Reading archive 2026-05-01

 I Turned Our Lawn Into a Meadow: And it’s been awesome.

A Catholic case against lawns: Catholic social teaching offers a framework for rethinking the use of outdoor space to nurture the shared flourishing of all creation. - "Lawn culture represents a mindset of control, consumption, and individualism. Lawns reflect not only questions about sustainability and creation care, but they also raise issues about wealth and human dignity and the use of resources that could benefit the common good. Catholic social teaching offers Catholics a framework for rethinking the use of lawn space not only to protect the environment but to nurture the shared flourishing of all creation."

Will labor unions destroy D.C. transit?: Quality is relatively high — at an unsustainable price.

Does drinking water prevent kidney stones? Here’s what experts say." Increased hydration is considered the best way to prevent kidney stones. A new study suggests it’s not that easy. May 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

Trump’s border wall expansion just bulldozed an ancient tribal site: Construction in the Arizona desert damaged an enormous Indigenous ground etching resembling a fish that is thought to be at least 1,000 years old. - "The Department of Homeland Security has issued waivers so that border wall construction does not have to follow laws that protect the environment or Indigenous sites, which normally require extensive study and planning to limit damages."

A long-standing Senate tradition is being quietly undermined: Senate Majority Leader John Thune has resisted Trump’s pleas to kill the filibuster, but Republicans circumvented it in trying to fund immigration enforcement agencies.

Trump’s allies float a specious theory about treaties: Another dubious attempt to justify aggrandizing power in the executive branch. - "The 'unitary executive theory' is an idea percolating in America’s political and judicial debates. Its radicalism includes insistence that the president may unilaterally withdraw the nation from treaties to which the Senate has consented."

America’s obesity problem isn’t about costs. We just love junk food.: Junk food is cheaper than healthful food, but a new study reinforces taste preferences play a bigger role than prices. - "Researchers recruited Type 2 diabetes patients who were at risk of food insecurity. Their average BMI was 36, which is classified as obese. All participants got standard-issue diabetes care information, but one group was also given a 'produce prescription,' a debit card good for $80 per month of fruits, vegetables or legumes. 

"The hypothesis was that access to free produce would improve the diets, and therefore some of the health metrics, of the group that got the prescription. 

"But it didn’t."