Even ancient Rome proves that one person’s waste is another’s resource. Emperors have always needed money, and Vespasian (AD 69–79) turned a stinky problem into tax revenue. Public latrines collected gallons of urine rich in ammonia, which tanners and fullers used to soften hides and bleach togas. When his son Titus balked at taxing human waste, Vespasian famously held a coin under his nose: Titus smelled nothing – “money does not stink,” the emperor quipped. The tax on vectigal urinae (urine duty) coined the phrase pecunia non olet (“money doesn’t smell”). It was an early lesson that in a money-driven world, value can come from the foulest sources. With an environmental twist, this odd chapter has modern resonance. After all, we still flush away mountains of pee and poo: an average person produces about 128 g (4.5 oz) of feces and 1.42 liters (48 oz) of urine daily . Multiply that by today’s ~8 billion people and it adds up fast – on the order of billions of tons of solid waste an...
Magnesium often flies under the radar, even though it quietly supports over 300 chemical reactions in our bodies (like energy metabolism, muscle and nerve function, and even DNA replication). With such wide-reaching impacts, it’s surprising how easy it can be to fall below recommended levels without realizing it. Why magnesium matters—for you and nature Magnesium isn’t only something our bodies need—it’s something plants need, too. In fact, without magnesium, they can’t make chlorophyll, which is what helps them soak up sunlight and grow. If you've ever had a houseplant with yellowing leaves, low magnesium might’ve been the culprit. Out in the fields, it’s the same story. If the soil doesn’t have enough magnesium, crops don’t grow as well. And if crops aren’t healthy, they’re not as nutritious for us when we eat them. So really, magnesium connects us—from the soil, to the plants, to our plates. How much do we actually need? The U.S. Institute of Medicine sets daily targets for ad...