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Going Deeper

My colleague and friend, Dr Andrea Neal, of Blue Ocean Sciences, sent me this very cool piece on Tom’s Shoes (who I really admire) today. It is very in theme for this blog series. Many of us are looking at ethics and architecture these days. It is essential if one really wants to make an accurate difference. In surfing, being accurate is 90 percent of the battle in being competent and thriving. (I frequently relate everything back to the oceans) To be there and successful in surfing you need to know the Architecture of the Earth and have skill. If

Beauty

One of the linchpins in the success of my imaging career, has been the ability to recognize and communicate beauty. Sounds simple. The reality is far from that. The reason being, is that beauty is a complex subject, and really has little to do with obvious and apparent physical attributes. Take the image above. Pretty girl. I made her prettier with my skills as a photographer. But what makes this beautiful, is understanding. Me taking the time to understand who and what she is, made me want to pursue working with her. Jentry is the daughter of two remarkable

Canary in a Coal Mine: An Environmental Manifesto

Etymology An allusion to caged canaries mining workers would carry down into the tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as methane or carbon monoxide leaked into the mine-shaft, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners. Noun canary in a coal mine A warning of danger or trouble yet to come. Synonyms miner’s canary (Source: Wictionary) I have long been aware of the role of the Ocean in the Ecosystem, that is the environmental engine of Spaceship Earth, and realized my Tribe was a canary in the coal mine of industrial development, by virtue of being

A California Opus

Chapter 5 in the California Series. I have not always lived in California. My Dad was going to college on the GI Bill in Milwaukee Wisconsin, at Marquette University. I had never asked him why, being from Hawaii, he chose the Mid West. He met my Mother there. That was where my two Brothers and I were born. We were sick a lot as infants. The family pediatrician had told my parents that our Hawaiian genetics may have been to blame, as we did not tolerate the cold of hard, Midwestern Winter very well. In fact, I ended up in

World Oceans Day

This is another in the blog series on California. Ch 3. Today is a movement generated day called World Oceans Day. You can read about it’s History here. More years ago then I care to admit to, I had a couple custom board shaping appointments with two men. One board was for Tom Pratte. The other was for Reed Wolpert. As we chatted together in two separate shaping sessions, both men told me about a concern that they had. They each saw California as being engaged in a very dangerous trend. It was the walling off of the Coastline by

Rocket’s Red Glare

My Father worked on the weapons delivery systems for the Defense department. He would have terrible nightmares. So I grew up with all of the information regarding what occurs in a worst case scenario of a nuclear detonation. The knowledge acquired was probably what drove my love of Science and caused me to at one point, major in Bioscience. I have never stopped learning. None of us should. That cold handshake was what pointed me back to nature, and my current philosophy and knowledge of God. I learned that fear is a mind killer and knowledge leads to Hope and

Ethics in Environmentalism, Citizenship and Stewardship

A new wave is breaking. There has been a lot of change afoot for me, and there were a few things I had been avoiding acting on. Those subjects called for much research and thought. They have been on my plate repeatedly lately. In one circumstance, I had to take a close look at an environmental group which some friends had created many years ago, for the purpose of preserving beach and ocean access. The group, Surfrider Foundation, has done an amazing amount of good work, and I have assisted it by various means, since its inception in the mid

Evil : This is Personal

It is a choice whether to follow truth or falsehood. I never bought into the Film “An Inconvenient Truth. “ Lets get that straight between us. I could make a long list of reasons for this as a businessman, film maker, Journalist, ex manufacturer, Science fan, Environmentalist, and someone who participated in the formation of some of the rules written by CARB. But my principal reason, was that I choose what I will embrace based upon the character of the person communicating it, and the tone of their message. In my work in business and retail for 20 years, I

Hazardous Materials Basics

As everybody runs to pitch in at ground zero in the Gulf, I want you all to be aware that there are manifold issues related to working in and around high VOC environments. VOC is an acronym for Volatile Organic Compound. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound Levels of VOC’s vary greatly depending on atmospheric conditions and combinations of additional toxins, both natural and man made, which can have potentially serious long term effects. One thing people may not be aware of, is that your skin and your eyes are actually also very effective systems whereby toxics can enter the blood stream. If you get

Fear Anger Hope

Fear, anger, hope. These three things are very inter-related and part of the process of progress. I find myself falling into fear, that entities which we have entrusted, like Government, Industry, and aspects of modern culture, such as certain Environmental PACS, have totally failed the Earth, as evidenced in the recent potential Global killer, that is the Platform Horizon Wellhead Blowout. The fear generated by this realization leads to an intense burning anger. That anger causes a hell of a lot of introspection of myself, what I stand for, and a VERY close look at the things I am able

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