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saint-ambrosef · 24 days

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climate change fatalism is so exhausting. it easily becomes a ecological scapegoat to blame instead of humans taking accountability for how their individual actions affect the environment.

i had a conversation earlier in a fb garden group where a women told me that since desertification was changing her local landscape and making it harder to grow native plants, it was actually okay and even good of her to be planting invasive exotic species that could adapt to the "new normal" climate in her area so that the wildlife would have at least something for shade/shelter/food. in the same message she mentioned trying to eradicate native weeds on their acreage because it had no personal use to her or her non-native livestock.

and i was like. no girl. the desertification in your area has been caused by decades of bad agricultural land management practices, something that is fully reversible. those weeds you are ripping out provide more benefit to wildlife than your nasty exotics, and ranchers removing these "undesirable" natives for decades is why the land has grown barren. planting invasive exotics to replace the artificial loss of biodiversity will only hasten the problem you seek to fix.

but the point of my post isn't this specific woman, it's the general attitude she represents. it's a lot easier to blame the nebulous figure of climate change than to work toward ecological restoration. it's simpler to plant invasive exotics than to reverse decades of poor land management. it's more enjoyable to grow a pretty flowering shrub and pretend it's necessary due to climate change than to allow native ragweed to grow even though the allergies suck because it feeds the birds and pollinators. and it's a helluva lot easier to blame climate change for the worsening of your local environment than to admit that overgrazing your livestock and ripping out native plants just because they have no immediate value to you might have contributed heavily to the decline of your microbiome.

climate change has quickly become this collective responsibility that no one individual is responsible for, because it's so easy to blame the slightest change in environment on it. "we're running out of water because of climate change!" it's because urban landscaping practices channel away water instead of letting it soak into the groundwater wells, and turf lawns use 80% of the city water. "the city is so much hotter now!" yeah because twenty years ago developers planted fast-growing but short-lived/weak trees which have now all died, meaning our roads and neighborhoods have way less shade and foliage to absorb the heat. "the bees are disappearing because of climate change!" sharon it's because there's not a single thing in your yard that a native pollinator would recognize as a food source.

anyways i don't know where exactly i'm going with this. i guess i'm just tired of climate change fatalism because it removes personal incentive to do anything to reverse environmental harm that we could be fixing on an individual level. but "global warming" has become a very convenient excuse for many people, unfortunately.

just makes me wonder how often things blamed on climate change are actually a result of direct human actions that are reversible

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esoteric-chaos · 8 months

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What are Infused Oils?

What are they?

Infused oils are herbal components or spices placed in a jar of carrier oil like Olive Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Avacado Oil, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, etc. Can be used in cooking, herbal ailments and skincare.

Are they essential oils?

No. Short answer, no. Long answer? I'll give you an explanation. Essential oils are distilled using Steam Distillation, Solvent Extraction, CO2 Extraction, Maceration, Enfleurage, Cold Press Extraction, and or Water Distillation. Lotta words huh? It takes a lot of work to make essential oils. Unfortunately, it also takes quite a bit of that plant to make even those tiny 10ml bottles you purchase. Of course, each plant varies. However, it still can lead to a larger environmental impact.

For instance, one pound of essential oil can be extracted from approximately 250 pounds of rosemary leaves, or from 150 pounds of lavender buds, or say 50 pounds of eucalyptus leaves. This is why you see some as more expensive than others. Unfortunately, you can see where the problem lies in plants that are more threatened or endangered. If you must use essential oils, source responsibly (and not from a Pyramid scheme but I'm not opening that can of worms)

Can I use infused oils in my practice?

Yes! Absolutely! All these oil recipes you see for spell oils are exactly that. You can even use the elemental correspondences of the carrier oils you use for spell oils. As an example Olive Oil is traditionally known for the fire element and Coconut Oil is water. The possibilities for your personal correspondence are endless!

Now I'll stop rambling. Here are a few methods I learned to infuse oils in my courses and through self-herbalist study.

Method One:

The Folk Method - The most common

Directions

Place DRIED herbs in a clean, dry jar. Leave at least 1 to 3 inches of open space above your herbs to cover with oil.

Fill the remaining space in the jar with the oil of your choice, making sure to cover herbs by at least 1 inch or more. If the herbs emerge above the surface of the oil at any point while infusing, pour more oil on top to ensure the herbs remain covered.

Cap the jar tightly and shake well.

Place the jar in a sunny, warm windowsill and shake once or more per day.

After 2 to 3 weeks, strain the herbs out of the oil using cheesecloth or a mesh strainer. Or you can leave it in but straining is recommended if you are using dropper bottles as it clogs the caps.

Pour into clean glass bottles.

Remember to label your jars with the date, type of oil, and herbs used! You WILL forget! Trust me.

Store in a cool, dark place. The oil may keep for up to a year.

Method Two:

The Heat Infused Method - Quick Infusion

Directions

Place herbs in the crock pot or double boiler. Cover with extra virgin olive oil (or other carrier oil of choice), leaving at least an inch or two of oil above the herbs.

Gently heat the herbs over very low heat (preferably between 100° and 140° F for 1 to 5 hours, until the oil takes on the colour and scent of the herb. Some recommend heating the oil for 48 to 72 hours at a controlled temperature of 100° F. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool. I personally prefer letting it sit in a crock pot for 72 hours as I feel like I get all of the benefits out of the herb.

Once oil is cooled, strain using cheesecloth.

Bottle in dry, sterilized glass bottles. LABEL your bottles with the date and contents before storing them.

Store in a cool, dark, dry place for up to six months.

Best herbs to infuse in oil

There are a countless number of herbs, spices and resins that can be infused into the oil. Please make sure these herbs are free from pesticides and chemicals (not found on the roadside). Dried herbs work best as you don't want your mixture spoiling sooner. Here are some great examples of herbs to use.

Pine needles

Calendula flowers

Chamomile flowers

Lavender

Lemon balm

Peppermint leaf

Rosemary leaf

Thyme leaf

There you have it! Now have fun and source responsibility.

Happy witching!

Want to read more?

On sustainability and impact:

Links:

Dangers of essential oils and pets:

Link:

Want to check out my other post? Look at my Masterpost

#witchcraft #witch #infused oils #spell oils #essential oils #aromatherapy #kitchen witchcraft #herbal magic #herbalism #herbalist #herbal medicine #witchblr

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dailyanarchistposts · 3 months

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III

“Agriculture itself must be overcome, as domestication, and because it removes more organic matter from the soil than it puts back. Permaculture is a technique that seems to attempt an agriculture that develops or reproduces itself and thus tends toward nature and away from domestication. It is one example of promising interim ways to survive while moving away from civilization. Cultivation within the cities is another aspect of practical transition, and a further step toward superseding domestication would be a more or less random propagation of plants, a la Johnny Appleseed.” — John Zerzan, On the Transition: Postscript to Future Primitive

So how can this be overcome? How can the shackles placed by technological slavery be broken? There are no ready made blueprints, programs or textbooks that have the one correct way or answers. If civilization is to be overcome it will be through individuals with all sorts of diverse ideas, experiments and actions.

For me, I see my path is by attempting to achieve more individual autonomy and self-reliance away from the dependency on techno-industrial society through permacultural subsistence gardening which can provide for me, my family, and other living creatures that inhabit the area I am in.

I first learned about permaculture from reading the zine Backwoods. Prior to this I was focused on the horticultural method of “productive gardening”. I suppose the difference between the two is permaculture and woodland gardening is ecologically designed to give back to the soil, and benefit other living organisms, animals, and the local ecosystem in general as much as to help oneself.

It is an ecological sustainable gardening practice of growing for yourself while simultaneously helping the environment around you. Each individual organism that takes part in the process whether insects, microbe, human and non human animals, all benefit from a mutual utilisation of working together and likewise so does the organic matter and minerals which are needed to create and sustain healthy soil, which in turn when all together creates healthy gardening successions, rich landscapes, biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems.

The individual designs her garden to suit the needs of the local environment or back yard. This includes finding out soil types, and studying how much sun hits the area, where and when different areas might be shaded. From this the individual will research what plants will suit the environmental conditions.

Perennial plants such as fruit trees and bushes combined with a mix of native annuals and self seeding annuals such as edible wild garlic, flowers like nasturtiums, soil enhancers like clover, medicinal herbs, all provide ground cover and help protect the soil from the weather, soil erosion, water retention, and provide fertilizer and mulch, which all help soil fertility, providing life to the organisms that live in and create soil. All combined help local wildlife, pollinators and other insects that are vital for a healthy garden as well as a healthy planet.

I have been gardening for the last four years and started focusing on the permaculture method last year. One does not need a lot of money to start growing. When I had a tiny backyard I used containers of old pots, buckets, and even bags. Seeds and plants can be bought cheap in the right places or else can be shoplifted easily enough. Last March I built raised beds from scaffolding planks I expropriated from a local building site which was closed due to the first lock down and started a mini forest garden on roughly a twenty foot by twenty foot strip of land. If one hasn’t a backyard guerrilla gardening is a viable option.

Seeds and cuttings can be got for free in your area if you know what you are looking for. I learned about native plants from plant folklore books which were rich in folklore and mythical stories based around each plant species, included in the stories was information on edible plants and when best to forage, which ones were poisonous, and the uses of others. Combined, the stories provided a great index for subsistence. The area I live in is urban but I could still find many plants growing in parks, gardens, and the side of roads.

I’m still a long way off achieving my full subsistence needs and gardening obviously won’t solve the majority of the problems that stem from civilization but I see it as a potential starting point in my own struggle for individual liberation and creating the life I want to live. I don’t think gardening is for everyone either, but for me I get great enjoyment and satisfaction watching plants grow and then eating the produce, and all without having to pay or work a boring ass job for. I just have to open my door and walk outside.

I’m no expert on gardening or permaculture so I will leave a list of books that have helped me and where I got inspiration from.

Renzo Connors the Anarcho-Gardener

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dandelionsresilience · 6 months

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Good News - March 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on here or Ko-fi, at the end of the month I’ll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn’t use each week - almost double the content! (I’m new to taking tips on here; if it doesn’t show me your username or if you have DM’s turned off, please send me a screenshot of your payment)

1. Comeback on the cards for Asian antelope declared extinct in Bangladesh

“Nilgais, the largest antelope species in Asia, are reappearing in northwestern Bangladesh, a country that was part of their historical range but where they were declared locally extinct in the 1930s due to habitat loss and hunting.”

2. Tribal Homes in Minnesotta [sic] Get $1.4M for Clean Electricity

““This grant will allow us to make electrification improvements to our members’ homes and involve them more directly in our efforts to change our energy narrative and achieve our net zero goal.””

3. Pollinators Flock to Flower-Filled Solar Panel Fields

“As populations of crucial pollinators decline, developers have been seeding the grounds of their solar arrays with native wildflowers. Now a five-year study published in Environmental Research Letters confirms that this approach boosts the pollinators’ abundance and diversity—with spillover benefits for surrounding farms.”

4. U.S. House of Representatives Passes WILD Act

“The WILD Act supports funding two different initiatives: […] the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program offers critical support for voluntary conservation initiatives[, and…] The Multinational Species Conservation Funds play a pivotal role in supporting the conservation of imperiled species globally”

5. Private Gender Affirming Care Ban Fails To Advance In England After "Ferret Filibuster"

“A bill banning puberty blockers for trans youth and defining sex to exclude trans people was blocked from being heard after Labour MPs spoke at length on pet names and ferrets.”

6. Community-Led Effort to Plant Thousands of Seedlings

“Despite its urban surroundings, [the Tucki Tucki] creek serves as a vital refuge for the endangered platypus and purple spotted gudgeon populations. […] Planting native vegetation along the water’s edge serves multiple purposes. Not only does it provide crucial habitat for the endangered species, but it also helps stabilise the banks, mitigating erosion and reducing sedimentation in the creek.”

7. Court Ruling Halts Wolf Trapping and Snaring in Idaho Grizzly Bear Habitat

“[The ruling] will stop trapping and snaring […] to prevent the unlawful take of Endangered Species Act-protected grizzly bears. The decision stated, “There is ample evidence in the record, including from Idaho’s own witnesses, that lawfully set wolf traps and snares are reasonably likely to take grizzly bears in Idaho.””

8. A Boston grocery store is bringing community solar to a low-income area

“A group of energy-equity advocates in Boston is launching a community solar cooperative they say could be a scalable model for both reducing carbon emissions and building wealth in disadvantaged communities.”

9. Two-faced solar panels can generate more power at up to 70% less cost

“Scientists at the University of Surrey have built a new kind of solar panel with two faces, both of them pretty. Their flexible perovskite panels have electrodes made of tiny carbon nanotubes. These can generate more power with greater efficiency and at a cost 70% lower than existing solar panels.”

10. It's a boy! Athens zoo welcomes birth of rare pygmy hippo

“A rare and endangered pygmy hippopotamus has been born in Athens’ Attica Zoological Park for the first time in 10 years, delighting conservationists. A lack of male pygmy hippos in captivity had complicated breeding efforts, so zoo staff were “absolutely thrilled” the baby was a boy”

March 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

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justalittlesolarpunk · 9 months

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Hi there! I'm writing this in hopes that you'll have some advice. Lately I've been struggling a lot with concern for climate change. Mainly because I fear that I won't have a future, that when I'm older I'll live in a planet where you can't even go out because of the heat and everything is completely destroyed. And it's been affecting my day-to-day life. And no matter how much I try to avoid bad news they'll show up to me and I relapse into the anxiety and lose all the progress I made.

The bad news and the things that are happening (for example this thing going around of flowers growing in cold places, the one that probably worries me the most) make me feel like maybe the good things won't be enough and I won't have a future, no matter how much I hope. All I want is to be certain I'll have a life and things will get better

Do you have any advice to stop feeling this way? Thank you in advance!

Hi there. So firstly, thanks for reaching out. Anxiety can make us want to isolate ourselves and so you’ve taken a brave first step in seeking connection. I felt like you feel for a long time, and still do sometimes. It can feel like the change is so huge, so rapid, so irreversible, and human responses so weak, so slow, so apathetic. But I’m here to tell you that however reasonable being frightened is, it doesn’t have to be the end of the journey. Grief and fear are a good start for your environmental affect, because it means you’re keyed in and you care. But stopping there will only paralyse you.

I know the good things feel small, which is why it’s important to bombard yourself with them so you get a sense of just how much momentum we are building in the movement right now. I regularly check out Positive News and the Good News Network, and follow Sam Bentley and lots of ‘weekly earth win’ type accounts. When you see how much plastic people are clearing out of the ocean, how much solar and wind prices have come down, how Paris is now full of cyclists and London’s deaths from air pollution are reducing, how Europe is slowly rewilding and land is being returned to indigenous people, you realise that quietly, determinedly, good is happening in the background. And you aren’t always not seeing it just because it’s smaller or less important - bear in mind that the media sells on engagement, so attention-grabbing disasters will always hit front page news. It’s hard to quantify people who are alive who wouldn’t otherwise be, oil in the ground because people stopped a pipeline. Justice is often less hypervisible and sudden than injustice.

For me personally, taking action and spending time with others who are doing the same is the single biggest thing that cured a lot of my anxiety. Depending on your age, income, profession and health, I would recommend doing whatever is accessible to you of eating as much plant-based food as possible, reducing your use of aeroplanes and cars to as close to zero as is reasonable, making sure your stove, heating and hot water is being powered by electricity, switching to a renewable tariff, attending regular activist meetings and the protests and public debates these will lead you into, buying fewer clothes, single-use plastic items and other non-essentials, lobbying for change at your workplace, your university or your school, and bringing the subject up as often as you can with friends and family, so discussing climate change becomes more of a cultural norm. (I always find with these conversations though that scaring people is deeply counterintuitive and encourages them to get angry with you and bury their heads deeper in the sand. Why not start a conversation about how much healthier you feel when you eat lentils, or how transnational rail is making a comeback, or how exciting it is what they can do with solar and battery storage these days, or the amazing flood prevention benefits of reintroducing beavers?) I saw a tweet once that said ‘I bet 80% of your climate anxiety will disappear if you work full time on climate.’ Now I don’t work in that sphere yet, but I’m currently retraining, and I have to say a lot of my anxiety has quietened knowing that I am doing all I can and will continue to do so for the rest of my working life. And don’t feel like your skills or educational/professional background hold you back either: solving this crisis isn’t just for scientists and can’t be left to only one sector of society. I was an English Lit grad - now I’m hoping to work in campaigning, comms or social policy to make positive change for the better around climate. If it’s possible for you, I’d recommend starting to consider entering the green sector full time. Just watch out for corporate greenwash!

I know that changing your individual lifestyle isn’t going to save the planet, but it might just save you. Once you feel you have done everything you can in your personal life, it might embolden you to show up in activist spaces, to connect with other people who care, and to remember that as terrifying and agonising as the changes we are causing and witnessing are, there is always still hope, and it is easy to create and nurture that hope if you only keep hold of the right narratives and connect with the right people.

I’ve answered some similar asks on this sort of topic, so I’d recommend scrolling back through my blog and reading them, and also following as many solarpunks as you can across all of social media. Solarpunk Presents podcast does a good job of drawing your attention to the good stuff already happening now. Stay safe, take care of yourself and remember you have so much to offer. We were all born at the most pivotal time in human history. That is a burden, but it’s also a gift. We can have the most impactful and meaningful lives to date, and I think we will. But the fight has to start now, and that means we have to be ready for it. You can’t strive for a better tomorrow if you can’t imagine it, so take some time to look after you and really douse yourself in hope and optimism - it’s out there waiting to be found, if you only look in the right places.

#solarpunk #hopepunk #cottagepunk #tidalpunk #lunarpunk #turbinepunk #environmentalism #social justice #community #optimism #bright future #climate justice

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redd956 · 1 year

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Do you have any ideas on how to come up with fictional vegetables, resource plants, or livestock? I keep coming up with fruit since I can’t really think of any ways of making a vegetable interesting or unique to a setting. The only resource plants I can think of is one that gives cotton and livestock has me stumped.

(Context: My world is full of rabbit-human hybrids that are omnivorous but mainly eat plant food, meat is usually eaten during special events. I want to focus on a world reliant on different crops for food and resources. There’s different biomes like a wooded area, an almost volcanic area, a snowy area, and a naturally occurring magic area.)

Yes, I do!!!

A lot of fruits and vegetables themselves are very similar in growth and function, the main difference being fruits come from fruiting bodies while vegetables are just part of the plant. That's when we get that weird middle group like corn, tomatoes, and eggplants.

But there's a lot of aspects to vegetables that make them unique, with lots of worldbuilding room

Everything is Edible

Creative juices flowing questions... (I'm also grouping grains and vegetables together btw)

What parts of the plants are primarily consumed? The stalks, leaves, roots, bulbs, flowers, tubers? (carrots are roots? Guess I learn something new everyday)

How is the edible part extracted from the plant? What does the plant look like in a crop field? How do people know when it's ready?

Does the vegetable need to go through a preparation process before being eaten? (Crushed, cleaning, cut open)

Does the plant have edible leaves, bean pods, kernels, nuts, oats? Does it have multiple uses? Does it produce more than one edible factor?

Is it harvest from the ground, water pools, trees? How tall is the plant?

How does it spread/reproduce? (flowers, potato eyes, seeds)

Usage & Flavor

Is the vegetable eating directly, usually added to something else, used as a spice? What does it taste like? (earthy, bitter, tangy, sour)

Is it used to make something else that's edible/used in cooking? (Oils, beers, yeasts, flavorings)

Are there non food related uses? (Medicinal, potion brewing, material)

Gourds (fruits but equally fun)

My family fries/grills the blossoms on pumpkins & zucchinis, and I couldn't stop thinking about that so here's some bonus rounds

How do people break into the hard casings to reach the edible parts? Is anything does with the hard casings? What funky shapes are the gourds?

What's inside? What does it look like? Tastes? Seeds? Other uses?

Does it have any decorative uses? Any holiday relation?

Tea & Coffee

What kind of drinks can be made from plants? What extra benefits and effects does it have? Any magical properties? Any recreational properties?

How is the plant extracted? How is it prepared into a drink?

Anything culturally significant?

What does the brew look like? How strong is the smell?

Environmental Factors

What vegetables survive in dry or unforgiving environments? How important are these two the people who live there? What were to happen if harvest failed?

Any diseases or bugs that affect produce? How do farmers protect their crops these? Any animals or technology help in the harvesting process?

How does temperature and rain effect the produce? Anything grow underneath the snow? Soil? Water? Underground? (Huge fan of snowy plants in worldbuilding)

How does the vegetable itself try to protect itself? (cactus needles, thorns, caffeine, poison)

#this was really fun #ty for the asks #worldbuilding #world building #long post #worldbuilding inspo #worldbuilding inspiration #worldbuilding ideas #worldbuilding foods #worldbuilding food #worldbuilding argriculture #worldbuilding questions #worldbuilding questions to get the creative juices flowing

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cdragons · 1 year

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Eternals STEM TRIO: Chaotic Siblings from Infinity to Beyond Part 1 of ???

Pairing(s): platonic!Phastos x Persephone!Eternal (Sephia) x Hecate!Eternal (Kaetlyn); Phastos x Ben; Ikaris x Persephone!Eternal (Sephia); Druig x Hecate!Eternal (Kaetlyn) Word Count: 2.1 k Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, or Eternals; I only own the two characters I made up and their offsprings. Author's Note: A big shout-out to my girl @ethereal-athalia for indulging my madness! I couldn't come up with half of these ideas without you, and answering all of my manic ideas and questions Warning(s): neurodivergent characters being neurodivergent, Ikaris being an idiot, Druig being a simp for his wife, Kaetlyn being her own damn warning, Phastos being tired, discussion of sexuality and the journey of identifying, Kaet & Sephia having offspring (eventually), some sexual themes (but most crack), profanity

Before Tenochtitlan

Phastos along with our girls make up the ultimate STEM dream team that could literally achieve anything.

Phastos is physics, technology, astronomy, mathematics, architecture, and engineering; Kaet is magic, medicine, biochemistry, healthcare, and anatomy & physiology; Sephia is agriculture, zoology, biology, chemistry, food science, and environmental sciences

But whenever Phastos gets stuck on a math problem, the first person he’ll go to would be Sephia

Oh yeah, this pink flower goddess is huge math nerd. Her mind is wired a bit differently from others, and numbers just make sense to her.

And while sometimes her short attention span will get the best of her, when she is in the zone, she is in the ZONE

One time she and Phastos were stuck on a math theorem during the Renaissance, and didn’t sleep for about a week straight.

Kaet ended up using her shadows to swaddle them straight jacket style for them to sleep, literally to only wake up 3 hours later with Sephia poking her cheek to wake her up to tell her that they proved it.

But Kaet is also the biggest hypocrite because she will research and dissect organisms for days on end with Phastos too.

These three invented the term “insomnia.”

Phastos does typically have a healthy sleeping schedule unless he is really focused, Sephia is the same in a slightly more extreme manner, but Kaet will deliberately not sleep until she has found her answer or satisfied with her work.

Everyone wants her to sleep, and her reply will probably be something along the lines of “can’t die, won’t sleep, suck my magic dick.”

The only one that can really manage to get her to sleep at times is Druig, and that’s during the times he has to physically pry the tools out of her hands and strip her down and wrangle her into a shower before forcing her to cuddle with him to sleep

He’ll also make sure to sneak in some sexy times with her in the shower for good measure

Honestly, Kaet lowkey really loves the attention and will purposely stay up to late just to rile Druig up

Listen, she can't help it if all that pent up energy transitions to mind-blowing sex

But she also wants to find out the physical limits of her own bodily functions by staying awake as long as possible, and to see if she’ll eventually hallucinate.

"I want to see if this rib cage can turn into a xylophone"

Once it got so bad that Sephia made a sleeping powder of dried gardenias and valerian to blow in Kaet’s face. She immediately conked out, and sleep for a solid week.

When Ajak confronted Sephia, her only response was so fucking chaotic and unhinged.

“Oh, don’t worry, Kaety’s not poisoned. She’s just drugged.”

And everyone just stared at her while Sephia was smiling like there was nothing wrong in the world.

On the plus side, she monitored Kaet’s vitals and functions in her coma and was able to get some really great data on the benefits of those plants used for anti-anxiety and insomnia medication

This launched an era of the two gals cultivating and drying various plants to be used as medicine for various ailments and even pain relievers

They definitely used the other Eternals to test the drugs (mostly Ikaris) and some of the side effects were…interesting to say the least

One-time, Ikaris was so high off this preliminary version of anesthesia from poppy seeds that he might have gone on a 3-hour spiel about how Sephia’s hair was so super pretty, and how it smelled so nice, and how it looked so soft, and how he would cut his own ear if it meant he could see her boobs and cu-

Don’t worry the drugs kicked in again before he could finish (in more ways than one lol)

Speaking of Ikaris, while Kaetlyn is the most protective over she sweet Sephia, Phastos is a VERY close second

This inventor man does not believe for a second that this puffed-up chested man with his dumb quaffed hair is good enough for Sephia

Sephia would be the only Eternal who is genuinely interested and fascinated by Phastos' ideas and inventions, and will ask very good questions

And he's beyond grateful for her

On another note, just imagine the dread that overtook Phastos when Ajak basically assigned him on Kaet & Sephia watch duty.

Poor man just wanted Arishem to send him to another planet right then and there.

So…when Phastos learned that Ajak died, he was extremely sad…but mostly terrified because this meant only one thing now

HE had to be the mother figure of both Kaetlyn and Sephia

Throwback to the image at the top is literally all you need to know about the dynamic between this man and the two gals he’s in between

Fun fact about Sephia: sometimes she will be really quiet, and her mind will be like a million miles away, and then she will think of the most random stuff and start giggling like crazy

Phastos actually thought she was possessed by a demon and wanted Kaet to perform an exorcism…only to remember that Kaetlyn is even crazier

Phastos has seen Kaet do the Naruto run before it was even a thing at the most random times and always with the most chaotic crackling laughter the world has ever known

Kaet has purposely summoned and captured the weirdest monsters and ghosts FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE of freaking out Phastos

Migraines have become a good portion of this man’s daily lifestyle

But luckily, Sephia is there to save his mental health by brewing the most calming tea and shoving a super fluffy animal for him to cuddle with whilst asking him questions about his inventions

The three came up with their own STEM TRIO manifesto around the same time the Magna Carta came out

Phastos and Sephia are each other's worst enable when it comes to missing social engagements because they will literally come up with the worst excuses for their absence when facing Ajak's interrogation

"Phastos, why were you not at the party last night?"

"I-" "He had to help me make a contraption to help an aging ape give birth to a mutated baby"

"..." "..."

"What she said"

"Sephia, these celebrations are in your honor, it offends the chief if you do not make an appearance."

"Maybe the chief should stop mistreating his goats, and then maybe she would consider"

"Yeah! Tell 'em Phastos!"

Meanwhile, Kaetlyn and Druig are watching this entire exchange and feeding each other snacks as Kaet is sitting on Druig's lap

When Kaetlyn and Sephia left with Druig at Tenochtitlan, they secretly came back and begged Phastos to go with them as they were setting up the community

When Phastos refused, the three promised each other that they would always make sure to keep in contact with one another

Lordy Lord, pray for Ben when he's given the shovel talk by these two girls

Although in the end, they are like the sisters he's never had, and only Phastos is the one who is bothered (not really) by their constant unexpected visits

Modern Times:

When Phastos found Ben and started dating him, Kaetlyn and Sephia fully vetted the poor human

They remembered how broken and devastated their brother was in the aftermath of the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and they were not about to let someone else hurt him

By the way, Kaetlyn and Sephia were the first Eternals to know Phastos was gay since they were the only ones he trusted to come out to

It was the same the other way around too

Phastos was the first one ever to help Sephia really understand her sexuality (demisexual) since she thought something was wrong with her since she had never really felt any sexual attraction like that to anyone ever in the 7,000 years she lived on Earth

She has tried throughout multiple occasions tried to have sex, but it never really worked out and she never felt those feelings associated with sexual attraction

For the longest time, she thought she was asexual until Ikaris turned out not to be dead from the sun, and she’s connected with him on a more emotionally intimate level than ever before, and now she’s feeling all these new feelings that are scaring the crap out of her

There were instances that she felt attraction and even had fantasies over certain fictional characters but she to experience something in her head as a fantasy as opposed to experiencing it in reality was a whole different topic of conversation

And she’s even experienced romantic feelings whenever she tried to put herself in relationships, but those romantic feelings only stayed romantic and she never felt any sexual feelings

So, when those new feelings emerged…a conference call was set up between the STEM Trio and it was a chaos call that was primarily about going over literature of the sexuality spectrum and the fluidity of identification

When Ikaris had trouble wrapping his head around it when Sephia came out to him, he ended up getting a whole explanation on it from Phastos and Kaet over Zoom

But yeah, these three are each other’s ride or die at any point of time

They literally choked down their hatred for this man so that their girl could have the chance to be in a happy relationship

On the plus side, these three always went to Pride together

Druig usually stayed at the Amazon during these events because he’s not a big fan of the crowds and despises the practice of rainbow capitalism

Once gay marriage was legalized, both Kaet and Sephia were the witnesses for Phastos and Ben’s courthouse wedding

Phastos DID try to hide Jack’s adoption…only for Sephia and Kaet to already be in the house when the couple brought him home for the first time and announce themselves as Jack’s godmothers

Their disappointment was imminent and their hearts could only be healed by holding their new godson

It’s just one heart attack after another for Phastos with these two girls around

Ben and Sephia get along so freaking well

They are constantly swapping recipes; Sephia crochets baby clothes and stuffed animals for Jack and Ben sends her the pictures; and whenever Phastos and Ben need a night out or are burned out, Sephia will be right there helping out

Sephia would be the one to tell Jack no matter what, he would always be perfect in her eyes, and teaches him that his differences from others are the things that would also turn into his strengths

Kaet is there bringing the chaos for baby Jack; she’s constantly popping her head into view when he least expects it and makes the sweetest giggles in the universe

One time, Phastos caught Kaet’s shadows tossing Jack in the air with him laughing without a care in world…he fainted

But Ben thought it was cute though so he was cool with it

But Kaet would also be the one to teach Jack the importance of staying true to yourself regardless of the pressure of whatever society may force upon him, and always encourages him to think like a mad genius

Seeing Phastos with his family gave Kaet the little push that made her realize that she really wants to start a family with Druig as well as helping her gain hope for humanity by just being around Ben and Jack

It had always been on the back of her mind, she always liked kids

But she had lost so much faith in humanity and the world around her that she was always putting it off

When she and Druig were pregnant, Kaet immediately set up a conference call with Sephia and Phastos to tell them before the rest of the eternals

When the twins (Laoise and Aisling) were born, Kaet asked Sephia and Phastos if they were willing to be the godparents (along with Makkari and Gilgamesh)

Phastos cried just as hard holding his baby goddaughters for the first time as he did when he first held baby Jack, and cried again when he held his godson a few years later

Phastos also became the godfather for Sephia’s and Ikaris’ kids (he also cried when he held all of their kids)

BTW remember Ikaris' drugged out confession from above?

You can bet your entire life savings that Phastos made sure to record every single glorious second of it and then played it Ikaris’ and Sephia’s wedding as part of his toast

Ikaris’ face turned so fucking red and he just wanted to DIE

Sephia thought it was super cute and funny and reassured him that he is the only one who has seen her boobs like that

There’s someone for everyone lol

Also, Phastos was the one to walk Sephia down the aisle since she looks up to him like he’s her tech-savvy older brother who will always teach her how to use her computer because she is terrible with tech

STEM trio became the STEM Parent Trio

When they get together, they trade gossip whilst sipping wine and watching Bluey and playing that fantasy game when you create a map using rice whilst cuddling with their Squishmallows

One-time all three got so plastered, they designed a whole-ass utopian city with modern technology whilst also being environmentally friendly and also filled with magic and affordable healthcare and reusable energy

Muffin reminds Phastos too much of Kaetlyn back in the old days and he straight up got a war flashback in “Faceytalk” and “The Sleepover”

All that being said and done, despite all the headaches and near heart attacks, there isn’t anything in the world Phastos would trade for Kaetlyn and Sephia; he loves his two crazy sisters more than anything

Whenever Halloween came, it became a tradition that Kaetlyn and Druig would go to Chicago so that Laoise and Aisling would go trick-or-treating with Jack

One year Aisling went as Silena Beauregard, Jack as Charles Beckendorf, and Laoise as Clarisse La Rue from Percy Jackson

Phastos made the lightning staff for Laoise to complete her costume

That was a mistake to say the least

But that’s a story for another time

Tagging: @valeskafics , @ethereal-athalia , @bibissparkles , @spacetalbot , @its-actually-minicika , @ineedmyaccountback , @jediruins , @mistresschaos99 , @vikingqueen28 , @idohknow , @hold-my-dragons

Please like, comment, reblog, or share to anyone you think might like this work! Also let me know if you want to be tagged in the comments!

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rabbitcruiser · 7 months

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World Seagrass Day

World Seagrass Day is celebrated annually on March 1 to raise awareness about seagrass and its important functions in the marine ecosystem. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on May 22, 2022, following a resolution passed by Sri Lanka to emphasize the conservation of seagrass in marine environments. Seagrass is a flowering marine plant present along coastlines worldwide, acting as a crucial source of food for marine life and helping stabilize water quality.

History of World Seagrass Day

Seagrass serves an important role in maintaining the marine ecosystem. Except for Antarctica, various types of seagrass are found on coastlines around the world. From the common eelgrass, shoal grass, star grass, and the like, seagrass provides an important source of food for marine life. It also supplies crucial environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Seagrass evolved around 100 million years ago when most plant life was still found underwater. Over the course of its evolution, it has adapted to living and reproducing in various marine environments, bending and swaying with currents and dispersing its pollen through the water.

Fish, turtles, manatees, plankton, and even sharks get their sustenance from seagrass, among other things. Seagrass also acts as nursery habitats for commercially harvested fish and helps improve the water quality of the environment it inhabits. There are currently 72 recorded types of seagrass in the world, covering an area of around 300,000 square kilometers in 159 countries.

Seagrass sediments contain between 4,200 and 8,400 Tg of organic carbon, which is nearly twice the amount of carbon per area compared with land soil. With the advent and ongoing process of climate change, seagrass’ role as a carbon deposit is much more crucial today, to help sustain sea life and its ecosystem. For one, it stores up to 18% of the world’s oceanic carbon, which is greater than the percentage stored by rainforests. This function makes it a key influence in battling the effects of climate change.

As with most marine resources, seagrass is currently under threat by human activity. A United Nations report stated that up to 7% of seagrass marine habitats are being wiped out worldwide every year; this is equivalent to a football field of seagrass lost every 30 minutes.

This emergency compelled the United Nations, following a resolution by Sri Lanka, to declare a formal World Seagrass Day, to raise awareness on preserving and conserving seagrass around the world. The commemoration was formally announced in 2022.

World Seagrass Day timeline

100 Million Years Ago Seagrass’ Evolution Begins

Seagrass begins to evolve from terrestrial plants.

1930s A Disease Ravages

Up to 90% of all eelgrass in temperate North America is wiped out after succumbing to a mold-like disease, causing the extinction of a type of sea snail.

2014 Restoration Efforts Succeed

Around 7.65 million seagrass seeds are planted along the coast of Virginia, U.S., resulting in the growth of up to 6,195 acres in one of the most successful seagrass restoration efforts.

2022 World Seagrass Day is Initiated

The United Nations declares March 1 as World Seagrass Day.

World Seagrass Day FAQs

Where is the largest seagrass plant in the world?

The world’s largest seagrass plant — which is the size of 28,000 football fields — is located in Western Australia.

What is the difference between seagrass and seaweed?

The main difference is that seagrass has roots, stems, and leaves, while seaweed does not. Seagrass is considered a vascular plant, while seaweed is more of a collection of multicellular algae.

What are the most common human uses of seagrass?

Humans use seagrass to fertilize fields, insulate houses, thatch roofs, weave and hold furniture together, fill mattresses and car seats, e.t.c. Additionally, seagrass supports the commercial fishery industry while also helping absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

How to Observe World Seagrass Day

Read about seagrass

Support seagrass charities

Visit the shore

What better way to learn about seagrass, its role, and its plight than to read a material written by the experts? Read articles, books, and reports by marine scientists, conservation foundations, and similar institutions to broaden your knowledge of seagrass.

Support and/or donate to seagrass conservation efforts worldwide. These include such organizations as Project Seagrass and The Ocean Foundation’s SeaGrass Grow program. Your support makes all the difference.

Travel to the coast and bask in the seagrass-covered waters. Hang out at the beach, swim in the ocean, and see what kinds of seagrass are there. After all, seagrass helps make the view picturesque and natural.

5 Important Facts About Seagrass

Millions depend on seagrass underwater

An effective carbon absorber

The sun gives life to all

The efficacy of seagrass

An emergency situation

Seagrass provides a habitat and food for almost 70% of all sea life, from manatees and sea turtles to shellfish and plankton.

Seagrass is able to absorb carbon up to 35x faster than the Amazon Rainforest.

Like all grassy plants, seagrass needs an ample amount of sunlight to survive, thus making it most visible in sunnier climates and greater depths.

A football field’s worth of seagrass is able to absorb 7,500 miles worth of automobile pollutants and treat sewage from 780 people.

At least 35% of seagrass worldwide has been lost or degraded in the past 40 years, further accentuating the need for conservation.

Why World Seagrass Day is Important

Seagrass keeps the world running

Seagrass is reliable

It spares us the thought of environmental dysfunction

Seagrass plays an important role in maintaining both marine and human ecosystems. Its function as a carbon sink helps absorb carbon particles from the surface and from the sea, which helps improve the quality of the water and lives of those who live around it.

Aside from its environmental benefits, seagrass also contributes to the economy. Businesses that rely on seagrass for their work benefit from its abundance and quality. Fish that are caught in seagrass-rich environments tend to be healthier.

Without seagrass, what would our seas look like? They would be desolate, for sure, which would affect every living thing on the planet.

Source

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posttexasstressdisorder · 2 months

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"Overhead the albatross

hangs motionless upon the air,

And deep beneath the rolling waves

in labyrinths of coral caves,

An echo from a distant time

comes willowing across the sand,

And everything is green and submarine."

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fbenvs3000f24 · 8 days

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Unit 2 Blog Post

Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need? (Keep these all-in mind as you begin to work on your assignments – tailor these to that ideal job!)

Environmental interpreters work to create a connection between nature and the target audience (the public) by adapting to suit the needs of the audience. As we have learned in Unit 2: Teaching Learners, there are a few different learning styles that must be catered to in order to successfully convey our message. My ideal role as an environmental interpreter would be one where I get to be hands on and in the field. After taking the “What’s Your Learning Style?” quiz, I determined that I am mainly a tactile and visual learner (they were tied for first), with auditory being not far behind. I clearly benefit from a mix of the three but have noticed that I do better when I am actually doing, as opposed to just hearing or talking about doing something. Due to this, I think I would be most successful as an environmental interpreter if I got to be able to show the things I am talking about.

Hands-on learning in the field!

I enjoy getting to connect with people and since I have previous experience as a camp counsellor, I think my ideal role as a nature interpreter would be to run some sort of children's programming in local parks, bodies of water, or nature centres. I would be able to lead guided walks and prepare activities for the audience to do so that it is not just listening to me speak for however long. Potential examples of this would be planting seeds and growing our own plants in a community garden, using nature to create art (which is a very common camp craft), trying to identify bird calls, and completing nature scavengers hunts in the area. This would allow me to be the best interpreter that I can since I am playing to my strengths as a tactile and visual learner. I would however need some adaptability skills to cater to those that may prefer auditory learning. I would have to work on public speaking and making sure that all the information I am conveying is correct. My ideal role as an interpreter would be to help foster a love for nature in impressionable minds so that more and more kids grow up with an appreciation and interest for our surroundings.

Example of a nature activity. Accessed on September 18, 2024 from https://fridaywereinlove.com/nature-scavenger-hunt/

Some additional skills that may be beneficial here would be creativity and organization. I would need to be able to come up with new and creative ideas that pertain to the environment and conditions we are in. Being able to think of fun activities to do in each season would be key as trying to identify flowers would not work very well in the winter. Additionally, being organized is always an important skill to have but I feel like it is even more necessary when outdoors. Depending on the location of the park we may be quite a while away from cars and buildings so I would need to have everything I needed for the program ready to go.

All in all I would be very happy being a nature interpreter anywhere that lets me be outdoors doing hands-on activities.

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rootedincuteness · 23 days

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PSA: Some Info About Butterfly Bushes

@windpurr

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this. Life has been crazy of late. So... I had not heard about this myself, so I decided to look it up, and apparently, there are two major issues with butterfly bushes in many states in the U.S.:

They are considered an invasive species, and as such, they tend to take over certain areas and outcompete other plants that support caterpillars and butterflies. The result is that there are fewer sources of food to support some insect species, and their populations may suffer because of that.

They are very prolific. They make a lot of seeds and can spread very quickly to fill open areas, wherever the seeds are blown.

As far as it being illegal plant them, it is in all but two states. I happen to live in one of the states that does not have a legal ban on planting or owning butterfly bushes.

A little background about the bushes in my yard... There used to be five of them, all planted by my mother when I was a young child. We had a white one, a yellow one, a dark purple one, a blurple one, and a magenta one. For whatever reason, in the last 5-7 years or so, most of them have died off. We aren't sure whether that's because of some biological issue (bacteria, fungus, nutrient deficiency, etc.) or maybe due to extreme weather (we have been getting intense and prolonged heat waves in the Summer in recent years), but we're currently down to only two bushes.

The two we have left are the blurple one...

...and the magenta one...

The magenta one is healthier and gets more flowers. The blurple one has been struggling for a while now and doesn't get as many flowers, but it's holding on so far.

Even though they aren't banned in my state, I want to thank you for letting me know that these bushes can be problematic. I always thought of them fondly, because my mother planted them. She loved butterflies, so she thought she was doing a good thing by planting bushes that would feed them. She passed away in 2017, and remembering how much she loved the bushes, I don't have the heart to rip them up. However, I will take some steps in the future to help mitigate the negative local ecological impact of my butterfly bushes:

I've learned that the spreading of the seeds is a huge part of the problem, and that this can be minimized by clipping the dead flowers before they can disperse seeds and properly disposing them. Both of my bushes have many dead flowers right now, so I will get right on that.

When and if these two bushes die, I will not replace them. Instead, I will look to plant something less invasive that will benefit local insect species.

I was going to do this anyway, since they've grown a bit spindly, but I will trim back both of my bushes and keep them to a smaller size. This will reduce the number of flowers they produce each year.

Again, thank you for bringing this to my attention, I really appreciate it! I am an environmental microbiologist and I teach environmental science, so I care very much about the environment and about lowering the negative impact I have on it. I will definitely look into what I can replace these bushes with when they die.

Have a great day! =)

#sweet miss morley #friends of mudpie #butterfly bushes #invasive plant species

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generalfesthottub · 1 month

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“Finding Hidden Gems: Unique Resources for Exceptional Commercial Parking Designs”

Welcome to the world of commercial parking lot design. As a facilities management professional, I understand the complexities and challenges that come with creating exceptional parking designs. Navigating through this realm requires meticulous attention to detail and a tailored approach towards meeting the ever-evolving needs of businesses. In this article, we will unveil some unique resources that can help you unlock the secrets of commercial parking lot parking design and ensure your project stands out amongst the rest.

The Importance of Commercial Parking Lot Design

Commercial parking lots are not merely spaces for vehicles to park; they are an integral part of at bing a business's overall image and customer experience. A well-designed parking lot not only enhances functionality but also creates a positive first impression for visitors. It underpins the success of any commercial establishment, ensuring convenience and ease for both employees and customers.

Commercial Parking Lot Design Plans: Going Beyond the Basics

When it comes to designing a commercial parking lot, it is advisable to go beyond basic functionality. While a standard template may parking serve as a starting point, seeking more than just the bare minimum can make all the difference. By incorporating unique elements into your design, you can create an exceptional parking experience that sets your business apart from the competition.

Unveiling Unique Resources for Exceptional Commercial Parking Designs

Green Infrastructure: In today's everchanging world, sustainability is key. Incorporating green infrastructure features in your parking lot design not only benefits the environment but also adds aesthetic appeal. Consider integrating elements such as rain gardens, permeable pavement, and native vegetation to create an eco-friendly and visually pleasing space.

Smart Parking Systems: Embrace technology to enhance efficiency and convenience in your commercial parking lot. Smart parking systems utilize sensors, mobile apps, and real-time data to streamline the parking process. These systems not only improve traffic flow but also provide valuable insights into parking patterns and usage.

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Artistic Elements: Why settle for a dull and uninspiring parking lot when you can transform it into a work of art? Incorporating artistic elements such as murals, sculptures, or creative pavement designs can add visual interest and create a unique atmosphere for visitors.

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Landscaping Features: A well-designed landscape can greatly enhance the aesthetics of your commercial parking lot. Strategically placed trees, shrubs, and flower beds not only provide shade and beauty but also help to reduce heat island effects. Consider using native plants that require less maintenance and water, contributing to sustainability efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What factors should I consider when designing a commercial parking lot? When designing a commercial parking lot, consider factors such as traffic flow, accessibility, safety measures, landscaping, lighting, and environmental sustainability. How can I ensure that my commercial parking lot meets local regulations and codes? It is crucial to consult with local authorities

#Youtube

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