Quicksand

BY THE NUMBERS » SOLAR POWER

1839 The year AlexandreEdmond Becquerel discovered the ability to create an electrical current from the sun’s rays, a process called photovoltaic effect. More than a century later, in 1941, the first solar panel was invented with the first commercial solar panel produced by Bell Laboratories in 1954. Of course, the sun has been used for energy centuries prior with humans using a magnifying glass to start fire as far back as the 7th century B.C.

80 The percentage in cost solar panels have dropped since 2008. Since 2019, solar energy is considered the cheapest source of energy in the world. China is the world leader in solar energy generation. The U.S. is third, with California generating the most solar energy in the country. The largest solar farm in the world is in India, spanning more than 11,100 acres.

6BNumber of miles logged by the oldest manmade satellite in orbit. The Vanguard 1 was launched in 1958 and is powered by solar cells. 92.7BNumber of solar panels in use around the world today. In the U.S., there are more than 3 million solar panels in use (and growing). Solar energy provides about 3 percent of U.S. electricity generation and there are enough installed solar panels in the country to power 18 million homes.

120KNumber of terawatts of energy that hits the earth's surface each day from the sun. The sun provides more energy in one hour than the whole world uses in a year.

100M Tons of carbon dioxide U.S. solar power generation offsets in a year, the equivalent of 131 million acres of forest.

0The level of pollution solar energy emits. Apart from the pollution produced to manufacture the solar panels and transport them, solar power is one of the cleanest and most sustainable sources of energy on Earth.

LOOK, LISTEN & LEARN OUTER SANDBOX

Whisk

Always have an answer for the timeless question, “What’s for dinner?” with the Whisk app! The app gives you access to thousands of recipes, all from home cooks that are in the same boat as you. And if you find a recipe from somewhere else on the internet, upload it and keep all your recipes in one place. Features also include meal planning, grocery list creation and even a way to track nutritional data. This free app just gave us a ton of free time and we love it.

Last Pass

Was the security question my first pet or my second grade teacher? Ugh! We can never remember. Never be stumped when logging in again. Security is as important as ever and with a login for seemingly every freaking possible website, keeping track of passwords is getting trickier. Last Pass offers to take this mind-consuming task off our plate. Free and paid options available, but the free option is plenty for the majority of us.

Everything Everywhere

The title of this podcast is a bit self-explanatory. A true potpourri of podcasts that cover everything from history to science to geography, all in a bite-size listening experience that you’ll finish feeling just a little bit smarter. If you have 10 minutes to kill, check it out.

ROAD TRIP!

Road trip! Beyond the boundaries of our little sandbox, there is much to see. Here are a few events worth checking out. For events with a more local flavor, check out moorechoices.net. And check with locales before heading out!

APRIL 6–10 North Carolina Azalea Festival Wilmington | ncazaleafestival.org

Seventy-four years and still going strong. The first festival attracted 60,000 visitors and the event just kept growing from there. Live music, the Queen Azalea pageant, youth art show, food, spring weather … no need to say more.

MAY 7–8 Hippie Fest Salisbury | hippiefest.org

We can all dig this. For the true hippies and hippies at heart, this festival is for the whole family. Enjoy live music, vintage car show, bubble garden and a DIY tie-dye station (of course). It’s groovy, baby!

MAY 29 Coca Cola 600 Charlotte | charlottemotorspeedway.com

Did you know the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s track is 1.5 miles long and the Speedway has the capacity for 95,000 spectators. It’s the 63rd year of NASCAR’s toughest test of man and machine. Go for the race or the people watching. Either way, what a show!

QUOTES

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”

– Leo Tolstoy

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

– George Bernard Shaw

Health Tips

Sweet Tooth

Cut the sugar, stat! We all know too much sugar isn’t good for us, but did you know that sugar is a immunosuppressant, meaning it can temporarily weaken your natural immune system. Too much sugar can increase risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies show

that as little as 75 grams of sugar can cause a weakening. That’s just 2 sodas! Instead, fill up your favorite reusable water bottle (glass is our favorite) with water, unsweetened tea, black coffee or sparkling water. Aim for less than 25 grams of sugar per day. We know you can do it!

No Meat for You

Make it meatless all week long! Reducing the amount of animal protein in our diet is good for our waistline AND the environment. Raising animals takes a LOT of land, water, and time—almost 70 percent of agricultural land is used for the care of animals. Enjoy a steak on Friday (or whatever day feels meaty) and use tofu, tempeh, legumes, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds for the rest of the week. Your arteries will thank you.

Beware of Your Wardrobe

Let’s file this under things we never thought we’d have to worry about: Your clothing could be harming your health. Your skin is your body’s largest organ and what you put on it can affect your

well-being. We’re not talking sunscreen or deodorants, although you should already be aware of those. Certain fabrics containing high levels of toxic phthalates can possibly lead to allergies, fertility issues and cancer, among other terrible side effects. So should we just be naked, then? No, shop eco-friendly and organic lines. If that’s not possible, soak new clothes in a baking soda bath for a day, then launder as usual. For any older clothes, use a fragrance-free detergent and skip the fabric softener and dryer sheets.

Live Lightly

Tips on living a more sustainable life

The average American receives 41 pounds of junk mail every year, and half of that ends up in the landfill rather than the recycling bin. One hundred million trees are destroyed and 28 billion gallons of water are used to make junk mail each year. And, annually, producing junk mail creates more greenhouse gas emissions than nine million cars.

This year, aim to reduce that number by half. Opt out of junk mail lists, catalogs and credit card offers (optOutPrescreen. com, catalogchoice.org and dmachoice.org are good places to start).

Reducing junk mail isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for you too. Junk mail wastes your time, threatens your privacy, increases chances of scams and hides your real mail.

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APRIL 16 Pinehurst Triathlon

Pinehurst 750-meter swim, 20k bike, 5K run runsignup.com

APRIL 29 Rock N' Run

Southern Pines 5K runsignup.com

MAY 20 Catching Fireflies

Raleigh 5K, 1 mile runsignup.com