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Student Debt Alters Class Status

A college degree has long been a ticket to the middle class. A college degree typically confers higher pay, stronger job security, greater home ownership and comparatively stable households. Those benefits have long been seen as worth the sacrifices often required, from deferred income to student debt.

Yet college graduates aren’t as likely as they once were to feel they belong to the middle class, according to a collaborative analysis of the 2018 General Social Survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and GSS staff. The survey found that 35% of graduates described themselves as working or lower class, up from just 20% who felt that way in 1983. By contrast, only 64% of college grads say they feel they belong to the middle or upper class.

The findings might seem surprising given that the nearly decade-long U.S. economic expansion is on the verge of becoming the longest on record and unemployment is an ultra-low 3.8 percent. Yet the financial insecurities that afflict many college graduates point to the widening gap between the richest Americans and everyone else. Dan Black, an economist at the University of Chicago, suggested that the consequences of the trend could include delayed family formation, lower levels of consumer spending and, eventually, slower economic growth. “Concerns like this will definitely have impacts for the economy, Black said.

The survey shows that Americans — both college graduates and those without degrees — have broadly benefitted as the country healed from the Great Recession, which ended in 2009. But across age groups, a college degree has become less of an assurance of upward mobility. College graduates ages 50 and over, as well as those under 35, are less likely than they were in 1993 to describe themselves as middle or upper class.

All of which suggests that while college still offers a path upward, that route has been narrowed by student debt loads, an outpacing of home prices relative to wages and widening economic inequality. The income disparities go well beyond the gap between the top 1% of earners and all other households. Disparities are widening even within many occupations, including financial advisers, lawyers and physicians. The result is that an ostensibly middle class job title may provide a pay level more associated with a lower middle class job.

The survey finds that Americans’ satisfaction with their personal finances has finally regained its pre-recession levels even though this hasn’t led to increased identification with the middle class. Both people who have graduated from college and those who haven’t are now as likely as they were before the recession to say their financial situations have improved in the past year.

But Americans are also more likely than they were before the recession to say they feel overworked. College graduates are likelier than those without degrees to say they work overtime (80% to 70% and that they have more work to do than they can complete (40% to 30%).

All told, student debt totals roughly $1.5 trillion — a more than five-fold increase since 2004, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. To help manage the burden, many parents and older family members have borrowed to fund their children’s educations.

Federal researchers concluded that the increase in education debt between 2005 and 2014 has prevented homeownership for roughly 400,000 young people. At the same time, many surveys show that student debt has also delayed marriages and household formation.

Economists have noted that rising college debt has in effect become an entry fee for the job market. Nearly 80% of the net 2 million job gains last year went to college graduates, even though just a third of adults hold a degree. But about 60% of college graduates in 2017 had student loans with the average borrower leaving college with about $30,000 in debt, according to the College Board.

“Young people are facing unprecedented challenges that are preventing them from achieving what we all consider to be the American Dream,” said Soncia Coleman, a senior director at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group for millennials. “They need the education, but the cost to get it is astronomical.”

Climate Change Visible Worldwide

From the drunken forests of Alaska, to the vanishing glaciers of Glacier National Park, to the bleaching of coral reefs in the Florida Keys, climate change is impacting our world.

The drunken forests are caused by softening of the permafrost which leads to tilting of the trees. Rising temperatures are threatening the glaciers and warming waters re causing a shift in the composition of oceans that has bleached out color in the reefs.

“There’s more carbon in the water,” explains Mike Gunter Jr. “Some corals are more resilient than others. You’ll see parts of a reef that look really good,” but in others, change is noticeable.

Gunter, a professor at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. has written a new book, “Tales of an Ecotourist: What Travel to Wild Places Can Teach Us About Climate Change.”

El Nino, a cyclical pattern of Pacific storms caused by warm water, has become stronger in recent years, researchers say. That has affected Ecuador’s famed Galapagos Islands known for bird, reptile and sea life.

The lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan, is shrinking, Gunter reports. In the past 40 years, the salt-laden sea has diminished by a third and dropped 80 feet. Much of the change is due to increased use of water from the Jordan River for irrigation.

The flooding which has long plagued the canal city of Venice, Italy, has intensified in recent years. Some areas are regularly inundated at peak high tides. The city is developing plans to build flood walls and other barriers to keep the sea at bay.

The types of species found at Acadia National Park, Maine, is shifting. The area’s lobster population is predicted to migrate north in search of cooler waters, as will the whales that pass by offshore.

In Antarctica, gentoo penguins thrive because they build pebble nests on shorelines newly exposed by melting ice. On the other hand, adelle penguins are having trouble because they fish from floating sea ice, which is less plentiful.

The south-central Kansas town of Greensburg is an environmental survivor, Gunter says. It was nearly destroyed by a 2007 tornado but has been rebuilt as one of the most eco-conscious places in the world. It was the first U.S. city to fully adopt LED street lights, and it gets 100% of its power from renewable energy. It “has rebuilt itself stronger than before,” Gunter notes.

Climate Change Threatens Glaciers

Nearly half of the glaciers in World Heritage sites will disappear by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked, according to a study the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) focused on the 46 World Heritage sites where glaciers are found.

The authors predict “glacier extinction by 2100 under a high emission scenario in 21 of the 46 natural World Heritage sites where glaciers are currently found,” IUCN said in a statement.

Sites likely to see the most severe ice-loss are Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina and Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which straddles the Alberta-Montana border.

Twelve North American conservation groups from the U.S. and Canada petitioned the World Heritage Committee to add Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park to the list of World Heritage Sites in danger due to impacts from climate change.

Climate change is causing rapid disappearance of the park’s glaciers and significant damage to the park’s vegetation and wildlife, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Glacier National Park once was home to approximately 150 glaciers, but only 27 remained as of 2006, and those are rapidly melting, according to CBD. Global warming is responsible for the disappearance of the park’s iconic glaciers.

“The glaciers that Glacier National Park was named for will vanish entirely by 2030 if current climate change trends continue,” said Kassie Siegel of CBD.

The Alps, Europe’s famous mountain range, still loom over the continent, but warming temperatures are taking a toll. Glaciers in The Alps are receding and plant life is changing as lowland species gain a foothold.

A drunken forest may sound like something out of a “Harry Potter” book, but it is a change caused by rising temperatures. As permafrost, the layer of permanently frozen ground, disappears in Alaska, trees begin to tilt. “There are forests that are leaning like a hurricane blew them. They look like they’ve had too much to drink,” says Mike Gunter Jr., a professor at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Climate Change Hammers Canada

From the temperate Pacific rainforests of British Columbia to the old French architecture of Montreal, the chilly, vital Arctic to Banff National Park, considered by many to be “the zenith of the entire Rocky Mountains,” Canada is incredibly beautiful and full of wonder. But all that wonder is at risk.

“The environmental threat to our world is greater than any time in human history. Just look around. We’re already seeing the impacts of climate change seared across the world,” says the Catherine McKenna, Canada’s minister of environment and climate change.

“Average temperatures in Canada have already increased by 1.7 degrees Celsius since 1948. Continued amplification of warming at high latitudes is projected under all scenarios of future climate change,” McKenna explains. “Along with higher temperatures and increased rainfall, we will see rising sea levels. Warmer waters and ocean acidification are expected to become increasingly evident over the next century.”
The nation has experienced a higher rate of warming than most other regions of the world, particularly in its far-north and west. This warming has been most pronounced in the winter and springtime, and it’s leading to a number of major impacts across the country. These include permafrost and ice melt in the Arctic, sea-level rise, and more frequent and severe extreme weather, such as once-uncommon heat extremes and major changes in precipitation.

The Arctic is an incredibly important and very fragile ecosystem – and it’s warming at a much faster rate than much of the rest of the world. Scientists are already seeing dramatic reductions in Arctic sea ice cover, particularly in the summertime. This shrinking sea ice disrupts normal ocean circulation and creates changes in climate and weather around the globe.

For the minister, seeing the human impacts of this warming on her fellow Canadians has hit by far the hardest. “This is not a matter of inconvenience to the Inuit – the melting of the sea ice and permafrost threaten the Inuit way of life and their very survival. The consequences are painful and profound.

Canada is largely thought of as a temperate-to-cool country, one insulated for the most part from the worst sorts of extreme weather. Or at least it wasn’t for much of the nation’s history. The last few decades, however, have brought dangerous changes to Canada’s climate and weather.

“In the Canadian West, wildfires rage stronger and harsher than ever before. We’ve witnessed cities and homes burning, ranchers losing their stables – and each fire season, more communities displaced by the flames,” McKenna explains. “On the prairies, droughts and floods occur with increasing frequency, and produce greater devastation for families and farmers whose homes and businesses are harmed.”

These devastating events are being driven in large part by ever-rising temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns. On average, Canada has become both warmer and wetter. But the amount and distribution of rain, snow and ice across Canada has also shifted.

Like so many places around the globe, Canada has seen an increase in hot extremes. Intense heat can have a serious impact on human health, and – thanks at least in part to climate change – days of extremely high temperatures and poor air quality are only becoming more frequent. Worse, these days hit vulnerable populations in urban centers the hardest – specifically, babies, children and seniors, as well as people who work outdoors or are already ill.

In early July 2018, the southern part of the Canadian province of Québec endured one such period of sweltering heat – and it took the lives of up to 54 people, most of them between the ages of 50 and 85. These changing circumstances also likely played a major role in the nation’s most destructive wildfire ever, when more than 88,000 people were evacuated from Fort McMurray in Alberta in May 2016. More than 2,400 homes and other buildings were destroyed.

“From 1983 to 2004, insurance claims in Canada from severe-weather events totaled almost $400 million a year. In the past decade alone, that amount tripled to more than $1 billion a year. Climate change is expected to cost Canada’s economy $5 billion a year by 2020, and as much as $43 billion a year by 2050. Inaction is simply not an option,” McKenna explained.

Driven by melting land ice and seawater warming and expanding, global sea levels could rise by as much as a meter, or perhaps even more, by the end of the century. Canada is a maritime nation. Eight of its 10 provinces and all three territories border ocean waters. That puts the western Arctic, Canada’s southeastern Atlantic Coast and major cities like Vancouver and Halifax right on the front lines of sea-level rise.

With oceans rising faster than at any time in almost 3,000 years and Antarctic ice loss now believed to be nearly three times greater than earlier estimates, there’s great cause for concern. Rising seas and increased storm surge height may cause flooding all along the country’s Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Beaufort Sea coasts, allowing salt water intrusion into some inland areas, potentially contaminating ground and surface freshwater.

“In our big, cold country on the upper half of North America, the environment impacts where Canadians live, how we work and how we see our future. Canadians, including myself, are focused on ensuring that we protect our environment all while creating good jobs and making sure our businesses are positioned to compete as we move to a cleaner and more sustainable future,” McKenna says.

Fast Disappearing Jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average job in the U.S. will expand its workforce by 7% through 2026, but not all industries will be so lucky.

About 17% of the 818 occupations the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks will actually lose more workers than they add between 2016 and 2026.

Here are some of the occupations the bureau says will experience the largest decline over the next seven years, each losing more than 20% of their workers.

Locomotive firers. Median annual wage: $63,820. Projected job loss through 2026: -79%. In the next couple of years, more than three-quarters of the people who hold this title will be fired or laid off. Firers monitor tracks and train instruments checking for dragging equipment, obstacles on the tracks and other potential safety problems. Very few trains will keep them on, as a lot of their work has become automated or is now done by the locomotive engineer or conductor.
Respiratory therapy technicians. Median annual wage: $51,210. Projected job loss through 2026: -56%. These healthcare workers assist respiratory therapists and physicians in caring for patients who have trouble breathing, maybe because of a chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma or emphysema.
Parking enforcement workers. Median annual wage: $39,840. Projected job loss through 2026: -35%. These workers patrol an assigned an area, such as a parking lot or city street, and issue tickets or citations to cars parked illegally or cars that have overstayed their parking time limit.
Word processors and typists. Median annual wage: $39,750. Projected job loss through 2026: -33%. These office workers type up letters, reports, forms or other material from rough drafts, voice recording, or other documents using either a word processor, computer or typewriter. Some may also perform other clerical duties commonly done by secretaries and other administrative assistants.
Watch repairers. Median annual wage: $39,910. Projected job loss through 2026: -30%. As the name suggests, these workers repair, clean and adjust timing-keeping instruments, such as watches and clocks. The popularity of smartphones likely diminished people’s need for other time tracking devices.
Motor vehicle electronic-equipment installers and repairers. Median annual wage: $35,590. Projected job loss through 2026: -26%. These workers install and repair the sound, security and navigation equipment used in vehicles. As car companies continue to roll out models with more advanced sound, security, entertainment and navigation systems, these workers receive fewer calls since these higher-quality new systems typically require less maintenance and upkeep than previous models did.
Foundry mold and core makers. Median annual wage: $35,430. Projected job loss through 2026: -24%. These workers make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries. The number of positions is expected to drop because of improvements to and increased usage of labor-saving machinery and the fact that any U.S. manufacturers have moved their production to foreign counties.
Metal pourers and casters. Median annual wage: $37,730. Projected job loss through 2026: -23%. These workers operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots. Technological advances in the machinery used in this process will lower demand for human workers, as will the continued competition metal manufacturing industries face from foreign companies for orders from U.S. customers.
Computer operators. Median annual wage: $45,840. Projected job loss through 2026: -23%. These tech workers monitor electronic data-processing equipment, respond to operation and error messages and may enter commands at a computer terminal and set controls on computers and peripheral devices.
Telephone operators. Median annual wage: $37,240. Projected job loss through 2026: -23%. These workers provide information to customers by consulting alphabetical, geographical or other directories and assist with special billing requests, such as charges to a third party and credits or refunds for incorrectly dialed numbers or bad connections. Some may also handle emergency calls or help children or people with physical disabilities make telephone calls.
Mine shuttle-car operators. Median annual wage: $56,340. Projected job loss through 2026: -22%. These workers operate diesel or electric-powered shuttle cars in underground mines to transport materials from the working face of a mine to mine cars or conveyors.
Data-entry keyers. Median annual wage: $32,170. Projected job loss through 2026: -21%. These workers are responsible for inputting information into electronic or digital systems using data entry devices, such as keyboards or photo composing perforators. They may also need to verify the data entered and prepare materials for printing.
Postmasters and mail superintendents. Median annual wage: $75,970. Projected job loss through 2026: – 21 percent. These federal workers handle the operational and administrative services of a post office. A combination of automated sorting systems, cluster mailboxes and tight budgets will drastically reduce the number of all postal workers working by 2026, according to the bureau. Add in the fact that more people are opting for electronic bill pay and email to handle tasks that once only went through the mail and the demand for these services isn’t what it once was.
Coil winders, tapers, and finishers. Median annual wage: $34,400. Projected job loss through 2026: – 21 percent. These workers assist in creating electric and electronic products such as resistors, transformers, generators and electric motors by winding the wire coils of electrical components. Improved processes, tools, and increased automation are expected to make this manufacturing sector more efficient and, thus, require fewer workers.
Hand-grinding and polishing workers. Median annual wage: $29,550. Projected job loss through 2026: – 20 percent. These workers grind, sand and polish a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic or glass objects using hand tools or hand-held power tools.

Can ‘Net Zero’ Help Reinvent Cities?

“Net zero,“ which refers to buildings that produce enough energy to offset what they use, is a growing buzzword in residential and commercial construction. Net zero, sometimes called “zero energy”, helps pave the way for sustainability and savings on utility costs. Tim Weisheyer, broker-owner of Dream Builders Realty in Kissimmee, Fla., also hopes to show how net zero buildings can help recast Osceola County as a tech-forward hub. Weisheyer has been an integral part of the process of building what reportedly is the first net zero high school in the state of Florida.

In recent years, a handful of public and private net zero K-12 school projects have popped up across the country. School districts are largely using it as a way to lower utility costs and reduce operational costs. In Osceola County, city leaders want to also use its newly-built net zero school as a model for sustainability and as a teaching tool for the next generation of tech workers. That could prove beneficial to its economy, too: High-paying tech jobs have long been the silver bullet behind several leading housing markets.

Osceola County expects its population to double by 2040 and boasts a rapidly evolving economy. Tourism, including Walt Disney World Resort, and agriculture are its two main industries, but Weisheyer says the county is on the cusp of adding technology as a top-tier draw. Weisheyer, who serves on the Chamber of Commerce in his community, traveled with business leaders and lawmakers to Austin, Texas, to see how the city revitalized its economic development from a college town into a major tech hub.

From that, NeoCity was born in Osceola County to reinvent a 500-acre tract of land into a master-planned community that will serve as a tech hub for Central Florida. Weisheyer, who also serves as chairman of the Osceola County School Board, realized schools needed to part of that vision. “We need to make sure to develop education programs to develop the skilled workforce that we would need to support this,” he says.

As a byproduct of that vision, NeoCity Academy is set to open in August. The 500-student, demonstration high school has 45,000-square-feet and cost $15 million to build. As a net zero building, operational costs will remain low and unlock savings to the school district over the long term. The building was designed to use 76 percent less energy than a typical public school in the area. NeoCity Academy is dubbed as an immersive learning school that offers curriculum paths in the engineering, biomedical and cybersecurity fields.

The design of the building was well-thought-out to focus on energy efficiency, including a focus on air-tightness and the positioning of classrooms to maximize natural light and help lower utility costs. Solar panels on rooftops and walkway awnings also add electricity to its grid. LED lighting, integrated functions for water management and sensors throughout the building also help monitor indoor air quality and temperatures. The building’s energy production and usage will be displayed in real time on a building educational dashboard that can be used by teachers and students as part of the curriculum.

While not well-known, the south central Kansas town of Greensburg is an environmental survivor. The town was nearly destroyed by a tornado in 2007 but was rebuilt as one of the most eco-conscious places in the world. It was the first U.S. City to fully adopt LED street lights, and it gets 100% of its power from renewable energy.

Simple Skills Make You Likable

It only takes just one conversation to make others like you. Here are some simple ways to start crafting a “million-dollar personality” and become the most likable person in the room:

Keep eye contact. The first thing people will try to decide about you when they meet you is if they can trust you – and it’s fairly hard to like someone if you don’t trust them. Their decision is made almost entirely unconsciously, and it usually comes down to how well you can balance conveying two things: warmth and competence. One simple way to show you’re paying attention is to make eye contact and hold it. Making eye contact is also an effective way to convey competence, and studies have shown that those who do so are consistently judged as more intelligent.

Smile. Smiling is another simple and effective way to convey warmth. You also can laugh, tell jokes and use positive body language.

Show enthusiasm. Along with a smile, show some enthusiasm and energy, also known as charisma.

Put away your smartphone. “Pay attention. Look at theother person with no interruptions.

Give a firm handshake. Your handshake should be firm, but not too hard, certainly not limp and soft and with no dominance play.

Call people by name. Repeat people’s names numerous times as you speak to them. Tell someone else these people’s names, in case you do forget and need a reminder. Write names down in your phone with a short description of who they are and how you met them.

Practice your listening skills. Listen more than you speak. Don’t just hear words – actively listen. Active listening requires four steps: hearing, interpreting, evaluating and responding. Drop what you’re doing and pay attention. Paraphrase what you’ve heard and ask clarifying questions. Steering clear of quick judgment and jumping to conclusions. Give feedback to let the speaker know that you heard them.

Know how to accept a compliment. Accepting a compliment can be tricky because you don’t want to seem egotistical. Accept the compliment with confidence by using phrases like “Thanks! Hearing that feels really good” or “Thank you! What an amazing experience.”

It’s OK to stroke egos. Flattery grabs people by their ego and is extremely effective. Flattery comes with a caveat. Too much can be a huge turn off, especially if it doesn’t seem genuine.

If someone is interrupted, ask them to continue. Everyone has been that person who is telling a story, gets interrupted, and then has to awkwardly stand by, wondering if anyone was even listening. You can be that person’s liberator by saying something like, “Hey, can you please finish your story. I would like to hear the rest of it.”

Say you’re sorry. Taking accountability for your mistakes is instrumental in changing someone’s bad impression of you. But an “I’m sorry” when you’re not to blame for something can also be surprisingly helpful. Saying “I’m sorry” when someone tells you about something bad that happened to them is an effective way to show that you’re putting yourself in their shoes and showing empathy.

Practice good posture. Stand and sit up straight. Bad posture sends a message that you’re apathetic or unapproachable. If you convey negative body language, no one will get close enough to find out if you’re likable.

Enunciate at all times. Speaking loudly and clearly makes it easier for people to know what you’re saying.
Though yelling can be frightening, speaking loudly enough to be heard can make you sound smarter and more confident.

Be true to your word. Take ownership of your own mistakes, avoid deceit at all costs and be someone your coworkers can always count on to do the right thing. Ultimately this is what trust is all about. If you seem too warm,people may question your competence. If you appear too competent, people may assume you’re cold. Neither doormat nor jerk are particularly likable qualities. Simply be a person of your word.

Don’t complain. Being around negative people is draining.

Make everyone feel included. No one wants to feel left out. When you’re talking in a group, make sure everyone is involved.

End a conversation the right way. Your final words can leave a lasting impression on a person, so use them right. Send people off with a positive remark, such as “I enjoyed getting to know you,” “I hope you enjoy the rest of your day” or “I’ll remember our conversation.”

Put Your Elbow Grease to Work

We’re not talking about spring cleaning. For now forget about the floors, dust and windows. Look to the items you have neglected, maybe forever. There are places in your home could be harboring all sorts of nasty gunk and grime. They might not appear dirty, but don’t forget to clean them to keep them working properly and to keep you and your family safe.

If your broom and mop are coated in dirt, you’re ultimately only spreading it around your house when you’re trying to clean. Soak your mop in a mixture of water and bleach to kill anything that’s seeped into it. To clean your broom head, soak it in water and dish soap then wipe it down and let it dry.

Bath mats on the bathroom floor get just as dirty as your towels do. Dirt, dead skin and more end up there and accumulate, and even if your feet look clean, you can track contaminants to other parts of your house. Wash bath mats regularly and spritz them with white vinegar to clean bacteria between washes.

Gunk and buildup on your iron might make it seem like it’s time to buy a new one. But you can make it as good as new by cleaning it with a vinegar and baking soda paste.

Aside from getting tossed in carts and on conveyor belts, reusable grocery bags can get covered in gunk from your groceries, including dirt from vegetables, juice from leaky raw meat and more. Canvas bags can be washed in the washing machine, while recycled plastic bags can be washed by hand in warm soapy water and air dried.

Most people know that smartphones and tablets are magnets for germs because they touch all kinds of surfaces. There are plenty of electronic wipe products on the market because of this. But most people don’t consider items like their driver’s licence and credits cards when wiping down their personal possessions. These cards are handled by other people and set on all sorts of different surfaces. Use a towel or antibacterial wipe to clean it off and then rub an eraser along the magnetic strip to remove any grime that would make it harder to read.

Washing your sheets and pillowcases is part of your cleaning routine, but what about washing your pillows themselves? Dust mites, a major trigger of allergies and asthma, and their droppings accumulate by the millions in your pillow, as can multiple kinds of fungus, so it’s recommended to wash it in hot water. Check the tag on your pillow to find washing instructions.

Your keys can collect all sorts of germs, grease and dirt. On top of sanitizing them, make sure they’re free of rust by scrubbing them with salt and lemon juice or soaking them in water and vinegar. Toothpaste can also help make keys shiny and clean.

Small appliances are often not cleaned as regularly as they should be. While you might clean the coffee pot, what about the coffee maker itself? Bean debris and hard water deposits build up inside the machine. Run a cycle with half vinegar and half water to flush it out, and then a couple more cycles of just water to clear out the vinegar. You can do the same thing with Keurig machines.

You touch your car’s steering wheel and dashboard buttons after touching all sorts of surfaces, including gas pumps and your dirty exterior door handles, so it shouldn’t be surprising how dirty they can be. Wipe down plastic parts with disinfectant wipe and use leather cleaner for any leather surfaces.

It’s obvious when glass shower doors are grimy. But shower curtains can look deceptively clean. Although they’re constantly exposed to soap and warm water, that doesn’t mean they’re clean. In fact, they’re a breeding ground for all sorts of mold and mildew if not cleaned regularly (ideally at least once a month). You can run plastic shower curtains through the washing machine on the rinse cycle with a little white vinegar or run it through the wash cycle with detergent.

Even the sturdiest trash bag is prone to leave little bits of food and garbage lingering in your trash can that can fester and leave unpleasant smells even after you take out the trash. Small indoor trash cans can sometimes fit in your dishwasher for a thorough clean. For large indoor or outdoor garbage bins, take them outside, add some dish soap, scrub them out and spray them down with a hose.

The exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen get just as filthy as ceiling fan blades, but the dust and grease accumulates behind a grille or cover. Blast out dirt from the bathroom exhaust fan with a can of compressed air and wipe the exterior with a microfiber cloth. Remove and clean the mesh filters and fans in your kitchen exhaust.

Even after the rinse cycle, your dishwasher can remain dirty. Hard water deposits, soap scum and other buildup can cling onto the racks, and food can clog the drains. Scrub these places thoroughly, then run a cycle on hot with white vinegar to clean and disinfect. Remember to clean the filter.

Dust accumulates on houseplants just the same as other surfaces in your home. Brush down sleek leaves with a duster or microfiber cloth, or spritz them with water and wipe down. For textured or fuzzy leaves, you can use a toothbrush to get into the grooves.

Kitchen, bathtub and shower drains get a lot of TLC to make sure they don’t get clogged with hair, soap scum and food. But the drains in your bathroom sinks shouldn’t be neglected. Pop-up bathroom sink plugs are easy to forget to clean because you can’t see the gunk surrounding them. But before your bathroom sink gets so clogged it’s unable to drain, disconnect the stopper piece from underneath the sink to give it a good cleaning, and remove all the debris stuck in the pipe above it.

Most people know to wipe down their patio furniture before storing it away for the winter and again getting it out in time for backyard barbecues in the spring. But many people neglect their outdoor umbrellas, especially the inside. Dirt, moisture and bugs get trapped inside and can stain the fabric, allow mildew to grow and possibly even rust the metal mechanisms in the umbrella. Brush or vacuum out debris before washing the umbrella with warm water and laundry detergent. Add bleach to tackle mildew or tree sap stains.

Running over your lampshades with a duster once in a blue moon might not be enough to grab grime that has sunk into the surface. Try rolling it with a sticky lint roller, or vacuum it with an upholstery brush attachment. If your fabric lampshade is stained, soak the lampshade in warm soapy water with laundry or dishwashing detergent, then scrub it clean, rinse and dry.

So many crumbs fall into the bottom of a toaster. When these accumulate, they can start to burn, creating an unappetizing smell, or even catch fire. On top of simply dumping out the crumbs, wash out your toaster using soapy water and a washcloth, thin scrubber or toothbrush to make this small appliance as good as new.

Many people empty out their dust cup and replace or clean the filters on their vacuum regularly, but some additional steps are necessary to keep this appliance running smoothly. Wash your dust cup with warm soapy water and check your brushes, belts, and hoses to remove any built-up dirt or hair caught in them. It’s important to keep your vacuum clean, because it’s just one of the many areas of your home where dangerous bacteria might be growing.

Happy cleaning, everyone!

Inventions with Impact

In just a few millennia, mankind has moved from dark caves to spectacular cities and gained the ability, thanks to the internet, to pull up a good chunk of our species’ accumulated knowledge from the telephones in our pockets.

How we got from worshiping the moon to walking on it is the direct result of history-making inventions old and new. Here’s a look at some of the inventions that have had major impacts on humankind.

The wheel – The most amazing thing about the wheel isn’t so much its invention, but that people relied on dragging things around for so long. A 5,500-year-old Sumerian pictograph of a wheeled sledge represents the earliest evidence of humankind finally working smarter, not harder.

Steel – The key process of tempering steel was known to ancient Egyptians by about 900 BC, giving rise to the world’s first steel industry. Swords and knives were the initial bestsellers.

The compass – Twelfth-century Chinese and European mariners discovered that pieces of lodestone, a magnetic ore, tended to align with the North Star. Iron or steel needles touched by lodestones for long enough took on the same quality, and so, the compass was born.

The printing press – The printing press was the product of other inventions. Paper and movable type first appeared in China, but Germany’s Johannes Gutenberg generally is credited with inventing a machine that transferred ink-based text and images to paper some time around 1439. This drastically reduced the cost of printing books and other documents, and spurred the spread of information like no invention before.

The rocket – Rocket propulsion originated centuries before the first manned space flight. In 12th-century Asia, rockets propelled by a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal were used for military purposes.

Guns –. Around the year 1000, after having invented gunpowder, the Chinese came up with a bamboo tube that used gunpowder to fire a spear. This is widely regarded as the first gun. Rifles, pistols, revolvers and more advanced forms of handheld weaponry came later.

The telescope – In 1609, Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei used a small, primitive telescope to observe mountains and craters on the moon. He also noted a band of light stretching across the heavens, which would later be identified as our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

The microscope – Moving from observing very large things to very tiny ones, the compound microscope was invented around 1590 by three Dutch spectacle makers: Hans Jansen, his son Zacharias Jansen and Hans Lippershey.

Refrigeration – Artificial refrigeration was first demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748. But it was Ferdinand Carré who introduced ammonia as a vapor-compression coolant in 1859. The French inventor’s refrigeration became widely used, and vapor-compression refrigeration remains the most popular method of cooling.

The steam engine – Until the 17th century, the steam power had not been harnessed for any practical purpose. That changed in 1698, when Thomas Savery patented a steam-powered pump for sucking water out of mines. Much refinement later, this technology would power everything from locomotives to ships.

The automobile – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is widely credited as the inventor of the first true automobile. In 1769 the Frenchman’s enormous steam-powered vehicle, a tricycle, carried four people for 20 minutes at 3.6 km per hour.

The airplane – The Wright Flyer of 1903 was the first powered airplane to make a sustained flight under a pilot’s control. Designed and constructed by Wilbur and Orville Wright, it flew across the base of the Kill Devil Hills four times. The aircraft now is displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The battery – By providing the first source of continuous current, Italian Alessandro Volta’s invention of the electric battery in 1800 opened the door to many of the world-changing inventions on this list.

The telephone – After much competition and controversy, Scottish-born inventor Alexander Graham Bell was awarded a US patent for both the telephone instrument and the concept of a telephone system on March 7, 1876. His patent often is described as one of the most valuable of all time.

Vaccines – British physician Edward Jenner introduced the first vaccine in 1796, when he used the cowpox virus to inoculate human patients against smallpox. Since then, vaccination has wiped out smallpox, decimated polio and continues to help prevent other deadly diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and tuberculosis.

Internal combustion engine – In 1859, Étienne Lenoir unveiled the first successful gasoline-powered engine in Paris. Closely modeled on a horizontal steam engine, it was expertly refined by German inventor Nikolaus Otto in 1878, and went on to become the power plant of choice for most of the world’s motorized vehicles.

The camera – Photography was born when the camera obscura was adapted to produce a permanent image. This was achieved by two Frenchmen, Joseph Nicéphore Niepce and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, in the 1820s and 1830s.

The computer – The Analytical Engine, which was designed and partly built by English inventor Charles Babbage in the 19th century, is generally considered to have been the first computer. Its four components – the mill, the store, the reader and the printer – were precursors to the CPU, memory and storage and input and output devices of modern computers.

Television – Technical developments in Britain, Europe, the Soviet Union and the United States made TV broadcasting feasible by 1931. It was then that a team headed by Britain’s Isaac Shoenberg invented a complete and practical TV broadcast system based on the Emitron camera tube and a receiver based on a cathode-ray tube.

Motion pictures – Legendary American inventor Thomas Edison is frequently credited with inventing the motion picture in 1889, despite the fact that his motion-picture operations were run by an assistant, W.K.L. Dickson, and that several British and French inventors could also claim precedent. What can’t be debated is that the 1892 version of Edison’s Kinetograph camera used a 35-mm format that is still in use today.

Concrete – When English inventor Joseph Aspdin burned and ground together a mixture of limestone and clay in 1824, the Portland cement he created would go on to become the dominant cementing agent used in the production of concrete, which is now used to build the vast majority of modern structures.

Plastic – The first plastic, Parkesine, was developed by British inventor Alexander Parkes when he combined chloroform and castor oil. Parkes won a bronze medal for his invention at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London.

Dynamite – Alfred Nobel of Sweden invented dynamite in 1867 when, by chance, he combined nitroglycerin and a powdery compound known as kieselguhr. This produced a substance that was much safer to use and easier to handle than nitroglycerin alone.

The incandescent light bulb – Despite several competing claims, American Thomas Edison has always received most of the credit for inventing the light bulb. A bulb isn’t much good without power, and Edison also had developed a practical lighting system to illuminate “his” invention.

Radio – Guglielmo Marconi was the first inventor to develop a method for transmitting wireless telegraph signals over significant distances. Eventually, in 1901, the Italian physicist bridged the Atlantic when he transmitted the letter “s” in Morse code from Poldhu, Cornwall, to St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Antibiotics – A decade after Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming noted that Penicillium notatum mold killed bacteria growing on a culture plate, British biochemist Ernst Chain and others isolated penicillin in 1938 and showed that it could fight many serious bacterial infections.

Nuclear fission – On Dec. 2, 1942, Italy’s Enrico Fermi and his team ushered in the Atomic Age by operating the world’s first self-sustaining nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago. Known as a “pile,” the device was made up of an array of uranium and graphite blocks.

Artificial satellites – The Soviet Union launched the first Earth-orbiting satellite, Sputnik 1, on Oct. 4, 1957. Circling the Earth every 96 minutes, Sputnik’s radio signal was the first to be transmitted around the world.

The Internet – In 1974, American computer scientist Vinton Cerf first described the transmission control protocol (TCP) that enables different types of machines on distant networks to route and assemble data packets. This laid the foundation for the global network that is now used by more than 3 billion people.

Mobile phones – Widely regarded as the inventor of the cellular phone, Martin Cooper is the American engineer who led the Motorola team that built the first mobile cellphone, and made the first cellphone calls, in 1972 and 1973. The result, the enormous DynaTAC phone, weighed around eight times as much as today’s smart phones.

Travels with Fido

Can’t bear the thought of boarding your four-legged family member as you head off for a road trip? With a little extra planning, Fido can road trip with you. Here’s some tips about traveling with your dog.

Before you hit the open road, first pay a visit to your veterinarian to make sure your furry friend is up to date on vaccinations and healthy enough for travel. Once he’s cleared, it’s a good idea to go on a few short practice trips before you embark on the real thing. This will give you a chance to see if your dog suffers from motion sickness or exhibits any nervous or anxious behaviors about traveling.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, take him on a few car rides to fun places like the dog park or a favorite pet supply store so he starts associating the car with something positive, says animal expert Dr. Tricia Earley. If he shows signs of nausea (drooling, excessive lip-licking, shaking, vomiting), you can offer treats containing ground ginger or a few drops of ginger extract 30 minutes before travel to help settle his stomach, adds Dr. Earley. If that doesn’t seem to do the trick, talk to your vet about a prescription anti-nausea medication.

Practice can’t prepare you for everything, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve packed accordingly. While your list will depend on your dog’s individual needs, here’s a good place to start:
Leash and collar with up-to-date ID tags
Food and water (Tip: Now is not the time to try a new food!)
Waste bags (Tip: Before the trip teach your dog to relieve himself on multiple surfaces-not just grass!)
Dog bed and blankets
Medical records and vaccination certificates
A few new toys and a couple of old favorites to keep boredom at bay
A recent photo of your dog
Flea and tick control
Treats
Collapsible bowls (Tip: Let him get used to them a week or two before you travel.)
A pet seat-belt or car seat and hammock to keep him safe and your seats protected

Rest stops are essential for a peaceful trip. Experts suggest you take a 15- to 30-minute break every four hours so your pup can do his business and stretch his legs. Dogs love routine, so the closer you can keep to your regular walking and feeding schedule, the better.