Chemical exposure 24/7/365

Do not be fooled, Tacoma. This isn’t just steam. There are a number of toxic chemicals being emitted here. They may be within “acceptable” amounts, but the “acceptable” designation does not account for accumulative effects on human and nature’s health. No one is measuring these in real time. Nor are they measuring all industry together. […]

Change in seasons

Wrapping up 2020 will be wholly unlike any end of year narrative that we have had in quite some time. We are ending a decade, fighting a virus, fighting with each other, watching the planet change in devastating ways, and trying to keep some semblance of what has been deemed ‘normal’ for a very long […]

Call to action: Comments due 9/21

Shared here is my letter to the City of Tacoma regarding proposed expansion at the SeaPort Sound Terminal, home to over 20 tanks full of toxic and dangerous petrochemicals. The proposed expansion seeks to add 8 more tanks, increasing capacity and throughput of more dangerous petrochemicals, even while our world burns and we lose critical […]

Performative Political Platforms

Castle ruins and economic tea leaves

My instagram is full of images from Scottish castles, some in ruins, some held together. It is a bittersweet routine for me, having visited Scotland twice where I developed a deep and abiding love for the air, land, water and people of Alba. I deeply respect the craftsmanship of these massive structures, built over long […]

The exploitative economy

We live in a world where, for the last 400 years or so, economic models were based on exploitation. Exploitation of natural resources, exploitation of people, exploitation of markets. Somewhere along the way, this exploitation was normalized and the mechanisms for exploitation are heralded, lauded, and revered. The inhumane impacts of these economic models have […]

Survey Results

Here are the survey results. What are we going to do? I can do a better survey with a little less bias and more flexibility in the way the questions are designed for answers. What should we do with this information? There were only 155 responses, which isn’t a bad showing, but we need a […]

one job

I have one job this winter…well, beside my 9-5 and non-profit work. I need to write at least a lit review for a thesis about economic models. No more messing around.

A centrist democrat walks into a bar called Hooverville…

I wish I could follow that up with something clever. Sorry to disappoint you but I swear I’m not playing click-bait games. I honestly wish there was a humorous or clever follow up in the spirit of Will Rogers. Maybe it will come to me later. In case it doesn’t, I’ll beg your forgiveness right […]

Some air quality captures

A few screen grabs from the last couple of days air quality.

A culture of many….

I have developed an informal and anonymous poll for my community. Informal in that the questions and poll design are somewhat imperfect. I readily admit that I have bias in putting this poll out there, and I also readily admit that I’m happy to change those biases, if I find the counter-narrative based in fact […]

Why wait? Stop fossil fuel expansion at Port of Tacoma

Tomorrow night, there is a meeting at City Council Chambers to discuss the interim regulations for fossil fuel expansion at the Port of Tacoma. I may not be able to attend, so I wanted to get some thoughts down for others to consider. I will likely send this, or something like it, in email to […]