Kamchatka Project :: Explore to Conserve

Below is the email my friends and I spammed to all our contacts, launching our latest project:

Dear Friend,

As you know, kayaking has played a huge role in my life. This summer I
have the opportunity to realize a life long dream of using kayaking to make
a difference in the world. Our team of 6 kayakers will travel to Eastern
Siberia to explore and document 3 rivers on the Kamchatka Peninsula. We are
working with the Wild Salmon Center to survey these rivers for protection
by the Russian government. In 2009, the Russian government will make
sweeping designations and we have a unique opportunity to play a role in
this critical process.

The cost of this trip exceedes my personal budget and I am asking for your
support with this project. Your tax deductible donation of $25 or more will
make this trip possible.

To learn more please visit our website: www.kamchatkaproject.org
To donate please visit: www.active.com/donate/kamchatka

Thank you for your support,

An Article and a Video

First, I have enjoyed the recent trend against bottled water (at least here in Seattle it has especially become the green target). I have never been a fan, and really tried to limit my own consumption except in instances when the convenience just outweighed all other factors. Anyway, this article highlights the real lack of common sense in buying this stuff.

Desalinated seawater from Hawaii, meanwhile, is being sold as "concentrated water" — at $33.50 for a two-ounce bottle. Like any concentrated beverage, it is supposed to be diluted before drinking, except that in this case, that means adding water to ... water.

Also, I have been on the producer of Iraq For Sale's spam list since buying the movie. Most of his subject matter I find a little too partisan and one-sided, but his latest project has been much more interesting and you can see the latest and best interview here. (30-ish minutes long). And in the producer's words:

You are not a progressive until you have seen this interview with Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein.

Not sure that I go that far, but its good.

It's the Environment Stupid

The obvious environmental impacts of plastic have long motivated me to reduce my plastic consumption. Jen's studies in Naturopathic Medicine, especially Environmental Medicine, have caused a great reduction in the plastics around our house. And this excellent article gives me even more motivation to NOT buy that next whatever that has more plastic in it. After all,

Aren’t disposable razors and foam packing peanuts a poor consolation prize for the destruction of the world’s oceans, not to mention our own bodies and the health of future generations? “If ‘more is better’ and that’s the only mantra we have, we’re doomed,” Moore says, summing it up.

So as,

awareness of just how hard we’ve bitch-slapped the planet is skyrocketing.

Remember to do something this Fall!

Time for a Vacation

For the next month, I will be in Peru on the VACATION TO HELL, attempting to kayak the Rio Huallaga. For details and updates on our trip, go HERE: www.huallaga.irvacationtohell.com

Kayaking in Spain

A quick update ...

The goal last weekend was to try and go kayaking. I left Madrid with only a little direction from a contact I had made via the Internets. That led me to Murillo de Gallego, where I found a very small town with a couple raft company, and therefore, raft guides, extra gear and of course good people.


My Internet friend and now real friend, Leide and Raul, picked me up the next morning and took me to the Pyrenees to the town of Torlo on the Rio Ara and to the Ordesa National Park.


Ordesa


From there, I was handed off to more kayakers from Madrid who took me to Plan (that is the name of the village pictured) and the Rio Cinqueta - The Classic Section - and ultimately, all the way back to my place in Madrid.


It goes without saying that it was hugely successful weekend that I enjoyed thoroughly, especially because I had low expectations for actually pulling all the logistics together with minimal gear and no transport. The Spainish boaters were overly accommodating and thus, I am joining them again for another weekend of fun in the rivers and mountains. I'll post a big trip report soon at www.theRangeLife.com and more general reports from Spain coming soon here as well.

ciao,
Shane

Transitions: School - Kayaking - Madrid

Busy times … the transition from the end of spring semester (exams) to catching up on life and leisure (KAYAYING) to preparations for travel and a study abroad (SPAIN).

I thought about making this post a big catch-up post with everything I have been up to lately, but alas, the to-do list requires a triage sort of approach at this point.

Two links worth noting to those who might be interested are:

THIS ONE, which is an interview of John Stewart by Bill Moyers. I am a fan of both, and this is a great interview. Btw, Moyers is back on PBS with a weekly show … look into the show times in your neck of the woods.

And THIS ONE, which is a pretty good (and uplifting) article by Paul Hawken, who I owe a great deal of my current way of thinking to. His book, The Ecology of Commerce, which I read while traveling through Ecuador, was a transformational book for me and I can definitely say that I would not be in Law school and who know what other ventures had it not been for David Gregory introducing me to that read.

By the way, I’m always curious to know if anyone is clicking on these links and finding this information interesting so feel free to comment as you are so inclined.