The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom introduces Ostrom's life & groundbreaking work. Ostrom was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics for showing how communities can sustain their shared resources & avoid the "tragedy of the commons." It's about self-governance and democracy.

My friend did research on raccoon roundworm, which can infect humans. This definitely made them less cute to me.
www.cdc.gov/baylisascari...

The Wizard and the Prophet by @charlescmann.bsky.social covers some of this. Norman Borlaug is "the wizard" of the green revolution.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220698...

The story of Rockefeller bankrolling the establishment of the University of Chicago is fascinating (he paid for everything). He generally abstained from meddling but somewhow the one guy who got fired was a political economists who advocated for ... public ownership of the energy infrastructure.

The difference is clear. Listing decisions are to be made on the basis of scientific evidence of endangerment. Only critical habitat decisions can weigh economic impact.
www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/es...

For Michigan I'd suggest the smell of cherries. But our state flower, the sweet crabapple, was selected because it's "one of the most fragrant and beautiful flowered species of apple." So we might also go with that.
www.michigan.gov/som/about-mi...

“We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas.” — that anonymous Coast Guard official

The biggest bummer about electricity affordability is it is being driven by poles and wires, the replacement of which is becoming more expensive due to, you guessed it, climate change.