Best Business Commentary

From gold to green to ... digital gold?

Since we scrapped the gold standard in 1971, the U.S. dollar has been “the world’s primary measure of value,” says Sebastian Mallaby in The Washington Post. But as it gets weaker, other countries will start “steering clear of greenbacks.” As the world searches for a viable alternative, a privately created, inflation-proof currency—“digital gold,” say, pegged to gold and commodities—sounds increasingly less “like a fantasy.”

It’s not that hard being green

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“You don’t have to remake your whole life” to become more earth-friendly, says Rebecca Smith in The Wall Street Journal. Little things—like heating or cooling your home less (heating and A/C use 45 percent of your electricity), buying more locally produced food, using EPA Energy Star–rated appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs, and traveling shorter distances—add up to a smaller “carbon footprint.” That’s good for the world and, with the high cost of fuel, good for your wallet as well.