In Between Times 4-26-2024
DC insider spills beans in new book, A recycling revolution?, From vegan to "regenerative" restaurant, Actually talking with one another
He worked for the nastiest people in politics. Now he’s airing dirty laundry.
Washington DC is a strange place. It is the only city I am aware of where one can truly be called a local, a “Washingtonian”, even if one wasn’t born in or around the city or even grew up in it. If you’ve logged 25 years puttering around the Hill and Downtown doing a version of the politics thing one can probably be called a Washingtonian. One gets extra points if one has a beach house in Delaware and a “farm” in Middleburg. Then one can call oneself a super-duper Washingtonian.
It is a place of power and culture and yes, corruption. It is the capital of the most powerful nation to have ever graced the planet so the fact that the place is a sort of Mos Eisley Cantina of politicos is no surprise.
It’s a harsh environment. Your editor can only deal with Washington on a periodic basis shooting in from the shire of Virginia and back out once or twice a month. Too much Washington can be bad for one’s health.
I remember the first day of my first job in Washington when my boss pointed out the most convenient liquor store to the office.
”Oh I don’t drink very much.”
He smiled back at me. “You will.”
But there are people who absolutely thrive in DC. They are just cut out for the rough and tumble of it all. One of the guys who has thrived in the Washington I know, apparently, is Phil Elwood.
I’ve never met him, but many other people kicking around the Capitol have.
(From Politico)
As we discuss the takeaways from the book, the advice Elwood has for his own industry is pretty pat: “I hope people start asking the question, ‘Should we do things?’ Not just, ‘Can we do things?’” But the advice he has for my industry is much more direct: “I think they should be incredibly skeptical of people like me.” The book, in that framing, isn’t just a dishy tell-all. It’s a counterintelligence manual, laying out all the sneaky schemes that the Elwoods of the world are liable to deploy.
If you’re inclined to follow Elwood’s advice and be extremely skeptical about him, you might note that this explanation also happens to be a pretty good story for a PR operative to tell a news columnist. Journalists love exhortations about journalism even more than we love a good rogueish yarn. A guy who puts himself out there in the media encouraging reporters to keep the faith is going to get his calls returned. And a guy who gets his calls returned is always going to get hired in the PR industry.
Click here for the article.
New Scientist: Let's not trash recycling technologies that could end plastic waste
There are some environmentally oriented people who like to poo-poo advanced recycling, similar in some ways to how some people also poo-poo carbon capture tech. It is too expensive they say, and forever will remain so. But the truth is to solve some of the planet’s most important environmental challenges both areas of innovation and invention will be key.
(From The New Scientist)
As we report in our feature “The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever”, advanced recycling is a rapidly innovating industry that could help to solve the global plastics crisis. It has the potential to take millions of tonnes of discarded plastic, most of which ends up in landfill, incinerators or the environment, and turn it back into a clean, fresh version by breaking it down to its molecular constituents. The goal is a circular economy where there is no longer any need to make “virgin” plastic from oil.
Click here for the article.
How advanced mechanical recycling works
Nature conservation works, and we’re getting better at it – new study
There are few things more fantastic than being out in a stretch of wilderness where there is absolutely no one else around. A dark sky on a moonless night in the desert can be absolutely spectacular. Sailing across a rolling sea with schools of flying fish jumping into the air in front of your boat is pretty awesome. Nature can help us tap into the sublime.
We haven’t done such a good job with natural areas over the last century. There are almost no old growth forests east of the Mississippi River in the US. The vast swamplands of the American southeast have been drained and manipulated. The Carolina parakeet no longer flutters through the skies near my home in the hundreds of thousands like it did just over a century ago. We have made serious mistakes and have squandered so much natural beauty.
But it is very fair to say that we are getting better.
(From The Conversation)
What we found was extremely encouraging: conservation efforts work, and they work pretty much everywhere.
We found that conservation actions improved the state of biodiversity or slowed its decline in the majority of cases (66%) compared with no action. But more importantly, when conservation interventions work, we found that they are highly effective.
Examples from our far-reaching database included the management of invasive and problematic native predators on two of Florida’s barrier islands, which resulted in an immediate and substantial improvement in the nesting success of loggerhead turtles and least terns. In central African countries across the Congo basin, deforestation was 74% lower in logging estates subject to a forest management plan versus those that weren’t. Protected areas and indigenous lands had significantly less deforestation and smaller fires in the Brazilian Amazon. Breeding Chinook salmon in captivity and releasing them boosted their natural population in the Salmon River basin of central Idaho with minimal side effects.
Click here for the article.
Which countries currently lead the world in carbon emissions?
A vegan restaurant changes menu, now offers regenerative meat and dairy. Catches hell.
I once heard someone say that being vegan from a health perspective can make sense, for some people. But this person also made the point that from an ethical perspective veganism made much less sense as more animals are killed when plowing a field of broccoli than than in letting a cow (which is ultimately slaughtered) wander a pasture for a few years.
There are a million different counters to this position and we are not here to advocate for any particular position. But this guy’s assertion did make us pause and consider the argument.
In the attached article a small chain of vegan restaurants in California has started offering regeneratively raised meat and dairy to much consternation as one might expect. The owner says she is doing this because regenerative ag is good for the planet, but the eateries have been losing money since 2020 too so this is likely at least part of the reason for the menu change. Regardless it’s a chance to consider what “sustainability” and “ethical eating” really mean.
For some however the change in menu is just a betrayal.
(From The LA Times)
“I understand their passion and I understand their sadness and I understand their anger,” Engelhart told The Times. “I had the same views of the world that they did before I shifted my ideas based on my experience in farming, and I have compassion for what they’re feeling. I hope that the vegan community and the regenerative community can really come together because I think they’re both powerful, powerful pathways for change.
“It’s vulnerable to publicly say, ‘I believed one thing, and maybe I was wrong and now I believe something else,’” she continued, “but I hope that it inspires people in their own lives to be willing to be open-minded when something else makes more sense to you.”
We think this is quite a reasonable position.
Click here for the article.
Constructive dialogue can be the bridge to understanding and empathy
In our world we work with, talk with, play with liberals and conservatives and libertarians and progressives and moderates and “independents”, and guess what? It makes for a richer understanding of the world.
For some reason many smart people have cordoned themselves off into ideological enclaves these days. They scan their social media and pick up on the buzzwords the spinmeisters lob at them, ingest them as doctrine, and then go forth into the world convinced of their righteousness.
That is not a good way to go through civic life.
No one is right all the time. Every single one of us can gain something from listening, really listening, to a viewpoint that is contrary to our current viewpoint. Humans are supposed to change and get better. Yet we have a tendency to join tribes and hunker down, frankly, out of fear.
There are those of course who don’t care about being better human beings. They are not interested in developing new ideas. They are not interested in nuance. They are partisans in every way and gosh darn it will remain partisan. They see the political world as a zero sum game.
This is dangerous.
Politics is not a zero sum game. It’s way more interesting than that.
(From Mississippi Today)
The problem? Toxic polarization – the way we demonize each other across differences. Most of us have few or no friends who have different political preferences. We think “other people in America” pose the biggest threat to our way of life. We are finding it more and more difficult to say what we believe without the conversation devolving into utter chaos. Unsurprisingly, we shut down. We don’t talk. It’s a problem we can all hear, loud and clear.
The good news is that most of us want to talk. Most of us believe it is crucial for everyday Americans to be involved in finding solutions to the problems facing their communities. In a time marked by deep-seated divisions along ideological, political, and social lines, the need for constructive dialogue has never been more pressing.
Since last August, 19 graduate students seeking a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at the University of Mississippi have been planning and preparing for the seventh annual National Week of Conversation (NWoC). They are helping provide real opportunities for people across the country to build bridges of understanding and empathy.
Click here for the article.
Event
Apr 28 - Apr 28
-isms: What Do They Mean?
Crossing Party Lines
Location: Online
April 28 @ 7:00pm CDT
-isms: What Do They Mean?
Hosted by Crossing Party Lines
In previous meetings we’ve discussed a lot of -isms, from classism to racism, socialism and capitalism to interventionism and isolationism. People rally against them or advocate for them. At this meeting, we’ll discuss -isms in general, starting with this definition from the web:
a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement.
How do -isms apply in your life? Do you identify as adherent to a philosophical ism?
Do you find your favorite -ism gives you a sense of shared identity and belonging?
Does being able to point to an -ism help you work toward a better future?