Costa Rica & renewable energy

With all the not so great news in 2016 I thought this was a pretty uplifting story to close out the year:

Costa Rica used 98% renewable energy in 2016

Like they mention in the article, CR is small and has unique natural resources to make this happen but hopefully other Central American and Caribbean countries will follow their lead and start making a major impact on global CO2 emissions.  If enough nations switch to renewables then maybe there will be enough peer pressure and technological scale to get the U.S. on the right track as well.  

It is a new year, anything is possible, right?

 

Responsible gift giving for the holiday season...

Over the next month or so most of you will be inundated with gifts - both giving and receiving.  While it is undeniably fun to exchange presents, rarely do kids or their parents think about the impact those gifts will have on our planet.  

Plastic toys, textiles (clothes), and electronic gadgets and trinkets take tremendous resources to produce, package, and transport and then typically end up in a landfill after a season or two of use (if they get used at all).  In fact the textile/garment/fashion industry is the second most polluting sector on our planet with number one being the oil industry!  Anything made of plastic is no better: every piece of plastic ever produced still exists today and will be around long after we are all gone to pollute our waters and poison wild creatures.

With that (downer) in mind, here are the top five gifts to give this season with our planet Earth in mind.

  1. Your time/company
    • Instead of a tangible gift why not plan and commit to a trip, meet-up, getaway, or a weekly hour of time that you get together with friends or family to relax, eat, talk, or see a movie?  Must-have gift fads are fleeting but quality time is precious.  Disconnect and enjoy good company!
  2. Handcrafted (wood) Gift
    • Unwrapping a box is half the fun over the holidays but that does not mean the surprise inside should be a thoughtless commercial item.  Wood is a renewable resource that sucks up carbon while it grows and then becomes our homes, furniture, and a variety of fun items.  My ski poles are made of (super) renewable bamboo that I built with a DIY kit from Soul Poles.  Coach Ryan's favorite game is Kendama which campers have surely seen him playing with at camp.  You can also add that extra touch and build something yourself to give away.  Wood is easy to work with and building with someone is an extra bonus as you learn new skills and enjoy some quality time (see #1).
  3. Donate to a charity
    • What better way to show someone you really know them then donate to a charity or nonprofit that exactly reflects their passion.  There are organizations for every cause from the environment to wildlife to child welfare to cancer and disease prevention.  Even better, give to a local animal shelter or food pantry to keep the benefits where the gift recipient lives.    
  4. Online subscription (Netflix / Hulu / Spotify)
    • Setting aside the pollution endemic to the modern internet, a gift of a subscription service can be a lasting and awesome present that eliminates a plastic DVD or CD (if those even exist any more).  Streaming services provide limitless entertainment as well as knowledge through documentaries and podcasts.  This is a gift that will get the recipient to think of you every time they log in...which is likely every day.  
  5. CAMP!
    • Sorry for the shameless self promotion.  Giving the gift of camp is something that a kid will go crazy for.  I listed all of the reasons in a previous post so I will not go into detail here but suffice to say camp is worth way more than the price of tuition.

 I hope you enjoy the holidays and if this post gets you to replace one 'traditional' gift with something more environmentally responsible then I have accomplished something this year!

P.S. Recycle!

 

-Evan

Fall at the lake...

Fall is always bittersweet here at camp.  The foliage is gorgeous, the lake is calm and empty, and the sun is still warm and high in the sky but our cabins are empty and there is no one to play with!

Camp in September before the leaves dropped.

Not even a ripple on the water...just the reflection of the mountains.

This year the state decided to drop the water level for the winter on Merrymeeting by releasing water from the dam.    

The Merrymeeting Lake dam...opened up and letting water out.

The dam again...as spied through the trees.

This long anticipated lake draw-down will help residents fix up their shorelines, walls, and docks.  The water by our beach is down around five or six feet!

Our beach and dock, all tucked away for the long off-season. You can see where the water level typically is by the white water-line on the stone wall.

Getting the property ready for winter is a lot of work.  It takes a long time to store away furniture and equipment, winterize the buildings and boats, and rake up the thousands and thousands of leaves.  (Check out this post from last year to see what I do in detail).

My trusty sidekick and enthusiastic yard work helper taking a break to bathe in the sun.

Tuckerman can always be counted on to mess up my leaf piles, drag sticks back onto the grass, and jump in the lake every 20 minutes or so for good measure.

Enjoy the season.  Have fun outside.  Cross your fingers for lots of snow this winter.  Keep shredding.  

-Evan

617-855-WAKE (9253)

evan@watermonkeycamp.com