Join A Cleam, Head a Tub

From the article:

French Polynesia has become the world’s largest contributor to the global 30×30 ocean protection target, after President Moetai Brotherson announced on 7 June that a further 520,000 km² of the territory’s waters will be fully protected from extractive industries. The move brings the total share of French Polynesia’s exclusive economic zone under full protection to around 30%, an area covering roughly 1.4 million km², more than twice the size of continental France.

For those who don't know, 30x30 refers to global efforts to commit to preserving 30% of land and ocean habitat by 2030. French Polynesia has now hit that target.

YOU DO IT ON ONE OF THESE! OBVIOUSLY!!!

and that brown end? the hard bit? pencil sharpener. or sharpened with a blade. are you following me? now, attach six of those to a harpy.

A country where the only place you've been is an airport on a layover, Earth

Americans have one of the highest obesity rates in the world, yet they hold the most Olympic medals. They have a horrible education system, yet eclipse the rest of the world in scientific research. The country is filled with clueless philistines, yet their culture permeates every society, in some way, across the planet. The country is still less than three centuries old, but has spent most of it at war. They are universally hated or feared by nearly every other country on the planet, yet the first to offer help during a disaster. Their people are stubborn and never content with the way things are, and for better or worse, all of them imagine how things could be better. Every American is a bankrupt billionaire, a prince in exile, a grounded astronaut, a disgraced scientist. There are the people who do not settle for who they are, but for what they may become.

The country has her problems. Certainly their government has a lot of blood on its hands. But there is something charming about the people I can’t quite place. Even the delusional leftists or the out of touch neocons. There is a certain magic about the place that you don’t find elsewhere. There are bad parts and bad people, to be sure, but there are just as many good parts and good people. It is a land of extremes. But even the poor aren’t really that poor. Much better to be a homeless American living on the beach than literally freezing to death at a metro station in Moscow.

I do not choose to be a common man, It is my right to be uncommon … if I can, I seek opportunity … not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen. Humbled and dulled by having the State look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; To dream and to build. To fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life To the guaranteed existence; The thrill of fulfillment To the stale calm of Utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence Nor my dignity for a handout I will never cower before any master Nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect. Proud and unafraid; To think and act for myself, To enjoy the benefit of my creations And to face the world boldly and say: This, with God’s help, I have done All this is what it means To be an American.

It's hard to see through the noise in the media, from the administration, from your neighbors and friends and digital social circle. And I'm not saying all of them are wrong. We have a lot of problems, some of which are of our own making, some of which predate our existence as a country.

But we have the tools to fix those problems, or at least to work on them. Not everyone can say the same! Be the voice in your community, plant a garden, mentor young people, read more, think more, talk more with your neighbor, go outside and live in this beautiful country and work to keep it beautiful. Volunteer, advocate, respect your opponent in an argument, visit the elderly, sit on a bench and enjoy the breeze.

Traditional hairstyles of the Fula people (or Fulani or Fulɓe) 

1, 2: Guinea

4: 1959 Burkina Faso

6: c. 1920

7: Burkina Faso

8. Central Guinea

9. Dalaba, French Guinea (now Guinea)

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Wooden headrests elevate the neck and head to ensure elaborate braids, beads, and cowrie shells remain pristine and protected from dust and the ground. Elevating the head off the ground in semi-arid Sahel regions also helps improve airflow and keeps the sleeper cooler during the night.

Headrests are apparently used in a lot of regions of Africa. Here’s a Mwila woman demonstrating hers:

(my own photos)

Not only they, but the entire Mojave ecosystem is still struggling to adapt since the loss of ground sloth dung. their chief fertilizer.

Many, many trees and plants in the Americas have widely-spaced, extremely long thorns that do nothing to discourage deer eating their leaves, but would've penetrated the fur of ground sloths and mammoths. Likewise, if you've observed a tree that drops baseball or softball-sized fruit which lies on the ground and rots, like Osage Oranges, which were great for playing catch at my school, chances are they were ground sloth or mammoth chow.

You can read about various orphaned plants and trees missing their megafauna in this poignant post: