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Warren blasts the plastic straw debate as a fossil fuel industry distraction tactic – Vox

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CNN climate forum: Warren blasts the plastic straw debate as a fossil fuel industry distraction tactic – Vox

“Oh, come on, give me a break,” Warren said in response to the lightbulb question, in one of the breakout moments of the night. “This is exactly what the fossil fuel industry wants us to talk about. ... They want to be able to stir up a lot of controversy around your lightbulbs, around your straws, and around your cheeseburgers, when 70 percent of the pollution, of the carbon that we’re throwing into the air, comes from three industries.”

Why Britain Has The Best Wall Sockets On Earth

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Why Britain Has The Best Wall Sockets On Earth

Anyone who has traveled to the United Kingdom has probably marveled at the imperial bulk of the standard U.K. wall plug. With three chunky, rectangular pins, the design at first glance seems almost ridiculously inefficient, especially compared to the svelte footprints of the U.S. and European wall plugs, which manage to get juice to your electronics in under half the space.

But first impressions can be deceiving. In fact, as Tom Scott explains in a new video, the U.K. wall plug is a design classic that is substantially safer than any other plug design on Earth.

Whatever Happened To The Mysterious Kidney Disease Striking Central America?

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Whatever Happened To The Mysterious Kidney Disease Striking Central America?

The disease, which has made kidney failure the second-leading cause of death in Nicaragua and El Salvador, was first reported in the 1990s. It was a strange new type of kidney failure. Sugar cane cutters from plantations in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala were turning up at clinics with end-stage kidney disease. Some had been in what seemed to be perfect health just a few years before. These laborers didn't have diabetes or hypertension or other factors that might explain why their kidneys were failing.

Biodegradable soap is stupid

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The other day I saw a post about biodegradable camp soap. I thought it was a stupid idea – buying more soap when you already have soap that works just fine at home – and I pointed that out. It’s just more trash to landfill or burn. For one thing, most common soaps are largely biodegradable and while many detergents are not, it’s not like they accumulate in the soil or really cause much in problems in the dispersed, remote country I usually camp in.

I am not saying one should not practice good outdoors practices. Certainly don’t dump soapy water near streams and bury your poop as deep as you can away from camp and water. Pack out whatever you can’t completely burn. Keep your camp site tidy and pick up whatever litter you find within reason.

But don’t be afraid of the woods or fully utilizing our natural resources. They’re not going to destroyed because you use a little conventional dish soap up at camp.