First Pieces

My first pieces of content for The Nature Conservancy in Washington and Carbon Washington have hit the Internet.

Last month, I blogged about continuing my work in environmental communication. Now, I am excited to reveal the publication of two of my initial projects, one exploring nature-based solutions (NBS) for The Nature Conservancy and the other highlighting some important legislative work by Carbon Washington.

The most recent publication on The Nature Conservancy's City Habitats site, my article on NBS allowed me to make use of my academic background. It looks at new research into the best strategies cities can use for employing NBS. Translating the research into an article for the general public's consumption gave me the opportunity to combine my understanding of scholarship with my professional work in environmental communication. Check out the full article here.

About a week before the publication of the NBS article, Carbon Washington started making legislative headway on a bill aimed at fostering sustainable farming. With considerable momentum behind the bill, writing about it for the organization proved very exciting. I enjoyed being a part of the move toward progress. Read my write-up here.

These pieces are just the beginning of my work with these organizations. Watch for the addition of more pieces soon.

Catwoman Roars Forward

Stanley Lau’s ferocious variant cover
for Catwoman #11. The image is used
here with the artist’s permission.

Michelle Pfeiffer famously introduced her character in 1992’s Batman Returns by announcing, “I am Catwoman. Hear me roar.” In the 27 years since that movie’s release, some portrayals of the character have heard that roar. Still, a sense of unfulfilled promise has lingered over what could have happened for Catwoman after she stole the show from Max Shreck, the Penguin, and even the titular Batman. With a new run of the Catwoman comic book, Selina Kyle appears ready to make the leap toward that potential.

Catwoman proved so popular in Batman Returns that plans took shape for the film’s director, Tim Burton, to direct Pfeiffer in a spinoff. Similarly, according to writer and critic Tim Hanley, Catwoman almost received her own animated series in the 1990s. She had become one of the most coveted characters in the comic-book genre. However, neither the spinoff movie nor the animated series materialized, and although her popularity never completely faded, she struggled during the next two decades to regain the momentum Batman Returns had given her.

As soon as DC Comics announced in 2018 that Joëlle Jones would revive the Catwoman comic book and take the reins on the book’s writing and art, a buzz started building about the possibilities. It was as if the echoes of that 1992 roar had returned to voice their approval. Jones’ lauded work on comic books like Batman and especially her Lady Killer indicated the talent she could bring to Catwoman.

By redesigning Catwoman’s suit, Jones made an immediate and reverberating impact. The new design made clear its intention to honor the character’s look in Batman Returns, literally drawing on the power of that past portrayal. As much as it looked to the positives of the past though, the design moved Catwoman ahead even more. In The Many Lives of Catwoman, Hanley points out that the character has long suffered from over-sexualized portrayals. Hanley highlights the 1990s Catwoman art by Jim Balent as a classic example. Even the suit that replaced Balent’s, a change that Hanley commended, turned ridiculous. A zipper down the front allowed artists to depict the post-Balent Catwoman in downright laughable ways. Why would any superhero go into battle with an unzipped suit, particularly if that superhero is a woman who isn’t wearing a bra? Such a portrayal only serves to sexualize, and it detracts from the character’s credibility. Jones gave Catwoman’s suit an inspired design and a beautifully liquid-like coloring, and her most important contribution to the overhaul was certainly the repositioning of that zipper. Moving it from the body of the suit to the headpiece, she effectively eliminated its use in creating absurdly sexualized depictions.

For the first six releases of the comic, Jones’ writing built up Catwoman with character development and narrative construction. She explored Selina’s psyche and emphasized her connections with loved ones, filling out her personality and allowing for growth. The narrative made contributions to Catwoman’s development by giving her new supporting characters and antagonists that were all her own, not dependent on Batman’s mythology.

While Jones breathed life into both the writing and the art, Stanley Lau added to the power of Catwoman with a series of stunning variant covers. All told, the work put into the book made it compelling and began clawing out new space for Catwoman as a comic-book character. Each issue reinforced the impression that something special was developing.

Mustering all the potential and momentum, Catwoman leaped to a whole other level in February. First, Lau, who had taken a couple of issues off, previewed his art for the March, April, and May variant covers. They all looked fantastic and continued his string of quality releases. The cover for Catwoman #11, due in May, stood out though. It featured a crouching Catwoman, claws out, teeth bared, and her whip swinging behind her like the tail of a cat about to pounce. It was menacing and ferocious. A character once sold almost completely on sex appeal now commanded attention for the power she possessed. Her essence so infused the art that the rainy alley in which she crouched could hardly contain it. Catwoman was roaring once again. Then, DC Comics released Catwoman #8 on February 20. In Catwoman #7, Jones teased a burglary caper in which the Penguin hired Selina to steal something. Such a story would fit nicely and a bit predictably within Catwoman’s history. However, in Catwoman #8, Jones surprised with themes, events, and supernatural elements that made clear the story ran much deeper than a simple heist: Catwoman’s roars will confront a big, wild world befitting a superhero who has come into her own.

In a media landscape saturated by superheroes, Catwoman may never achieve the same popularity she had after Batman Returns, but the work currently taking place on the Catwoman comic has set the stage for her to fulfill the potential encapsulated in Pfeiffer’s famous line. Her roar comes through in the work of Jones, Lau, and the others contributing to the book, and it’s good to hear it calling so boldly again. She challenges the powerful and the status quo and champions the powerless, and our world needs a character like that operating at her maximum capacity.

Note: This post is obviously a departure from the usual themes of envirofinn, but it is something I really wanted to write. Besides, Catwoman is a known defender of animals, so she isn’t too out of place here.

Doubling Up to Double Down

My path in environmental communication
continues with projects for Carbon
Washington and The Nature Conservancy.

I enjoyed my experience working on the campaign for Initiative 1631 so much that when election season ended, I looked for some new environmental-advocacy opportunities. One would have been great, but I ended up doubling my pleasure with work for both The Nature Conservancy and Carbon Washington.

In November, Carbon Washington put out a call for help with their communication team. Because of their work promoting action on carbon pollution (they had led the charge on Initiative 732 in 2016), I felt like helping them would allow me to continue addressing an issue of particular importance for me. After discussing it with them, I agreed to write content for their communication.

Near the end of December, The Nature Conservancy in Washington state announced that it was looking for volunteers to write for its City Habitats blog. Considering its focus on connecting people in cities with nature, I saw the blog as a wonderful opportunity to help develop the relationship between humans and the environment. My first post should appear in the next few weeks.

To have these two opportunities come up after the I-1631 campaign provided a good outlet for the environmental communication I still have in me. As my work with them continues, I'll post updates on this blog, so stay tuned for more information.

Two chances to work on environmental communication is definitely twice as nice.

Soaring to New Heights

My 139th and final species for 2018,
the golden-crowned sparrow.

From an Anna's hummingbird on January 1 to a golden-crowned sparrow on December 27, 2018 took flight and became a record-shattering year of bird-watching for me.

Starting with the Anna's hummingbird bright and early on the first day, the year wasted no time earning its wings. By the end of the first day, I had 18 species sighted, and before February began, I had 37.

I flew past my previous best of 120, set in 2017, on August 7 and kept going. A final trip to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on December 27 gave me 12 new species to end the year, putting me at a total of 139. The last of these birds, the golden-crowned sparrow, presented itself at the end of the day just before I reached the refuge parking lot. It seemed like a good punctuation mark for a great year.

The year featured 14 species I had never previously seen. These included the lesser scaup, the blue-winged teal, the field sparrow, the Lincoln's sparrow, the white-throated sparrow, the lark sparrow, the Harris's sparrow, the wood thrush, the hooded merganser, the ring-necked duck, the northern shoveler, the northern pintail, and the greater yellowlegs. One particularly spectacular life-list addition was the sandhill crane, which I blogged about seeing here.

Besides the new personal best and the life-list additions, I had another major highlight. During 11 days (May 4-14), I saw 43 species. That's almost four species per day and nearly one-third of my total for the whole year. It was such an exciting time. I just kept racking up the identifications, and when the run was over, I knew it would be a special year. At that point, I already had 107 species on my list, that new record close at hand.

Last year, my bird-watching reached new heights, and it's up, up, and away for 2019.

A Palm Victory at Hand

An important victory over palm oil is so close we can almost touch it.

Two months ago, I blogged about the Sumatran Orangutan Society's (SOS) Rainforest Home campaign, which seeks to raise funds to buy a strategic piece of land and restore it from palm-oil plantation to native rainforest. SOS broke the fundraising for the $1.1 million purchase into three phases. They hit their first two installment goals and now need just another $350,000 to secure the land. Check out the video below to learn more about the campaign.



As mentioned in the video, the plantation SOS seeks to purchase has strategic value even beyond its boundaries. Of course, the plantation land will benefit from restoration and give native species more room to live. However, the property would also serve as a buffer between development and pristine rainforest. That makes this last $350,000 invaluable.

SOS needs the final installment of fundraising by the end of February. If you are looking for causes for end-of-year donations or perhaps want to start 2019 on a hopeful note, please consider chipping in for this campaign. Here is the link to donate.

Let's not allow this victory over palm oil to slip through our fingers.

The Art of Me 2: A Picture-Perfect Frame

I've been framed, and based on what I recently learned about frames, I think that's a pretty good development.

Around the Cape in the original matte.

When I purchased a print by Pacific Northwest artist Elton Bennett in August, I blogged about how I saw my perspective in Bennett's work. That alignment of viewpoints helped convince me to buy a print of his Around the Cape. I had the print framed last month, and Olympia Framemakers did such a great job, I see myself in the frame as well.

The key to the frame was finding the right matte for the print's perspective. Because the print already had a white matte when I bought it, I initially planned to just buy a frame for it. However, I knew the white matte didn't work with the print as well as other colors might. Olympia Framemakers explained that the matte and frame should mesh with the perspective an artist provides for a piece of art and suggested black or dark green matte to better match the colors of my print. I liked the dark green and had them use it to replace the original matte when they framed the art in a black frame.

Around the Cape in a dark green matte and
black frame by Olympia Framemakers.

As soon as I saw the finished product, I knew Olympia Framemakers had created a perfect frame for Around the Cape. The new matte supported all the colors in the print by letting them be as Bennett intended. As a result, the effect of the print expanded into the matte like someone stretching out in their bed. By extension, because I had identified with the print from the beginning, I could see myself in the matte too. The dark green felt like the Pacific Northwest, like home, like an essential part of me. I couldn't be happier with the work by Olympia Framemakers. For more information about them, check out their Web site.

In having my Bennett print framed, I learned that a perfect frame liberates as well as it contains.

Last Call

As Election Day nears, the time for talk fades, giving way to action.

My vote for I-1631 has been accepted for tabulation.

Washingtonians heard the call all summer and into the fall: Take action on global warming by passing Initiative 1631. News reports, political ads, letters to the editor, phone calls, yard signs--the arguments for the initiative have sounded for months.

All that ends on Tuesday. With many ballots already returned by voters and the deadline for returns looming at 8 p.m. on November 6, not much remains to say about the initiative.

That makes this my last call. It's a call to do something great, a call to protect our health and our environment, a call for a better future, a call to make history, a call to action.

My fellow Washingtonians, please vote yes on I-1631 and return your ballot by Tuesday's deadline. Thank you.

This is It

When I talk to people about environmental issues like global warming, they often ask, "But what can I do?" Right now, my answer to my fellow Washingtonians is to vote for Initiative 1631.

Now is the time to act on global warming.

Today's political atmosphere and the size of environmental issues can make us feel powerless to affect change. However, I-1631 is our chance to do something big and effective, and with ballots arriving this week, the time to pass it is now.

The moment I heard about the initiative, I knew I wanted to help pass it. I joined the campaign because I wanted to make a difference on this important issue. I've blogged about it here, here, here, here, here, and here because I believe in its ability to keep us healthy, protect our environment, and move our state toward a better future. 

Now, as Washington state pollster Stuart Elway says, "It's on the cusp." Elway's poll, conducted in the first week of October, shows the initiative leading, 50-36, with 14 percent undecided. That means two things: (1) It can win, and (2) our votes can put it over the top. It doesn't get much more empowering than that.

For Washingtonians, this is it, the answer to that persistent question and the moment of choice. We have our opportunity to do something amazing to address global warming. We can take action and make real change happen. If you are a Washington voter, please vote yes on I-1631 when you receive your ballot. Thank you with all of my heart.

Taking Palm Matters into Their Own Hands

As palm-oil companies continue to grab up land, including areas in national parks, despite the pleas of environmental advocates, groups like the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) have begun taking the matter into their own hands.

For years, we've heard about the awful impacts of palm-oil plantations. They clear out rainforest and replace it with monoculture oil palm trees, displacing the native wildlife and destroying entire ecosystems.

Despite the growing awareness and campaigns designed to persuade international corporations from using palm oil, more and more rainforest disappears in the name of greed. The corporations continue to drag their feet, watching as the forests go up in flames or fall by the chainsaw.

Instead of waiting any longer for the companies to do the right thing, environmental groups have started buying the plantations and restoring the land to its natural condition. The current campaign from SOS seeks to raise $1.1 million to purchase a plantation in Indonesia. Click here and watch the video below for more information. The video creatively uses characters from Disney's The Jungle Book.



The existence of rainforest ecosystems and the wildlife that live in them is in our hands; corporations are too busy snatching land and cash to protect them.

The Cost of Cheap Lies

Money can't buy honesty (no surprise there), but apparently, it can't afford very good lies either.

Having already designated more than $20 million of its money to oppose Initiative 1631, the fossil fuel industry began sending out misleading mailers last month. That the industry would attempt to use its wealth to fund a misinformation campaign against an initiative seeking to regulate carbon emissions shouldn't shock anyone. It's totally consistent with the past actions of these corporations. What does catch my attention is the cheap quality of the lies against the initiative.

In the past, the fossil fuel industry concocted elaborate stories to stoke uncertainty about global warming. These stories were lies, and the coal, oil, and gas companies' own scientists told them so at the time, but at least, the industry put in some work to fabricate them. As a result, the deceptions worked for a long time and continue to impact us today. We're still paying for their cost with pollution that threatens our health, the environment, and the future of all species on this planet.

The truth is that promoting alternative energy through I-1631
is better than anything the fossil fuel industry has to sell.

By comparison, the industry's lies against I-1631 have such little substance, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) hardly had to break a sweat in refuting them here. To illustrate the flimsy nature of these lies, let me spotlight a few examples from the piece by the UCS. First, the fossil fuel industry argues that the initiative exempts a coal plant near Centralia, Washington. Pointing to this exemption, they suggest the initiative won't work. Yet they neglect to mention that the plant will close in 2025 and that the agreement to shutter it requires any climate legislation in the state to exempt it until its closure. The industry also says that the initiative calls for a "carbon fee" instead of a "carbon tax" to mislead voters. The truth is that it must be called a fee to ensure the money raised from it goes to the correct projects. If it were called a tax, the money would go to the state's general fund and could be used for anything, not just for projects like promoting renewable energy and helping low-income people deal with the effects of global warming. 

Though weak, those half-truths and false assertions aren't even the lamest of the bunch. The opponents of the initiative say it has no oversight. In truth, I-1631 would institute a 15-person public board to oversee its implementation. The oversight and accountability are right there in the language of the initiative! Make sure to read the whole article from the UCS to see each lie from the fossil fuel industry refuted.

By the fossil fuel industry's own standards, and despite the millions of dollars behind them, the lies these corporations spread against I-1631 are extremely cheap; but if they work, they'll be very costly for our planet and our health. Don't buy them.