Observations at the intersection of modern environmentalism and everything else.

Succession Goes Nature

Last week’s episode 4, season 5 of Succession – aka pop culture’s most obsessed-about show right now – was set in Norway’s epic natural surroundings. It certainly delivered a moody, mystical backdrop to the cut-throat, self-absorbed nature of our familiar cast of characters who seemed to barely notice they were in the midst of great natural beauty. In nature’s defense, it’s tough to compete with human tunnel vision to protect and bolster one’s own ego while scheming to outplay one’s chosen enemies. For viewers, the Norway setting was a nice escape from the sharp and hard Manhattan setting we’re used to. 

In this episode, the Roy siblings were still grieving the recent death of their father. Perhaps scripting the episode to be in nature was a nod to a more diverse set of feelings in the air.  Out in nature, we are all equal and primal. Nature strips you down. Releases baggage and self concepts we carry around. Nature brings you back to your core self, ultimately freeing us from limiting insecurities that can hold us back and keep us small. We saw this impact of nature on the Roys in this episode, unbeknownst to them. Roman and Greg both found some bravery to lead vs follow. Shiv also seemed to find herself again. And we saw Kendall and Matsson both soften their guards. 

Aside from the magical powers of nature, it’s also quite beautiful. Did you notice and admire the scenery in the episode? I think the show was also suggesting that beauty like this is becoming rare in our overdeveloped world. It’s a luxury to travel to the remaining areas of pristine wilderness, and the Roys got to do this, albeit with zero appreciation for it. Some were still able to reap the benefits that time in nature inevitably provides. But best to be aware in order to wield this raw power. 

Soccer Goes Green

Bloomberg Green featured a story about how the Barcelona FC soccer team took a train instead of a private jet to their match in Madrid BECAUSE they wanted to lessen their carbon emissions tied to travel. That’s called leading on climate!

And sure this was a PR move by the club, obvious by the fact that there’s an article about it with this quote from their sustainability director: “We decided to do this trip to state that the club wants to be a solution to climate change, and not a problem”. Love it. And good for them. It’s a positive thing to use influence for good, and that’s exactly what they are doing in raising awareness about how at the end of the day, it’s up to each of us to make better choices, set examples, and boast about it. Otherwise, nobody would know they made the environmentally-wise choice. And while that would still be good for the planet, may as well get some cheers for it and inspire others to follow. 

Milk Goes Wood

You might get a hard-on watching this new ad from Big Milk. They attempt to one up themselves from their infamous milk ‘stache campaign while throwing shade at Big Alt Milk. Aubrey Plaza being very Aubrey Plaza makes for an entertaining few minutes as she promotes her fictional investment in the next big thing: wood milk. 

But what’s the enviro angle here? And why am I playfully sharing pro-dairy propaganda when it causes 3x the greenhouse gas emissions of plant milks? Well for one, the ad itself is a funny take on the weird human obsession with milking things. And two, while we absolutely need to drastically reduce dairy and meat production (they are responsible for 30% of global emissions AND one third of all land is used to farm and feed these animals), the answer is not necessarily in the nuts (spoiler alert: it may be in the oats).

The process of milking nuts (the innuendos just write themselves) is deep in its own environmental issues, with almond being the worst, particularly due to the obscene quantities of water it requires. Plus apparently all this almond farming is killing bees by the billions, and we all know that bees are the new polar bears when it comes to the face of planetary collapse. So almonds gotta go.

All kidding aside, this article compares the environmental impacts of the milks, and oat milk comes out on top. This is good news for Oatly, and good news for me and anyone else who appreciates their marketing brilliance. 

Product Reco: Bar Shampoo…Again

Here’s a product recommendation that may not be helpful, as it doesn’t look to be available in the US. But it’s the sentiment that counts. It’s my favorite bar shampoo that I’ve tried so far. 

I converted over to bar shampoos about 3 years ago and haven’t looked back. And in that time, I actually haven’t tried a ton of different brands because the first one I tried was pretty great, so I kept at it. But then I realized that I should probably be an expert in this subject since I’m all about the bar shower swap. So I’m diversifying my experience with bar shampoos for my large bar-curious audience. The problem is that since they last so darn long, it takes months to finish one. At this burn rate, I’ll only get to test a few per year, but that’s how we roll – in sustainability. 

Ok, so my current fave is by Olively. I got it in Spain and it’s lovely. It’s almost too sudsy, that’s how sudsy it is, so you really only need a few swipes of this stuff. I’m using the blueberry one, which smells great and perfectly tames frizzy hair without looking oily – likely due to the castor oil. It’s just a great, luxurious product, so check it out next time you’re in Spain. 

And in case you don’t know why to use bar shampoo: It’s efficient in form and function. It eliminates both plastic and water content in product development. There is no purpose for shampoo to have its own personal plastic house, and to create a lather,  you just use the water from your shower. Good design is simple design.

Game of Climate

Let’s keep on with the ad theme because GOT fans will appreciate this one. My friend sent me this tweet featuring lovebirds Kit Harington and Rose Leslie creatively portraying the relationship between the oil industry and banks. Watch it and stay for the fireworks at the end. 💋