Eric

Spring Creek by Eric de Place.

Eric de Place (left), Cathy Sampson-Kruse (middle), Kathleen Dean Moore (right).

I had a wonderful time at OSU last weekend where I participated in a symposium on the Thin Green Line orchestrated by the Spring Creek Project. Among the many highlights, I got to meet two personal heroes: Cathy Sampson-Kruse, an elder of the Wallulapum Band of Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla and one of the fiercest warriors in the Northwest’s fight against fossil fuel projects, and Kathleen Dean Moore, who may well be the most important intellectual in Cascadia’s environmental movement.

Plus lots more, including a riveting reading by Taylor Brorby, who co-edited Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. And, Ryan Pierce, whose Postcards from Paradise project is a sort of insightfully sardonic travel journal from the Northwest coal exports fight.

Serena

I had no say in what I wore for my original birthday, but I definitely know what I’ll be wearing for my deathday…

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    • A great write-up from FiveThirtyEight about the increasingly appealing idea of the basic income.

    Foreign Policy profiles the burgeoning ranks of multi-national corporations that are outside any international labor and social responsibility standards. You think Coca-cola, Nike, and Shell are bad? Well, they may be, but you ain’t seen nothing until you’ve seen “the untouchables.”

    Trisha

    With Prince’s recent passing, much has been written about his showmanship. His music. His style. But what about his support of #YesWeCode, an initiative to train black kids to work in the tech industry? Or his behind the scenes—and very generous—support of a multitude of other social organizations and environmental causes, like Green For All, a group working to bring green jobs to underprivileged populations? Prince supported these causes in secret and sometimes anonymously—partly because of his spiritual beliefs and also because he thought it was in bad taste for a celebrity to brag about donating money. Van Jones, a CNN commentator and long-time friend, said of Prince:

    He cared about life and love and freedom. His politics were not red. They were not blue. They were purple. He had a mind that let him see answers—musically, spiritually, even politically. Rather than argue about global warming, he said, ‘Let’s help kids put up solar panels.’