Wisdom: Did You Know?
Bamboo can grow ___ in a day!!!! OMG. 
(10/21/26) It is actually in the Guiness Book of World Records for the fastest growing plant! So What is the answer? Did you make your guess? Would you believe that a particular species of bamboo (Madake Bamboo, Phyllostachys reticulata) was once recorded growing 4 feet in one day!?!?!? Another variety (Moso Bamboo–Phyllostachys edulis) only grew 47 inches in a day (one inch shorter)! Okay, how does it do it? Well, its growth is mostly due to the expansion of its plant cells (rather than replication of cells) and its width is fixed at birth so nearly all of the plants energy is put into growing straight up! Now this incredible growth makes it a very successful invasive species at times, but its multitude of uses make it a very valuable plant resource.
Your pillow doesn’t have to be toxic. Does it? 
(10/20/26) Did you know that your pillow likely has been sprayed with very toxic substances that contain bromine compounds? Why in the world would they do this? Well, laws were created that mandate that pillows (and bedding materials) should be non-flammable; legislators were concerned that while sleeping people would be more vulnerable to a house fire if their beds/bedding caught ablaze. Industry responded to this by creating brominated flame retardants and either spraying these chemicals on the bedding/pillows or putting them in the synthetic materials directly. Foam bedding products probably have the highest levels as well. In addition, strangely enough, these chemicals are widely used in a ton of other common house products too. Fortunately, one doesn’t have to spend 1/3 of your day laying on toxic materials. Thankfully, there are a few companies that provide non-toxic pillows. So, as Christmas is coming up, perhaps buy your loved ones such a “basic” item. Get one for yourself as well!
Want a beautiful garden and have limited time? Chaos Gardening is for you!
(10/19/26) Throughout time the aesthetic for what constitutes an ideal yard/garden has shifted considerably. So many of us spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars manicuring our lawns, often depending on poisons (in the form of pesticides) to keep the weeds and pests out. Many of these chemicals are known to be carcinogens and thus can cause great harm to humans, pets and the ecosystem alike. Today there is a growing trend to let nature do most the work. It turns out one can create an amazingly beautiful garden without a great deal of effort. Nature is majestic and chaos gardening draws this out in a serious way. Why not, most of us are too busy anyhow.
A nation strives for GNH (Gross National Happiness), rather than focusing on GNP.
(10/16/26) While GNP (Gross National Product), which accounts for all revenues from the sale of products/services in nation, has been the dominant way to demonstrate positive economic progress, one nation rejected this narrow-minded focus. In the late 1970s, the King of Bhutan introduced this new concept highlighting the great importance of non-economic measures. From this initial idea, a great deal of further development has occurred. A GDH-index has been created that has the following 9 domains: psychological wellbeing, health, time use & balance, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, & living standards. This index is being used throughout the world to emphasize how monetary measures should only be part of the overall evaluation of human wellbeing. Now, just for the record, Bhutan’s government doesn’t allow political dissent and it imposes restrictions on expression. Thus, while GDH might be a wonderful addition to metrics on wellbeing, the country as a whole may not be one to idolize uncritically.
What if 140,000,000+ women weren’t missing? 
Reduce, reuse, recycle = 20th Century. Regenerate = 21st Century.
(10/14/26) Paul Hawken’s 2021 book, Regeneration, is a must read. He has been sharing insightful thought for decades. He wrote a book in the 1990s, entitled, The Ecology of Commerce, that revolutionized economic thinking about business. His latest book spells out an entirely new way of thinking about how we can simultaneously contribute to the betterment of humanity and the planet. The book is so packed with solutions to nearly all of our challenges. The book draws on actual solutions that are in the process of being implemented. The book motivated the project NEXUS, the “world’s most comprehensive list of Solutions and Challenges that address the climate crisis and the regeneration of planetary ecosystems.” Regeneration makes a wonderful stocking stuffer for all of your loved ones; but warning, the book is physically quite large so bend it carefully!
The Great Equalizer: Time Banks!
(10/13/26) In a world increasingly divided by “the haves” and “the havenots,” might there be something that we all have equally? Yes, we all have 24 hours each day to live. In the 1980s, author and lawyer Edgar Cahn devised an economic system that plays off of this strength. It is called “time-banking.” In time-banking, everyone’s time is worth the same and people exchange their time for other people’s time. So for example, in a perfectly operating time-bank, if I need a hair cut, I can find someone at the time bank who does haircutting. I contact them and they cut my hair. Say it takes an hour to do so. I just “took” from the bank one hour and the hair cutter gets an hour credited to them. The hair cutter might need someone to mow their lawn. They can contact such a person in the time bank and they can cash in their one hour and get their lawn mowed. And now the lawn mower has an hour credit. No traditional money is exchanged and everyone, in theory, can get what they need! Amazing, huh? So, anyone with “time” on their hands (which is everyone to some degree) has something of value that can be exchanged for things they need. Does a time-bank exist near you? If not, start one yourself.
There are 9+ million different species on Earth and we know so little about most of them. 
(10/12/26) No one knows for sure how many species inhabit the Earth but scientists have been attempting to measure this at least as far back as Linneaus in the 18th Century. His book Systema Naturae, first published in 1735 and consisting of a total of twelve editions, made a significant contribution in this effort identifying ~13,000 plants and animals in total. John Weins, a Univ. of Arizona biologist, notes that the number of species today (referred to as “species richness” in the scientific community) is projected at just under 9 million but the number could be in the trillions (given the vast variety of bacteria that are just not that well understood yet) (Wiens, 2023). Paradoxically, only 1.2 million of these 9+ million (so less than 15%) of these organisms have been scientifically described. (Scientists use sophisticated techniques to estimate the number of unknown species.) Thus, we truly are only at the beginning of understanding life on Earth and many have argued this provides even more reason to avoid destroying/contaminating that which we barely know or understand. Yet, clearly there is an abundance of life on this very unique planet in the cosmos.
Have you spoken to an Iranian recently? What if we started doing this on a broad scale? 
(10/10/26) Over the past several months tensions have been at a feverish pitch between Iran and the United States. Hostility between the two countries is not new, I am old enough to remember the Hostage Crisis of 1979 and those more senior might recall the 1953 coup wherein Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was murdered after he nationalized the nation’s oil; many believe that this coup was orchestrated with the help of the U.S.’s CIA and British intelligence operatives (known as Operation Ajax). So, this February’s murder of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei by U.S. forces seems merely a continuation of such aggression. However, whatever the sources of such violence, might it be mitigated or stopped through diplomacy? Here I am not referring to standard diplomatic efforts between heads of state and their chosen minions (which clearly have been largely unsuccessfly), I am speaking of one-on-one (or five-on-five) conversations between people who live in Iran with people who live in the US. According to Pew, an astounding 98% of adults in the U.S. have cell-phones and in Iran the number is 97% (among families). Thus, it is technologically possible to converse with one another. Language is obviously a barrier but it seems that English is understood by many younger Iranians as well as those who are highly educated (and Google translate works too). So what is stopping us from trying this? What might happen if we tried? I suspect, based on the Iranians I have met in my life, those of us in the US would make a lot of friends and recognize their humanity in ways that our “leaders” have failed to understand over the past many decades.
Videos
Do you know what BYD is? Wait till you find out! EV cars like we have never seen and they are being sold right now. Just not in US, yet!
(10/9/26) BYD is a Chinese “manufacturing conglomerate” that has a subsidiary that makes automobiles, and not just any automobile. Just over two months ago, BYD released 10 new vehicles on the world and these “newbies” have some incredible characteristics. For instance, BYD’s Sealion is an SUV that gets 560 miles on a charge, and amazingly has a battery that can be 97% charged (from empty) in only 9 minutes! The Qin Max is a sport sedan that competes directly with the Tesla. The price for these? Starting price for the Sealion is $34,000 and the Qin Max begins under $15,000! (And there are 8 more BYD vehicles not mentioned here!) Originally a battery company founded in 1985, BYD has obviously grown and make major inroads. Electric/hybrid passenger vehicles are the future and will play a major role in transitioning us off of fossil fuels. The fact that a new company can come into the market and provide such quality for extremely competitive prices should wake up the entire automobile world, manufacturers and consumers alike.
100% clean energy is possible, now!
(10/8/26) According to Stanford professor Mark Jacobson, we have the technology today to transition to a 100% clean energy world. Using wind (W), water (W) and solar (S) (referred to as WWS), we can create more than enough energy to allow humans to thrive. How is this possible? Technological improvements in wind and solar energy apparatus over the past 30 years make these renewable energy systems capable of providing low-cost, highly efficient, low-carbon power at the requisite levels. In addition, by transitioning to a fully electrified energy grid (that is using electricity as the energy form), energy use globally could be reduced by up to ~50% (The Solutions Project). Thus, it isn’t a question of technological capability now, it comes down to political will and social acceptance.
Internet gambling in the U.S. exceeds $100 Billion!
(10/7/26) Gambling is certainly a sign of abundance (and in many cases, desperation too). In 2024, gross online gambling totals were a whopping $115 billion (which works out to ~$320 for every US resident). Sports gambling (which is promoted by many Hollywood notables, such as Jon Hamm, George Clooney, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Hart) has grown from a $13 billion industry (in 2019) to a $120 billion industry (a growth of 45%+/yr) (Okafor, 2026). While many gamble for entertainment, many do so with money they can’t afford to lose. Many studies have documented that the poor are much more likely to suffer from the plight of gambling addiction than those who are well off (Hahmann et al., 2020).
The world is full of Environmental Heroes and Sheroes!
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Most of Earth is sparsely inhabited & most life lives on “islands”.
(10/5/26) The oceans make up 71% of the Earth’s surface and the vast majority of life in the ocean lives near coastlines. Add to that frozen tundra and the Arctic and Antarctic, and this leaves only a relatively small fraction of the Earth’s surface for the majority of life forms. But even more amazing is this: 60%+ of earth’s biodiversity can be found on just 1.4% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface (according to Hotspots (1999)–a very thorough examination of life on the planet). This is equivalent to 209 million of the U.S.’ 349 million people living in the state of Florida (Florida’s current population is about 23 million). Some conservationists see this as a great opportunity. If we were to identify these “hotspots” (and several groups of scientists have done so), we could protect them “at all costs” and this would preserve the bulk of diversity of our planet. In 1992, at the Rio Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity was established with three aims: “the conservation of biol. diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources” (Wikipedia). As of today, all countries in the United Nations have ratified it, except for one, the United States.
A Republican U.S. President warned us of the MIC (in 1961!).
(10/4/26) In his farewell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. . . . American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. . . . This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex [MIC]. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” For a man that served as the General of the Army during WW II, he would be in the best position to offer such advice.
Many “weeds” are edible and nutritious.
(10/3/26) Most people know that dandelions are edible, but beyond that “weeds” are thought to be an annoyance (or worse). I will venture to guess that many (if not most) of the “weeds” growing in your yard (or nearby open lot) are edible and likely more nutritious than vegetables that you see at the grocery store. Now, don’t go outside right now and start munching like a cow. Do some research, beware of “manicured” (often toxified) areas, and proceed with caution. Then, forage and enjoy the newly found “veggies” you didn’t even know were growing right around you!
Plants have intelligence. WHAT???
(10/2/26) For decades science (and society in general) refused to accept that plants could be intelligent. How could they, they don’t have brains? However, after many creative experiments and diligent scientists, plant intelligence has been discovered. What does it mean for science to adhere so strongly to a belief that has been shown to be false. This isn’t new. The “science” of phrenology (and its strong ties to eugenics) as well as the “Theory of Plate Tectonics” serve as but two other poignant examples. But, perhaps more importantly, what does it mean to human society to recognize that plants might be intelligent?
Basic water filters are inexpensive.
Non-toxic cleaners are available.
(9/30/26) Look under your kitchen or bathroom sink. Many household purchase cleaning products from the grocery or “big box” store. Most people don’t know that many of the products sold have hazardous chemicals in them. Use of the products can impair one’s health. Fortunately, there are much safer products available, many that can be made at home using everyday substances (like vinegar, lemon juice, etc.). Even better, most of these product are less heavy on the wallet7
Renewable energy is growing rapidly.
(9/29/26) From 2000 to 2025, global installed solar energy (PV) capacity grew by 36% a year and installed wind energy capacity grew by 19% a year. For comparison, fossil fuel growth over this same period <2%/yr. This amazing growth over a full quarter-century is due to: (1) increases in technological efficiency; (2) economies of scale; (3) government incentives for RE; (4) profitable private investments in RE; and, (5) environmental concerns surrounding continued fossil fuel dependence.