depression and diminished self-worth.I just couldnt deal with being a robot, he said, describing why he quit. Later he returned to the job because he had no other opportunities. Amazon spokesman Steve Kelly responded that employees are encouraged to work with intention, not speed and can take short breaks at any time to use the restroom, grab water, stretch, or step away from their screen. In addition, theres nothing unusual about using cameras to help ensure employee safety, inventory quality, or protect against theftthis is common practice at nearly every major retailer in the world. Employees who have questions or concerns about any aspect of this technology or their jobs generally arent just permitted, but encouraged on a regular basis, to bring them to their managers and theyre provided several tools to support them in that process.The gathering comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to begin his second administration and shortly before a Feb. 21 deadline to propose bills for the current session of the California Legislature. Precisely how Trump will respond to issues related to tech and workers is unclear. He has made some promises that seem favorable to big tech, like vowing to cut regulations he sees as harmful to innovation and promising to repeal an executive order signed by his predecessor that put safeguards on AI. But he has also positioned himself as an advocate for blue-collar workers left behind by tech elites: Just last month he called automation harmful to workers. Observers have also been left baffled by where, exactly, the incoming president stands on issues like H-1B visas for foreign tech talent or how he might be swayed by high-profile adviser Elon Musk, the omnipresent tech billionaire.Participants at the conference did not focus much on Trump. Instead, they centered discussions on how to protect workers from tech that can exploit them or automate discrimination. Union representatives unanimously urged workers to negotiate how AI and other forms of tech are used in the workplace when bargaining. Many also urged workers to engage more on tech issues by considering how to use tech for organizing or pushing forthe establishment of committees where management must discuss tech with workers before implementation. The roughly 150,000 United Food and Commercial Workers union members folks who work at stores like Kroger and Albertsons and the 100,000 National Nurses Union members will both face key fights related to automation this year as they bargain new contracts. The grocery workers will challenge the role of self-checkout stands while nurses contest AI tools they say can influence their duty to care and prioritize profits for health care and insurance companies over patient health. Corporations have long marketed AI to consumers and investors as a technology that will transform the world for the better. But gatherings like the conference in Sacramento show that unions are also using AI as a way to galvanize workers to organize their workplace.Unions have a steep hill to climb to grow membership and worker power, said AFL-CIO Tech Institute executive director Amanda Ballantyne, but including AI in collective bargaining negotiations is key, because there are so many use cases for AI in the workplace and workers tend to have strong opinions about them since they are experts in their own jobs and know best the safety implications of a new tool. A number of union representatives argued at the conference that workers need to gain and exercise power to push back against the rollout of technology with the potential to exploit them, visit indignity upon them, or take their jobs. A report released earlier this year by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute found that 4.5 million Californians are in 20 industries labeled at high risk of job loss due to automation, and that more than half of high-risk workers are Latino. Automation that takes jobs away is a major concern for three out of four Americans, according to a Gallup poll taken last year, but AI that makes predictions about workers, manages workers, or attempts to track and quantify their every move is also a major risk, said UC Berkeley Labor Center director Annette Bernhardt. She previously told CalMatters shes less concerned about AI taking jobs than she is about algorithms used in the workplace treating people like machines. AI has the potential to reduce discrimination and improve worker health and safety but it also has the potential to drive job losses, help suppress worker organizing efforts, and intensify demands placed on workers, a phenomenon that led to higher injury rates at Amazon warehouses.SAG-AFTRA executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said that AI underscores why its important for workers to organize, because doing so can force employers to negotiate their use of AI during contract bargaining rather than unilaterally deciding to introduce the technology in the workplace. But obtaining such contract clauses requires foresight by union leaders, who must craft a message that can resonate with workers and the public. Were up against the biggest corporate interests and the biggest political interests that you can imagine, and working together in unity is absolutely where our power comes from, he said. Especially because were going to have so many challenges on the federal level, in California, we can use public policy to advance collective bargaining and use collective bargaining to advance public policy.A lot of tech getting introduced in the workplace is just surveillance of workers, advocates said, and thats nothing new. Its the old boss with new tools, said California Labor Federation president Lorena Gonzalez. Three years ago, as an assemblymember, Gonzalez coauthored a law that prevents algorithms from denying workers break time or worker safety violations. Amid uncertainty of how the Trump administration will address union concerns around tech, Gonzalez told CalMatters last week that she is working with counterparts in other states, including Oregon, Massachusetts, and Washington, and Wisconsin to pass legislation to protect workers privacy in spaces like break rooms and bathrooms and ensure that they know when an employer is collecting data about them or monitoring job performance.The California Privacy Protection Agency is currently drafting rules that would require businesses to inform job applicants and workers when AI is in use and allow them to opt out of data collection on the job without consequence. California would become the first state to enact such rules but that regulation is still under negotiation. The California Civil Rights Department is also drafting rules to protect workers from AI that can automate discrimination. Gonzalez said she doesnt like to rely on such rules because they can take a long time to finalize and enforce, pointing to the fight to keep workers safe from hot workplaces, a battle thats gone on for the better part of a decade. Meanwhile, people like Amba Kak see opportunities for gains by workers against technological threats but said that it may require strategically picking the right battles. Kak previously advised the Federal Trade Commission and is executive director of the AI Now Institute, a nonprofit that researches the human rights impact of the technology. Seizing those opportunities requires paying attention to issues that can build bridges between labor and other actors in the tech justice movement. For example, the activity of data centers can bring together people concerned about the climate and labor and people in local communities who see data centers consume vast amounts of water and energy.Kak told CalMatters she plans to pay more attention to activity in state legislatures in places like California and New York, where lawmakers are already considering a bill that protects people from AI in a manner similar to Californias to Senate Bill 1047, a controversial bill requiring AI safeguards that Newsom vetoed last year. Labor has been at the forefront of rebalancing of power and asserting that the public has a say in determining how and under what conditions this tech is used, she said. This article was originally published on The Markup and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Biophilic Transformation Crematorium / Doepel Strijkers ArchitectsSave this picture! Peter TijhuisHospitality ArchitectureZaandam, The NetherlandsArchitects: Doepel Strijkers ArchitectsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:2000 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Peter TijhuisMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. PC Uitvaart, a funeral organization in Amsterdam, saw the need for a disruptive transformation of its real estate in response to evolving market dynamics, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. As Amsterdam's multicultural population continued to grow, so did the diversity in preferences for funerals and memorial services. To meet these changing needs and provide a more personalized experience for customers from all cultures, PC Uitvaart sought the expertise of Doepel Strijkers architects. The architects were commissioned to create a brand book for all PC Uitvaart buildings and to implement this generic brand book in the first specific location in Zaanstad. The aim is to transform the existing crematoria in such a way that not only increases the diversity of ceremonies but also enables multifunctional use of the facility. The redefinition of PC Uitvaart buildings by Doepel Strijkers represents a bold and visionary response to the changing market. By integrating nature, technology, and flexible design principles, it becomes possible to provide a more inclusive, personal, and adaptable space for ceremonies and commemorations for all cultures, setting a new standard in the funeral industry.Save this picture!Save this picture!The wooden structure is a carrier of identity and rituals - Doepel Strijkers analyzed the untapped potential of the existing crematoria. Their ambitious approach resulted in a concept that gives a new identity to the outside and inside of the building, connects indoor and outdoor spaces, uses nature as a carrier of the spaces, and integrates technology to enable customers to create tailor-made rituals for their loved ones.Save this picture!The main intervention on the outside of the building consists of the addition of a wooden structure around the building and the intensification and thematization of the landscape adjacent to this wooden structure. The wooden structure is designed to strengthen the connection between inside and outside, to eliminate the annoying logistics of multiple traffic streams around and in the building and to create a ritual route from the building to the cremation area and cemetery. This architectural element serves both functional and aesthetic purposes. It gives identity to the series of buildings of PC Uitvaart. It also allows multiple entrances on different sides of the building, serves as sun protection, and provides a framework for enclosing and theming outdoor gardens and ceremony spaces. This wooden structure enables a seamless transition between the gardens and the interior because the outdoor space can be functionally connected to the indoor space. Facades are opened where they meet the gardens for accessibility and views of the landscape and the changing seasons. For the development of the landscape with the thematic gardens and the indoor greenery, the office has entered into a collaboration with the landscape architecture office Madma from Rotterdam.Save this picture!Save this picture!Integration of nature - The architects seamlessly integrated nature into the design of the crematorium. Indoor greenery in various forms is strategically placed and not only provides comfort, but also serves as functional elements, such as seating and spatial partitions.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Zaandam, The NetherlandsLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeMaterialWoodMaterials and TagsPublished on January 19, 2025Cite: "Biophilic Transformation Crematorium / Doepel Strijkers Architects" 19 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025572/biophilic-transformation-crematorium-doepel-strijkers-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

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Nature, Published online: 15 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08409-6An analysis of ancient mitochondrial and nuclear DNA shows evidence of matrilocal communities in Iron Age Britain.

Archaeologists and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people are shedding new light on a series of enigmatic earth rings located in southeastern Australia.

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The Dark Citadel is the players' main destination in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2, but even though its entrance sits right at the very first level of each run, entering it won't be possible until much later in the game, which is a good thing considering how strong the monsters inside it are.