Hello and happy Friday!

It's really starting to warm up in the mountains. I hope you take some time to go on an adventure this weekend. :)

Weekly thought...

A quote I’ve been thinking about:

“You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming.” - Jim Rohn

You may not reach all of your goals, but if they are big enough, you will be better off than most people just for having tried.

Now, here's what I've got for you this week:

1. Why everything you know about plastic and recycling is a lie

The plastic industry is corrupt. More corrupt than most people realize.

You need to watch this video about it. 

Before WWII, nearly everything was reused.

The idea of using a plastic container, utensil, straw, etc. just once and then throwing it away was marketed and successfully sold (through lies and manipulation) to the American public in order to drive profits. 

The plastic industry has lied to us for a century in order to make money. Lots of money.

Recycling is a scam that the industry created to make conscientious people like us feel better about throwing plastic away.

However, only a small fraction of plastic is actually recycled even if it is properly disposed of in recycling bins. There are numerous other major, environmentally detrimental problems with recycling as well.

Also, the 60 billion dollar recycling industry loves the lucrative government contracts that your tax money pays for. They don’t want you to stop using plastic either.

The only way we can end the plastic pollution crisis is to stop buying and using single-use plastic.

Easier said than done, I know, but human civilizations survived (and thrived) for millennia without single-use plastics - and we can, too.

2. How to understand and use Exposure Value ‍

I was recently trying to understand a concept in photography called called Exposure Value (EV).

‍Here’s a great article I found that simplifies this concept in a way that actually makes sense. 

EV is just a number that is calculated by combining shutter speed and aperture values.

The lower the EV, the more light captured by the camera (e.g. for a dark scene).

The higher the EV, the less light captured by the camera (e.g. for a bright scene).

When you understand what EVs you use when shooting, you will get a better grasp of how to achieve proper exposure in your photos.

3. How to read a topographic map‍

A topographic map (or topo map for short) is a type of map that shows the features of a landscape, such as such as mountains, hills, ridgelines, valleys, and bodies of water.

It will tell you how steep the terrain you plan on hiking on is, and other important information that will help you navigate in the backcountry.

Anyone who goes hiking should know how to read a topographic (topo) map. It’s one of the most fundamental outdoor skills.

Even if you already know how to read a topo map, it can be helpful to brush up on the details.

‍This article is a great introduction and overview of topo maps that covers all of the basics and the most important things you need to know about them, including what all of the lines, numbers, symbols, and colors mean.

Friday Nature Fact:

Did you know? The American pika is an adorable Rocky Mountain mammal that looks like a guinea pig but is actually the smallest member of the rabbit family. These "rock rabbits" typically live above 11,500 feet and spend the summer months collecting and storing plants, grasses, and other vegetation to survive off of during the long winter. During the summer, a single pika may make upward of 14,000 foraging trips into nearby meadows to collect plants for its food cache! Learn more...

Talk to you next week, friends.

Meredith