A few reminders before we jump in: 1) Hit reply with your own personal favs from your Space and 2) forward the email to friends to join in!
🗞 THE NEWSSTAND
(Hint: go Incognito to fight dem paywalls)
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the largest environmental protest in history, when 20 million people took to the streets on April 22, 1970. We now know this day as Earth Day. And with all things during this time, Earth Day is having a unique moment. Youth environmentalists took to the interwebs to lead a digital strike from April 22 to April 24.
In another fight between economy and public health, we witnessed the reopening of the state of Georgia despite warnings from all public health officials it was too soon. While at the national level we saw both political parties come together to draft an additional $484B coronavirus relief package in efforts to alleviate the devastating effects of this virus on our economy. (see this sobering visualization).
And in sports news, yes, sports, we witnessed a historical event as college football players sat eagerly by their families from the comfort of their livings rooms while sports fans streamed the NFL Draft. This year the top three picks were all from the state of Ohio (humble brag), as the Cincinnati Bengals selected the 1st pick of this year’s draft with LSU’s star quarterback and Ohio-native, Joe Burrow. Next up it was Chase Young from The Ohio State University headed to the Washington [team]. And again from The Ohio State University, we saw CB Jeff Okudah go to the Detroit Lions.
🎧 WEEKLY MIXTAPE
Another week, another beautiful dance melody from Black Coffee.
Top new album releases this week include Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes’ album What Kinda Music, as well as rapper Quelle Chris’ Innocent Country 2. This brand new album from Austria’s ‘founder of Electro Swing’ Parov Stelar is sure to get your Friday morning off to an upbeat start. Also, be sure to check out the live album WITH from electronica pop duo Sylvan Esso.
For remixes, this week, listen to a track just released featuring Nigerian singers Davido and TEMS is the latest version of “Know Your Worth” by Disclosure and Khalid. From one of my personal favorite artists, Tourist, listen to the remix of his song “Kin” off his latest album.
We can always count on our friends in the entertainment world to bring us environmentally-focused hits. This Earth Day it was Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, Kacey Musgraves, launching an Earth Day fundraiser with her track “Oh, What A World 2.0.”
📺 THE STREAM
If you’re looking for some inspiration this weekend check out The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for a heartwarming true story about 13-year-old William Kamkwamba who builds a wind turbine to save his village from famine.
From the director who brought you Parasite, take a look at Netflix’s Okja for a story about a young girl’s struggle to save her family pet (think oversized pig meets elephant) from corporate greed and animal abuse. The film spans topics including animal rights and food production, highlighting the role of corporations in our daily lives.
If you’re eager to bring out the inner child in you or simply have a love for these prehistoric creatures, throw on Disney’s Elephant. Or, if you’d rather skip the made for TV version then check out the director’s cut with the first-ever YouTube video in celebration of the website’s 15 year anniversary.
Stop what you’re doing and rent An Inconvenient Truth if you’ve never seen this classic environmentalist documentary that woke up America to the existential threat we are facing as a global society.
Or, if you’re feeling particularly ready to escape the current Groundhog’s Day throw on Netflix’s trippy animated series Midnight Gospel about a space-caster (video podcaster in space, duh) who travels to parallel universes through a simulator interviewing its inhabitants as their world nears destruction.
🍽 THE KITCHEN
For a simple and healthy meal, I am promoting my infamous broiled salmon lemon. It takes less than 15 minutes and is always a crowd please, even if that crowd is just you. Be sure to check out Mowi sustainably sourced salmon available for Amazon delivery.
Broiled Salmon with Lemon
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind plus
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
center-cut salmon fillets (about 1 in. thick)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees or using broiler on the bottom part of the oven. Prep salmon and drizzle a bit of olive oil over top to bring back instant moisture.
Simply whisk together olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper in a bowl. Place the salmon in the bowl and coat the salmon with the sauce. Put the salmon on a sheet pan and broil at 500 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until the salmon is opaque and browned on top. Remove the salmon from the oven, garnish with lemon wedges and serve. It also can be served with a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt and a side of steamed or broiled broccolini.
🥃 THE CABINET
This week in honor of Mother Earth we will be mixing up a simple three-part cocktail featuring natural ingredients.
Sage Bees Knees
Ingredients
2 parts gin (try Noblet’s eco-friendly gin)
1 fresh squeezed lemon
1 tbsp. honey
fresh lavender
Directions
Combine all ingredients.
Shake with ice and strain into a pilsner glass.
Fill glass with crushed ice and top with dried lavender.
🎙FIRESIDE CHAT
With the earth facing the threat of a major famine, an enduring environmental catastrophe, and a growing economic crisis, we need a plan. And at the same time, in the view by controversial venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, we need to build.
As carbon emissions drop across the entire globe (upwards of 10 percent dips in cities like New York), we ask ourselves ‘what will the post-Coronavirus world look like as it relates to our environment and the global climate crisis?’
Some models show a potential path to success over the next 50 years, while others show the pitfalls of our society and warn that we are doomed for catastrophe in our coming generation.
Those successful models show a combination of decisions made by our leaders as well as our own individual choices. They argue we will come together to make quick and monumental action as we have done in many examples of the current crisis we face as a globe.
Or, will we let politicking and self-interest drive the way? And how will we balance the issue of maintaining an economy fueled by human activity that directly impacts our environment and public health? The status quo has been for politicians to put the economy before lives as we have seen in the previously mentioned reopening of the Georgia economy.
Though we have seen some encouraging statistics from this current situation that are a mere step in the right direction to prevent further global climate change. Recent traffic reports have shown drastic dropoffs in fuel emissions, with some of the most hard-hit cities in Italy taking steps to create permanent changes in their street systems. In Lombardy, the city is converting over 35km of streets for cyclists and pedestrian use only. It is speculative but there are optimistic outlooks on how traffic might look after this pandemic.
For those of you who may be slightly behind on how fossil fuels and other human activities are leading toward dangerous, permanent damage to our earth, this crash course is a great place to start. Think of your favorite NFL team… now think of Chase Young and Isaiah Simmons lining up on the same side to crush your underdeveloped rookie quarterback.
“Climate change is the issue that everybody in my generation thinks about. It is the Berlin Wall for our generation and the younger generation than me.”
We can prep now for the shit-storm that is coming our way. There are glimmers of hope that point to us coming together, avoiding politicking, and taking decisive action against our global climate crisis. There are also emerging areas of opportunity for our society to replace old technology with new ones. With the coal industry on its way to collapsing, we ask ourselves 'how might we create new economic opportunities for coal miners across the country and world by creating jobs in renewable energy sources? Yes, there is hope on the horizon of what a post-Coronavirus world might look.
We're in this together
#StayAtHome #HabituateInSpace