Just thought you would like some random facts, follies and news bits from this past week to enjoy, or otherwise engage your mind.
• U.S. astronauts earn about $150,000 per year
• With the average price per pack soaring to $14.55, New York stands as the most expensive place in America to smoke. Key Data for New York:
* Total smokers: 2,058,331
*Average price per pack: $14.55
*Average cost per smoker per year: $3,983
* Total spent by smokers annually: $563,468,111
* Year-on-year change in smoking rate: -0.88%
• Under the current administration the Justice Department has seized, or demanded ballots in Michigan, Georgia, and other assorted places throughout the country. Election results as far back as 2020, 2024 and more recent ballots and voter rolls, envelopes and documents, including not only national, but more regional elections are being seized.
So far absolutely no significant irregularities have surfaced and even some Republican officials in charge are questioning the seizures. The voter fraud seizures are continuing putting pressure on both sate and local governments in what is being described as escalating election scrutiny based on nothing more than scare tactics leading up the midterm elections.
• According to an article put out by the Pew Institute, the health of America’s democracy declined in 2025, according to new evaluations from three organizations that have long tracked how democracies around the world are functioning. Nearly seven-in-ten Americans, including majorities in both parties, say the U.S. used to be a good example of democracy but hasn’t been in recent years.
• Americans’ views of China have grown somewhat more positive in recent years. For the better part of a decade, most Americans have had negative views of China. This is still the case, but the share with a favorable view has ticked up, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March.
The problem is that China is replacing the faltering U.S. dominance with positive investments around the world as the current administration has eliminated foreign aid and overall just pissed off allies.
• As predicted, climate change is taking a whack out of the lives of millions worldwide. China, one of the worst polluters on the planet, is changing course and developing fossil fuel alternatives and currently leads the world in electric vehicles and solar dominance.
• Europe, where gas is far more expensive that here in the U.S., is catching up with their solar and wind energy programs.
In 2023, Sweden led among European Union countries with 66.4% of its gross final energy consumption derived from renewable sources, followed by Finland (50.8%), Denmark (44.9%), and Latvia (43.2%).
• 82% of U.S. energy comes from fossil fuels, 8.7% from nuclear, and 9.1% from renewable sources. In 2023, renewables surpassed coal in energy generation.
Wind and solar are the fastest growing renewable sources, but contribute less than 3% of total energy used in the U.S. The federal government has stifled efforts to transition to renewable energy sources, favoring the "drill baby drill" scenario.
• The climate crisis is driving up home insurance premiums by increasing the risk of natural disasters, which inflict costly damage upon homes across the U.S. Global warming is part of human-caused climate change, but the consequences extend far beyond rising temperatures. As a result of long-term changes in the climate, we’re seeing more extreme fires, flooding, catastrophic storms, and other disasters each year. Just watch the news on an almost daily basis.
• In school, we were taught that most (about 71%) of the planet’s surface is covered in water. While that’s true, just 0.007% of that water is usable for people, according to National Geographic. That’s because only about 2.5% of Earth’s water is fresh water, and only a little more than 1% of that is accessible—most of the rest is made up of glaciers, polar ice caps and snowfields,t his, as the world population grows.
Meanwhile several western U.S. cities are predicting severe clean water shortages for the future.
