Road salt has long been treated as an unavoidable cost of winter safety, but the tax it quietly imposes on ecosystems and infrastructure is far larger than its price per ton suggests.

Recent Gallup polling shows that alcohol consumption in the United States has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 90 years, with drinkers reporting they are drinking less—and less frequently. A record low of 54% of adults are now drinking in the US, down from 67% just a few years ago. Younger adults, aged 18–35, are driving this decline, as they increasingly prioritize their health.

Rachel Carson’s 1962 blockbuster book Silent Spring broke the logjam of environmental complacency in America and around the world over the freewheeling use of pesticides.

In 2025, more than 1 million residential solar systems were installed in the United States, which means the country is now looking at an estimated 5.7 million solar systems. In 2022, these systems were already generating a whopping 61,281 GWh of electricity.

In 1963, an unexpected volcanic eruption off the coast of Iceland changed the shape of the world forever: It created the world’s youngest island, Surtsey, named after a giant in Norse mythology.