USA - A ton of people didn’t vote because they couldn’t get time off from work

You've heard the news by now that turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest in any election since 1942, when voters were busy with, you know, other stuff. In short, only 36 percent of the voting-age population bothered to cast a ballot last week. A large proportion of them simply aren't registered to vote at all. But past numbers suggest upwards of 20 percent of Americans adults were registered to vote, but couldn't be bothered to - what's their excuse? A new Pew Research Center report has some answers. They tracked down 181 registered voters who said they did not vote this year and asked them their reasons for doing so. While it's a smallish sample and we should be cautious about interpreting it too broadly, respondents gave some illuminating answers. Here's what they said: Read More: The Washington Post

 

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The dirty, dangerous job that powers Greece

It takes a lot to power a country — and though it’s small, Greece is no exception. Lignite is a soft, crumbly form of brown coal that has low carbon content, high water content and causes more pollution than black coal. Still, it accounts for more than 50% of Greece’s electricity supply, and is mined primarily at the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia, the largest such facility in the Balkans. The center belongs to the second biggest public-power corporation in Europe, according to the European Pressphoto Agency. Read More" Mashable

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