NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?
The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.
From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.
One of the most persistent questions in seismology concerns whether scientists will eventually be able to predict major earthquakes before they happen.
I believe Jordan needs a cultural transformation alongside its infrastructure investments. We must begin by redefining social prestige. Why should ownership of an expensive car be considered a greater achievement than making an environmentally responsible transportation choice? Why should travelling by bus carry a social stigma?
My mother smoked two packs a day while pregnant with me in Canada in the 1970s. It was normal then. Doctors didn’t panic, they smoked beside their patients and left ashtrays in the waiting room. My parents smoked in the car, windows closed, despite my protest. Entire generations inhaled smoke before they could walk.
Today, Britain is attempting something that would have seemed unthinkable back then. Lawmakers have passed legislation designed to create a “smoke-free generation,” meaning that people who are currently children will never legally be able to purchase tobacco if the policy remains in place. They have started by promoting that sales of tobacco will be banned to anyone born after 2008.
The law works by raising the legal age for buying tobacco by one year every year. This means that those who are under the legal age today will not grow into eligibility later. The policy has passed through Parliament and is moving through the final stages required to become law. These laws could explain why tobacco companies have started investing in cannabis instead.
The aim is to gradually phase out smoking in the UK, where tobacco use still causes tens of thousands of deaths annually.
Women in smoking in a hijab
The scope of the law includes all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and loose tobacco. Vaping is not banned under the same framework, but it is being increasingly regulated, with separate measures tightening controls on marketing, flavors, and youth access. The UK government has also proposed restrictions on disposable vapes as part of a broader effort to reduce nicotine use among young people.
The cultural implications are more complex when it comes to practices such as shisha, also known as hookah or nargila, which are common in parts of the Middle East and among Arab communities globally. When tobacco is involved, these practices fall under existing tobacco regulations, meaning the same age-based restrictions would apply.
Cannabis is not included in this legislation and is governed under separate laws.
Britain is among the first countries to pursue a generational approach to tobacco control, although similar ideas have been discussed or proposed elsewhere. New Zealand previously passed a comparable policy but later reversed it before implementation, highlighting the political challenges of sustaining such measures over time.
The scientific evidence around smoking behavior suggests that restricting access can reduce uptake, particularly among young people, but it is not the only factor. Research indexed in PubMed and across public health studies has shown that early exposure, peer influence, stress, and social environment all play significant roles in whether individuals begin and continue smoking.
What Britain is attempting is not only a public health intervention but also a cultural shift. It is testing whether a habit that was once deeply embedded in daily life can be gradually removed through policy.
Women smoke too and shisha pipes may be worse because they have no filters
The change from my mother’s generation to today reflects a profound shift in how risk and health are understood. What was once widely accepted is now increasingly restricted and discouraged.
Children growing up under this framework may never encounter smoking as a normal part of adult life, at least in legal terms.
Whether the law achieves its intended outcome will depend not only on enforcement but on whether social norms continue to move in the same direction.
The ambition is clear. It is not simply to reduce smoking rates but to make smoking obsolete over time.
A bold Japanese proposal is reimagining the future of energy—not on Earth, but far beyond it. Scientists have floated the idea of building a massive ring of solar panels around the Moon, capturing constant sunlight and transmitting the energy back to Earth. Remember when a village in Italy used a mirror to reflect sunlight to its shadows?
Japanese construction company Shimizu Corporation developed the concept known as the “Luna Ring”—a massive belt of solar panels around the Moon designed to generate continuous energy and beam it back to Earth.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
The concept relies on wireless power transmission, converting solar energy into microwaves or lasers and beaming it to receiving stations on Earth. While this might sound like science fiction, the underlying technologies are already being tested in smaller applications.
Shimizu Corporation
If successful, a lunar solar ring could solve one of renewable energy’s biggest challenges: intermittency. Instead of relying on storage systems or backup fossil fuels, power would flow steadily, day and night.
But the challenges are immense. Building infrastructure on the Moon would require breakthroughs in space transport, robotics, and materials engineering. Costs would be astronomical, and questions remain about efficiency, safety, and geopolitical control of such a system.
Still, the proposal reflects a growing shift in thinking. As energy demand rises and climate pressures intensify, researchers are beginning to look beyond Earth-bound solutions. Space-based solar power, once dismissed as impractical, is being reconsidered as part of a long-term energy strategy.
Mirrors shine the sun onto this Italian village that is cast in shadows 3 months of the year.
The Moon, long a symbol of exploration, could become something else entirely: a power station for a planet in transition.
Whether this vision becomes reality or remains speculative, it signals something important. The future of clean energy may not just be about improving what we have on Earth—but about expanding where we look for it.
The modern design of Star Homes, which include a system to collect and store rainwater and a solar-powered electric light, presents “a significant change” from conventional homes in the area
Star Home layout
When I had my first baby, we installed a baby gate and covered the gaping holes of the open-concept space that might lead to a crawling or exploring baby plummeting to her death. We have all the fixtures of a modern home, so her being exposed to sewage was obviously not my concern. But it is one for parents in some African villages.
A new experiment in Tanzania is showing that architecture can do more than provide shelter, it can protect health, especially for children.
Mtwara, Tanzania, 2022. Photo: Julien Lanoo
In a long-term study spanning 10 years, children living in specially designed “Star Homes” were significantly less likely to suffer from malaria, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections compared to those in conventional houses. The difference wasn’t medicine or technology, it was design. As more and more people increase their wealth in Africa, they tend to move on from a natural material home made with thatched roof, to a solid concrete block which relies on air conditioners to keep it cool.
A recent three-year trial by Professor Steve Lindsay from Durham in Tanzania found that children living in specially designed two-story “Star Homes” had dramatically lower rates of malaria, diarrhoea, and acute respiratory infections compared with children in traditional mud-and-thatch houses. The children in the Star Homes also grew taller as a result of their better health. He published the results in Nature Medicine.
Malaria, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections are three major causes of mortality in young children in sub-Saharan Africa. In the trial of those kids living in a Star Home, malaria was reduced by 44%, diarrhoea by 30% and respiratory infections by 18%. The researchers are calling on architects, builders, and governments to think differently about rural house design to help protect children from disease.
The Star Home is the outcome of almost 40 years of research by Lindsay. The healthy house design was informed by his research on how mosquitoes enter homes, and multiple clinical trials of house-screening in traditional African houses.
The Star Homes Project was then developed by architect firm Ingvartsen in cooperation with the Hanako Foundation based in Singapore to rethink how a house interacts with its environment. Can cement houses be created so they cool passively, and prevent disease exposure?
Bedrooms are placed on an upper floor, reducing exposure to mosquitoes that carry malaria. Mosquitos tend to stay closer to the ground. Ventilation is improved, helping reduce indoor air pollution and respiratory issues. Even the placement of the latrine—moved outside, limits the spread of diarrhoeal disease that can kill kids in infancy.
The Star Homes Project has been presented internationally across exhibitions and professional forums addressing architecture, housing, health, and social welfare. The project and accompanying research studies were exhibited by LABÒ Cultural Project during Milan Design Week (6–11 April 2025), hosted at Fondazione Rodolfo Ferrari, where it was framed within contemporary debates on experimental housing and spatial innovation.
It’s a simple idea with powerful results: build homes that prevent illness instead of treating it.
But there’s a catch. At around $8,800 per house, the design remains out of reach for many of the families who would benefit most. Those that were awarded a house were part of a lottery. Still, researchers say the project is not about mass rollout yet, it is about proof of concept.
Its creators note: “The Star Homes have been designed to be easily scalable and optimise resource use to reduce their environmental impact and build cost. Unlike most rural Tanzanian housing, our prototype house is two stories high. This reduces the area of the foundation and roof, which are typically the most expensive and material intensive components of a house.”
“The result is a home that uses 70% less concrete compared with a typical concrete block design and has 40% less embodied energy.”
“Rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in a 2000L tank via a first flush system, providing clean drinking water. A 40W solar panel provides lighting and USB charging. All materials and labour are sourced locally, and components can be reused or recycled.”
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Oman is returning to the Venice Biennale with Zīnah, an immersive installation by artist and curator Haitham Al Busafi that transforms a traditional form of horse adornment into a large-scale sensory experience.
Rooted in the Omani practice of Al-zaanah, where both horse and rider are equally adorned as a sign of mutual respect, the work reimagines this Middle East tradition as something visitors can physically enter.
Arab Horses from the book ‘Walking Through History’
Instead of viewing objects on display, people walk across a sand-covered space beneath suspended silver forms that move and produce sound in response to their steps. A sketch of the installation is provided above.
The result is a shifting environment where each visitor becomes part of the artwork. Movement creates sound. Paths form in the sand and over time, the installation evolves through collective participation rather than remaining fixed.
The piece was also shaped through community involvement in Oman, where artists and members of the public contributed markings to the silver elements. This idea of shared authorship continues in Venice, as each visitor leaves a trace through movement and interaction.
Haitham Al Busafi’s Memory Grid at London Biennale, 2025
At its core, Zīnah is about rethinking value, extending ideas of beauty, care, and recognition beyond humans to include animals and the environment. It aligns with broader themes at the Biennale calling for more sensory, reflective forms of art rather than spectacle, says the artist.
Presented at the Arsenale in Venice from May to November 2026, the installation marks Oman’s continued effort to bring its cultural knowledge into global conversations.
About Haitham Al Busafi
Haitham Al Busafi (b. 1985, Muscat, Oman) is an interdisciplinary artist, architect, and curator whose practice operates at the intersection of architecture, art, and technology. Educated at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (dieAngewandte), his work foregrounds immersive environments, and the translation of cultural narrative into spatial experience.
Zīnah extends his ongoing investigation into how heritage knowledge can be activated through contemporary immersive form, moving from the participatory frameworks of Memory Grid into a fully kinetic and sonic environment.
Ji-Soo Jang Ph.D. Senior Researcher at Korea Institute of Science and Technology
Professor Ji-Soo Jang, in collaboration with Professor Taekwang Yoon of Ajou University and Professor Hansel Kim of Chungbuk National University, has developed a novel energy device that generates electricity during the process of capturing greenhouse gases.
The research team introduced a new concept device termed the Gas Capture and Electricity Generator (GCEG), which produces electrical power as greenhouse gases are adsorbed from the atmosphere. This innovation goes beyond conventional approaches that merely capture greenhouse gases, transforming them into a usable energy resource.
Professor Ji-Soo Jang stated, “This research demonstrates that greenhouse gases are not merely pollutants to be managed, but can serve as a new energy resource. We aim to further develop this technology into an environmental platform that not only achieves carbon neutrality but also generates energy.”
Amid growing global efforts to address climate change, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies have gained attention. However, existing CCUS systems typically require substantial energy input for gas collection and processing.
To overcome this limitation, the research team proposed a fundamentally new mechanism that directly converts the physicochemical energy generated during gas adsorption on electrode surfaces into electrical energy.
The developed GCEG device consists of an asymmetric structure combining carbon-based electrodes with hydrogel materials. When greenhouse gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) or carbon dioxide (CO₂) are adsorbed, charge redistribution and ion migration occur within the device, enabling continuous direct current (DC) power generation without any external power source. In essence, atmospheric pollutants act as the “fuel” for electricity generation, simultaneously purifying the environment while supplying energy.
This technology is expected to be widely applicable in self-powered smart environmental sensors, battery-free IoT systems, and industrial facilities where large volumes of emissions are generated. In such settings, it could enable simultaneous energy harvesting and carbon reduction. In particular, its integration into distributed energy systems is anticipated to accelerate the realization of carbon neutrality.
The research findings were published in Energy & Environmental Science, one of the world’s leading journals in materials science.
There are a few adjacent spaces and players working toward similar goals, though not always in exactly the same way.
Carbon capture and utilization startups like CarbonCure, Climeworks, and LanzaTech are not generating electricity from CO₂, but they are treating emissions as a resource, turning them into concrete, fuels, or chemicals. The philosophy is similar: carbon is not just waste.
Carbon capture from the ocean
Several academic groups, including teams at MIT, Stanford, and across Europe, are working on electrochemical carbon capture using electro-swing adsorption. These systems use electricity to capture and release CO₂ more efficiently, though they are not fully self-powered like GCEG.
There is also a growing field of micro-energy harvesting—technologies that generate small amounts of power from heat differences, humidity, motion, or chemical gradients. The GCEG fits into this category, but with a twist: the “fuel” is pollution itself.
Other experimental systems generate electricity from moisture in the air or from ion movement. These rely on similar physical principles, using natural gradients, but are not specifically designed to capture greenhouse gases.
Pattern Energy’s SunZia project in action. Via Pattern Energy
After nearly two decades of planning, delays, and persistence, the largest renewable energy project in America’s history has begun generating electricity. (Ivanpah could have been a success were it not for politics). The SunZia Wind project is now sending vast amounts of wind power from New Mexico to California, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to clean energy.
At full scale, SunZia is enormous. The project includes 916 wind turbines and a 3.5-gigawatt capacity, enough to supply electricity to around 3 million people across California and Arizona. Power travels along a 550-mile transmission line, which is an essential piece of infrastructure that connects remote wind resources to urban demand.
SunZia energy transmission map, via Pattern Energy
The impact is already being felt. California has broken its wind generation record multiple times in recent weeks as SunZia begins feeding electricity into the grid. It’s a glimpse of what a renewable-powered future could look like when large-scale infrastructure finally comes online. Can we start saying goodbye to Saudi Aramco and Arabian Gulf oil?
Probably not for a while. As much as we create, the gurd eats more. Electricity demand in the western United States is surging, driven by population growth, electrification, and the rapid expansion of data centers used for crypto currency mining and artificial intelligence. SunZia arrives at a moment when utilities are under pressure to deliver more power, without increasing emissions.
SunZia not only cuts carbon pollution but it also help replace natural gas plants, particularly in communities already burdened by pollution.
One of SunZia’s unique advantages is when it generates power. Unlike solar, which peaks during the day, wind production often increases at night, precisely when California relies more heavily on fossil fuels. That makes SunZia a strategic complement to the state’s existing renewable mix.
The road to completion has not been simple. First proposed in 2006, the project faced years of permitting challenges, including concerns from environmental groups, Native American tribes, and the US military. Routing changes and ongoing legal discussions reflect the complexity of building infrastructure at this scale.
SunZia towers, tower pads, roads, and tensioning sites run north from Redington Pass through a 33-mile tract of previously undisturbed lands in the most ecologically and culturally sensitive portion of the lower San Pedro River Watershed. via Archeology Southwest
Still, SunZia represents something bigger than a single project. It shows that the United States is entering a new phase of the energy transition, one where renewable energy is not just about generation, but about moving power across long distances at scale.
About SunZia
SunZia Wind and Transmission is owned and developed by Pattern Energy, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the United States, led by CEO Hunter Armistead and President Kristina Lund, who oversee the project’s strategy, execution, and integration into the US grid.
Originally advanced by SouthWestern Power Group and New Mexico’s Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, the project has grown into the largest clean energy infrastructure build in US history, with total costs estimated between $8.8 billion and $11 billion.
Financing was secured through a major green loan syndicate including global banks such as BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, ING, Natixis, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Wells Fargo, with key administrative roles held by Deutsche Bank.
A Vestas turbine
Industrial partners and suppliers include turbine manufacturers GE Vernova and Vestas, which delivered and installed hundreds of turbines across the project. SunZia has created thousands of construction and engineering jobs across New Mexico and Arizona, while generating long-term economic benefits through land leases, tax revenues, and infrastructure investment, positioning it as a cornerstone project in scaling renewable energy across the American West.
Cancer counseling means finding ways to avoid cancer risks.
I grew up with parents in a constant fight, and in a marriage myself know that the day to day isn’t always easy. But if being stressed about getting married is a question in your court, the research is in favor of tying the knot for a healthier, longer life. A large new analysis of more than 4 million cancer cases is raising eyebrows towards conservative values, with a striking finding: people who have never been married appear significantly more likely to develop cancer than those who are or have been married.
According to the research from the University of Miami, cancer risk was 68% higher in never-married men and 85% higher in never-married women.
At first glance, the conclusion seems simple that wearing a wedding ring protects your health. But scientists are also pushing back on the conclusion. Being married, they suggest, may reflect a cluster of lifestyle and social factors that influence long-term health. This lifestyle could be repeated with the non-married people. And what happens if you get a divorce?
Researchers point to differences in behavior. People who are married they say on average, less likely to smoke, more likely to seek medical care, and more likely to go for routine screenings. They may also experience more stable daily routines and emotional support, factors that can reduce chronic stress, which is increasingly linked to disease risk.
For women, reproductive history may also play a role. Having children, something more common among married individuals in many populations, can influence the risk of certain cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer especially if they breast feed.
Nursing can prevent certain cancers in women
Clinical psychologist Frank Penedo, one of the researchers involved, emphasizes that the takeaway isn’t about relationship status, it’s about awareness. “If you’re not married,” he says, “you should be paying extra attention to cancer risk factors, getting any screenings you may need, and staying up to date on health care.”
Friends could create cancer-support nodes for screening, recovery and post-care.
That advice applies broadly. You may not have someone on you about regular checkups, healthy eating, exercise, avoiding tobacco, and managing stress. So you should be aware of these co-factors to cancer, regardless if someone is married, single, divorced, or widowed.
The findings also highlight something deeper: the role of social connection in health. Humans are social beings, and strong support systems, whether through partners, friends, or community, can influence how people take care of themselves and respond to illness “It’s a clear and powerful signal that some individuals are at a greater risk,”says Penedo.
Other studies have found that singleness comes with its own benefits, including more close relationships and greater opportunities for personal growth, so, as always, the research needs to be put in context.
There has also been evidence that marriage has its downsides – with a higher risk of dementia attached, for example. It’s not simply that marital status, one way or the other, is the healthier option.
Fight against wildlife traffickers and those who can’t speak for themselves
A quiet emergency is unfolding in the skies, oceans, and landscapes that connect our planet. At a major UN wildlife meeting in Brazil, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), governments agreed to extend protection to 40 more migratory species, from cheetahs and striped hyenas to snowy owls, giant otters, and great hammerhead sharks. Too many of them are slipping toward extinction .
This is not just about animals. Migratory species are the living threads that hold ecosystems together. They pollinate crops, control pests, move nutrients across continents, and sustain fisheries and food systems that millions of people depend on. When they disappear, entire ecological and social networks begin to unravel.
Cheetahs and hyenas both need protection
The warning signs are already here. Nearly half of migratory species protected under the UN treaty are in decline, and the pressures are intensifying: habitat loss, infrastructure that blocks migration routes, plastic pollution, industrial fishing, climate change, and even emerging threats like deep-sea mining. These animals don’t belong to one country—they cross borders, oceans, and political systems. That means no single nation can save them alone.
Jeanne Mortimer in her early days with the tortoises and turtles in the Seychelles
The new protections matter. Species added to the highest level of protection must be strictly safeguarded, their habitats preserved, and the dangers along their migration paths reduced. Others will benefit from coordinated international action: shared research, joint conservation plans between countries, and aligned policies across the world.
What really needs protecting now goes beyond individual species. It’s the invisible highways they depend on: flyways, ocean corridors, river systems, and seasonal habitats, the UN group tells Green Prophet. It’s also the communities living alongside these species, whose knowledge and cooperation are essential to conservation.
“We came to Campo Grande knowing that the populations of half the species protected under this treaty are in decline. We leave with stronger protections and more ambitious plans but the species themselves are not waiting for our next meeting. Implementation has to begin tomorrow,” said CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel.
“Expanded protections for cheetahs, snowy owls, giant otters, great hammerhead sharks, and many more, demonstrate that nations can act when the science is clear. Our duty now is to close the distance between what we’ve agreed and what happens on the ground for these animals.”
Shark Fishing at Cosmoledo in 1982 Above: Sometimes the men, especially Mazarin, went out in their small boats and fished for shark all night long. A single night’s catch might comprise as many as 10 large sharks.
And it’s the fragile balance between development and nature, especially as energy, transport, and infrastructure expand across the same routes animals have used for thousands of years.
The urgency is clear. Scientists and policymakers at the meeting agreed on stronger plans, but they also acknowledged a hard truth: the animals cannot wait for the next conference. Protection must move from promises to action—on land, at sea, and across borders.
When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul.
We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.
About 28 miles west of Abha, in the mountains of Saudi Arabia’s Asir region, Rijal Alma sits along steep slopes that fall toward the Red Sea. The village is known for its tall, narrow houses, some rising six stories—built from stone, mud, and wood. They’ve been standing for generations, holding their shape in heat, wind, and time.
Rijal Alma via the Saudi Arabian Government.
This is vernacular architecture in its pure form. Long before eco, regenerative and sustainability became buzzwords, builders here figured out how to work with the climate. Thick earthen walls absorb heat during the day and release it at night. Small windows limited direct sun and gave privacy which is what Muslim families expect. The stacked design helps air move through the structure. Nothing is decorative for the sake of it. Everything has a purpose.
Saudi Arabia today is pushing forward with massive projects which have either failed or been postponed, like NEOM, Trojena, Shebara—designed to redefine how people live in extreme environments. They’re bold, expensive, and built to draw attention. But they also raise a question. Is oil money only buying the new and fantastic? As the world weans itself on oil, Saudi Arabia and its family owned oil company Saudi Aramco, will return to humble roots like the House of Saud, a ruling family that once lived in a mud palace.
Red Sea pod hotel the Shebara Resort
Rijal Alma shows a different approach to building. The materials are local and the scale is human.
Under the House of Saud, there’s been more interest in restoring historic sites like this one. That’s a start. But preservation alone isn’t enough. The real shift would be using these ideas again, not as decoration, but as a base for new construction.
House of Saud, the humble origins of the Saudi tribe that would rule the oil-rich nation
In a hotter world, that kind of thinking matters. Buildings that cool themselves. Materials that don’t rely on long supply chains. Designs that last.
The House of Saud lived in a palace made from mud
When travel feels safe again, visitors from the US and Europe will likely make their way here. Not just to see something old, but to understand how people built before energy was cheap and space was unlimited. Walk through Rijal Alma and you notice it right away. The temperature drops in the shade. The walls feel solid. The streets are narrow for a reason. Nothing is random.
It’s not nostalgic. It’s practical. And we love that.
“Forever chemicals” like the ones ejected by Lulelemon yoga pants into strategic areas don’t go away. They don’t break down in nature, and once they’re in water, soil, or our bodies, they tend to stick around. But scientists at Florida International University think they’ve found a smarter way to deal with them, and it uses something as simple as pH.
Chemistry professor Kevin O’Shea and PhD candidate Rodrigo Restrepo Osorio have developed a method that can capture PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and then release them on demand, allowing the cleanup material to be reused instead of thrown away. Their work, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, could offer a more practical way to deal with one of today’s most stubborn pollution problems.
The idea builds on earlier discoveries that ring-shaped sugar molecules, think tiny molecular donuts, can trap PFAS in water. These molecules act like handcuffs, grabbing onto the long-chain chemicals. But until now, getting the PFAS out again (so the material could be reused) has been the tricky part.
O’Shea’s insight? Let water chemistry do the work.
At a neutral pH, the sugar-based material holds tightly onto PFAS. But shift the water slightly—make it more alkaline, even with something as simple as baking soda, and both the material and the PFAS develop negative charges. They repel each other, and the chemicals are released.
It’s a bit like a door:
At neutral pH, the door shuts and traps the PFAS inside.
At higher pH, the door opens—and the pollutants are pushed out.
This means the same material can be used again and again, making the system cheaper and more sustainable than many current PFAS treatments, which are often expensive and require processing huge volumes of water.
O’Shea’s interest in PFAS started close to home, while looking at microwave popcorn bags his son loved. Many of those bags are coated with PFAS to resist grease and heat. That everyday exposure sparked a deeper dive into how widespread—and persistent—these chemicals really are. He certainly didn’t want his kid eating them!
Many microwave popcorn brands in the US now offer PFAS-free, non-plastic bags, including Black Jewell, SkinnyPop (Sea Salt), and 365 by Whole Foods Market. And as of January 2024, the FDA announced that grease-proofing PFAS are no longer being sold for use in US food packaging. Look for expiration dates on old bags to avoid eating forever chemicals!
An image made with AI to show how forever chemicals, PFAS are inside microwave popcorn bag liners.
(Top Tip: you can make microwave popcorn in a bowl, with some salt, and a plate for a lid. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes)
According to CEH you can make microwave popcorn in a bowl, with a plate on top. No need for oil ot a bag full of PFAS, forever chemicals.
Now, his team’s work points to a future where we don’t just trap pollution, we control it, concentrate it, and remove it more intelligently.
It’s not a full solution yet. PFAS are still everywhere, from industrial waste to household products. But a reusable, low-cost system like this could become a key tool in cleaning up contaminated water—without creating even more waste in the process.
And sometimes, the answer really does start with something as simple as changing the chemistry of water. And about yoga pants, wear cotton as it’s energetically more compatible to your body, and avoid microwave popcorn. Make it the old fashioned way with vegetable oil in a pot, topped with lots of real melted butter.
from London is getting ready to take Syrup home on this day.
Koh Phangan, an island in Thailand, is sold as a healer’s paradise. Any day of the week you will find Tantra, yoga, breathwork, rope yoga or ecstatic dance under palm trees at Zen Beach in between the full moon parties and half moon parties. You can spend every day of the week trying to fix yourself. If you are single or in a couple, that works, but not so much with teens.
We came to the island paradise with teens. We did what you do when you first arrive: Muay Thai kickboxing, zip lines, swimming pools, ATVs, swimming until sunset, cooking classes. It worked for a week or so, then it didn’t.
Because teens don’t just want stimulation, they want real things, so we went looking and found the island you don’t see on Instagram.
The island you don’t see
This 3-legged lover was found at a Police Station
A few turns off the main road and you find another Koh Phangan, one that is not curated. It’s PACS, a center and hospital to heal and rehabilitate stray dogs and cats. There are broken dogs and cats, run over by cars or motorcycles, some neglected by their owners, raw skin exposed on their necks for being chained to a short leash for months.
Janina, from Germany, saw the street dogs on the island 4 years ago and has been coming back to PACS once a week to help out for a day each time.
Janina from Germany has been volunteering at PACS for 4 years.Janina petting a rescue who just had a leg and tail amputated.
“I saw them on the streets all the time,” she tells me. “I was angry.”
Now she comes, not to heal herself, but to clean cages, feed animals, wash dogs with skin infections, give company to the cats. The work is repetitive, smelly, physical, and mostly invisible.
PACS — Phangan Animal Care for Strays has been quietly running a catch, spay/neuter, and release program, working to reduce suffering at the source since 2001. It’s not glamorous but population control, wound care, infection management, and prevention.
The rescue effort here started about 25 years ago, near a local school, when injured dogs kept showing up with nowhere to go. Fifteen years ago it became a proper Thai-run foundation. Today it operates as a hospital, relying on donations, Facebook, Instagram, and a fragile pipeline of adoptions.
At PACS, the idea is simple: the well-being of animals reflects the well-being of the community.
The 7-Eleven dogs
The luck 7/11 dog that is allowed inside.A woman pets a 7/11 dog on Had Yao beach
On this island of Koh Phangan, dogs have territories and they are micro-economies of survival. There are the “7-Eleven dogs” and you see them everywhere. One usually, hanging outside convenience stores, living off scraps and tourists who think a sausage is kindness. I saw one in the town of Thong Sala, drunk on food, lying outside the entrance, belly full with a ring of sausages around him that he couldn’t bother to eat.
“Every day sausage is not good,” one volunteer tells us. “The food they are given is not healthy to eat every day. Not even for us.”
Some 7-11 shops tolerate them. In Had Yao, dogs for some reason are allowed to wander inside like locals. In other places, fights break out because outsiders disrupt a fragile territorial balance that only the dogs understand. Those that support the Strays center hope that the pets they take care of will be adopted. In normal situations they treat the animals and when possible release them back to the location where they were first found.
This is the reality PACS works inside, not removing dogs from the ecosystem entirely, but stabilizing it, one animal at a time. While the 7/11 dogs might be lucky to get regular food, the luckiest ones who get their forever home.
We came to walk the dogs
Meeting soulsVolunteers at PACS
We came to walk the dogs but enough volunteers showed up that day.
So we stayed and pet cats that leaned into our hands looking for love. We met dogs that barked out of fear but then got close to us over time. One had three legs. Another, Pupita, carries a toy in his mouth when she’s nervous. She is looking for her forever home.
I am Peanut. My legs don’t work but my heart is just fine.
Peanut had a spinal chord injury and now works as an emotional support dog for the other dogs. He drags his two back legs around behind him but his situation doesn’t seem to stop his smiles or passion for life. Peanut is looking for his forever home and he’d make a great emotional support pet, says Kim, the assistant on duty.
You don’t explain this to teenagers. You let them see it and touch it.
The people who stay
Daddy Salem is taking home Syrup today
Salem came from London and works at a retreat on the island. He adopted a dog a few years ago called Mellow, once called Bones. Now he’s adopting another, Syrup. Salem and Syrup were excited about going home together.
“I saw him when he was tiny,” he says. “He came with a bunch of other puppies and one by one they were adopted but he stayed. From the beginning, I liked him.”
That day Syrup, now about 5 months old, was going home. They were going for Syrup’s last walk as a shelter dog. Salem often connects two worlds that don’t usually meet: wellness tourism and animal rescue. He brings his island friends to come to the shelter to walk the dogs.
Then there’s a German man Lungs Hai (name means uncle, and probably a Thai name he adopted) who found a dog chained to a tree (named Tongmung, now Clyde), fed him for three months, and watched his neck become raw and infected from his leash and collar.
Clyde’s neck the day he was rescued
At that point the shelter stepped in, according to Thai law, and could take the dog. That was a few months ago and Lungs Hai comes every day for a check in and some cuddles. Clyde’s neck is healing and he is looking for his forever home.
Lungs Hai from Germany found a dog whose neck was infected and full of maggots.This is Clyde and he’s on the mendClyde before he was rescued by Lungs Hai
This is not a place for clean endings and not all stories belong in a brochure. A nurse named Kim who shows us around and welcomes us, tells me about the resident pig (my daughter would water down with a hose) that killed nine dogs and broke a volunteer’s leg.
The myth of healing
Koh Phangan will sell you healing in a coconut wearing Lululemon yoga pants. But healing isn’t always soft or pretty. Washing a dog with a skin disease, feeding a cat that might not survive the week.
We didn’t save anything that day but the center showed our teenagers what compassion looks like. The people working and showing up at PACS did that.
If you travel with kids, especially teens, try to build in something uncurated. Last summer we found volunteer opportunities for them in a forest in Canada. If you are traveling look for a place that’s working in the community to better it: because somewhere between the zip line and the beach, between the dance floor and the detox smoothie, there is a quieter education happening to help those who can’t speak at PACS.
How PACS started
PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays) was founded in 2001 by a veterinarian named Shevaun. She arrived on Koh Phangan while traveling and was struck by the condition of the animals: they were injured, untreated, and with no veterinary services on the island at the time. Stray population control was often done through culling (killing, as they do in Hebron), and locals had to travel by ferry to Koh Samui just to treat their pets.
Kim a nurse at PACS who showed us around
So she started small, asking vets back home to send supplies, treating animals for small donations, and using those funds to help strays. From that, PACS grew into what you see today: a hospital, a sterilization program, and a quiet force of nurses, vets and volunteers, trying to stabilize the island’s stray population.
How you can help
Adopt me
PACS runs on small acts that add up.
Donate through their website – this keeps the clinic running, pays for surgeries, medicines, and daily food.
Follow and share on Facebook and Instagram – awareness leads to adoptions and support from outside the island.
Adopt, or help find a home – even sharing a dog or cat’s story can connect them to a forever family. There are people on the island, PACS says, that can help you with pet relocation and adoption to foreign countries much like the cats of Istanbul. Fall in love with a Thai dog or cat? It’s possible to take them home with you.
Not everyone can take a dog home from Koh Phangan. But everyone can do something.
We all experience aging, yet it is often discussed only in the context of decline or medical care. Despite this, aging is a lifelong process that involves physical development, emotional growth, cognitive change, and evolving social roles. From childhood through adulthood, each stage of life presents unique challenges and opportunities that shape our overall well-being.
When we look at aging from beneath the surface, it becomes easier to understand how different stages of life contribute to long-term health and quality of life. Societies that recognize the importance of these stages are better equipped to support individuals through education, healthcare, community planning, and social support systems.
While medical professionals play an essential role in helping individuals age well, understanding aging goes beyond just healthcare. It also involves social awareness, public policy, and a cultural appreciation for every phase of life.
Why understanding aging matters
Aging is not simply a matter of getting older; it is the result of biological, environmental, and lifestyle factors that interact over time.
Researchers who study gerontology emphasize that aging outcomes vary widely between individuals depending on genetics, diet, exercise, stress levels, and access to healthcare throughout their lives. Understanding how these factors influence aging can help people make informed decisions. For example, habits developed during early adulthood, such as maintaining an active lifestyle, managing stress, and building strong social relationships, often have long-term effects on physical and mental health.
Public awareness of aging also helps communities create systems that support individuals across generations. Urban planning, transportation access, healthcare infrastructure, and workplace policies all play a role in helping people remain healthy and independent as they age.
Building a foundation for healthy aging
Inclusive aging
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth. Nutrition, safety, and nurturing relationships are particularly important at this stage. Positive early experiences help children develop emotional stability, cognitive skills, and healthy behavioral patterns.
Research consistently shows that supportive childhood environments can reduce the risk of chronic illness later in life and improve educational and social outcomes. Parents, caregivers, and educators play a crucial role in shaping these early experiences. Encouraging physical activity, balanced nutrition, and curiosity about learning can create habits that continue well into adulthood.
On the way to growing up
Adolescence represents one of the most transformative periods of human development. During this time, individuals experience rapid physical growth, hormonal changes, and the gradual development of independence. Teenagers begin to form personal identities as they navigate peer relationships, academic pressures, and new social environments. Emotional development during this stage is particularly important because it shapes how individuals handle stress, relationships, and decision-making later in life.
Young adulthood builds upon these developments as individuals establish careers, relationships, and personal goals. Many important lifestyle habits, such as exercise routines, sleep patterns, and dietary choices, are formed during this period. These habits can influence long-term health outcomes, including the risk of heart disease, obesity, and mental health challenges.
Supporting young adults with education, access to healthcare, and opportunities for personal development helps create a healthier population over time.
Aging in adulthood
Midlife often brings a combination of personal and professional responsibilities. Many adults in their 40s and 50s are balancing careers, raising children, and caring for aging parents simultaneously. While this stage can be demanding, it is also a time when individuals possess valuable life experience and stability.
Physically, midlife may introduce noticeable changes. Metabolism may slow, muscle mass can decline, and hormonal shifts may occur. However, these changes do not necessarily lead to poor health if individuals maintain preventive habits. Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and routine medical checkups become increasingly important during this stage. Preventive care, including screenings for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, allows potential health concerns to be addressed early.
Maintaining emotional well-being is equally important. Many adults find that strong friendships, hobbies, and meaningful work help provide balance and reduce stress during this period.
After the peak of adulthood
Older adulthood is often misunderstood as a period defined solely by health challenges. In reality, many older adults remain active, socially engaged, and intellectually curious well into their later years. Physical changes such as reduced bone density, decreased muscle strength, or slower cognitive processing can occur with age. However, these changes vary widely and are influenced by lifestyle choices made throughout life.
Healthcare professionals with specialized training are essential in supporting individuals in this age group. An adult gerontology nurse practitioner focuses on caring for adolescents through older adults, addressing chronic disease management, preventative care, and overall health maintenance for aging populations. Their expertise helps ensure that older adults receive comprehensive care tailored to the unique challenges of aging.
Physical changes associated with aging
As the body ages, gradual biological changes take place across many systems. Some of the most common include reduced muscle mass and bone density, changes in metabolism, cardiovascular changes, and vision and hearing changes. Although these shifts are natural, they can often be managed or slowed through lifestyle choices. Regular exercise, balanced diets rich in nutrients, and preventive healthcare all play a role in promoting healthy aging.
Emotional and cognitive well-being
Mental health and emotional resilience are just as important as physical health throughout the aging process. While some cognitive changes may occur over time, many intellectual abilities remain strong throughout life. Older adults often retain deep knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and emotional intelligence gained through decades of experience. Maintaining mental engagement through reading, learning new skills, or social interaction can help support cognitive health.
Social connection is particularly important. Loneliness and isolation can negatively impact both mental and physical health, making community programs and intergenerational relationships valuable resources. Activities such as volunteering, participating in community organizations, or joining hobby groups can help older adults remain socially connected and mentally stimulated.
Creating age-friendly communities
As life expectancy increases, communities around the world are recognizing the need to support aging populations in new ways. Age-friendly environments make it easier for people of all ages to remain active, engaged, and independent. These environments often include accessible public spaces, safe walking areas, affordable healthcare services, and community programs designed to encourage social participation.
A lifelong perspective on aging
Aging is a continuous process that begins at birth and evolves over decades. Each stage from childhood to old age contributes to the overall health and well-being of individuals and communities.
By understanding the physical, emotional, and social changes that occur throughout life, societies can create systems that support healthier populations and stronger connections between generations. Ultimately, a broader perspective on aging encourages us to value every stage of life. With the right support, resources, and awareness, individuals can experience growth, purpose, and fulfillment at every age.
Now, regulators in the United States are catching up. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a formal investigation into Lululemon, issuing a Civil Investigative Demand to determine whether the athleisure giant misled consumers about the safety of its products, specifically the potential presence of PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”
Though microplastics, which we wrote about are persistent, PFAS are distinct and often co-occur. PFAS are synthetic chemicals used for waterproofing and non-stick coatings, while microplastics are tiny solid plastic particles.
PFAS chemicals are widely used for water and stain resistance. They also persist in the environment and the human body, and have been linked in scientific studies to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive issues. Paxton framed the probe as a consumer protection issue:
“Americans should not have to worry whether the products they purchase are safe for themselves and their families,” he said.
Lululemon store is pictured in Vancouver, B.C, in June 2025
And more sharply, and what’s interesting here is that he is targeting the brand’s positioning: “Companies that market themselves as leaders in health and wellness should not sell harmful, toxic materials under the guise of sustainability or safety.”
Why Lululemon? Dollar store items may use the same microplastics. But this isn’t a random enforcement action.
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) to Lululemon USA Inc. (“Lululemon”) as part of an investigation into whether the company has misled consumers about the safety, quality, and health impacts of its products.
Healer Jasper Neil tells Green Prophet, “Synthetic fibres inhibit energy flow. If you’re an energy sensitive practitioner you can feel the difference between natural and synthetic fibres. Nice looks don’t compensate for the fact that these clothes shut your energy down.”
But yoga pant energy is making a lot of cash.
Lululemon is a leading activewear brand that generated over $11 billion in fiscal year 2025 alone. The company markets itself as a wellness-focused lifestyle brand emphasizing sustainability and performance. Brand ambassadors spotted wearing the pants include Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Middleton, Selena Gomez, and Taylor Swift. Lessor known influencers peddling the brand include Lewis Hamilton, Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, Jordan Clarkson, Frances Tiafoe, and Leylah Fernandez.
However, emerging research and consumer concerns have raised questions about the potential presence of certain synthetic materials and chemical compounds in their apparel that may be associated with endocrine disruption, infertility, cancer, and other health issues.
“The health and safety of our guests is paramount, and our products meet or exceed global regulatory, safety, and quality standards,” Lululemon said in a statement. “We require all our vendors to regularly conduct testing for restricted substances, including PFAS, by credible third-party agencies to confirm ongoing compliance.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton Launches Investigation into Lululemon Over Potential Presence of Toxic “Forever Chemicals” in Activewear
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Lululemon occupies a unique space of premium pricing, wellness branding, and direct-to-skin products worn during heat, sweat, and friction. The investigation is expected to examine the company’s restricted substances list, product testing protocols, and global supply chain disclosures.
The company’s response? Lululemon says the issue is already addressed.
In statements it has released on the issue that Green Prophet brought force in 2025, the company has said it phased out PFAS in its products in 2023, and that such chemicals were previously used only in limited applications, such as water-repellent finishes. It maintains that its products meet all applicable safety standards and undergo third-party testing.
The bigger issue: exposure where it matters most. If talcum powder exposure or asbestos exposure happened in the past, consumers have a right going forward to claim damages if a link can be made. The problem is that the source of immune disease such as lupus or cancers are hard to tracer.
How do I know if my leggings have PFAS?
PFAS treatments cause the fabric to strongly repel water. If you drop a water droplet onto a PFAS-treated fabric, it will bead up, roll around, and typically leaves no residue. In contrast, a droplet dropped onto an untreated fabric will soak in.
What regulators are only beginning to explore now is what Green Prophet flagged months ago. They know that synthetic fabrics shed microplastics during wear and washing. And that tight athletic clothing creates heat and friction zones, while hemical finishes may interact with sweat and prolonged skin contact.
This includes areas of the body where absorption risks are highest, such as in the crotch area, which is not abstract, but practical and daily.
Paxton didn’t go after every spandex manufacturer. He chose a category-defining brand called Lululemon which is one that sells not just apparel, but a narrative of health, control, and well-being.
If that narrative proves misleading, the implications extend far beyond one company and can shake up the health and wellness space that makes claims about products and services that are unfounded, or worse, bad for one’s health. My mother can remember a time when smoking was considered good for your health, but we know how that played out. Let’s hope the plastics lobbies aren’t so strong.
Now we ask Green Prophet readers: Can synthetic performance wear ever truly be marketed as “clean”? Green Prophet raised the question first. Now, the regulators are asking it on the record.
Is microplastics and forever chemicals something we can avoid? Basically everything (from food and water to air, from blender for your healthy smoothie to cutting board for your veggies that themselves are chemical by default and salt you season them with) contains microplastics, and as per recent studies, we thought that consuming them is the major source, actually it is inhaling,” says Lilia Khalitova. “So polyester clothes are bad, and washing them only makes them shed more. Plus add heat (UV), friction, your matand here we go… plastic fantastic you. Realistically it is impossible to avoid or cleanse, but can be minimised through mindful exposure.”
“But will natural cotton or bamboo pants keep your ass tight and round like the plastic ones do? That’s a trade off not many are willing to do I suppose,” sums up Ra Sa.
16,000 boxes of archaeological finds are stored in the Valkhof Museum at Nijmegen, the Netherlands. They contain a wealth of Roman artifacts left undisturbed for centuries and waiting to be shown in daylight again.
The Roman governors named the city Noviomagus. It was an important urban center and a key military and administrative hub on the northern border of the Roman Empire. The residents left thousands of everyday artifacts that archaeologist have been excavating and stashing into boxes for the past 70 years.
Researchers are now bringing these remnants of Roman material culture out of storage, in a project aiming to identify and catalog them for future study and preservation.
The 16,000 boxes ended up in the province of Gelderland nearly 20 years ago. The province recently allocated €8 million to inventory the contents of the boxes and repack them. It’s expected that it will take 6 years to sift through every box.
300 of the boxes have been opened. The objects inside are between 1,800 and 2,000 years old. They are things used in everyday life and that reveal a vivid picture of how people lived and interacted when Roman government held sway in Noviomagus (today’s Nijmegen). Several are considered “masterpieces” and are causing a lot of excitement among researchers and specialists.
Fine Roman tableware – intricately decorated cups and bowls – have survived the centuries. The clay pot with a human face sculpted onto it below served two purposes: it was a drinking vessel whose twisted nose and hard-boiled eyes promised a good time for the drinker.
Photo credit: Provincie Gelderland
Among the magical protective objects is a 20-centimeter/8-inch phallus carved from bone.
Photo nltimes.nl
People have used phallic images since ancient times, to bring prosperity and avert bad luck. See our post on Iran’s phallic stones. This example is unusual in that it’s made of bone. Other Roman phalli were made of stone or metal.
As many other cultures did, the Romans used phallic images in hopes of increasing human and agricultural fertility, but also to deflect the evil eye, a powerful fear in the minds of ancient people. It still exists among some modern communities: see our post on the evil eye in the Middle East.
Mosiacs and wall paintings depicting gods, animals, and men in full erection were displayed in homes. Below you see an eye representing envy and malice being attacked by all sorts of creatures, a dagger, a trident – and the exaggerated penis of a man.
Image via ancientworldmagazine.com
Phalli carved into clay plaques were set over front doors to prevent bad vibes from entering. Wind chimes featuring multiple metal phalli hung over shop doors in the belief that the charm would protect owner from thieves and financial loss.
Photo via the British Museum
A woman might have worn a jeweled phallus in her hair, or a man a phallic pendant around his neck. There were even tiny phallic charms on bracelets meant to fasten on the wrists of newborns, and finger rings with engraved phalli so small that they could only have been meant to be worn by children.
Photo via athenaartfoundation.org
Can we ever enter the minds of people so at home with the arts, international trade, high-level politics and governance – not to mention a military that conquered a large part of the world – yet who lived in superstitious fear of envy and ill-wishing every day? Researchers feel that those 16,000 boxes full of ancient Roman debris contain that possibility and that they will reveal much more about the Roman way of life than we’ve yet seen.
This is an off-grid, sustainability dream in Alaska. It runs on solar power. Batteries keep the power for cloudy days.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
That shift helps explain why eco-friendly flashlights are getting more attention. They support two goals at once. They provide travelers and households with a reliable source of light and reduce the need for piles of disposable batteries. For people trying to live a little lighter or prepare a little better, that is a practical combination.
Why Off-Grid Travel Is Pushing Better Lighting Choices
Stedsans in the woods was an off-grid travel destination in Sweden where they offered food that tasted like Michelin-star meals.
Off-grid travel tends to expose weak gear fast. A flashlight that drains quickly, feels bulky, or depends on a constant stream of fresh batteries becomes a hassle. In that setting, simple design matters. So does efficiency.
That is whyflashlights remain one of the most useful items in a travel kit. A good flashlight handles short tasks, longer nights, and unexpected situations without taking up much room. Green Prophet’s coverage of greener off-grid living has highlighted rechargeable lighting as part of a more thoughtful setup, especially for people who want dependable gear with a lighter footprint.
The eco-friendly case starts with power. Rechargeable flashlights cut down on battery waste and reduce the cycle of buying, storing, and tossing single-use cells. That makes travel easier in a practical sense, but it also supports a more responsible approach to gear. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that better battery management helps reduce waste, recover materials, and prevent pollution. For people who spend time outdoors, that is not a minor point. It connects a small buying choice to a larger environmental habit.
An off-grid choice for hunters, preppers, survivalists, and traveling in the back bush in case you get caught at night
Efficiency also helps in the field. LED-based lighting uses far less energy than older lighting technology and tends to last much longer. With a flashlight, that can mean fewer charges, less strain on backup power, and more confidence when an outlet is nowhere in sight. A traveler using a small power bank, solar charger, or compact generator benefits from every bit of saved energy.
There is also a comfort factor that often gets overlooked. Off-grid travel already asks people to think about water, power, weather, and storage. Lighting should reduce stress, not add to it. A dependable flashlight that charges easily and performs consistently can make a campsite, cabin, or vehicle setup feel more manageable.
Why Home Preparedness and Sustainability Work Well Together
An off-grid, regenerative roof garden than runs on batteries fueled by renewable energy
Preparedness has become less of a niche concern and more of a basic household habit. People do not need to live far from the grid to understand the value of backup light. Storms, outages, and other disruptions can happen almost anywhere, and they rarely arrive at a convenient time.
That is one reason flashlights still show up on official emergency supply lists. Ready.gov includes flashlights in its kit guidance, and Green Prophet’s own preparedness coverage points readers toward keeping one, or more than one, available. A dedicated flashlight is easier to rely on than a phone light during a longer outage. It keeps a phone battery free for calls, messages, alerts, and maps. It is also usually easier to aim, store, and hand to someone else in the house.
Eco-friendly models bring extra value here. A rechargeable flashlight is easier to keep in regular use, making it more likely to be ready when needed. It can live in a kitchen drawer, near the bed, in a closet, or in a car and be topped off as part of a simple routine. That is very different from the old pattern of finding a flashlight during an outage, only to discover the batteries are dead or missing.
There is a clutter benefit too. Households that rely on disposable batteries often end up managing extras, checking expiration dates, and throwing away old cells. Rechargeable options simplify that process. Fewer loose batteries, less waste, and a more predictable system all make preparedness easier to maintain.
This is where sustainability becomes practical, not abstract. Reducing battery waste is a meaningful goal, but it also makes daily life simpler. An item that supports both readiness and lower waste tends to earn a permanent spot in the home.
What to Look for in an Eco-Friendly Flashlight
Sustainable, re-charchable, LED flashlight
Not every flashlight marketed as eco-friendly will be the right fit. The best choice depends on how it will actually be used. For off-grid travel, portability matters. For home preparedness, ease of access and ease of charging may matter more. In either case, a few features stand out.
Rechargeable power is the obvious one. It cuts battery waste and makes the flashlight easier to maintain over time. LED performance is another strong sign of efficiency. Durability matters too. A product that lasts longer is usually the better environmental choice than one that needs early replacement.
Battery life should also match real use, not just marketing language. Some people need a flashlight for quick household checks. Others need one for longer periods outdoors or during outages. Brightness matters, but so does control. A flashlight that offers practical light levels without draining too fast tends to be more useful than one built only around maximum output.
The larger trend is simple. People want gear that fits everyday life, supports preparedness, and does not create unnecessary waste. Eco-friendly flashlights fit that need well. They are small enough to keep close, useful enough to rely on, and efficient enough to support a lower-waste routine.
A Smarter Light for Uncertain Moments
In Harmoni, an eco-house in Denmark that uses sustainable lighting
A flashlight may seem like a small purchase, but it does a lot of work when conditions are less than ideal. It helps on dark trails, in quiet camp setups, during power failures, and in the everyday moments when dependable light matters most.
That is what makes eco-friendly flashlights stand out. They offer the steady usefulness people expect, while reducing battery waste and supporting a more efficient way to prepare. For anyone building a better home kit or packing for time off-grid, flashlights remain one of the simplest upgrades with the most lasting value.
