Finding Douglas Adams in Mesquite Huggery TV

For those of you who love dolphins, want to save the world, and know exactly where your towel is. 

 

Don't panic, anyone.

 

About 25 years ago I found myself perusing the shelf of a junior high library and I ran across what would become one of my favorite non-fiction books, and it definitely planted an early mesquite seed in my view of the world. The book was called Last Chance to See. It made me laugh. It made me very sad. It made me very angry. I have read it several times since then and I react the same way every time.

 

Wikipedia: Last Chance to See

 

The book is the result of putting a quirky and brilliant sci-fi writer (Douglas Adams) with an accomplished zoologist and conservationist (Mark Carwardine) together to go out and visit a handful of species on the verge of extinction. It was published in 1990. It is a heartbreaker. You should read it.

 

So, imagine my surprise when I was thumbing through Netflix this week and learned that there exists a follow-up TV series of the same name. The series was filmed after Adams' death, so his good friend Stephen Fry stepped in and traveled the world with Carwardine to see how those almost extinct creatures were faring twenty years later. There are six episodes. I got to watch Episode 1 last night, and it is great. And it made me miss Adams all the more. (If you have no Netflix, I ran across some very inexpensive DVDs of the series on Amazon.)

 

The next Douglas Adams spotting happened on Hulu - and it is much smaller but filled me with a lot of mirth.

 

Learn more here

 

Yes, I can readily admit it - I saw a film titled Bicycle and knew that I had to watch it. And it's not bad for bike dorks like me. Okay, it's actually pretty cool and it's worth watching just to see Gary Fisher's facial hair.

 

About 2/3 of the way through the film, a guy makes a Douglas Adams reference while talking about biking infrastructure in the UK. Good, good stuff! (No spoiler here!)

 

May we find inspiration to save what we have and may we find many more reasons to scratch our heads and laugh.

 

So long, and thank you for reading!

Earth Day Suggestions: #4.6 Start with 1 BIG thing

 

Back in September, the movie Racing Extinction was released. It is huge in its scope and its message. (My breaking point in the movie was a little segment about a lonely tree frog. Go figure.)

 

Trailer here

 

A big part of the film launch was the #startwith1thing idea, which encouraged everyone who watched to find one environmentally friendly step and commit to it. And that is a good start.

However, as much as I love every green gadget, DIY project, electric vehicle, and giving up straws, I also know that it is going to take a lot more than a few of us making a lot of tiny changes. We have been doing serious environmental damage for more than a century. It is going to take a lot of work to slow down and reverse the damage. But I believe it can be done.

Take a deep breath.

Before we jump into it, what do you care about?

Children, cancer, deforestation, whales, lung disease, water conservation, recycling, poverty, surfing, skiing, food production, food waste, farming, fossil fuels, pollution, gardening, government reform, sea-level rise, bees, endangered species, camping, renewable energy, or that thing I missed.

Yes, please find something. Then start with one BIG thing (something bigger than your daily life) and get to work.

For me, I kept looking at the big list and everything kept pointing back to carbon. The more we release, the more everything else goes downhill. And now I have found my one BIG thing - the Citizen's Climate Lobby.  This group focuses on limiting carbon release through a carbon tax and redistribution of those funds to the general public. This bipartisan plan is designed to use market pressure to limit carbon extraction, encourage the adoption of renewable energy, and stimulate a country's economy. (By the way, we even have a Lubbock chapter!)

(Take another deep breath and have a flower break)

For you, please look at the things you are most passionate about, find a group working to save, preserve, or support that passion, and start with that one BIG thing. Few of us have the time, energy, and resources to tackle the whole list, but if we each tackle one BIG thing, we can make whole lot of big positive impacts (and not absolutely overwhelm ourselves).

May Earth Day be your line in the sand!

PS. Keep up the good work on all of those LITTLE things too!

Seeking Hope After a Dark Day

Wednesday evening was filled with horrific news.

I spent the day working in a local oilfield town (depressing enough) and was very unaware of the world around me. After 8pm I retired to my hotel room and called my wife. She told me of the shootings in California. News of the killings in San Bernadino, a terrible thing made even worse by knowing how easily we will move on, cast a darker pall over a world already darkening. When mass killings become commonplace and your people are numb to it, you know your society is in trouble.

After the phone call, I sat down to write, but no words came. I sat in silence for a bit, then turned on the TV. And I am glad I did.

Wednesday was also the American premier of Racing Extinction, a documentary aimed at educating a populace that too easily moves on. The gist of the film is very simple - our actions are killing off species at an astounding rate and we need to change our ways if we don't want to wipe out all life on Earth. The film's scope was broad - from blue whales to phytoplankton, from overfishing to forest clearing, from fossil fuels to methane released by cows and melting glaciers.

The Last Rabb's Fringed Limb Tree Frog (Joel Sartore/Photo Ark) 

For me, seeing the very last living frog of its species and hearing the song of the last living male of a songbird species endlessly calling to a female that would never answer, these were some of the more poignant moments in a powerful film. If you want to know more about rescuing endangered species, Racing Extinction is a great place to start.

While the message is deeply disturbing, the film also offers many points of hope and possibility. A portion of the film deals with the conversion of Lamakera (an Indonesian village) that was once the epicenter of destruction for manta rays. Now the village is at the epicenter of manta ray conservation.
 

(For you Shark Week junkies, there are lots of sharks and rays.)

 

[You already know what he looks like.]

(For you Musk junkies - there is a small cameo role.)

Please do what you can to see the film. If you do see it and find yourself called to action, you can visit startwith1thing.com, a website that is tied to the film and offers several ways to get started.

May we find ways to slow all of this senseless death of man, animals, and planet.

A few bonus links for today:

Photo Ark (Joel Sartore and NatGeo)

One gun owner's response to mass shootings