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One of the world's biggest chemical companies is now using recycled plastic to build new roads.

One of the world's biggest chemical companies is now using recycled plastic to build new roads.

The planet has a massive problem with plastic.

On the macro level, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which lies between the coast of California and Hawaii, is made of 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic debris and is twice the size of Texas.

On a micro level, a recent study published in The Guardian found that microplastic pollution has been found “everywhere” they’ve looked, from the UK’s lakes and rivers to U.S. groundwater to the Yangtze river in China and off coast of Spain.


One of the world’s largest producers of the planet’s biggest nuisance, Dow Chemical, has found a practical way to reuse plastic, keeping it our of our landfills and oceans.

In 2017, the company began building roads using recycled plastic and its already saved 220,000 pounds from going into landfills.

It all started when Indonesia, the world’s second-largest contributor to marine plastic pollution, reached out to Dow for a solution to its problem. So Dow helped show the Indonesians how to convert their plastic into roads. The company then carried out similar efforts in Thailand and India.

In February, Dow brought their recycling program stateside by paving two private roads at their facilities in Freeport, Texas using 1,700 pounds of recycled plastic.

In addition to reducing pollution, plastic roads are also more durable than those built with asphalt. A 2015 study out of Denmark says plastic roads can last up to 50 years, three times longer than a traditional asphalt mixture.

Plastic roads are also more resistant to corrosion and weather than asphalt which may reduce the number of potholes.

Conversely, some environmentalists fear that heating the plastic to turn it into roads may release toxic fumes that are harmful to the Earth’s atmosphere.

Dow says its new roads are made with a combination of asphalt and plastic, but it won’t reveal the exact percentage of each material.

Plastic roads would help solve two major problems the United States is facing. It is the world’s twelfth-largest producer of marine plastic and is in need of a major infrastructure upgrade. When the Trump Administration finally gets to infrastructure week, this should be a top priority.

Photo by Igor Ferreira on Unsplash

Florida principal fired after showing statue of "David."

If you ask most teachers why they went into education, they'll share that it had nothing to do with the money and everything to do with their passion for teaching. Even with rapid changes in curriculum and policies, teachers who remain in the classroom are lovers of education and are doing their best to help kids learn.

Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Florida's Tallahassee Classical School, was one of those teachers who simply enjoyed teaching. As the principal, Carrasquilla was required to teach two classes. During her sixth grade lesson about Renaissance art, which is also a requirement of the school, Carrasquilla showed a picture of Michelangelo's "David" statue.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, three parents complained about their children being shown the picture. Two of those parents were mostly upset that there wasn't sufficient notice given before the photo of the sculpture was shown. The third parent reportedly complained that the statue of the Biblical figure was pornographic.

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Family

Badass bikers show up for abused children, offering advocacy and protection

They become an abused child's "biker family," and they let the child—and everyone else—know that NO ONE messes with their family.

When you are a child who has been abused by people who are supposed to protect you, how do you feel safe?

That question is the heart of Bikers Against Child Abuse International (B.A.C.A.), an organization dedicated to creating "a safer environment for abused children." With specific training and extensive security checks, the frequently big and burly members of B.A.C.A. serve as protectors of chid abuse survivors, giving vulnerable children people to call on when they feel scared, and even showing up in court when a child asks them to.

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@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
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When Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.

In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a "jump-off" to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, "Can we have two golds?"

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via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

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English metal detector hobbyist finds a real treasure near Nottingham.

A retired merchant navy engineer in England has found a treasure that would have made his country’s most popular folk hero proud. Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old metal detector enthusiast, discovered a gold signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The discovery was made on a farm in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, 26.9 miles from Sherwood Forest. The forest is known worldwide for being the mythological home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. A central road that traversed the forest was notorious in Medieval times for being an easy place for bandits to rob travelers going to and from London.

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