ground-breaking-invention-could-revolutionize-the-bioplastic-industry-f202608-n/

A student saw an opportunity to go beyond recycling.  She invested $2,500 to find an environmentally friendly enzyme that can break down PET plastics. 

Her success won her the 2026 eco grand prize, which included some money to continue to invest into other compounds and expand her work. 

https://en.as.com/latest_news/meet-the-18-year-old-student-whose-ground-breaking-invention-could-revolutionize-the-bioplastic-industry-f202608-n/

1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup | Plastics | The Guardian

There’s an adage to “think globally, but act locally.”

Back in the 1980s, a group called “ocean conservancy” held an event to clean up the beaches along Texas’s coastline. They managed to signup 2,800 volunteers and spent a weekend cleaning up. 

They were on to something, and grew the organization. It currently consists of 19.7 million people, across 166 countries. 

It’s not just a weekend of activity, but lots of individual events held throughout the year. 

And to date, they estimate that they have managed to collect 184,000 tons of waste, with much of the 439 million items being plastic water bottles. 

The great part is that you don’t have to belong to the group to contribute (though certainly you can). You can head down to a local beach (or a park that may have pollution) by yourself or with a group and just start collecting things and dispose of them properly. 

The earth thanks you. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/plastic-bottles-coastal-cleanup-ocean-conservancy

Panda Express's Founders Built a $7 Billion Empire. Now They're Helping 55,000 Employees Become Homeowners

The summary of the attached article is that Panda Express is privately owned. They are touting that they help employees to become homeowners. Sounds nice, right?

The company made $7 billion last year and has about 55,000 employees - most of which are hourly people making a little above minimum wage. 

There are some managers in the ranks, and they start at $65k, while the higher level managers can make as much as $200k. 

And this “help” they provide is in the general benefits package. It teaches people what it takes to buy a house and suggests ways to save money for a down payment and how to afford monthly payments. 

It strikes me that this kind of thing really should be in every company’s benefits package. It’s nothing special, really. 

And it’s a sad statement on the nature of things that greasy chicken from a mall food court is an industry this large - and the owners just rake in that money. 

By the way, the company does run a children’s charity. But it’s not funded by the company or its owners. Rather, they ask customers to “round up” and that money goes to the charity. 

So it’s not like the owners are doing much, really… 

https://www.inc.com/amaya-nichole/panda-express-founders-built-7-billion-dollar-empire-now-helping-employees-become-homeowners/91396527

Words to live by.

In the memoir by Gladys West, she talks about her upbringing, and her faith. 

There’s a passage where she reminds us that this bible - that many conservatives seem to have never read yet claim to have - has some passages about being better, benefitting others, and in her estimation sharing one’s knowledge and wealth. 

In 2017, SpaceX proposed flying passengers from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes by sending Starship through space and landing it vertically near the destination—and while that service remains speculative, the rocket architecture behind it has now flown through space and survived re-entry.

I’ve talked about this before. Among the (seemingly crazy) ideas that Elon had, was one whereby you could board a rocket in, say, Texas, and it would go up and you might land in Singapore within an hour or two. 

The notion is intriguing - even if it’s far fetched. 

https://spacedaily.com/t-spacex-earth-to-earth-new-york-shanghai-39-minutes/

A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out. - Longreads

This is a good read. A student journalist looked into the Epstein files and found the name of a local woman. The editorial staff decided to publish. The woman threatened to sue … and everyone kind of freaked out. Because of course they did. 

The student reporter was the most rational and mature person in the room. Everyone else was acting essentially like a child. 

https://longreads.com/2026/07/24/redwood-high-school-bark-epstein-journalism/

From Marlon Brando’s private island to a thriving wildlife sanctuary, Tetiaroa records 15,614 turtle hatchlings | Sea and Job

This is pretty cool. In 1966, after filming Mutiny on the Bounty in Polynesia, Marlon Brando purchased an island and turned it into a wildlife sanctuary. 

And what do you know? A large number of turtle hatchlings are born there each year. 

https://www.seaandjob.com/from-marlon-brandos-private-island-to-a-thriving-wildlife-sanctuary-tetiaroa-records-15614-turtle-hatchlings/