In 1863, humorist Artemus Ward wrote a satire on hucksterism, making up a tale of Abe Lincoln being asked to endorse a piece of quackery about spiritualism. Not wanting to offend, the Lincoln character slyly offers non-committal praise: “Well for people who like that kind of thing, I think that is just about the kind of thing they’d like.”

But sometimes a product really needs no hype – like this new one I’ve learned about that’s damn-near magical! It’s a non-polluting, affordable, natural, job-creating, alternative to plastic stuff. No, seriously – come back here – this is real!

The only fib in my pitch is the word “new.” Actually, this product is ancient. It’s cork, used for thousands of years by Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and others to make shoers, fishing gear, etc. But now, it’s a sustainable, regenerative material that all sorts of enterprising outfits are using for home construction, clothing, electric cars, spacecraft… and more.

Maybe like me, you’ve pulled many a wine cork without thinking where does this thing come from? Trees! In particular, the bark of evergreen, Mediterranean cork tress that live for some 200 years. But how sad to cut them down for wine stoppers! No, no – the bark is carefully harvested by skilled workers… then it grows back over about nine years and can be harvested again… and again, creating steady income for small farms. The tree is climate friendly, drought-tolerant, and fire resistant, and the cork itself is renewable, reusable, and biodegradable. Even cork dust is used to produce energy.

Before we let corporate profiteers turn Earth (and us) into a throwaway plastic dump, let’s recognize that nature is the greatest technologist ever. So maybe cooperating with her can be more beneficial than constantly trying to overpower and trash her.

Do something!

To get involved with recycling cork, check out the work of Recork.com.

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