blackberry vs. BlackBerry

The Oxford Junior Dictionary has cut blackberry from the latest version and has added BlackBerry. There is something wrong with this, right?

This infographic does a great job of explaining why wilderness matters. Realizing this is an issue is the first step. As the article says, the good news is that the cure is free and available to all.

It's hard to make a movie about backpacking.

While the scenery is often beautiful, and there can be many high and low points, there aren't many cliffhanger moments that lend the sport to enthralling filmmaking. But Ian and Andy's from The Dusty Camel have just released the trailer for their upcoming film, As it Happens. And as it turns out, the film is about much more than traveling the backcountry by foot:

"As it Happens is more about the pulse of America. Our national parks were founded thanks to people like Muir, Roosevelt, and Albright, to name a few, who understood that sharing stories inspires awareness and therefore concern about these places. Thus, we created our movie, which hopes to share the story of our journey through these arteries of the USA, as we travel north from border to border. While we pass through amazing landscapes and some of the most remote areas of the country, the emphasis is also on the people we meet along the way. They exhibit extreme kindness where none is warranted, and as we are surviving with nothing but what is on our backs, we found ourselves thriving as we began to understand that freedom is enabled by a system of support. People are what makes this journey inspiring and the landscape is what makes it (aesthetically) beautiful. The excitement comes from the fact that every moment is a true instant captured, a linear story from A to B, recorded exactly as it happens," says Ian Mangiardi from theDusty Camel. 




~Kate

It's a Windy One

Here's a great place to visually check out the wind situation in the US—especially convenient for Hurricane Sandy-related information.

Getting Dirty

On Tuesday, five of us from the office joined crews from EMS, Vibram, ECCO, and Polartec to do some trail maintenance at a few locations around Peterborough, NH. Part of the Conservation Alliance’s Backyard Collective, member company employees and local grantees get together for a day of environmental action. These events allow us to get out of the office and get our hands dirty; doing good work to preserve and protect the open spaces in our own backyards.

This year, we were in McCabe State Forest, Miller State Park, Greenfield State Park, Harris Center for Conservation Education's property on Spoonwood Lake, MacDowell Dam, Wilder Rotary Park, Cranberry Pond Meadow Trail and on trails and waterways throughout the Monadnock Region. Projects included trail maintenance, trailhead construction, invasive species removal, picnic table restoration, campground maintenance, etc.

While the day wasn’t bluebird, we didn’t let a little rain get in the way – we made some good improvements at each of the sites and had a tasty lunch at EMS’s headquarters afterwards.

June Beach Cleanup Tally

We pulled in 40 lbs of trash off the northern end of Jenness Beach last Friday in our monthly cleanup. That's a pretty average amount, especially when the weather's been so ideal. 

Our best find?

And the decidedly worst find? (Dog poop isn't in the running for this category). 

Local Wildlife: The Snowy owl

Its been a while since I last posted about the amazing natural world found right around our office. In fact, the last time I posted we were still located in our Nashua office. Our move to Dover, NH opened a new world of animals and birds to be discovered.

With our new location so close to the seacoast I have had a great opportunity to explore all the nooks and crannies of the rugged New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine coast, all of which are just a short drive away.

Although hardly considered "local" I wanted to share some hard earned images of the Snowy Owl.


Many years can pass where local residents may not see even a single owl, while other years such as this one, the owls migrate down in droves in search of food. From what research suggest the owls move solely on the population of voles. When the population recedes, the owls move further south. This article in the New York Times has great information about this migration as well as its possible effects.


Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed witnessing such an amazing bird! More photos can be found here.
Cheers
Bill

This Year's Snow Drought

As a World Freeskiing Champion and the founder of the Save Our Snow Foundation, and award-winning global cooling consultant, I'm often asked about my viewpoints on climate change in regard snow droughts, like we are experiencing this year.

I found that people couldn't relate to "climate change" and that the term "global warming" left people confused, so I switched to "global weirding." That term more accurately describes what is happening -- while the planet is actually warming, the actual result is extreme weather. Global temperature increases result in really strange local weather -- record low temperatures, record heat waves, more windy weather, record droughts, and yes, even record snowstorms. As the air warms, it can hold more moisture, so in the short term we can have larger snowfalls. In the long term, more of those storms will fall as rain.

Today in Colorado, we are seeing record dust storms that are assisting in extremely early snowmelt -- up to 40 days earlier than historic records. I don't think anyone has to be a rocket scientist to see that the weather is a bit weirder than usual. The extremes are just so much more pronounced. It's January, and I'm going for a bike ride. How strange is that? In Pakistan, I saw glaciers advancing in 2005 due to increased snowfall, and then watched them retreat up to 50 percent by 2007. On one ski expedition it was raining at 17,500 feet -- something I have never seen in my lifetime. In Bolivia, I skied the highest ski area in the world at 18,000-plus feet, that glacier disappeared forever in 2009.

Folks ask me about a critical tipping point - In my opinion, we have already passed a critical point in the concentrations of carbon dioxide on our planet. But, I'm an optimist, I believe we have the ability to change.

I started the Save Our Snow Foundation in 2006, when I realized there was a need to spread the word nationally that solutions to save our snow could be cost-effective and improve quality of life. I had started a local non-profit The Office For Resource Efficiency in 2004, working to calculate and reduce the community's carbon footprint and energy use, with much success, and wanted to take the message worldwide.

Besides Save Our Snow, I run three non-profits, The Office for Resource Efficiency, www.LocalFarmsFirst.com, and Save Our Snow, and two For-Profit companies -- KEEN Rippin Chix Ski, Bike and Surf Camps, my keynote speaking tour "Be Green, Save Green" for businesses and "Alison's Global Cooling Ski Adventure Show." I also travel often for photo shoots and filming as an ambassador for KEEN, Osprey, Patagonia, NEMO and Elemental Herbs.

In the end, I don't care if you believe in climate change. What my personal experience has shown is that it is quite easy to make simple changes in my life that have saved me money and reduced my energy use in half -- getting LED lightbulbs, carpooling, riding my bike or taking public transit, combining work and vacation trips, buying greener products that have lifetime guarantees, and generally consuming less crap. Every day we eat, drink, travel or live we are presented with some choices to make, and I just try to do the very best I can.

My most recent effort is to grow and raise all my own food, which has been an intensely rewarding experience, plus I can ski right off the farm. This Christmas was not kind to us, as the BLM announced over 30,000 acres for oil and gas drilling bordering and surrounding our farm, and containing all our water. All those years fighting to save our snow by using less energy and clean energy now hit home more than ever, and I'm stoked that I got off dirty natural gas over 2 years ago. If anyone wants to help, you can help us Save Our Farm by WRITING THE BLM, or even easier, Can you sign our PETITION to protect our farm from potential drilling? Learn more on MY BLOG.

-Alison Gannett

Nice Retort

Congrats to Giant for creating and putting out this ad so quickly in response to the obscene new ad campaign by GM. Here is a quick comparison of the ads:



Its literally scary how out of touch GM is to the current state of the world...and perhaps the reason that landed them in massive dept in the first place. As Connie pointed out, "Thinking that a customer would be embarrassed to be seen on a bike is so 1974."

Rumor has it GM has already started pulling the ads, but it always surprises me that things like this presumably gets through so many levels before being published.

-Suzanne

P.S. Karma is a ...

Conservation Alliance Announces $550,000 in Grant Funding for Summer 2011

Thanks to all of you who submitted your votes for the Conservation Alliance's Summer 2011 Funding Cycle. Eighteen organizations will receive between $20,000 - $35,000 in funding that will enable them to fight for protection of open lands and scenic waterways.

HOW VOTING WORKS: Each member company gets one vote per cycle (2x/yr). At NEMO, the ballot is passed around to all employees for their votes. This cycle, we decided to open it up to customers as well. We allowed those interested to submit their ballot, which was then added to our compilation of employee ballots. We tabulated the results based on the most popular, and submitted that overall ballot to the Conservation Alliance.

WHO RECEIVED FUNDING?


Click here to see descriptions for each funded project.

This year, The Conservation Alliance will contribute more than $1 million to organizations working to permanently protect wild places. Thanks for your input.

~Kate

Help Us Vote For The Environment

The Conservation Alliance is a member-based group of outdoor industry companies that disburses its collective annual membership dues to grassroots environmental organizations. CA directs funding to community-based campaigns to protect threatened wild habitat, preferably where outdoor enthusiasts recreate.

NEMO became a member in 2010. If you think about it, it’s a no-brainer. Most everyone who works in the outdoor industry does so because he/she loves to play outside and loves the gear that makes it possible. Our customers obviously love the outdoors as well. And, as outdoor gear manufacturers, if we don’t participate in protecting our open spaces and recreational areas, there will be no need for the gear we make. So, it’s a bit about survival of business and a bit survival of clarity of mind and body.


Photo by Noll Steinweg

In 2011, the Alliance, made up of more than 175 member companies, plans to disburse $1,000,000. They’ve already paid out $500,000 this past spring and the second disbursement will take place this fall. You can see past recipients here. And here’s where you come in. Each cycle, we, as a company, vote on our top 10 grantees, compile the results and submit one vote as a company. We’d like to open it up to you this round. Below is a list of the applicants. PLEASE PRIORITIZE YOUR TOP TEN CHOICES (1=first choice, 2=second choice, 3=third choice, 4=fourth choice 5=fifth choice, 6=sixth choice, 7=seventh choice, 8=eighth choice, 9=ninth choice, 10=tenth choice):

For a slideshow with more info on each organization and what they are requesting funding for, click here.

1. Alaska Wilderness League Preserve the Reserve Campaign
2. American Rivers North Cascades Wild & Scenic Rivers Campaign
3. Appalachian Mountain Club Campaign to Protect Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness Region
4. Audubon Alaska Western Arctic Campaign
5. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Peel River Watershed Campaign
6. Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy Save East Fork Headwaters Campaign
7. Colorado Environmental Coalition Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign
8. Downeast Lakes Land Trust West Grand Lake Community Forest
9. Foothills Water Network Yuba and Bear River Campaigns
10. Forest Ethics Canadian Boreal Forest Campaign
11. Friends of the River California Wild Rivers Campaign
12. Idaho Conservation League Boulder-White Cloud Mountains Wilderness Campaign
13. International Mountain Bicycling Association White River National Forest Campaign
14. Klamath-Siskyou Wildlands Center Wild Rogue Campaign
15. Oregon Natural Desert Association John Day Wilderness Campaign
16. Raincoast Conservation Foundation Unspoiled Initiative
17. Rocky Mountain Wild Friends of Wolf Creek Campaign
18. Save Our Canyons Wasatch Wilderness Campaign
19. Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition Sacred Headwaters Campaign
20. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance White River & Upper Desolation Wilderness Campaign
21. Surfrider Foundation Saving Naples Campaign
22. The Nature Conservancy, New Hampshire Chapter Mascoma River Headwaters Conservation Project
23. Tuleyome Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Campaign
24. Upstate Forever Twelve Mile River Dam Removal Campaign
25. Ventana Wilderness Alliance Last Bend in the River Campaign
26. Wilderness Support Center San Juan Mountains Wilderness Campaign
27. Winter Wildlands Alliance Campaign to Protect Yellowstone National Park
28. Wyoming Outdoor Council Shoshone National Forest & Upper Wind River Valley Campaigns

Email your list of 10 in order to kate@nemoequipment.com. We’ll compile all of the results and submit our vote as a company with your input. Your deadline for submission is Sept. 16th. Thanks for participating.

~Kate

July Beach Cleanup in the Bag

I just totaled up the damage from July's beach cleanup at the northern end of Jenness Beach this Wednesday. Despite the record-breaking hot weather (and presumable the hordes of people flocking to the beach), we picked up just 44 lbs of trash.

We snuck in a bonus surf session in the morning—the report called for ankle high ripples, but it was a classic logging session out there in the sun. Couldn't have asked for more (actually, warmer waters would have been nice). Pics to come.

-Connie

May Jenness Beach Cleanup tomorrow

Update: 85 lbs of trash and about 80 little plastic white discs from the Hooksett wastewater treatment plant found. Thigh-high peelers for the rest of the day, it seems too.

We're headed out to Jenness tomorrow morning at 9 am for some old-fashioned beach cleaning. Looks like there are fun longboard waves all week. For evidence, see below, from last Sunday. It is a balmy 48F out there in the water -- the ocean temps seem to warming up nicely (and quickly. Should we be concerned about this??).

Let me know if there are any interested trash pickers out there.

-Connie

Local Wildlife Part 7: Barred Owl Release

I was looking forward to last night for weeks. Being an avid wildlife photographer, this was a rare chance. Working with members from the Center For Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine, I was invited to photograph the release of 2 barred owls that were injured this past winter by cars. The center nurses the owls back to health. Then using a special cage they determine if they are ready to be released into the wild. Once they are ready to be back in nature, the owls are released as close to the location that they were found as possible. In this case the first release was in York, Maine, the second was in Kennebunk, Maine.

I met with the rehabilitator to capture the release just before sunset. Although the lighting conditions for action photography were more than a challenge, I learned a lot. Watching these owls fly off back to where they belong is an amazing feeling. I think my favorite part came when the couple who originally found the owl severely injured owl met up with us to watch the rehabilitated owl fly off into the sunset. A tear jerker for sure.

If you love animals and want to help support the Center that makes this kind of recovery possible, please visit their website and donate.
-Bill

March Beach / Hooksett Disc Cleanup

As many of you are well aware, the Hooksett wastewater treatment facility mistakenly released 4-8 million small plastic circular mesh discs and they have been making their way up and down the New England coastline. Besides being a general land-based pollutant and potential receptacles for bacteria, they are also choking hazards for much of the marine wildlife.

Over the past two weeks, there have been many efforts along NH and MA beaches to clean up these discs. Yesterday, we went out to the northern end of Jenness to do our part. We picked up 85 lbs of general trash and about 35-40 discs. As it turns out, the mesh discs pick up sand, which tends to make them, well, sand-colored. They get trapped in seaweed, buried in the sand, and are extremely difficult to see when you are looking for them. We found numerous chewed up discs (some alongside 2 dead birds). In other words, not great. I know a lot of you folks walk along the beach, so if you come across these, please help to pick them up and clean up the beaches.

One another note, the semi-blizzard when we were out in the water made for a pretty dreamy session in the afternoon.

-Connie

Calling All Locals for NH beaches

For those of you who frequent the New England coast, we need your help. There have been white plastic discs showing up on beaches in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. They are about 1.5" in diameter, and come from a waste water treatment facility in Hooksett.

The Blue Ocean Society (who manages the greater beach cleanup effort for the NH coastline) has put out a bulletin asking for folks to help pick up these discs, as they are worried about them being a possible choking hazard for marine wildlife. The discs have been tested for bacteria and are safe to handle, but it is advised to wear disposable gloves as a precaution.

-Connie

The Joy Trip Project - Radio Interview with Alison Gannett

This week, NEMO Ambassador, Alison Gannett, was interviewed by James Mills over at The Joy Trip Project. The Joy Trip Project is a news gathering and reporting organization that covers outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving and practices of sustainable living. JTP produces a regular online podcast on topics related to the sustainable active lifestyle. Combining creative storytelling with music, photography and video, JTP is entertaining and inspiring while informative.

In his interview with Alison, James asks what personal steps she has taken towards living a more sustainable lifestyle and what she thinks are the most important things each of us can do to save money, energy and lessen our footprint. You may be surprised by her answers.

And while a few from the office are enjoying the sun and surf in Nicaragua this week, I'm heading to Alison's Rippin Chix Aspen clinic for some much-needed powder skiing. ~Kate

Breaking our Backs to Close the Loop

Our Garage Sale and yearly donations have rid the office of usable samples, and all that remained was a sad pile of beautiful tents that were unusable in one way or another. Combine that with our Ditto Tote inventory being empty, and you know its time for a tent cutting party.

Through the cutting help of nearly all NEMO employees, Connie and I were able to travel down the road to our local sewer (the kind with sewing machines, not a stinky pipe system) with a car completely full of fabric tent panels.

Next step, making tent panels into bag pieces. Here's a photo essay. It involves a lot of binder clip and a super sharp fabric saw:

After 10 straight hours of standing over a cutting table on concrete floors, my back was nearly broken and I had a new appreciation for all of our manufacturing partners. My back pain has since diminished and I'm left with just being truly psyched that we were able to save so much waste from the landfill and give beautiful fabric a second chance.

Keep your eyes out. Ditto Totes, back in stock soon.

-Suzanne

The Dusty Camel

In 2009, we were contacted by a guy who was getting ready to hike the AT and was looking for a tent; not an unusual call for around here. But when the guy called from the trail asking to buy a larger tent because he had made some friends along the way, things started to get interesting. He later called to buy a Fillo and a Tuo pad. Since those first days, Ian has become a friend of NEMO. While we thought we might not hear from him for a while, after his successful AT hike, we were wrong. He's back with The Dusty Camel and I think this is just the beginning. ~Kate

In 2009, I journeyed out on a solo mission to complete the Appalachian Trail, like so many before me. 4 months, 5 days, 14 states, and 2,178 miles later, I was at the end. Regardless of the terrible weather, from the freezing cold to blistering heat, and bone dry to sopping wet, I had the time of my life.


I had kept a live journal for my family and friends to read along the way, and just gave daily accounts of my life on the trail as means to ease the worrying minds of those who care about me. Soon, I had strangers following along, meeting me on the trail, and helping out along the way. What I didn’t expect was, after I returned home, to get contacted by two people who told me because of my journal and ability to get a glimpse into the life of a thru-hiker, they had decided to hike the AT as well – and so The Dusty Camel was born.

Stemming from the trail name of my buddy (whom I met on the trail) and I, The Dusty Camel was created to bring adventure to anyone strolling on the Internet and inspire them to go out on their own, and have experiences that will change them for life. We realized through all the towns, and run-down parts of the trail we went through, that there was a very apparent need to protect the wild lands that America has left. Our theory is, the more people out in the wilderness, the more people there will be to protect it.

With this simple thought, we began to network our organization, and soon partnered up with Freedom to Roam – an organization that battles legislative barriers, and make wildlife corridors protected so that animals and humans alike can enjoy it.


With all the talk of adventure, protecting the wild, and having experiences, (but only after our feet stopped throbbing every morning) we decided to tackle the next beast – the Pacific Crest Trail.

I began reaching out to my favorite companies, and my friends at NEMO were the first to answer the call, and give their support to our sprouting organization. With their help, and the support from eight other companies, we are able to begin the next trek and put together a feature length documentary of our journey; if we can’t get people to read our journal every day for 6 months, we may as well give them an hour and half movie.

While all this was great, we realized we could not base an organization solely on our own adventures, so we put together the Camel Chronicles. This is a hub for adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts to share their stories, document their travels, and help do their part to protect the lands they love.


As part of our organizations mission, we will document, and bring to the average American an adventure. An adventure that we hope will get them to use their legs and experience nature first hand – even if for a day. We want people to understand the true power that nature has, and learn to respect and appreciate it.

~Ian

2010 Beach Cleanups: Year in Review

We've just received a compilation of beach cleanup trash totals for the year from the Blue Ocean Society. As a confession, I'll have to say that we missed 3 months this year -- July, October, and December. This was the third year of cleaning up Jenness Beach, and we couldn't be more honored to give a little back to Mother Ocean.

Total Trash Collected: 784 lbs

Top 5 Items collected
1. Cigarette Butts: 297
2. Fishing Line: 224
3. Metal Beverage Cans: 223
3. Rope (> 1m): 208
3. Bottle Caps: 198

The "yikes-I-don't-want-to-pick-this-up-list"
1. Condoms: 5
2. Tampon Applicators: 1
3. Dog Poop (bagged): 16
4. Dog Poop (unbagged): 40

Please let us know if you want to join us on any future cleanup sessions... especially if the waves look good!

-Connie

Interview With The Dusty Camel

NEMO friend Ian from The Dusty Camel was recently interviewed on CampingGearTV. While we love their choice for interview location (they're sitting inside a Moki), the segment offers a glimpse into their first long distance hike, the AT, what it was like being new to the trail and lessons learned.

Ian first introduced himself to us while preparing for that journey. He kept in touch throughout his time on the trail and his final summit photo from Mount Katahdin is actually included in the Photo Gallery of our 2010 Catalog. After completing the AT, naturally, he set his sights on another long-distance classic - the Pacific Crest Trail. Along with friend and partner Andy, the two created The Dusty Camel to mesh their love of the outdoors with their passion for protecting our environment. Partnering with Freedom to Roam, along with support from some of their favorite outdoor companies, they will be attacking the PCT next year in hopes of raising money and awareness for land conservation.



~Kate