It is a sugar alcohol, but also naturally occurring in apples and pears, so it at least seems safer.

Search for chewing gum that uses sorbitol as sweetener instead. Luckily for me my favorite brand, Airwaves, uses that and not xylitol.

Not only outside of NATO, but also inside the other countries are starting to fill the vacuum left by the US. The importance of the US to NATO has severely diminished in the past 2 years and this process is accelerating. I have even heard rumblings of the US getting kicked out (eventually) of NATO if they continue being unreliable. At a minimum there is a serious realignment ongoing.

But yes, post-NATO security frameworks are being openly and secretly discussed in Europe and with its democratic non-US allies.

I think you are talking about the ethane cracker of Ineos. Ethane is a byproduct of natural gas refinement while methane is the main component of natural gas.