Edgar McGregor is the Real Deal

If you've spent any amount of time checking out this blog, you know what a hard-core tree hugger I am. Among family and friends, I'm notorious for diverting from a trail or a walkway in a park to pick up litter and debris. 

I've always known I'm not the only overly-responsible Nature Lover who does such things. And I just read an article about one such person who's gone way above and beyond the call of duty.

That young man is Edgar McGregor and his commitment to coming to the Planet's aid when thoughtless or malevolent humans sully and pollute her is truly inspiring.

For 589 days, Edgar ranged all over Eaton Canyon, one of the most popular hiking trails near Los Angeles, picking up litter, trash and debris of all kinds in order to atone for the sins of his fellow humans and get the canyon as clean as is humanly possible. 

And finally, the day came when he walked the park and couldn't find anything to bag up and carry away.

Reading of Edgar's untiring effort has inspired me. I can hardly tell you how much. Suffice to say, he and I are cut from the same cloth, but his efforts have, of course, easily out-stripped mine. I commend him for his nearly-superhuman work and devotion to Mother Earth.

If you'd like to read more about the Eaton Canyon Trail or what this indefatigable eco warrior did on its behalf, these two links will take you where you want to go.

"Bulldog Ben" Basile

© 2021 Ben Lawrence Basile 

Someone's getting serious about single-use plastics

It's undeniable that the use of plastics for practically everything is terribly convenient.

It's also undeniable that this convenience has a huge downside; the Planet is becoming a trash heap and it's having a devastating impact on wildlife everywhere.

It's imperative that we get serious about this and make some real changes.

Yes, I know this will not be easy.

A tiny bit of good news: the French are getting serious about weaning themselves off of the use of  plastic for everything. And it's having an impact.

Of course, it would have an even greater impact if we in the U.S. were to follow their lead.

But it's virtually certain that our resistance to change, coupled with the determination of the Fossil Fuel industry to prioritize its profitability over the welfare of the environment, will mean that we will never actually rise to meet the challenge.

This is regrettable, to say the very least.

And it's just one more reason--and there are so many--that the outlook for our Planet is very bleak.

We had better wake up.

Not only about our use of plastics, but about a whole range of issues that are contributing to this horrible degradation of the Earth.

Will we ever rise to meet the challenge?

I wouldn't say there's no chance.

But I wouldn't  bet the rent that we will.



"Bulldog Ben" Basile

© 2020 Ben Lawrence Basile

More troubling signs

Those of you who know me know that I’m very much focused on environmental issues.

If I say something about the degradation of the Earth and that we’re all in deep trouble as these trends proceed, no one will be surprised.

But as more and more signs and facts come in, I’ll surely be passing them along.

Don’t turn away. Get involved.

The signs are everywhere. I wish it were not so.

“Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

Record Spending for the Environment in Florida

One of the really important headlines coming out of Florida this last week was about the just-passed budget for the coming year and how it highlights new priorities in the Sunshine State.

Make no mistake, this thorough re-ordering of spending priorities is a direct result of Gov. Ron DeSantis replacing former Governor and infamous boot-licker Rick Scott.

Some quick facts to help you get a feel for what this new budget in Florida can mean:

• $100 million for spring restoration in several locations
• $417 million for Everglades restoration in particular
• $40 million for alternative water supply
• $25 million for research to combat blue-green algae and red tide, specifically.

If you’d like to dive a little deeper into this issue of the new budget and how it impacts our Florida environment, here’s a link to an excellent article that just ran in the latest issue of Florida Weekly.

This development has certainly been heartening for those of us who keep a close eye on environmental issues in the Sunshine State. Governor DeSantis has been commended over and over again for stepping up on this issue, as well he should be.

I’m hopeful that we all will still be offering kudos to Mr DeSantis for his wise and serious advocacy for Florida’s environment as his time in office draws to a close.

“Bulldog Ben” Basile

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

Trouble in the Arctic, Trouble everywhere

As many of you no doubt know, I post about environmental issues regularly. That's true of thousands of bloggers, of course.

I usually give a great deal of thought to whether the tone of my posts is too dark. I often agonize over such things, truth be told.

But the news is so overwhelmingly bad as the bill comes due, so to speak, for humanity's stunning and persistent failures to take care of our planet that merely passing along the plain truth about all this can sound like some blogger woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I came across writer Dahr Jamail's article in Truthout yesterday and could see right away that its message was timely, spot-on and needed the widest possible dissemination.

It details a lot of the most recent events that have those of us who keep an eye on environmental issues from getting much sleep. It's not an easy read.

But you should read it. All of it.

The part of the article that deals with the importance of feeling the shock and grief that any of us feels when coming to grips with the reality of our planet's degradation is vital. Don't shrink back from that part of the piece. Let it all the way in.

There are so many engaged in this work. The work of sounding the alarm as we rush ever-closer to the abyss.

Don't stop reading. Don't turn a blind eye.

It's time for all of us to look unflinchingly at the truth and take the actions this grave situation demands.



"Bulldog Ben" Basile

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

Species are disappearing while humans...

It’s alarming to think about, but it’s nevertheless true that hundreds of thousands of species are disappearing while humans carry on with their ever-expanding enterprise to exploit absolutely everything on God’s green Earth.

In early March of this year–just over two months ago at the time of this writing–the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, issued a Global assessment and highlighted for an ignorant and often-uncaring world just how grave the situation is.

Nature is collapsing at an astonishing rate and many humans are blissfully unaware that this is happening.

The assessment was quite wide-ranging and examined closely many dark trends which we have not yet addressed as aggressively as we must to keep our situation for going from merely horrible to unthinkable.

Among the issues which the assessment addressed are:

• Land degradation
• The health of fish stocks
• Plastic pollution
• The rapid collapse whole ecosystems
• The full extent of the threat to non-human species
• How much of the Earth’s land surface and water resources are devoted to livestock and farming

To read the press release issued by the IPBES at the time the results and conclusions of the assessment were publicized, click here.

It’s past time to stop driving so many plant and animal species into extinction and putting at risk our own survival.

Way past time.

"Bulldog Ben" Basile

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

At the Bottom of the Ocean! Really?!

The deepest point on our planet is appropriately named Challenger Deep. You can find it on the ocean floor in the Mariana Trench, a mere 35,814 ft below the surface.

Intrepid explorer Victor Vescovo reached that point in a submersible last week and the results of that dive were released this last Monday, May 13th.

Although the expedition was a great success in so many ways, one of the things we learned from Mr Vescovo’s ground-breaking mission is that there is–wait for it–there is a plastic bag on the ocean floor, at the absolute deepest point on the planet.

Let that sink in. In Humanity’s mad rush to despoil the Earth, we've placed trash on the ocean floor. What an achievement!

If you’d like to read more about Victor’s very deep dive, follow this link.

“Bulldog Ben” Basile

A big step toward sustainability

There’s so much to like about springtime. And April just might be my favorite month.

Well, this April is really special, especially for those of us who are environmentally-conscious and are rooting for our planet while she is being brutalized by modern industry and billions of unaware and indifferent humans.

We are in the last few moments of April as I write this, but it was in this month that renewable energy–that is, hydro, biomass, wind, geothermal and especially solar–generated more power than coal.

Stop and think about that for a moment. It is quite a noteworthy event and shows clearly that in spite of all the ways that our planet has been horribly treated–especially in the last two years–we can, and we must, do everything in our power to make progress and to mitigate the damage being done to Mother Earth.

If you’d like to read a good and highly informative article about this salutary event, just follow this link.


“Bulldog Ben” Basile



© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

Today is National Arbor Day

Many folks and environmentally-focused organizations will be out planting trees today. I would love to be among them, but another evening at work is going to be my fate today.

I think it’s a very good thing that there is a day set aside for trees and the planting of trees. I'm setting my sights on next year. A little prior-planning should do the trick.

The banner photo is one of three majestic oaks that live right outside the apartment where I was living in 2015 and ’16. The view from my patio was just breathtaking.

If you’d like to know more about National Arbor Day, just follow this link.

More trees, please!

Bulldog Ben

Photo credit Benjamin Basile

The Earth: The Good News and the Bad News

It may sound like the lead-in to a joke, but that cliche does perfectly sum up where we are right now with the environment. Where we are as far as taking actions which are desperately needed today, to be more precise.

The bad news first: the situation is dire. That's an understatement. There are thousands of studies and documents to substantiate just how bleak the situation is for our planet.

And here's another study for good measure.

The good news is that the nascent Sunrise Movement is a huge potential, not only to change the conversation, but to prod us into taking some very, very necessary actions.

Or to slow down all the foot-dragging, at the very least.

The Guardian published an article last week to highlight the work being done by this largely youth-led movement; it's well worth the next few minutes of your time.

The Earth is our common home. She is not dying. She is being killed! We cannot afford to go on with the status quo.

As you no doubt know, there are very committed, well-financed interests which are going all out to muzzle the voices calling for action and to stifle any change.

We'll always have that to deal with.

But getting more and more committed friends of the Earth on-board for the fight--including the people who are being galvanized by the Sunrise Movement--may at least give the Earth a fighting chance.



"Bulldog Ben" Basile

© 2019 Ben Lawrence Basile

Posts are all in real time now. Let the fun begin!

I've imported all the posts from my other blog that I wanted to have here for background. So now it's all stuff in "real time". And it's a really good time to be blogging about what's happening on the political scene right now in the U.S. and on the world scene, too.

If you didn't read the first couple of posts, the ones I put up here before I started the "mass importation" of content from my Wordpress blog, here's the story: I had about 30 or so hardcore political posts--rants, some might say--over on a blog which I prefer to use mostly to blog about outdoor activities and nature photography.

After two years of serious blogging, it seemed clear that a lot of my fellow outdoor enthusiasts weren't hardcore political animals like me, but there was no way I was going to muzzle myself while the United States is undergoing all the crazy shit you see filling the headlines right now! No way!

Well, that little light went on for me a couple of weeks ago; I remembered this long-dormant cyber-spot and realized that I can stick my finger in tRump's filthy eye all I want over here, and keep on blogging about camping, hiking and outdoor photography over there!

So that's why you see 20 or so posts just before this one all bearing today's date. (The date of the original posting is included for each one.) It took a while, but I'm good now.

So from here on, it's mostly about politics with a healthy dose of sports. And occasional forays into topics around nature and the environment. Those are topics of tremendous importance now as we get deeper into the 21st Century.

And I'll delve into spirituality and religion from time to time as well. My first career goal was the ministry, and I went about half-way through seminary as a much younger man. And even though I'm not terribly religious now, I'm in agreement with a huge chunk of the American populace who have little desire to sit in a pew again, but nevertheless think spirituality is a really big deal!

I'm glad you've cast your eyes over some of my blog-stuff! Hope you like what you've read so far. Don't stop now! A *Like* now and then wouldn't be a bad thing; a comment or two would be even better!


"Bulldog Ben" Basile


Note: If you do like outdoor activities, here's your last chance to have a look at my "other blog!"



© 2018 Benjamin Lawrence Basile