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3 months ago
6
Written by Charles C. Mann
Illustrated by Julie Wallace
Breakfast for Eight Billion
Fertilization, irrigation, genetics: the three practices that let us feed the whole world for the first time in history
A Spring in Every Kitchen
There is so little fresh surface water on Earth that if you collected it all into a ball, it would barely reach across New York City. Running water is a miracle — but the technology that brings it to us and takes the waste away is actually thousands of years old. The only barrier to staying hydrated today is political will.
What Keeps the Lights On
If you think the power system must run itself by now, you’re wrong. Behind every nicely toasted bagel is a vast network of generators, transformers, computers, wires — and, yes, people in backrooms sweating to make sure the juice flows exactly where, and when, it needs to go. What could possibly go wrong?
