My bad for not posting regularly, a temporary excuse was my relocation from Oregon to New Hampshire in the spring, but I should have jumped back in the late spring. Well that's going to change going forward and here's the first one after the recent Presidential election.

Hugely disappointing that Trump (aka Sauron with much of the US now Mordor) got re-elected is putting it mildly.  His impact on climate and the environment will be disastrous in our opinion at a time when we can least afford it. To quote the great philosopher Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does". There's just not much else to say except buckle up, the next 4+ years are going to be chaotic, dismal, rocky, stupid, etc.

Looking for a ray of sunshine, I received it earlier this week in an email from 1% for the Planet of which BeachNecessities.com is a corporate member, 1 of 6000+ companies globally committing 1% of annual revenue to environmental non profits, in our case to aquatic, marine and freshwater, conservation, education and science organizations that protect the beaches, ocean, lakes rivers and streams that we love to recreate at. It's what we like to refer to as effective altruism. 

Here's a quote that sums up the message from Patagonia and 1% for the Planet's founder, Yvon Chouinard, quite succintly:

"In 2020, Patagonia urged everyone to vote the assholes out. In 2024, don’t be an asshole: commit your business to 1% for the Planet." and here's the full message. 

It should be crystal clear to folks who I am referring to when I say the White Wizard because we are going to need leaders / north stars to look to for guidance as the dark forces circle. Make no mistake, war has been declared on humanity, our kids, grandkids, future generations, etc. by people without enough sense to care about the impact of their incredibly stupid actions. The USA used to stand for something, it's clear we are taking a tremendous step backwards as Trump and MAGA don't seem smart enough to recognize Putin is NOT our ally.

I came across an article yesterday with this quote, "From space, it becomes painfully clear how our human-made systems treat Earth’s vital systems as mere subsidiaries of the global economy" which then reminded me of a 2023 announcement on our planetary boundaries where we have crossed 6 / 9.

So to reinforce Yvon Chouinard's perspective and to end on a far more positive note than where this post started, here's a TEDx talk from Ralph Chami on "What a living whale is worth - - and why the economy should protect nature".

Buckle up folks, we have work to do.