weekly tip:
Things are getting dire up in our roots. While you probably just shouldn’t
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“When I grow up I want to be a banana tree with legs
and marry a boy in a hot dog suit. I like to kiss.”
- Kate, 3 yrs old
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OK, OK, it’s going to be a bit hard for some of us not to read
this piece and just say, “duh.”
Because, while this awful pandemic has shown us all how fallible some of our world leaders can be, it’s also shown us moments of tremendous composure, foresight and decisiveness among others, the ones largely getting their response to the crisis right. What do they all have in common? They are women. And their countries are reaping the benefits: A total of just 12 deaths in New Zealand. Fewer than 500 confirmed cases and six deaths in Taiwan, an island nation of 23 million. Widespread, free, testing and tracking in Iceland. Schools set to reopen in Germany in May. We, of course, are not surprised by these successes. But we are pleased to see that the actions of these female heads of state are garnering so much, well-deserved, attention.
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In a major win for the planet and the environmentalists working hard to save it, Citigroup announced earlier this week that
they will no longer finance oil and gas projects in the Arctic, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
.
The corporation, one of the largest multinational investment banks in the US, will also no longer fund new coal mines or coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world, nor will it support expansions of existing mines or plants. The new policy, however, leaves out any new limitations on funding for fracking or tar sands. So, yeah, there’s work to do yet. But, with this decision, Citigroup joins other major banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and institutions worldwide that have said no to arctic drilling. This
informative piece from the weekly environmental newsletter, Heated
,
explains the details as well as the major shake-ups occurring in the oil industry more broadly right now, which saw prices for US oil drop below zero for the first time ever on Monday. No, big oil isn’t going anywhere. But, it is undoubtedly changing in big ways.
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Guys, let’s be real. There are 12 long hours (sometimes more, sigh) between when our kids wake up and when we get to say our last “night night.” And filling those hours is not necessarily getting easier the longer this lockdown goes on. But thanks to our friends over at Hike It Baby, in partnership with Super Nature Adventures, we now have one more tool to help: A bi-monthly, downloadable,
PDF series of outdoor activity booklets
. Appropriate for ages 3-11, each issue will have six pages of crafts, games, projects and other ways to get your kids outside and engaged in nature. The booklets are not free, they cost $5. But $1 from every sale will be donated to
Global Giving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund
, which will help those most in need during this crisis. So, here’s to toilet paper roll binoculars, cardboard building, treasure hunts and everything else we’ll all be getting up to. Super pumped.
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These times call for cocktails. Big ones.
Ina
and
Stanley
to the rescue.
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snuggly soft merino for your current co-workers
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