We're burning down the gods on the back of a bee

While this isn't news to anyone who works in this space, it is useful to have this water-is-wet research to affirm that Indigenous knowledge and land management are extremely effective at storing carbon and protecting biodiversity.

I want to draw special attention to this part of the article:

I get a fair number of asks and comments on my posts expressing sentiments like "human beings are a plague on this Earth", "humans ruin everything, we deserve to be wiped out", "humanity is inherently selfish, evil, and irredeemable".

I don't think the folks saying these things have bad intentions, I know their words come from a place of very understandable pain, fear, and anger. But to act as though humanity's impact on nature is inherently damaging and extractive is to erase thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship of nature. These ecosystems are thriving because there are humans living there.

Recently a non-Jewish friend asked for my opinions about bagels. Thus have I endeavored below to record the fundamental truths of my religion. Other Jews with differing regional and culinary minhags are welcome to make their own post.

BEST BAGEL FLAVORS: (in no particular order) sesame, poppyseed, onion, garlic, egg. Consider the toppings you're choosing as well.

THE EVERYTHING BAGEL: Like pumpkin spice, a creative flavor somewhat overexposed. A reliable choice if you fear the bagel is mediocre, as the spice combination may mask other flaws.

CINNAMON RAISIN/BLUEBERRY/SWEET BAGELS: Foolish. Cinnamon raisin bread already exists, why sully a bagel with it?

'RAINBOW' BAGELS: Marketing trick.

CREAM CHEESE FLAVORS: Plain, scallion, or vegetable only. Lox spreads are inevitably a mistake, because if the fish were good quality, they wouldn't waste it on a mix-in. Strawberry cream cheese is for children. Other flavors are for apostates and heretics.

DEPTH OF THE 'SCHMEAR': Not thicker than the height of one bagel half, or the length of your thumbnail.

LOX: Of course, if it's fresh. If the deli calls it "Nova" or "Gravlox", you're in good hands. (Whitefish: yes. Herring: better on crackers.)

CAPERS: Yes, if assembling the works (lox, tomato, red onion...)

TO TOAST OR NOT TO TOAST? Contextual. Toasting a freshly-baked bagel is a sin. Toasting a stale or sub-par bagel is a necessity.

SUPERMARKET BAGELS: Pointless. Just buy a loaf of bread instead.

SUPERMARKET CREAM CHEESE: Perfectly reasonable, but if you're catering an event you will save the stress of broken plastic knives if you buy whipped instead of block.

NEW YORK BAGELS: You can find excellent bagels outside of New York and you can certainly have disappointing bagels in New York, but the best bagels in NYC are better than anywhere else. Sorry.

MONTREAL BAGELS: A separate food group to be evaluated on its own terms, as deep-dish pizza is to thin-crust margherita. When in Montreal, I did not enjoy mine but that was an error of perspective, not of the bagel. I hope to visit again someday and correct this.