Hey friends!
[Obligatory exclaiming over how it’s already August.]
It’s been a week of joy (cool summer weather + books in hammocks is the ultimate pleasure), rage (why are average people donating their own money when our governments should make housing a right?!), and renewal (actually unpacking my kitchen made me realize how low on staples we were).
Anyone else practicing zero waste often have that painful moment when somehow you have to restock on just about everything at the same time?! Most of the time, I’m pleasantly smug about my grocery bill - until that punch of big bulk purchases happens :/
I talk more about where I shop below + have a $10 off code for people in the Midwest looking for fresh, local produce!
The vibes are green.
Oh yeah. And I was chatting with someone last week and I guess I haven’t explicitly said it: get vaccinated. I did it, I’m having conversations and placing social pressure on those near to me who refuse to get it. When you have the chance, do it. Yes, there are a few very rare exceptions where you shouldn’t (you know I’m not talking to you!), but most of you reading aren’t one of them. Get vaccinated and have meaningful conversations with those around you that have rational, surmountable concerns.
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Sending a one-time payment through Venmo (@polly-barks).
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Links of the week
🖊️ = blog post 🎥 = video 📰 = article 🎧 = podcast 📚 = book rec 📅 = event 💰 = where my money's going ⚡ = action item ❓= misc.
🖊️ The easiest way to buy bulk food online
Like I talked about above, it’s restock time. Here’s a little bit more about the service that I use for most of my bulk shopping, Azure Standard. You can get it delivered anywhere or find a pickup location to meet the truck at. It’s a really interesting model and I’ve found every product purchased to be really high quality.
❓Market Wagon referral codes (affiliate)
I use Market Wagon occasionally and have a referral code. It appears to be very popular because I typically have 30+ $10 off coupons in my inbox at any given time. If you’d like to try it out for yourself, I’m happy to pass along a discount code and have you spend some of next week’s grocery $$ on locally-sourced food! See where they operate & hit reply if you’d like a code!
📚 Phosphorescence: A Memoir of Finding Joy When Your World Goes Dark by Julia Baird
I read this book in a day, it was just that readable and compelling. It talks about finding joy in the ways we connect - with nature, others, ourselves - and cultivating awe and embracing your insignificance. If I (resident cynic-of-all-cynics) enjoyed it, I can imagine you will too. Amazon link, please check out your library or shop elsewhere for books.
“We spend a lot of time in life trying to make ourselves feel bigger – to project ourselves, occupy space, command attention, demand respect – so much so that we seem to have forgotten how comforting it can be to feel small and experience the awe that comes from being silenced by something greater than ourselves, something unfathomable, unconquerable, and mysterious.”
🎥 Hot FERC Summer
Somewhere, his children are cringing so hard it hurts. But seriously - Representative Casten (a climate nerd!) got his message about FERC across. As one Jezebel article wrote, “Respectfully, Rep. Casten—what the fuck are you talking about and why?” And that’s why. He got press the FERC (incredibly boring, incredibly important regulatory body) would never otherwise get and it’s… really important.
“If FERC didn’t exist, the ice caps probably melt much faster than they already are, for example. Though there is comfort in death’s inevitability, I imagine that most people on this planet are interested in living for as long as they’re able.“ (Jezebel)
📰 The Northeast’s hemlock trees face extinction. A tiny fly could save them.
Nature is wild, my dudes, and can do some incredible things in its infinite connectivity if we’d just get out of its way and stop welcoming invasive species in, their devastation amplified by the ever-warming climate.
“‘The reason we’re releasing here is because of that stand up there,’ Dietschler says, looking uphill. What he’s releasing rests inside of that blue cooler: a little more than 1,000 live silver flies. If all goes according to plan, the flies will feast on the woolly adelgid in the infested trees, arresting the spread of the invasive insect and protecting the healthy hemlocks at the top of the ridge. The battle between adelgid and fly is a preview of future fights to curtail invasive species. Nonnative pests are difficult to contain in normal climatic conditions. Can scientists save the nation’s trees from invasives supercharged by climate change? The Northeast stands to lose a great deal if they can’t.”
💰 Some mutual aid opportunities:
Each week, I’m going to list a few funds (mostly for Black and/or Indigenous folks/orgs) you could choose to support financially. I’ve mad a contribution - will you join me in helping out?
Greater Lafayette Mutual Aid Network (care to help out a local-to-me group doing incredible things?!)
EarthJustice (one of my reoccurring donatings)
And that’s that! Speak to you next week! - Polly
PS. Check out this Young Thug: Tiny Desk. Incredible!!