Beyond that, she recently announced her third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, to be released May 17, 2024. She spent the days leading up to the announcement building excitement by adding all of her Instagram followers to her “Close Friends” list. Eilish had the most Instagram followers in 48 hours…with her count increasing by 7 million followers total.
While her debut album, when we all fall asleep…where do we go?, was a chart-topper in its own right, it landed Billie every GRAMMY it was nominated for at the ripe age of 18…Eilish has solidified herself as one of the most revered and sought-after popstars in the world.
Eilish recently caught media attention for quietly revealing her sexuality. In an interview with Variety, she states that she’s always liked girls…and assumed people always knew that. In a viral snippet from her new song, LUNCH, she details a love affair with a girl.
But people don’t only adore Billie for her catchy tracks that consistently top the charts. It’s not just her songwriting ability and unique vocals that keep us hooked. People love her because she’s unafraid to speak her mind.
Whether it be complaining about too many influencers being at an awards show, or calling out other artists for using unsustainable practices…Billie does not hold back.
Billie Eilish On Sustainability
Eilish home
rethinkingthefuture.com
The Eilish home is iconic for many reasons: it’s where Billie and Finneas recorded her debut album, countless other songs, and EPs, in an effort to conserve water there’s no grass, and the roof is covered in solar panels. And being environmentally conscious extends beyond the four walls of their home.
When the hottest young talent is discovered at such an early age like Eilish, record labels are chomping at the bit to sign them. It’s like when a D1 athlete is ready to commit to college…you have your pick.
But what Eilish and her mom, Maggie Baird, were looking for wasn’t about money or label-perks…they were seeking a solid sustainability program. And while that may seem like standard practice, most labels didn’t bring up environmental policies during these meetings at all.
After signing to The Darkroom via Interscope Records, the struggle didn’t stop there. Billie Eilish and her family have been consistent contributors to the fight against climate change.
Maggie Baird has since started Support + Feed, which focuses on the climate crisis and food insecurity. Support + Feed helped Eilish’s 2022 Happier Than Ever tour save 8.8 million gallons of water through plant-based meal service for the artist and crew members.
During Billie’s 2023 Lollapalooza performance, she aided the launch and funding of REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project – which guaranteed all battery systems used during her set were solar powered. The MCD’s overall mission is to lower – and eventually eliminate –the music industry’s carbon emissions.
But more recently, Billie Eilish called out other artists for releasing multiple versions of vinyls in order to boost vinyl sales. In an interview with Billboard, she says,
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money and gets them more…”
Artists convince fans to buy different versions of their albums by offering exclusive features on each vinyl. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who released five separate vinyl versions of Midnights, each with a different deluxe “Vault” track.
While Billie may not have been trying to shade one artist in particular, the point is that she’s fed up. After being the rare artist in the industry who go out of their way to remain environmentally conscious, Eilish sets the bar high.
How Eilish’s New Album Is Sustainable
Billie for "Hit Me Hard and Soft"
William Drumm
Social media users were quick to claim Eilish was hypocritical by announcing that HIT ME HARD AND SOFT will have eight vinyl variations. However, each vinyl is made from recycled materials – either 100% recycled black vinyl or BioVinyl, which replaces petroleum used during manufacturing with recycled cooking oil.
This just illustrates that Eilish wasn’t directing criticism towards other artists for using vinyl variants to gain album sales…but she does think there are better ways to do it that benefit the environment without hurting their sales.
Coronavirus Vs. the Flu: The Coronavirus Isn't a Big Deal (Yet)
It's believed that Chinese officials have not exactly been forthcoming about the true extent and severity of the coronavirus, a respiratory illness whose death toll in mainland China has now exceeded that of S.A.R.S. The Chinese foreign ministry has criticized the U.S.'s response of temporarily banning foreign individuals who had traveled in China from entering the country. Chinese officials initially said that U.S. health officials "inappropriately overreacted" and spread unnecessary fear. However, on Monday (February 3) China's elite Politburo Standing Committee admitted that there were "shortcomings and difficulties in the response to the epidemic," according to China's Xinhua news agency. The government said it "urgently" needed medical supplies, such as protective suits and masks.
When the World Health Organization (W.H.O) declared the virus a "public health emergency of international concern," they said its organization "continues to have confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak." They stated that their concern is about the virus' potential to reach countries with poor health care. In such an environment, the disease could spread rapidly, "infecting millions of people and killing thousands," according to The New York Times.
With over 20,000 cases reported in China and 170 more reported in over 25 other countries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) has been rapidly updating their findings on the respiratory disease. 11 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. (including 3 in California, 2 in Illinois, 1 in Arizona, 1 in Massachusetts, and 1 in Washington). More cases are currently under review. As of this writing, three New York cases have been sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory in Atlanta, which is currently the only facility that can confirm a case of coronavirus. The New York City health commissioner has called the virus's presence in the city "inevitable."
But what does that really mean?
The coronavirus is distinct in a few ways, originating in animals in Wuhan, China but demonstrating the ability to spread from person to person once someone is infected. Symptoms present as common flu symptoms, including fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, aching muscles, and fatigue. There have been indications to suggest that individuals infected with the coronavirus are contagious before they show symptoms, but that has not been widely confirmed.
Out of over 20,000 confirmed cases spread across more than two dozen countries, there have been fewer than 500 deaths, with two deaths occurring outside of China so far. Most people infected have been elderly or those with compromised immune systems, and there have been full recoveries from the virus.
In fact, the first American patient confirmed to have the coronavirus has been released from the hospital and is staying in isolation in his home. "I am at home and continuing to get better," the nameless man said in a statement, "I ask that the media please respect my privacy and my desire not to be in the public eye. I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and entire team at Providence who cared for me. I appreciate all of the concern expressed by members of the public, and I look forward to returning to my normal life."
The flu is more dangerous.
Meanwhile, public health officials underline that the coronavirus presents a low health risk to Americans. More dangerous is influenza B, or the common flu. The C.D.C. reports that 68 children have died of the flu this year, along with an estimated 10,000 adults! Todd Ellerin, the director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health in Massachusetts, told Mother Jones that the flu is "massively outstripping" the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. He added in a a blog post for Harvard Medical School, "In the US, the average person is at extremely low risk of catching this novel coronavirus. This winter, in fact, we are much more likely to get influenza B—the flu—than any other virus: one in 10 people have influenza each flu season."
I Love Cats, But Their Pee Stinks. Here's How I Got Rid Of The Smell
Four years ago, when I first married my wife Lauren, we adopted a beautiful little striped kitty we call Tiger to make our house feel more like a home. I love Tiger, but we've had a whole host of issues with his litter box. We used to keep it in our basement, but it doesn't have windows, and the smell would end up getting trapped and grossing us out. We must have tried 4 or 5 different litter brands, and while some were better than others, none of them really got rid of the smell. We ended up having to put the litter box in our living room next to the TV because the living room has lots of windows and better circulation. But now we've got a whole new host of problems. My wife is especially sensitive to the litter box smell (and I think she doesn't like the idea of what's going on inside it), so when she sees our catwalk into the box, she'll immediately go into the other room. When she made me pause the newest episode of Game of Thrones so she could hide out in the kitchen while Tiger did his business, I knew something had to change.
I started really doing my research online to see if there was a litter option that would fix our smelly cat problems. One that stood out was PrettyLitter, a subscription cat litter that is super lightweight (only 6lbs for a whole month's supply) and uses a unique formula that is supposed to be clump free and odor free. Everything we've tried in the past has claimed to be odor neutralizing, so I wasn't so sure this was any different. But there were a ton of 5-star reviews, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
When our first bag of PrettyLitter was delivered, the first thing I noticed was that it really was super light. I was used to lugging around 30lb bags, so when I picked up the 6lb litter I noticed the difference right away. I put Tiger's litter box back in the basement and hoped this time would be different. One thing that makes PrettyLitter different is that you only have to scoop the poop, stir the litter, and change it once a month, which I liked because it would cut down on mess and dust. I would come down at night to see if any scooping needed to be done, and after a week I noticed no smell at all. I convinced my wife to come check it out for herself, and even she had to admit that this time the odor elimination actually worked. I was just glad to get our Game of Thrones nights back again.
Since then, we've discovered a few more cool things about PrettyLitter that make it unlike any other litter we'd tried in the past. First of all, the subscription is more convenient than you'd think, and I really liked not having to make last minute trips to the pet store or trying to stock up on 6 months worth of litter at a time. Secondly, the formula has color-changing crystals that help you detect health problems in your cat. It gives us a lot of peace of mind because sometimes Tiger will be sleeping more than usual or his pur will sound pained, but we don't know if something's actually wrong. A few months ago, the crystals changed to a blue color, so we took Tiger to the vet the next day. It turned out he had a slight infection and needed antibiotics!
We love our smelly cat, my wife even dressed as Phoebe from FRIENDS last year for Halloween. But PrettyLitter was the only litter we've ever tried that actually eliminated Tiger's smell. Now, we can keep the litter box out of sight in the basement, and snuggle with Tiger without the smell.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: PrettyLitter is offering our readers a SPECIAL promo! Follow this link and use promo code PRETTYLITTER2020 to get 20% off your first order of PrettyLitter today!
Offer Expires In
I Love Cats, But Their Pee Stinks. Here's How I Got Rid Of The Smell
Four years ago, when I first married my wife Lauren, we adopted a beautiful little striped kitty we call Tiger to make our house feel more like a home. I love Tiger, but we've had a whole host of issues with his litter box. We used to keep it in our basement, but it doesn't have windows, and the smell would end up getting trapped and grossing us out. We must have tried 4 or 5 different litter brands, and while some were better than others, none of them really got rid of the smell. We ended up having to put the litter box in our living room next to the TV because the living room has lots of windows and better circulation. But now we've got a whole new host of problems. My wife is especially sensitive to the litter box smell (and I think she doesn't like the idea of what's going on inside it), so when she sees our catwalk into the box, she'll immediately go into the other room. When she made me pause the newest episode of Game of Thrones so she could hide out in the kitchen while Tiger did his business, I knew something had to change.
I started really doing my research online to see if there was a litter option that would fix our smelly cat problems. One that stood out was PrettyLitter, a subscription cat litter that is super lightweight (only 6lbs for a whole month's supply) and uses a unique formula that is supposed to be clump free and odor free. Everything we've tried in the past has claimed to be odor neutralizing, so I wasn't so sure this was any different. But there were a ton of 5-star reviews, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
When our first bag of PrettyLitter was delivered, the first thing I noticed was that it really was super light. I was used to lugging around 30lb bags, so when I picked up the 6lb litter I noticed the difference right away. I put Tiger's litter box back in the basement and hoped this time would be different. One thing that makes PrettyLitter different is that you only have to scoop the poop, stir the litter, and change it once a month, which I liked because it would cut down on mess and dust. I would come down at night to see if any scooping needed to be done, and after a week I noticed no smell at all. I convinced my wife to come check it out for herself, and even she had to admit that this time the odor elimination actually worked. I was just glad to get our Game of Thrones nights back again.
Since then, we've discovered a few more cool things about PrettyLitter that make it unlike any other litter we'd tried in the past. First of all, the subscription is more convenient than you'd think, and I really liked not having to make last minute trips to the pet store or trying to stock up on 6 months worth of litter at a time. Secondly, the formula has color-changing crystals that help you detect health problems in your cat. It gives us a lot of peace of mind because sometimes Tiger will be sleeping more than usual or her pur will sound pained, but we don't know if something's actually wrong. A few months ago, the crystals changed to a blue color, so we took Tiger to the vet the next day. It turned out she had a slight infection and needed antibiotics!
We love our smelly cat, my wife even dressed as Phoebe from FRIENDS last year for Halloween. But PrettyLitter was the only litter we've ever tried that actually eliminated Tiger's smell. Now, we can keep the litter box out of sight in the basement, and snuggle with Tiger without the smell.
UPDATE: PrettyLitter is offering our readers a SPECIAL promo! Follow this link and use promo code PRETTY2019 to get 20% off your first order of PrettyLitter today!
I Love Cats, But Their Pee Stinks. Here's How I Got Rid Of The Smell
Four years ago, when I first married my wife Lauren, we adopted a beautiful little striped kitty we call Tiger to make our house feel more like a home. I love Tiger, but we've had a whole host of issues with his litter box. We used to keep it in our basement, but it doesn't have windows, and the smell would end up getting trapped and grossing us out. We must have tried 4 or 5 different litter brands, and while some were better than others, none of them really got rid of the smell. We ended up having to put the litter box in our living room next to the TV because the living room has lots of windows and better circulation. But now we've got a whole new host of problems. My wife is especially sensitive to the litter box smell (and I think she doesn't like the idea of what's going on inside it), so when she sees our catwalk into the box, she'll immediately go into the other room. When she made me pause the newest episode of Game of Thrones so she could hide out in the kitchen while Tiger did his business, I knew something had to change.
I started really doing my research online to see if there was a litter option that would fix our smelly cat problems. One that stood out was PrettyLitter, a subscription cat litter that is super lightweight (only 6lbs for a whole month's supply) and uses a unique formula that is supposed to be clump free and odor free. Everything we've tried in the past has claimed to be odor neutralizing, so I wasn't so sure this was any different. But there were a ton of 5-star reviews, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
When our first bag of PrettyLitter was delivered, the first thing I noticed was that it really was super light. I was used to lugging around 30lb bags, so when I picked up the 6lb litter I noticed the difference right away. I put Tiger's litter box back in the basement and hoped this time would be different. One thing that makes PrettyLitter different is that you only have to scoop the poop, stir the litter, and change it once a month, which I liked because it would cut down on mess and dust. I would come down at night to see if any scooping needed to be done, and after a week I noticed no smell at all. I convinced my wife to come check it out for herself, and even she had to admit that this time the odor elimination actually worked. I was just glad to get our Game of Thrones nights back again.
Since then, we've discovered a few more cool things about PrettyLitter that make it unlike any other litter we'd tried in the past. First of all, the subscription is more convenient than you'd think, and I really liked not having to make last minute trips to the pet store or trying to stock up on 6 months worth of litter at a time. Secondly, the formula has color-changing crystals that help you detect health problems in your cat. It gives us a lot of peace of mind because sometimes Tiger will be sleeping more than usual or her pur will sound pained, but we don't know if something's actually wrong. A few months ago, the crystals changed to a blue color, so we took Tiger to the vet the next day. It turned out she had a slight infection and needed antibiotics!
We love our smelly cat, my wife even dressed as Phoebe from FRIENDS last year for Halloween. But PrettyLitter was the only litter we've ever tried that actually eliminated Tiger's smell. Now, we can keep the litter box out of sight in the basement, and snuggle with Tiger without the smell.
UPDATE: PrettyLitter is offering our readers a special OCTOBER promo! Follow this link and use promo code PRETTY2019 to get 20% off your first order of PrettyLitter today!
I Love Cats, But Their Pee Stinks. Here's How I Got Rid Of The Smell
Four years ago, when I first married my wife Lauren, we adopted a beautiful little striped kitty we call Tiger to make our house feel more like a home. I love Tiger, but we've had a whole host of issues with his litter box. We used to keep it in our basement, but it doesn't have windows, and the smell would end up getting trapped and grossing us out. We must have tried 4 or 5 different litter brands, and while some were better than others, none of them really got rid of the smell. We ended up having to put the litter box in our living room next to the TV because the living room has lots of windows and better circulation. But now we've got a whole new host of problems. My wife is especially sensitive to the litter box smell (and I think she doesn't like the idea of what's going on inside it), so when she sees our catwalk into the box, she'll immediately go into the other room. When she made me pause the newest episode of Game of Thrones so she could hide out in the kitchen while Tiger did his business, I knew something had to change.
I started really doing my research online to see if there was a litter option that would fix our smelly cat problems. One that stood out was PrettyLitter, a subscription cat litter that is super lightweight (only 6lbs for a whole month's supply) and uses a unique formula that is supposed to be clump free and odor free. Everything we've tried in the past has claimed to be odor neutralizing, so I wasn't so sure this was any different. But there were a ton of 5-star reviews, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
When our first bag of PrettyLitter was delivered, the first thing I noticed was that it really was super light. I was used to lugging around 30lb bags, so when I picked up the 6lb litter I noticed the difference right away. I put Tiger's litter box back in the basement and hoped this time would be different. One thing that makes PrettyLitter different is that you only have to scoop the poop, stir the litter, and change it once a month, which I liked because it would cut down on mess and dust. I would come down at night to see if any scooping needed to be done, and after a week I noticed no smell at all. I convinced my wife to come check it out for herself, and even she had to admit that this time the odor elimination actually worked. I was just glad to get our Game of Thrones nights back again.
Since then, we've discovered a few more cool things about PrettyLitter that make it unlike any other litter we'd tried in the past. First of all, the subscription is more convenient than you'd think, and I really liked not having to make last minute trips to the pet store or trying to stock up on 6 months worth of litter at a time. Secondly, the formula has color-changing crystals that help you detect health problems in your cat. It gives us a lot of peace of mind because sometimes Tiger will be sleeping more than usual or his pur will sound pained, but we don't know if something's actually wrong. A few months ago, the crystals changed to a blue color, so we took Tiger to the vet the next day. It turned out he had a slight infection and needed antibiotics!
We love our smelly cat, my wife even dressed as Phoebe from FRIENDS last year for Halloween. But PrettyLitter was the only litter we've ever tried that actually eliminated Tiger's smell. Now, we can keep the litter box out of sight in the basement, and snuggle with Tiger without the smell.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: PrettyLitter is offering our readers a SPECIAL promo! Follow this link and use promo code PRETTYLITTER2020 to get 20% off your first order of PrettyLitter today!
Offer Expires In
8 Recent Disease Outbreaks You Should Know About
Modern medicine, especially vaccines, have drastically reduced the likelihood of getting infected by a deadly disease in first world countries.
But new strains, unvaccinated people, and other unforeseen factors can still pose a threat, and when an outbreak does occur, disease can spread like wildfire. This is especially true in third world countries, where access to medicine is lacking. These are just eight recent disease outbreaks you need to know about to keep yourself safe.
1. Yellow Fever - Nigeria
medium.com
Yellow Fever, named for the yellowing effect it causes on skin, is currently spreading in Nigeria's Edo State. The virus is mainly spread through mosquitoes. This outbreak is unusually large in scale and severity, especially considering it's coming at a time of year when many travelers vacation to Nigeria. The World Health Organization (WHO) is not currently recommending any travel or trade restrictions, but they do implore any potential travelers to get vaccinated against the virus.
2. Ebola Virus - Democratic Republic of the Congo
abcnews.com
An ongoing Ebola epidemic has been raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 16 new cases confirmed between December 27, 2018 and January 2, 2019. Ebola is incredibly deadly, causing bloody vomit and internal bleeding, and spreads easily through saliva, bodily fluids, and contact with contaminated surfaces. Since there is no current accredited vaccine for Ebola, travelers are recommended to seek medical advice beforehand.
3. Measles - New York
gannett-cdn.com
In 2019, confirmed cases of Measles have hit record highs in New York, at least dating back for a few decades. Measles is the most deadly vaccine-preventable virus, mainly affecting young children and resulting in a red, blotchy skin rash. The virus, which had been mostly irrelevant for decades due to vaccines, has been experiencing a global resurrection propelled by parents not vaccinating their children.
4. Hantavirus Disease - Republic of Panama
grancorenviro.com
Hantavirus disease has been ramping up in the Republic of Panama with 103 confirmed cases during 2018. Infection can progress to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which is a fatal respiratory disease. The disease is primarily spread through rodents, and early treatment has a high success rate of mitigating lasting effects.
5. Typhoid Fever - Islamic Republic of Pakistan
medicalnewstoday.com
A drug-resistant outbreak of Typhoid Fever has recently been reported in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Typhoid Fever is a very serious disease that causes high fever, stomach issues, and in rare cases can result in internal bleeding and death. The illness is primarily spread through contaminated food and water, and the WHO notes that this outbreak highlights the importance of public health measures to prevent such spreads.
6. Candida Auris - US
infectioncontroltoday.com
A type of yeast, Candida Auris is a relatively new infection that has proven difficult to combat. In 2018 there were nearly 500 confirmed cases in the US, and the trend seems to be continuing into 2019. Unfortunately the infection is largely drug-resistant, hard to spot, and prone to outbreak within the healthcare community.
7. Influenza - U.S.
southernresearch.org
This past flu season, over 80,000 people died from influenza, giving 2017-2018 the highest influenza death toll in 40 years. This was partially a result of the flu vaccine not being as successful as in previous years. People are still strongly recommended to continue getting their yearly flu vaccine to prevent future outbreaks of preventable strains.
8. E. Coli - U.S.
internapcdn.net
In June of 2018, an E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated romaine lettuce killed 5 people in the US. This strain of E. coli produced life-threatening toxins in the body which caused severe diarrhea, amongst other illnesses. 197 people were affected in total, but luckily the outbreak was contained. Yet another outbreak of E.coli linked to California-grown romaine lettuce ended on January 9, 2019, this time infecting 62 people. Unfortunately, E. coli and Salmonella poisoning is a relatively common occurrence now, especially considering how understaffed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently. The ongoing government shutdown has served to further this problem, making safe oversight of food a serious issue right now.
Ultimately, sometimes you can do all the right things and still get infected with a disease or illness. That being said, with access to modern medicine, it's important to take every possible precaution to avoid preventable outcomes. This means making sure you, your family, and your friends are properly vaccinated, as well as avoiding those who are not. It also means doing your research before traveling to prepare for any possible outbreaks. Should you follow those basic rules, your risk of infection will be at a minimum.
