Scientists Call for Drastic Drop in Emissions. U.S. Appears to Have Gone the Other Way.

Photo by Jaromír Kavan on Unsplash

Scientists Call for Drastic Drop in Emissions. U.S. Appears to Have Gone the Other Way.

By Abraham Lustgarten , ProPublica. This story was originally published by ProPublica.

The signals are blaring: Dramatic changes to our climate are well upon us. These changes — we know thanks to a steady drumbeat of alarming official reports over the past 12 months — could cripple the U.S. economy, threaten to make vast stretches of our coastlines uninhabitable, make basic food supplies scarce and push millions of the planet’s poorest people into cities and across borders as they flee environmental perils.

All is not yet lost, we are told, but the demands of the moment are great. The resounding consensus of scientists, economists and analysts tells us that the solution lies in an unprecedented global effort to immediately and drastically drop carbon emissions levels. That drop is possible, but it will need to happen so fast that it will demand extraordinary commitment, resolve, innovation and, yes, sacrifice. The time we’ve got to work with, according to the United Nations, is a tad more than 10 years.

And so it stings particularly badly to learn from a new report released this weekby the Rhodium Group, a private research company, that U.S. emissions — which amount to one-sixth of the planet’s — didn’t drop in 2018 but instead skyrocketed. The 3.4 percent jump in CO2 for 2018, projected by the Rhodium Group, would be second-largest surge in greenhouse gas emissions from the United States since 1996, when Bill Clinton was president.

Israel Proposes Protecting Woolly Mammoth Ivory To Save Commingled Poached Elephant Ivory

Israel Proposes Protecting Woolly Mammoth Ivory To Save Commingled Poached Elephant Ivory

Woolly mammoths are long extinct for a minimum of 10,000 years in most global locations. Initially, many conservationists hoped that the discovery of long-frozen mammoth remains — including their tusks — would take pressure off the poaching of African elephants for their ivory.

It appears that those hopes are now dashed, with an acknowledement that the legal transport of mammoth ivory often moves with its cousin’s ivory as part of the shipment. As a result, Israel has proposed that mammoths become protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES) closing a loophole in which freshly-slaughtered tusks are transported as legal mammoth ivory. Such a decision would mark the first time an extinct species is listed as protected under Cities.

“They are often intermingled in shipment and retail displays, and are fashioned in a similar style. To the untrained eye it’s very difficult to distinguish between them,” said Iris Ho, senior specialist in wildlife programmes and policy at Humane Society International (HSI). “There is currently no international regulatory regime to track and monitor the commercial trade in mammoth ivory.”

A Move To Make Extinct Woolly Mammoths A Protected Species

Kitty Block, the president of HSI, said in The Guardian: “With ivory traffickers exploiting the long-extinct mammoth so they can further exploit imperilled elephants, nations must unite to end the poaching epidemic and ensure all ivory markets are closed. The time to act is now, before we lose them forever.”

Ancient DNA Changes Everything We Know About The Evolution of Elephants

A study by Meyer et al reconfigures the elephant family tree, placing the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) closer to the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), than to the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which was once thought to be its closest living relative. Image credit: Asier Larramendi Eskorza / Julie McMahon.

Ancient DNA Changes Everything We Know About The Evolution of Elephants

By Julien Benoit, Postdoc in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand. First published on The Conversation Africa.

For a long time, zoologists assumed that there were only two species of elephant: one Asian and one African. Then genetic analyses suggested that the African Elephant could be divided into two distinct species, the African Forest and African Savannah elephants.

Now a new elephant has been added to the mix. The palaeoloxodon antiquus has been extinct for 120 000 years. This elephant roamed Europe and western Asia during the last ice age, about 400 000 years ago. A study of its DNA shows that this supposedly European animal is actually the African forest elephants’ closest relative. Another study by the same team found that at a genetic level, it may even have more in common with the modern African forest elephant than the African savannah elephant.

This study changes everything we thought we knew about the evolutionary history and ancestry of modern elephants and their closest relatives. It also shows that the African elephant’s lineage was not confined to Africa; the animals actually went out of the continent, which we didn’t know before. It roamed Europe and – through a lot of interbreeding – left its genetic mark far from its original stomping grounds.

The new find, based on DNA from fossils found in Germany, may also shed light on a DNA discrepancy that has puzzled scientists for some time.

Elephant Conservation Update From Botswana Includes Pending Prince Harry Transfer Of Elephants To Zambia

Elephant Conservation Update From Botswana Includes Pending Prince Harry Transfer Of Elephants To Zambia

PORTER escapes to Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge, an adventurous tented hideaway in Botswana’s Savute Channel, part of Chobe National Park and boasting the highest concentration of elephants in Africa.

Belmond Savute prides itself on a “happy marriage of style and substance; for the eco-conscious traveler”, offering “the tents’ sustainable design features (that) include the removal of all concrete, the use of eco-friendly composite bamboo decking in the principal areas, and a 95% solar-grid system for power.” 

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Elephant Deaths in Botswana

Since September 2018, controversy has swirled in Botswana around the story that 87 elephants were reported to be “killed by poachers’ in Botswana. The high-impact story originated with “Elephants Without Borders,” an NGO in the USA and Botswana surveying the elephant population.

Under the new government of Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana’s parliament is exploring its ban on trophy hunting, citing the large size of Botswana’s elephant population and the growing issue of human-elephant conflic (HEC) in the country.

Politicians have quoted the Botswana elephant population to be as large as 237,000. However the African Elephant Status Report (AESR) estimates Botswana’s elephant population to be 131,626 individuals migrating across an area of 228,073 square kilometres. The vast majority of these elephants occur in the northern region that includes Chobe, Moremi, and the Okavango Delta.

Adut Akech Covers Vogue Australia December 2018 With In-Depth Look At Life + Family

Adut Akech Covers Vogue Australia December 2018 With In-Depth Look At Life + Family

It’s been a phenomenal time for Adelaide, Australia’s rising star model Adut Akech. Launched as a Saint Laurent exclusive beginning in September 2016, she became the second black woman to ever close a Chanel fashion show, finding herself center stage with Karl Lagerfeld in the Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2018 presentation. In between these major fashion career milestones, Adut was center stage in Tim Walker’s 2018 Pirelli calendar, with its first all-black cast.

Now the former refugee finds herself on the cover of Vogue Australia’s December issue, in a feature about her life, her friends and family, even her school. Adut is also one of four models covering separate issues of British Vogue’s December issue.

Jillian Davison styles Adut, with photography by Charles Dennington. Alice Birrell conducts the interview.

Lupita Nyong'o Narrates Award-Winning 'My Africa' Virtual Reality Film For Elephant Conservation

Lupita Nyong'o Narrates Award-Winning 'My Africa' Virtual Reality Film For Elephant Conservation

A virtual reality film ‘My Africa’, narrated by Oscar-winning film star Lupita Nyong’o and supported by The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, is among the winners of the annual Jackson Hole Science Media Awards.

The nine-minute film won top honors in the Virtual Reality/360° Storytelling category for “effectively using 360 technology and resources to advance an appreciation or understanding of a scientific discipline, discovery or principle.”

The film which was commissioned by Global environmental organization Conservation International which supports community-led wildlife conservation in Northern Kenya —is available in 7 languages including English, French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Samburu, Spanish and Swahili.

Directed by David Allen, the project was captured with virtual reality cameras in the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy in Samburu County of northern Kenya at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, the first elephant orphanage in Africa owned and operated by the local community. In a region where conservation has traditionally been pursued by outsiders, Reteti — and the surrounding conservancy organization, Northern Rangelands Trust — offer a model grounded in local leadership and traditional knowledge, explains Creative Planet Network.

Architect Sir David Adjaye Curates Artist Lina Iris Viktor For Wondereur.com

Sir David Adjaye curates artist Lina Iris Viktor

Spectacular paintings by artist Lina Iris Viktor are on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art until Jan. 6, 2019. Introduced to her work via Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, further investigation about Viktor brought me to Wondereur.com, an outstanding website curating artists by other credentialed creatives.

New York based Viktor is profiled by Sir David Adjaye, a leading figure in the architecture world, and lead designer of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. In 2017, TIME magazine named Adjaye as the world’s most influential architect. He was also knighted by the British government in 2017, an opportunity for Adjaye to reiterate the responsibility and potential of architects “to effect positive social change.”

Thelma Golden, the director and chief curator of the Adjaye-designed Studio Museum in Harlem wrote in TIME: “His work – deeply rooted in both the present moment and the complex context of history – has envisioned new ways for culture to be represented and reflected in the built environment. Nowhere is this more evident than in his recent triumph on the National Mall.

"How can a design acknowledge, and embody, the weight of this monumental history and yet transcend it right before your eyes? How can a building be true to the earthbound burdens of centuries of oppression and struggle, while at the same time displaying the faith, joy and triumphs of African-­American life, so that the structure soars into the light?

“In his epoch-making design, David made us aware of those questions and brilliantly solved them, with a singular gesture.”

In his curator’s statement for Wondereur.com about Lina Iris Viktor, Sir David Adjaye describes her work:

“Lina’s work is as evocative as it is strikingly beautiful. Her explorations with gold possess incredible intelligence, drawing out at once powerful connections to global indigenous heritages, opulent futuristic visions of black beauty, and vast philosophical notions of cosmology, geometry, and atomic matter. Her work crosses confidently across a landscape of science, technology, culture and identity with a timeless elegance and a casual defiance that is definitively modern.”

At New Orleans Museum of Art, Lina Iris Viktor Explores Blackness As A Source Of Energy and Creation

ELEVENTH. 2018. LINA IRIS VIKTOR. PURE 24-KARAT GOLD, ACRYLIC, GOUACHE, PRINT ON CANVAS. 65 X 50 IN. COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND MARIANE IBRAHIM GALLERY, SEATTLE

At New Orleans Museum of Art, Lina Iris Viktor Explores Blackness As A Source Of Energy and Creation

New York artist Lina Iris Viktor

At New Orleans Museum of Art, Lina Iris Viktor Explores Blackness As A Source Of Energy and Creation

“Usually I am more about trying to bridge divides of thought where people think things are in very defined spaces,” artist Lina Iris Viktor tells Harper’s Bazaar Arabia from her studio in New York. “I am all about making bridges.” The painter and conceptual artist is preparing new work for her first solo museum exhibition now open at the New Orleans Museum of Art entitled Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred.

Known for large-scale black and gold works on paper and canvas, the sculptural surfaces of Viktor’s pieces shimmer opulently with densely patterned iconography. There is something searingly original and contemporary about her almost cosmic composition of hieroglyphic elements that recall myriad forms, from Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings to West African textiles.

Born to Liberian parents, Lina Iris Viktor lives in London and Johannesburg, travelling and studying widely. The artist is not inspired by a specific location. Rather “It’s about experience and worldliness and understanding that there is no centre.”

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes didn’t just become an activist two years ago, but the Dutch superstar model, mom, wife, design collaborator and activist for humanity tells Vanity Fair that it’s her role as global ambassador for #Knot on My Planet that gives her a tremendous sense of purpose.

Vanity Fair checked in with Kroes before shooting the new #Knot on My Planet campaign with Naomi Campbell and Serena Williams also part of the production. The Knot on My Planet elephant conservation effort gained momentum when Reed Krakoff became chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. last year. The new collection will expand beyond elephants to also include rhino and lion pieces.

Tiffany has partnered with the Elephant Crisis Fund on the #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign, launching an initial campaign featuring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington Burns, Naomi Campbell and other prominent voices tying a knot to never forget elephants under threat from ivory poachers.

While there has been some good news — China banned all commercial ivory trading in 2017 — the situation remains bleak in many African countries. Most recently, nearly 100 elephants were discovered dead in Botswana, a country that has relaxed its elephant protection policies under its newly-elected president Mokgweetsi Masisi. New reports in Africa are that Botswana is also considering lifting its hunting ban.

Followup October. 21, 2018: The New York Times wrote on September 28 an article ‘Doubts Mount in Botswana Over Charity’s Claim of Elephant ‘Poaching Frenzy’.

We will dig much deeper into the very thoughtful arguments raised in this article concerning the influences of outside groups involved in elephant conservation being pitted against the wishes and interests of native Africans living on the land. The NYT article is too complex and valuable a read to treat it as an addendum.

AFRICAN ELEPHANTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUSAN MCCONNELL.

Returning to Tiffany & Co, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany and chairman and president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, sat down with Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, to discuss his tireless efforts on behalf of these magnificent creatures and what we can all do to help.

LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

Los Angeles, long associated with red carpet glitz and glamour, has voted to ban the sale of fur products, making it the largest American city to respond to a unanimous City Council vote to draft an ordinance that will ultimately prohibit the manufacture and sale of new fur products within the city.

Projected to take two years to institute, the first step is to draft a city ordinance that takes into consideration “how fur apparel is utilized by religious organizations, and possible exemptions, as well as potential conflicts with federal and state laws relating to sale of fur products derived from legally trapped animals,” writes The LA Times.

West Hollywood already has a fur ban, but the law was changed to exempt fur from animals legally trapped under state law. Berkeley and San Francisco have fur bans, adapted to comply with local laws and ordinances.

Keith Kaplan, spokesman for the Fur Information Council of America, a trade group for manufacturers and fur merchants, argued that global retail fur sales are $35.8 billion and that more than 1 million people were employed, as of 2014.

Big industry brands abandoning fur in their collections include Michael Kors, Armani, Gucci and most recently Burberry.

The current London Fashion Week promoted itself as being fur free.

Tanzania's Selous Safari Company Recycled Their Taka Taka Long Ago With Minimal Footprint Policies

Tanzania's Selous Safari Company Recycled Their Taka Taka Long Ago With Minimal Footprint Policies

I've been on the hunt for bamboo tubes used in our GlamTribal jewelry and this gorgeous image from Tanzania's Selous Safari Company is causing me to have a eureka moment! I'm probably finding them to be so scarce because larger bamboo tubes are now being used as straws. 

One of the core values and main objectives of Selous Safari Company is its commitment to have minimal impact on the environment. 

Long before it was mainstream practice, SSC stopped using plastic bags, started using solar power, set out to recycle all their "taka taka" (Swahili word for garbage) and ceased using plastic bottles. Selous Safari Company also stopped using plastic straws… without a firm plan for their replacement.

A bit of creative meditation, most likely accompanied by a delicious cocktail or two on their magnificent beach, produced the answer: Bamboo straws! And NOT delivered by Amazon. REAL, AUTHENTIC bamboo straws. 

SSC's beach lodge, Ras Kutani, on the Swahili Coast has plenty of bamboo, and the creative minds went into high gear. Read their blog post for further instructions.  Here in America, GlamTribal will order our own bamboo straws, treat them with only eco-friendly varnish, perhaps even decoupage them. Who knows what ideas will be inspired by the bamboo straws created by Tanzania's Selous Safari Company!

PS250 Woolly Mammoth Bone Bamboo Tubes Black Lava Pendant w/Earrings

$85.00

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Tanzania's Elephant Population Hit Extremely Hard, Losing About 70% In Last Decade

AFTER BEING COLLARED AND REVIVED AN ELEPHANT MAKES ITS WAY BACK TO ITS HERD IN SELOUS GAME RESERVE, TANZANIA

Tanzania's Elephant Population Hit Extremely Hard, Losing About 70% In Last Decade

The global elephant populations is in a state of crisis in many countries. Tanzania is now a key center of Africa's poaching crisis, after a government census analyzing the nation's elephant population from 2009 to 2014 revealed a catastrophic loss of 60% of its elephants in just five years. 

Revealing elephant declines far greater than expected, the census estimated Tanzania's elephant population in 2014 at 43,330, down from 109,051 in 2009. Fast forward to 2018, and Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve has lost almost 90% of the park's elephants over the past 40 years. Forty years ago, 100,000 elephants roamed Selous, located in southern Tanzania, and today the number is estimated to be 15,200. 

"Tanzania has been extremely hard hit by the latest elephant poaching crisis that has hit the African continent for 10 years," Bas Huijbregts, WWF's African species manager, told CNN.

Burberry Formally Gives Up Fur, Moves To Recycled Packaging & Will Stop Burning Excess Inventory

Burberry Formally Gives Up Fur, Moves To Recycled Packaging & Will Stop Burning Excess Inventory

Burberry made two announcements on Thursday, following up on its May 2018 promise to review its use of real fur in its collections. Equally important, Burberry's chief executive Marco Gobbetti responded to criticism from the general public over its practice of destroying its unsold luxury products. In a first move for the luxury brands market, Burberry will become the first company to reuse, repair, donate or recycle all of its unsaleable products. 

Gobbetti said: “Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success. We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products.”

The amount of stock Burberry destroys had risen sharply in recent years, from £5.5 million in fiscal year 2013 to £28.6 million in the last fiscal year. Gobbetti also announced that the creation of a new logo triggered a need for all new packaging, shopping bags, marketing materials, and they would now use recycled materials. 

As for the company's use of fur, it's over at Burberry. Riccardo Tisci's debut collection presented at London Fashion Week on September 17 will be fur free. 

Chopard Adds Sustainable Garden of Paradise Fragrances To Growing Green Credentials

Chopard Adds Sustainable Garden of Paradise Fragrances To Growing Green Credentials

The Financial Times How To Spend It Magazine turns our focus to eco-perfumes and an interesting entry into the fragrance category by watchmaker and jeweler Chopard's Garden of Paradise fragrances. 

Chopard was the first watchmaker and jeweller in the world to enable small scale mining communities to reach Fairmined certification as well as provide training, social welfare and environmental support. With a multi-year track record of high credibility in the sustainability sector, Chopard reaffirms its commitment to honoring both the earth and its everyday laborers toiling for the luxury market by introducing the first perfumes composed of ingredients from the Naturals Together programme.

Chopard first stepped out in the sustainable luxury sector at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival with the launch of the High Jewellery Green Carpet Collection, guided by Caroline Scheufele in partnership with Eco-Age and its creative Director Livia Firth. 

Carine Roitfeld Breaks Ranks With Gigi & Halima Promoting UNICEF USA & Doing Good In CR Fashionbook #23

Carine Roitfeld Breaks Ranks With Gigi & Halima Promoting UNICEF USA & Doing Good In CR Fashionbook #23

Models Gigi Hadid and Halima Aden cover CR Fashion Book Issue 13, an issue dedicated to UNICEF USA, according to editor Carine Roitfeld.  Carine broke away from the fashion pack with her fall issue, dedicated to doing good by raising awareness for the global children's relief organization with two of its newest ambassadors Hadid, the half Palestinian daughter of a Syrian refugee and Aden, a Somali refugee and prominent Muslim, hijab-wearing model. 

“The state of fashion media is absolutely in flux so it was really important for me to use my existing platform for good,” Roitfeld told The Hollywood Reporter. Choosing to spotlight UNICEF USA was a response to the international news. According to the organization, “more children are on the move now than at any point since World War II,” notes Roitfeld, the editor of Vogue Paris for a decade before founding CR Fashion Book in 2012.

Reflecting on the state of magazines generally, Carine Roitfeld says: "It’s difficult for me to talk about the future because things are constantly changing. Over 15 years ago I was asked this question while everyone was going digital and no one knew what was going to happen. Print survived then and it’s still trying to survive now," she says. "Today we are up against social media, which is a blessing and curse. People have much more access in real time — they don’t want to wait until an issue hits stands to read something. I think maybe some magazines will stay but they have to be very beautiful, like a collector’s item. They have to feature people and topics that are unique, that stand out but also resonate globally.”

UN Ambassador Gigi Hadid Visits Jamtoli Refugee Camp In Bangladesh, Housing Rohingya Muslims

UN Ambassador Gigi Hadid Visits Jamtoli Refugee Camp In Bangladesh, Housing Rohingya Muslims

Gigi Hadid has embarked on her first humanitarian mission as a UNICEF ambassador, visiting the Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh as part of a United Nations Children’s Fund initiative. The part Palestinian model is documenting her visit with Muslim children in Cox's Bazaar's Jamtoli Refugee Camp on her Instagram account. The Jamtoli Refugee Camp is currently home to approximately 45,000 Rohingya refugees who escaped Myanmar after the 2012 riots that resulted in the displacement of over 90,000 people.

The 23-year-old showed her 40 million followers a football game with some of the children, along with this text:

“As well as psychosocial work to help them get through trauma through activities like art, they also can play sports, learn music, and learn to read & draw (some for the first time in their lives). Separate from educational spaces, the importance of these spaces is huge due to the fact that refugee children can spend a majority of the day working, usually collecting fire wood from miles away so their families can cook, taking care of siblings, helping around the house, etc., and here they can just focus on having fun!”

Hadid also visited the ‘Women/Girl Friendly’ zones in the Jamtoli Camp: a safe place for females, young and old, to come learn basic education as well as personal hygiene, skills such as sewing, and also a place where they can share and connect with other women and girls.

AOC missed the June announcement that Gigi Hadid was joining HM Queen Rania of Jordan, Serena Williams, Priyanka Chopra and Katy Perry as a UNICEF International Ambassador.  We've never been critical of Gigi, including when she speaks in support of Palestinians, but it thrills us extra, when she puts her celebrity status to good works like this visit to Bangladesh. This is true beauty!!

Greenpeace Launches New Anti-Straw Campaign For Ocean Creatures | 'Trash Isles' Trailer

Greenpeace Launches New Anti-Straw Campaign For Ocean Creatures | 'Trash Isles' Trailer

Starbucks announced in early July that it will eliminate single-use plastic straws from its more than 28,000 company operated and licensed stores by making a strawless lid or alternative-material straw options available, around the world. Starbucks, the largest food and beverage retailer to make such a global commitment, anticipates the move will eliminate more than one billion plastic straws per year from Starbucks stores.

Starbucks has designed, developed and manufactured a strawless lid, which will become the standard for all iced coffee, tea and espresso beverages. The lid is currently available in more than 8,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada for select beverages including Starbucks Draft Nitro and Cold Foam. The lid is also being piloted for Nitro beverages in additional markets including China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, Starbucks will begin offering straws made from alternative materials – including paper or compostable plastic - for Frappuccino® blended beverages, and available by request for customers who prefer or need a straw.

Glamping Sweeps America, Embracing Gaia With Soothing Natural Refuge In Trumplandia

Glamping Sweeps America, Embracing Gaia With Soothing Natural Refuge In Trumplandia

New Yorkers are increasingly desperate to get back in touch with nature, writes The New York Times. If that means 'glamping' at a $650-a-night campsite on Governor's Island, let the Gaia connection begin. 

Arriving by ferry boat only enhances the magic of Manhattan's twinkling skyline and Lady Liberty's torch nearby. In that moment liberal New Yorker's can reflect on all the the Statue of Liberty has meant in America's DNA without stressing over the whereabouts of children separated from their parents at the Mexican border.

Phones are off and a family game of Scribble is in. Roasting marshmellows in the community firepit plays homage to hunting and gathering forbearers, while other pampered New Yorkers are found eating $120 prix fix meals in the permanent Three Peaks lodge. Who is game for beanbag toss?

According to a report by Kampgrounds of America, 2.6 million more American households camped last year than in 2016. A major reason was to relieve stress. Nearly all millennials surveyed (93 percent) said they would like to try camping this year, many gravitating toward glamping.

Tomas de la Fuente Captures Vera van Erp With Masai In Tanzania For Telva Magazine August 2018

Tomas De La Fuente Captures Vera van Erp With Masai In Tanzania For Telva Magazine August 2018

Model Vera van Erp is styled by Gabriela Bilbao in a tribute to fall plaids and noble origins heritage. Photographer Tomas de la Fuente captures Vera in Tanzania, where she is joined by the Masai people, for the shoot in Telva Magazine's August issue. The trip to Tanzania was arranged by Ratpanat Luxury & Adventure travel. 

Jennifer Garner Co-Founds Once Upon A Farm, Supporting Gangsta Gardener Ron Finley

Jennifer Garner Co-Founds Once Upon A Farm, Supporting Gangsta Gardener Ron Finley

On Saturday, July 14, actor Jennifer Garner celebrated Once Upon a Farm, the new “farm-to-family” food company with a strong focus on babies and children that she co-founded with Cassandra Curtis. The event at Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett invited guests from the Hamptons crowd such as Rachel Zoe, Molly Sims, Jessica Capshaw, Estee Stanley, and their little ones to pick fresh produce, listen to live music and plant fruits and vegetables with Ron Finley, the Gangsta Gardener of the Ron Finley Project. Once Upon a Farm later donated the gardening plot from the event, along with $10,000 to NYC’s Edible Schoolyard.

Paper Magazine profiled Finley in Aug. 2017. The food justice revolutionary decided to get his hands dirty back in 2010 over the lack of healthy, organic food options in his LA South Central food desert neighborhood. 

"Being in South Central, the food is food-ish stuff," he explains. "We can walk five minutes in any direction and get liquor, but we can walk ten miles in any direction, and we aren't gonna get an organic banana." Finley came to the realization that cities were designed for the interests of commerce, not people: "If cities were designed for people, they would look more like forests, and be lush and beautiful, and the air would be clean." He looked at the green grass parkway he'd been dutifully maintaining outside of his home, and decided, "If they're not putting beauty in my neighborhood, I'll do it myself." The answer was radical in its simplicity: he would grow his own food. He dug up the grass, and planted flowers, herbs, and all the fruits and vegetables he'd previously had to drive miles to buy.