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Heroes

Keystone XL explained in the words of those who will be affected most by it.

Behind the politics, behind the posturing by oil companies and folks on Capitol Hill, behind even the economics of the Keystone XL Pipeline, there are people.


People who've farmed for generations and want to keep doing so without fear of having their waterways polluted and their way of life threatened. People who live near the source of the tar sands in Alberta, Canada. And more.



The pathway for the proposed pipeline includes Polk County, Nebraska, where Jim has farmed for decades — and before that, his ancestors and their ancestors farmed. It also includes going directly over the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water to over 2 million people in the plains states.

These folks understand the impact the pipeline will have on the ecology and water supply of Nebraska and other states and territories.

People like Chief Adam, who lives near the source of the tar sands oil in Alberta, Canada.

And folks like Meghan, who promises that this particular battle will not end.

For now, the Keystone XL Pipeline has been delayed after both the House and Senate approved it and President Barack Obama vetoed.

The veto held because Congress could not muster the two-thirds majority to push the bill through anyway. Now, TransCanada (the company behind this pipeline) is hoping that the next vote on KXL is delayed until after the next election, in hopes that someone favorable to Big Oil gets into office.

But even politics aren't stopping people from keeping up strong resistance.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from this clip:

Come with me now and listen to these folks tell the tale of how it will affect their lives.

For more information or to get involved, check out NoKXL.org.


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






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Joey Grundl, Milwaukee pizza guy.

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via PixaBay

Being an adult is tough.

Nothing can ever fully prepare you for being an adult. Once you leave childhood behind, the responsibilities, let-downs and setbacks come at you fast. It’s tiring and expensive, and there's no easy-to-follow roadmap for happiness and success.

A Reddit user named u/Frequent-Pilot5243 asked the online forum, “What’s an adult problem nobody prepared you for?” and there were a lot of profound answers that get to the heart of the disappointing side of being an adult.

One theme that ran through many responses is the feeling of being set adrift. When you’re a kid, the world is laid out as a series of accomplishments. You learn to walk, you figure out how to use the bathroom, you start school, you finish school, maybe you go to college, and so on.

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Pop Culture

Listen to this organ in Croatia that uses the sea to make hauntingly beautiful music

It's a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.


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Nope, not nonsensical bellows or chaotic tones. Real, actual, music.

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A comic from The Oatmeal illustrates how we're missing the mark on happiness.

I do the things that are meaningful to me, even if they don't make me "happy."

By Matthew Inman/The Oatmeal. Used with permission.

How to Be Perfectly Happy


Matthew Inman is the Eisner Award-winning author of The Oatmeal. He's published six books, including New York Times Best-Sellers such as "How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You"and "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances."He enjoys running marathons, writing comics, and eating cake.

You can read more of Matthew's comics here.

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Photo by Joe Gardner on Unsplash

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.

The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people's personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world's population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity.

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