Quick Takes

More than three-quarters of the respondents surveyed in nine countries plan to continue socially distancing themselves in public areas despite being fully vaccinated. Findings also show that the majority are also going to continue wearing masks in public areas. As the Delta variant spreads rapidly throughout the world, hospitalization rates are rising, and the WHO is urging fully vaccinated people to continue to wear masks in public spaces.

Of the countries surveyed, Japan responded with the lowest level of comfort in terms of attending large gatherings. But this Friday, the Summer Olympics will begin in Japan, where over 11,000 international athletes are expected to compete. The majority of the Japanese public would like the Games to be either cancelled or postponed again in fear of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. The government announced that a state of emergency in Tokyo will run throughout the Games to combat the virus, and athletes will have to follow a long list of rules while they’re in the country. 

Business travelers represent only 10% of total airline travelers but up to 75% of airline revenue — and roughly one-third of business travelers are not planning any trips for the remainder of the year, according to a Morning Consult survey. Meanwhile, most of those planning to travel for business in 2021 only have one or two trips scheduled.

Trust in brands plays a key role in how business travelers approach the industry. Over 60% of business travelers say trust determines which company they travel with compared to 57% of the general public. Similar to other travelers, business travelers value brands that are reliable, have good customer service and hold a high safety record. However, business travelers also assess trust based on a brand’s commitment to sustainability, how long it has existed and whether it earned the recommendation of a trusted individual. 

COVID-19 brought an unprecedented halt to the travel industry last year, but with vaccine rollout,  domestic leisure travel returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Although the disruption in business travel isn’t expected to fully reverse anytime soon, rebuilding trust has a clear role to play in accelerating industry recovery.

Food production alone could cause the world to miss its 1.5 degree Celsius climate target even if countries stop burning fossil fuels immediately. Along with energy, food production is one of the biggest contributors to global greenhouse emissions — one-quarter to one-third of emissions come from food systems.

Our World in Data identified five ways to reduce emissions from the food industry: adopting a plant-based diet; consuming healthy calories; limiting food waste; and improving crop yields and farming practices. Shifting to a plant-based diet would lead to the biggest reduction in emissions. If these practices were fully adopted by 2050, the world would see net negative emissions.

Both consumers and producers have significant roles to play in reducing food emissions that involve legislation, investment and creating better policies. Although fully incorporating these five methods into daily activity could be difficult, the changes would lead to “a global food system that is more productive, has a lower environmental impact, and provides a healthy, nutritious diet for everyone.”

Forty-three percent of people with a household income of $30,000 or less do not have internet access at home, whereas ninety-three percent of households earning $100,000 or more have internet access, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

This digital divide is persistent in the United States, creating a barrier to digital information, education and products and services for lower-income Americans. Early this year, 27% of lower-income adults had access to a smartphone but did not have broadband internet at home — a 12% increase in eight years. Meanwhile, only 6% of households earning $100,000 or more were categorized in this group.

COVID-19 exposed disparities in online access in the U.S. as daily activities, like work and school, were abruptly moved online. Families with lower incomes faced a greater challenge to make the transition since they rely more heavily on mobile devices and often lack reliable high-speed internet. As remote work and education become more permanent, new technologies, like 5G, will need to be accessible to everyone “through early investments and targeted deployments” to prevent future economic and academic gaps.