And they were down by a pretty significant amount. In fact, as the Energy Information Administration says, “in 2009, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States saw their largest absolute and percentage decline (405 million metric tons or 7.0 percent) since the start of EIA’s comprehensive record of annual energy data that begins in…
And they were down by a pretty significant amount. In fact, as the Energy Information Administration says, “in 2009, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States saw their largest absolute and percentage decline (405 million metric tons or 7.0 percent) since the start of EIA’s comprehensive record of annual energy data that begins in 1949.”
So why did this happen? The three major factors were a big drop in per capita GDP, a drop in the energy intensity of the economy (how much energy we use per unit of GDP), and a drop in the carbon intensity of the energy we use (how much carbon we emit per unit of energy used).
The one-line explanation is that the economic collapse, combined with relatively high prices for coal and petroleum, made people cut back on energy consumption and switch away from the dirtiest sources. Emissions from coal were down 12 percent and emissions from petroleum were down 5.3 percent.
Renewables, especially wind power, helped a little bit. The explosion in wind power since 2000 “was responsible for about 39 million metric tons of avoided emissions in 2009.” That’s nearly 10 percent of the total drop.
And, you know, your decision to bike to work instead of driving certainly contributed too.
Like over 101,000 people in the United States, retired grocery store manager Tim Andrews needed a kidney transplant. He had stage 3 kidney failure and had a heart attack after nine months of dialysis. In short, he was dying and was told it would take five years until he was at the top of the list for a kidney transplant.
He found that doctors needed a willing patient for an experimental surgery. Andrews eagerly volunteered. That’s how Andrews went under the knife to replace his failing organ with a pig kidney.
Andrews would be testing a xenotransplantation operation, a procedure that replaces human organs with modified animal ones. The animal organ is gene-edited to prevent the human immune system from rejecting the transplant. Andrews would be the fourth person to undergo a procedure to see if a gene-edited pig kidney would effectively keep him alive.
Andrews’ life-changing decision
To him, the decision to undergo this experimental operation was easy. He mostly slept between dialysis appointments, unable to walk or keep food down. He figured that he had little to lose by becoming a test subject.
“I’m gonna die anyways, why wouldn’t I do something for all these [other people with kidney disease] that are suffering?” Andrews told USA Today. He recalled telling his doctor, “I don’t care if I die the next day as long as you learn something.”
Andrews figured that, at best, this procedure would buy him some time; his physicians felt the same. Surviving the operation was a success, but Andrews did more than that. He thrived.
The pig kidney gamble paid off
After recovering from surgery, Andrews started to regularly cook and vacuum his home. He went on long walks with his dog. He even got the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game with his family. Andrews wasn’t just surviving; he was living.
“I was alive, and I hadn’t been in a long time,” Andrews told CNN.
Andrews blew past all previous records for surviving a pig kidney transplant, just shy of nine months. Unfortunately, the immunosuppressive drugs Andrews took to help his body tolerate the pig kidney no longer worked. He would have to have it removed and return to dialysis.
While a person could obviously feel discouraged, Andrews was grateful for the additional time he was given off dialysis. He was also grateful to the pig and the organ, both of which he affectionately nicknamed “Wilma,” for being a partner. He praised the pig for not only extending his life but also helping create medical history.
“Wilma the genetically edited pig is a major part of this medical breakthrough and a major part of my soul as long as I live,” Andrews wrote on Facebook, according to CNN. “I LOVE YOU WILMA! Donate a Kidney and be a HERO!”
A new donor renews hope
This could have been where Andrews’ story ends, but Wilma bought him enough time for another chapter. Andrews got to the top of the kidney transplant recipient list, and his doctors found a perfect human match. Andrews was just as grateful for the human kidney transplant as he was to Wilma.
“When a human has to die for you to live, that’s a lot of responsibility,” he told USA Today.
While approaching life with humor, Andrews has promised to “preach” for organ donation for the rest of the days he is given. He’s grateful to continue on for a while longer, enjoying life with his family.
Thanks to Andrews taking the chance and potentially sacrificing whatever life he had left, scientists are closer to having permanent pig organ transplants when human donations are scarce. For now, though, there is consideration of using xenotransplantation as a bridge between dialysis and human kidney transplants in the near future.
Most people welcome a new cleaning hack, especially if it involves the bathroom. Cleaning the toilet isn’t a fun task and getting it thoroughly spotless can get stinky real quick. However, there’s one hack that many homeowners say gets their toilets cleaner with less elbow grease. It involves emptying your ice tray.
This understandably sounds weird. Many people might remember flushing ice cubes down the toilet as a superstitious ritual during the winter months to “summon” a snow day from school. But to clean the toilet? That sounds like just as much as a myth.
But there is a logic to it and many homemakers suggest it. First, let’s get this out of the way and say that ice cubes aren’t being flushed to replace regular toilet cleaner. It’s actually being used to help the cleaner be more effective.
So…how could ice help clean my toilet?
Ice in the toilet bowl acts as a support for the toilet cleaner. Often, toilet cleaner drips down the side of the toilet bowl into the water and down the pipe. The ice allows the cleaner to cling to the bowl and its sides for longer, penetrating filth and disinfecting it more effectively.
Here’s the gist on how it works: first, take a bowl of ice cubes and pour them into the toilet. Make sure you’re not filling it to the brim. Next, take your preferred toilet cleaning solution and pour/spray it onto the ice. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes to allow the cleaning solution to cling and disinfect the bowl. After that, use a toilet brush to stir and agitate the ice, ensuring that it is scraping all sides of the bowl. By this time, the ice should have melted enough to flush.
There are additional bonuses to using ice with toilet cleaner. The ice can also act as an abrasive pumice stone in addition to your toilet brush, scraping off mildew, mineral build-up, or other yucky things that could be stubbornly clinging to the bowl. The flushed ice could help clean the pipe similarly, dislodging filth and grime in conjunction with the toilet cleaner on its way down.
Another benefit is reducing odor. Ice is known to absorb smells and could make cleaning a little less smelly. It’s one of the reasons why many restaurants, clubs, and bars put ice in men’s urinals.
Many people who frequently travel and live in an RV also recommend flushing ice down their toilets. This is not just to clean the bowl, but to have the ice jostle and scrape the nasty stuff out of the black tank. While this method’s effectiveness in cleaning a black tank is put into question, critics still say that ice can help reduce smells and keep water in the black tank during hot days.
If you plan on giving this hack a try, be sure not to overflow your toilet with ice. Along with that, while most forms of ice work (cubes, crushed, or chips), putting larger blocks of ice in the toilet won’t do any good and could clog things up if they’re too big.
It’s also important to use one cleaning solution and not mix a bunch together. Mixing cleaning products together could create fumes that are dangerous to inhale. It’s best to use your preferred cleaner and choose a different one next time if you’re getting the results you want.
Raising kids today doesn’t match the historical “it takes a village” experience many grew up with. Not because people don’t care, but because life doesn’t seem to line up that way anymore. Families are spread out across the country and sometimes the world. Few grandparents live just up the street. There’s no built-in help for childcare and no extra sets of hands when things get overwhelming.
In response to that missing piece in raising kids, some people have looked for other ways to create something similar. One path is Surrogate Grandparents – USA, a Facebook-based community that connects older adults with families.
An older man helps a boy water the plants. Photo credit Canva
Missing out on grandparents nearby, some find new ones online
Founded in 2015, Surrogate Grandparents – USA offers a platform that works like a community bulletin board. The goal is to bring together families bereft of nearby grandparents with older adults looking to share that kind of family role.
Over 14,000 members hope to make a surrogate family connection and the possibility of building real love. They describe the opportunity on their Facebook page as follows:
“A surrogate grandparent is a volunteer or mentor who forms a supportive, grandparent-like relationship with a child or family who may not have local grandparents. These relationships can begin online or in person, often through platforms designed to connect families and older adults.”
The typical online pattern might look like a family posting on the page that their children don’t have nearby grandparents and would love a consistent older presence in their lives. Someone responds. They all start talking. Then, they meet in person.
Those introductions can turn into something steady with regular check-ins. Children receive the face-to-face guidance and experience that an older generation can offer. The surrogate grandparents gain a sense of purpose they hadn’t anticipated at this stage of their lives.
One success story was shared in Newsweek. In 2019, Deborah Whatley, then aged 64, joined the Facebook group with her husband. Hoping to fill a need within their own lives, they connected with the Nelsons, and a beautiful relationship quickly blossomed.
The families share photos, meet in person about every month, and text regularly. “We’ve met up more times than I can count,” explained Whatley. “I just wanted to feel included. I have the time, the energy, and the desire. Discovering the surrogate grandparents group instantly brought light back into a part of my life that had turned dark,” she added.
CBS News reported that Anteres Anderson Turner and Louis Turner wished to extend their own family while raising twin boys. Janet Firestein Daw welcomed the idea of grandchildren in her life, saying, “I was getting older and I wanted to get down on the floor and play Legos and trains and read books.”
After meeting through the Facebook group, the relationship between the two families really worked. Daw continued, “It’s indescribable for me, because I haven’t had that experience before to be that grandparent, and I love it.”
Earlier this year, the Facebook group became inaccessible. There haven’t been any publicly reported reasons from Facebook itself. However, an administrator for the page shared, “Surrogate Grandparents-USA group was unfortunately erroneously removed by Meta. We are actively working to have it reinstated.”
Thankfully, the page was reopened in time. In an Instagram post dated April 11, 2026, they said, “This morning, my Surrogate Grandparents-USA group was officially reinstated.” The post continues, “What a journey this has been—stressful, emotional, and at times incredibly disheartening. But I never stopped believing in the purpose of this community…and the power of speaking up when something isn’t right.”
An extended family at the park. Photo credit Canva
A shift in how family works
The structures that used to hold families together aren’t as automatic as they once were. For a long time, grandparents lived nearby. Neighbors remained for decades. Communities were tighter, and lives were more interwoven. Support existed from a simple proximity.
But families move. Relationships change. Career and circumstance have stretched people farther apart. Places like Surrogate Grandparents – USA fill roles that certain families are missing. It may not work for everyone, but for many, it’s a chance to build community in a whole new way.
