Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
TaMara has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2015.
This should be a Big Biden Deal. Hoping it really shifts the conversation and gets the ball rolling. We need action, not more words, IMHO.
Speech is supposed to begin at 2:50 edt
Open thread
Open Thread: President Biden Live on Voting RightsPost + Comments (152)
Not a lot makes me smile these days. These guys make me smile:
Leather production is a very toxic process. It uses an amazing amount of water that is contaminated with toxic chemicals for processing and tanning. And of course, cattle take a lot of water – in growing feed and growing cows.
And the final insult to the environment, tanned leather can take decades to biodegrade, becoming just another burden on landfills.
And what of “vegan” leathers – most are made of petroleum products, with all the issues around plastic production and disposal.
Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez offer an alternative:
Desserto® is a highly sustainable plant based material as an alternative to leather made from cactus, often distinguished by its great softness at touch while offering a great performance for a wide variety of applications and complying with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards. The aim is to offer cruelty free, sustainable alternatives, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. The result, Desserto® , the cactus material, is partially biodegradable and has the technical specifications required by the fashion, leather goods, luxury packaging and furniture industries.
That’s why I find Desserto leather alternative products so inspiring and I hope their process proves successful over time. For now, I am going to search out products made from their cactus leather and give it a try for myself.
cross-posted at LivingLightly
Climate Solutions: Sustainable Cactus LeatherPost + Comments (45)
Hope there will be news on bringing the interpreters and others to Guam.
Open thread
Folks, I’m a car guy – and I firmly believe the future is electric. Gina McCarthy and Secretary Granholm hit the road to talk about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework’s historic investments in electric vehicles and how we’re going to ensure the future is made in America. pic.twitter.com/xZDXu7BpXr
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 1, 2021
What would you like to see in the infrastructure package?
We’re doing okay here. I took Scout out for her first ice cream yesterday. She enjoyed it. We are just back from a very long walk to try and expend some of that Scout energy.
Thank you all for your kind words to both John and me. I read every comment, a little at a time, because your kindness was both overwhelming and healing. Shared grief is always easier to bear. I am sorry I had to hit you with Bixby on the same day John had to let go of Rosie. I knew it would be gut-punch (reading about Rosie when I returned from the pet crematory was devastating). I almost didn’t post, but couldn’t face telling you later this week and doing the deep grief-thing all over again.
I will do my best to get you some happy ducks later this week, so we can all take a deep breath and laugh a little at their antics. Maybe I’ll be able to catch morning duck-zoomies on video.
This is an open thread to discuss whatever…I haven’t watched the news since last week, so I’m sure there’s something going on, LOL. Anyone have fun 4th plans? Do you need any cookout recipes? I can probably come up with some… 😏
I’m just going to fucking rip the bandage off today, because we are already grieving Rosie. I was going to make another FP write this for me (looking at you Adam) but it didn’t seem fair.
Bixby died in his sleep yesterday after a very brief, but intense illness. As many of you may remember, he had an adverse reaction to (or overdose of) Maropitant citrate two years ago that left him paralyzed. He was amazing and willed himself to recover, but his health was never robust after that and I truly knew I was treasuring each day I got with him after that. He gave me seven great years and the best hugs.
I’m about as messed up as I have ever been right now, but I needed to let you know because you’ve been on the journey since he was a pup and I’m not going to want to talk about it the rest of the week. Just hunker down with Scout and grieve our loss.
Hug your critters for me today…
In Native American culture, eagles are the ultimate symbol of wisdom, courage, and power. So you’ll kindly pardon the interruption when U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who had just hopped on Zoom for this interview from her Washington, D.C., office, is suddenly stopped mid-sentence by her concerned communications director, who had heard a chirping coming from her computer. “Allie, can I pause you for one second? The secretary has a camera that watches eagles, and they’re making noises.” To which Haaland replies: “The new eagles are getting ready to fledge, so I’m watching every day to see them take their first flight.” They are nesting on the campus of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. “It’ll be an exciting day,” she says.
Read the entire article here
These photos!
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Being the First – and the Futurehttps://t.co/4WrvA1T2pB pic.twitter.com/pzVsBZTFWh
— Ofirah Yheskel (@ofirahy) June 24, 2021
The cover gave me chills.
Open thread
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Haaland – In Style CoverPost + Comments (36)
