Archive for the ‘Outdoor + Environment’ Category
Thankful For…
Strong, supportive friends and family
Wood stoves
Community: real and virtual
Quiet and calm
Down jacket
Projects that keep me inspired
Blue sky on snow
Nature
The red wine, pumpkin pie, and sage stuffing that are all going to be consumed tomorrow…
Yurt Life
This week’s office looks a little something like this…
Plenty of good stuff going on right now. Em and I are officially on board at BETA, finalizing 2011 contracts at Under Solen, getting to work with cool groups like 5 Gyres and iLCP, and as usual, lots of coffee.
All in all lots of things to be thankful for this week.
Do Some Good, Build a Village in India, Score Some Gear
If there’s one reason that I believe in travel it’s because it opens up our eyes, not only to the world around us, but to our own communities as well. Traveling gives us perspective, and it heightens our awareness and sensitivity to a variety of issues. We live in a global village, and every step we can take towards making that village a better place — both at home and abroad — is a good one.
Passports With Purpose is built on that idea — that “travel can change the world.” For the last two years, its founders and a whole lot of travel bloggers have put together their efforts to raise money for a good cause. Last year the initiative raised over $30,000 and built a school in rural Cambodia. This year they’re raising money for LAFTI, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the Dalit (untouchable) population in India. Raising $50,000 will allow LAFTI to build an entire village of homes.
And of course, PWP wouldn’t be PWP without the opportunity for prizes (because sometimes everyone needs some inspiration to give).
Do What You Love and the Rest Comes
“That cheesy expression that you hear… Do what you love and the rest comes. It’s true. It really works like that.”
Big ups to my good friend Allie for making this film and reminding me on a daily basis that doing what you love really is the way to go in life.
Does Being a Foodie Make You an Elitist?
Last week the Oregonian published the “Non-foodies Food Guide,” which spurred some local outrage. An issue that’s near and dear to my heart, I weighed in over on my weekly Foodie Underground column. So does being a foodie make you an elitist? Or do we need to drop our hangups and start focusing on the real problem at hand: access to healthy, fresh and local food for everyone? Here’s an excerpt.
Despite the recent inclination to team the term “foodie” with “snob” there are a whole group of foodies out there that are simply concerned with where their food came from, how it was raised, and what’s being added to it to make the end product. In fact, if there’s one thing the underground food movement has taught us, it’s that local, sustainable, fresh fare is desirable, not just because it’s trendy but because it’s healthy and better for the environment.
Read the whole article here.
I Love Bikes… and Europe
Love, love, love… and the scheming to move to Scandinavia continues (even if only in my mind).
Via: Traveling Greener
Parking Space Turned Cafe
Park(ing) Day is this Friday — props to those who will be converting parking spaces into mini urban parks — so I figured a mention of this super cool looking pop up cafe in New York was fitting, pulled from this week’s installment of Foodie Underground:
Sponsored by two neighboring eateries – Bombay and Fika – and the New York City Department of Transportation, the pop up cafe is composed of a wooden platform that houses 14 tables and 50 chairs. An attempt at solving the problem of cramped sidewalks which don’t leave much room for outdoor seating, the pop up cafe is part foodie attraction and part public space improvement. In fact, Bombay and Fika don’t offer table service, and anyone who wants to take advantage of the space is allowed to take a seat.
Taking the place of several parking spaces, the outdoor seating doesn’t conflict with the sidewalk traffic, and it’s a project that the DOT is more than happy to support. “Every time we put down just an orange barrel, people just materialize out of nowhere,” said Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to Streetsblog. “If you build it, they will sit.”
Image: DNA Info
Drop Everything and Become a Conservation Photographer?
Photo courtesy Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP
That’s what the iLCP makes me want to do… they’re in the Great Bear Rainforest right now doing a Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition, where they’re documenting an incredible place that could be severely affected by potential gas pipelines. In other words, they’re fighting oil industry interests. An important cause at a crucial time. After spending ten days in the Gulf last month, this is even more poignant for me than it ever has been.
And they’re doing it all with photos. When we see a place, we connect to it. We are hopefully driven to protect it.
Founder Cristina Mittermeier wrote an excellent piece this week that’s a great reminder of why we need to connect the dots:
What is the big deal in sacrificing the livelihoods, traditions and sustenance of entire indigenous communities, when the rest of us will not accept paying the full ecological and social price at the pump?
Read the whole post here.
Seed Bombs + Vending Machines = Easy Guerilla Gardening
Vintage gumball machines distribute seed bombs, ready to be thrown into abandoned urban spaces in need of a little greenery the world round. Love this concept.
Experiencing the Gulf Coast Firsthand
A couple of months ago I got invited to take part in a project with a group of Oregonians all traveling down to the Gulf Coast to bear witness to the oil spill and work with groups on the ground to create a better understanding of what the true impacts of the environmental disaster really are. I said yes.
It’s officially day 2, and I’ve already had the chance to go to a community meeting in Ocean Springs to listen to community members voice their opinions on what a longterm restoration plan should look like. Walking in to a room packed with Gulf Coast residents I felt a little out of place. What would I bring to the table by being here? What does a Portlander have to give a community that’s been so severely affected?
But it’s all about listening and hearing the real stories that these people are telling. We’re all on media overload from images of oil slicked birds and messy waves. But we have to keep listening. We have to keep listening to the fishermen that are telling us that there waters were opened up too soon and that they’re afraid of the longterm harm that eating the seafood might cause. We have to listen to the mental health specialists that emphasize that this environmental catastrophe is having a serious psychological effect. We have to listen to the clean energy advocates that are pushing for renewables in this region and coming up against political obstacles.
We’ll be covering the next 10 days over on www.pdx2gulfcoast.com. Check it out and engage in the conversation, because it’s one we need to create and sustain.
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