*K-Cups have experienced explosive growth but not all is great with the popular technology.

9 8 billion K-cups were sold in 2014The Keurig brewing systems along with its single serve k-cups have revolutionized coffee making. Millions of units are sold each year and billions of pods. Everyone seems to love their k-cups, well almost everyone. Keurig co-founder and inventor John Sylvan is not a fan of the product, in fact, he wishes that he never invented them.

 The killing of Cecil the Lion is a small piece of a huge issue.

Cecil the LionWalter Palmer quickly made headlines last month when Zimbabwe Authorities said the Minnesota Dentist was responsible for killing Cecil the lion, one of the country’s most beloved lions and mascot of Hwange National Park. Zimbabwe officials claim that Palmer paid two guides $55,000 and killed Cecil after he was lured from the Park. Once his identity was released by the media, he instantly became the most despised person on the planet.

China Announces Plans to Build a Railway Through the Amazon Rainforest

Chinese Prime Minister Li KeqiangChinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang arrived in Brazil on Monday, May 18^th on an eight day tour of South America. The primary purpose of his trip is to advocate a 3000 mile railway that will cut through much of the Amazon Rainforest. The proposed railway will start in Peru, travel through Bolivia, and end at the Port of Acu in southern Brazil. Mr. Li met with Brazilian leadersand Peruvian President OllantaHumala during his visit. Both countries have agreed to begin studies into building the railway.

Many years after removing lead from product, poisoning is still an issue.

Lead Was Phased out of gasoline in the U S beginning in 1976For those who do not know of the name Freddie Gray, he was a 25 year old African American man from Baltimore, MD. On April 12, 2015, he was arrested by local police. One week later on April 19, Gray died from injuries to his spinal cord while in police custody. Six Baltimore police officers have been brought up on charges in connection to Gray’s death. The aftermath has been a highly controversial and debated topic with heated reactions and speculations surrounding the incident. Riots also broken out in the aftermath, resulting in arrests, injuries, looting, and buildings burned. Other cities followed Baltimore’s lead with their own protests including Washington D.C., New York City, and Chicago.

 This technology is making an impact, but is it all positive?

limbitless solutionsLimbitless Solutions is a company with a generous goal. They want to make affordable 3D printed limbs for kids in need of prosthetics. The not for profit organization run by engineering students at the University of Central Florida made news early in March 2015 when they made their first arm for a seven year old boy named Alex. It wasn’t just any bionic arm, it was an arm modeled after an Iron Man suit of Marvel fame. The video of Alex receiving his arm went viral with millions of views. Microsoft OneNote, and the Collective Project collaborated with Limbitless Solutions to bring the ambitious project to life, but it wasn’t just their efforts that made the video go viral, it was who delivered the arm. Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr personally delivered the arm to Alex, making it an unforgettable experience.

Can people survive in a place with a harsher environment than Antarctica?

MarsIt’s a place with no breathable air, no food, freezing cold, and is bombarded by solar radiation. Yet NASA wants to send people there to live. Why would anyone want to take such a risk in an environment more hostile than anything on earth? Perhaps it was because of its monumental announced back in September that it had found strong evidence of liquid water flowing on the surface of Mars. A month later, it was a discovery that brought the search for life in outer space to the little red planet right next door.

Hawaii may seem perfect, but it is not problem free!

A view of the sunrise on top of Mount HaleakalaIt is an exhilarating experience standing at over 10,000 feet above sea level at 5:00 A.M. What makes it even more special is that just 45 minutes prior, I was at sea level, driving past beaches and admiring the coastline. The location is Mount Haleakala, a dormant volcano on the beautiful island of Maui and the sunrise here is an absolute ‘must see’. At least that is what I am told because on this particular day, some clouds decided to join all of the other visitors at the summit and left very little room for the rest of us to enjoy the view. Just getting to see this crater of the volcano, and all of its cinder cones, more than made up for the weather’s cloudy intervention that day! On the second largest of Hawaii’s islands, Haleakala looms large, so large, that 75% of the island is made up of the volcano. Much of where I spent my time in Maui was spent along its outer edges travelling and exploring.

Temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean will alter weather conditions around the world.

Currents of the Atlantic OceanTropical Storm Ana piqued the interest of many meteorologists last month as it progressed toward Myrtle Beach. The storm began life as a tropical depression near the Bahamas on May 6^th, an early start to the season which doesn’t officially begin until June 1^st. The next storm: Tropical Storm Bill has been making its way across the Gulf of Mexico this week and made landfall on June 17. All this activity means the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season is off and running. The Atlantic Basin has seen its highest storm activity ever recorded over the last 15 years, the most active being 2005 with 31 tropical cyclones. Climatologists believe this activity is about to slow down.

How a failure in government led created a tragedy.

By Daniel J. Steiger

 Flint Water Plant

“I’ve got your back.”  That’s what President Obama told community members gathered at a local high school in Flint Michigan, USA.  His visit to the city was in response to a letter written by 8 year old Mari Copeny who expressed an interest to meet with the president to discuss the problems with her city’s water supply.

Do swimmers have to be afraid to enter coastal Carolina waters?

Great White Shark

The very mention of sharks conjures up images of the classic movie Jaws. A great white that terrorizes a coastal community is enough to make anyone scared to be anywhere near these creatures. I frequently get the opportunity to discuss sharks. Even above my desk is a picture of a cow that states: You are more likely to get killed by a cow than a shark. In the United States, about 19 shark attacks occur each year with an average of one fatality every two years (cows kill 20 Americans every year). Dogs, bees, and ants are all responsible for more human fatalities than nature’s perfect predator. In fact, tripping in your own home is far more dangerous than sharks with over 6000 deaths per year. Coastal North Carolina has challenged these statistics recently however, with a surge in shark attacks.