WATER: PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Do you want to be a better human? You are in the right place. Welcome to the Water Hole, a wet attempt at sharing the secrets of life with those living it.

Hot Topic

: A deeper dive into the activities of earth and its creatures.

THE BIG PICTURE

You must know that humans have impacts on the earth simply by us living on it. There are so many ways to improve our relationship with this big ball of space rock flinging itself around the sun- particularly since our lives depend on it. While the hot topic in future letters will serve to educate and empower, we first must understand how we measure success. Ultimately, the goal is to sustain life on Earth (human life would be nice) indefinitely (or until we can comfortably and peacefully live on other planets).

How come it seems like we are making survival harder for ourselves? The healthier the earth is, the healthier we are. We are interconnected. The planetary boundaries are sort of like a health inspection of the Earth.

We can mitigate these risks by working together with a common goal. But to do so, we must understand how risk is being measured and determine what is the common goal.

Read more about the planetary boundaries in the following article:

If you don’t like reading, check out this video that explains the planetary boundaries and where they stand.

The United Nations has long been developing and working on the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, which outline categories to measure improvement (or damage).

These goals are tangible, measurable ways we can improve life on Earth. We will use the intersection of these goals and the planetary boundaries to guide topics and actions to dive into in future letters.

Discussion Questions:

• How are you working to effect positive change in one of these categories?

• Does your work move any of these goals in the wrong direction, and what are ways to mitigate that?

• How might you, through your work, make positive impacts in multiple categories simultaneously?

Cool Sips

: Just some things to do or think about to help us improve on the daily.

• Health: Have you ever heard of a street gym? Varying in popularity, Singapore being a notably fond example, street gyms can simultaneously help build community and overall fitness. Look how fun exercise could be. Check out this resource to see if any street gyms are nearby.

• Household: One of the most critical missions in this century is to diminish our reliance on fossil fuels. While that can happen through individual actions multiplied across entire societies, it is also necessary to understand how our investments and policies make fossil fuels “sticky” on a grand scale. See if your investments fund fossil fuels and if your politicians received money from the fossil fuel sector. Money and power are like 🤝, and the money fossil fuel companies make helps elect the politicians most likely to vote against the environment.

• Transportation: Some cities such as Denver, CO, have offered periods of free public transportation to encourage ridership and cut emissions. But is that really what we need? Read this article on the cost and evolution of public transportation written by a Professor of Urban Policy and Planning.

• Mentality: What is your ikigai, or reason for being? “Traditional Japanese philosophy focuses on finding your bliss, western interpretation has used ikigai as a method of finding your dream career.” Curl up with a pal by the fire, grab a snack, and ponder why we are here using this helpful guide.

Mouthwatering

: You are what you eat, right? Here is some edible inspiration in a largely industrialized food system world that won’t make you feel sad about being a microwaved hot meat dog smoothie the next day.

OHM MY

This might just be my all-time favorite bowl of goodness. I LOVE SAUCES and the ponzu dressing is superb. We recommend putting it in a regular rotation to use the odd leftover veggies in the fridge, such as peppers, carrots, onions, cucumbers, peas, zucchini, or spinach.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces dry soba noodles ( or rice, rice noodles, GF noodles, or cooked zucchini noodles)

• 6 ounces ahi tuna or tofu

• 1–2 tablespoons coconut or high temp cooking oil

• 2 radishes (watermelon radishes are pretty)

• 1 Turkish cucumber, sliced ( or carrot, shredded)

• 1/2 avocado, sliced

• garnish- scallions, chives, chive blossoms

• handful sprouts- sunflower or daikon are nice

• other options: grated veggies like carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, snow or snap peas, edamame, fresh peas, daikon, baby spinach or greens.

Ponzu Dressing:

• 1/4 cup orange juice ( juice from 1/2 an orange)

• 1/8 cup soy sauce or GF Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos. ( Smoked shoyu is nice too)

• 1/4 cup mirin ( or sub a mix of 2 teaspoons honey and 3 tablespoons water)

• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

• 1/8 cup toasted sesame oil

• 1/4 teaspoon hondashi granules ( optional- adds a nice smoky depth, but not vegan)

• pinch salt and pepper

We Out Here

: Stories coming from our adventures that hopefully will inspire your adventures.

TALES FROM AN OUTBACK

My partner and I live and work out of a Subaru Outback, camping most nights of the year. While moving constantly can be exhausting, we have met many different characters along the way- from the self-proclaimed “tree people” in the Sierra Nevada mountains to the sailboat-owning Yale professor living in Rhode Island.

While it is easy these days to get travel inspiration from those highly curated Instagram photos and the 10 best places to visit listed online, this section is intended to tell stories from the road about the people, places, micro-cultures, and ecosystems in a way that informs and inspires you to get out, listen to your neighbor’s wacky stories, and relish experiences with the diversity of life we have on this planet.

To care for the planet, it first helps to know what treasures it holds.

In future letters, this section will glimpse into our experience. Come along on the ride.

Game Time

: Games are a beautiful social fabric that weaves together competition, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Here’s a game to play or a challenge to complete.

EUCHRE

This game is played with a standard card deck and four people in two teams of two. It is also one that your fellow midwesterner likely knows and loves. The reason this is the first game on here is because it is the first game I learned how to play that I still enjoy playing. Euchre is a beautiful balance of competition, simplicity, strategy, luck, and teamwork (with some mind-reading involved). Once you have it down, you can play while simultaneously having unrelated conversations about your life.

Get started playing here.