Trifecta

Hello World!

As my girlfriend and I attempted to squat on a couple of the knee-high stools on the side of a busy Vietnam road, the chef/waitress/cashier auntie dropped two bowls of steaming Pho Bo on the table in front of us. This bowl of happiness cleared my head of all of my built up traveling stress for the time being. I felt like just another Vietnamese citizen taking a lunch break. This was actually the first time, during our trip, where I felt invisible; the first time I wasn’t stared at like I had money hanging from my eyebrows. Then, the slap of reality, “Do you guys have forks here?” Everyone at the table, including us, stared at this misinformed individual. Because my girlfriend and I were in Asia and both happened to be Asian, all we had to do in this situation was look down and keep eating, letting our black hair act as camouflage.

This incident and other experiences like this always lead me to the same questions. 1. No matter how hard you try and no matter how much you hate tourists, when you leave your home will you always be a tourist? and 2. Why do I travel?

The first question always has a pretty certain answer: Yes, if you are a tourist, you will always be a tourist unless you create a new home. Thus, transitioning slowly from visitor to resident. And, even though you may be living in a country for years, you may never see or feel what it is actually like to be from that country. To grow up in a culture is completely different from growing in a culture.

That second question though. Yes, it is pretty vague. But, isn't traveling? To give a definite answer to a question like that would cheapen all the trips that I have taken, all the research I have done, everything I have put into leaving home. With each journey I go on, I learn countless details through the people I meet and things I see. I may never arrive at a answer, I don't want to arrive at an answer. Just like reading a book that you do not want ending, I don't want my journey to end. With each post I will share the experiences that keep me leaving.

Another less prevalent aspect of this blog will deal with explorations in travel photography. It is exactly as it sounds, photos taken in the countries I have been. Though this topic may begin to sway my blog towards sounding like just another travel/photo/documentary dairy:

I went here and saw this amazing thing:

 Then I ate at this place and...


Ohh isn't this beautiful?


What happens though, if I go half way around the world and take a photo of a broom? A styrofoam box?

If you learn something, become inspired by, or hate this blog, I have succeeded. From obsessing about a bowl of ramen that blew my mind to witnessing oil drilling in the picturesque bays of Vietnam, my blog's goal is to trigger emotions in you that the world has triggered in me.

Profile

Though there are many environmental blogs/many environmental blogs/many environmental blogs, it has been a journey trying to find just one that is easy to comprehend without it looking like a children's book. Not only does this "right" blog have to look credible, but to relate to my blog, it has also to be written so as to not sound like an encyclopedia or ransom note. Yes, problems like deforestation and pollution will probably lead to the end of humanity and life in general, but that doesn't mean that the writing that pertains to it has to be so strict and threatening. 

Natural Capital is an easily read blog that covers environmental problems currently being discussed in congress and the news. It approaches these issues differently than other environmental blogs by assuming the reader knows nothing. With every difficult term, bill, and idea, there is a link to help the reader understand the post more clearly. Although accurate statistics and facts are provided by this blog, it was the use of critiques and opinions that caught my attention. Nick Cunningham and Duncan Gromko post something almost everyday. 21 posts in February, 19 in March and 7 so far in April. Each post relating to an issue that is currently at hand. For example, recent posts like Jaguars in the Pantanal and The Importance of Wetlands: The Pantanal are punctually written along policy and investment decisions that Brazil and other South American are currently making. Nick went to Johns Hopkins SAIS and now works on energy and climate issues for the American Security Project. Duncan is also a graduate from Johns Hopkins SAIS with a Masters in International Relations and International Economics. If that's not enough, he has also worked in various countries like Morocco to help and learn about the local problems involving deforestation and energy use and the impact it has on the local citizen's livelihoods. Sadly, though this blog shares such important information from such dependable sources, it doesn't seem to be getting much traffic. No comments on any posts, not much following on any social media platform.


In a sense my blog and their's are similar. In a sense. Their blog explains and critiques environmental problems that are relevant at the time of posting, mine explains and critiques environmental problems that I come across while traveling. Though I also do discuss some more simple ideas like feeding my face (in fact, they also have some posts that are less thought provoking than the usual) and make a use for my own photography in my blog, I feel that our goals as bloggers are similar. As Duncan writes in his about me, 

The goal of the blog is to provide discussion on [the merits and problems with treating the environment] and other topics that is accessible to non-experts. I think there are a lot of good ideas out there, but they're not being communicated as well as they could be.

In these couple sentences this John Hopkins grad not only sets his audience, but also places his blog somewhere in the rankings of the sphere of environmental blogs. I could easily write the same thing in my about me but with a couple of slight changes,

The goal of the blog is to provide discussion on [the merits and problems with treating the environment] and other topics through the eyes of a non-expert. I think there are a lot of good ideas out there, but they're not being communicated as well as they could be.

Aside from the plagiarism that I would probably face, it could theoretically improve my about me.


In reading Natural Capital consistently, I know without a doubt that my blog will change for the better. This blog will open my eyes to even greater environmental threats to our world while also providing background information on issues I come across during my travels. 




Voice Critique 

Reading a piece of writing that has no voice is like drinking warm beer. Each sip of both experiences is painful and ultimately leads to throwing it out with some anger.

Duncan Gromko, one of the authors of the environmental blog "Natural Capital" discusses serious issues without sounding like a robot (the other author on the blog). His sincere, sometimes sarcastic voice brings foreign issues like deforestation in the amazon closer to home for his audience. In posts like "Response to Foreign Affairs REDD+ Article", Duncan uses his voice to express the struggles of knowing to much about an issue, while others like "Palm Oil and Deforestation" let his dry humor
and sympathetic voice stand out.

"Response to Foreign Affairs REDD+ Article" goes through Duncan's complaints about a recent Foreign Affairs article on deforestation in the Amazon. Throughout this post he reminds me of my grandma trying to pick the eyeballs out of the fish at dinner. Meticulously with his chopsticks, Duncan loosens up the little balls of assumption and bullshit that he finds, throws them in his mouth and swallows them, no chewing.

Call me crazy, but Mr. Tollefson is contradicting himself. At the very least, he is seriously muddling the waters. Why did he choose to write about REDD+ and the Amazon? Many countries (that have not experienced declines in deforestation) have similar early engagement on REDD+ so it doesn't make much sense to focus on Brazil. I wish the article was about deforestation in the Amazon or REDD+, but not both.

To imagine the author of the foreign affairs article reading Duncan's post, then mine that calls him a fish is very entertaining. As if it isn't obvious enough, Duncan even takes a stab at the other author "So...thanks Foreign Affairs, for at least publishing something on forests, but I really hope your next attempt is better." When I think about it now Duncan kind of sounds like a smart ass. I guess John Hopkins could do that to a person. 
 

Though Duncan Gromko’s other post, “Palm Oil and Deforestation” may not have a intriguing title (none of the titles happen to be exciting), his use of sympathy gives perspective that helps him relate with the viewer.

French Nutella lovers breathed a huge sigh of relief when the French Senate voted down a budget that would have included a "Nutella Tax." The French have been proposing a lot of new taxes, but why would they tax something as delicious as Nutella?

Why would they tax something as delicious as Nutella? Even though this post goes on to discuss something a lot more important than that creamy, chocolately heaven of a sandwich spread, he grabs the viewers attention with this stab at their hearts. Throughout the post he continually helps the reader along by mentioning even more horrible things like, "child labor violations and killing of orangutans." While most of his posts are facts and examples, Duncan's little gold nuggets of awesome makes me feel as if I am actually having a conversation with the guy, not being talked at by a researcher. Though these conversations will always be one-sided, his concerned colloquialisms help me to think he cares about the readers as much as the environment. 

Up until this point, trying to find information on current issues on environmental change was like drinking 6-packs of warm beer. Though your voice can get a little whiny sometimes Duncan Gromko, it is only because you care.