The Planet's half-year celebration
Looking back at the first six months of this newsletter, some articles you may have missed, and a 20% 12-months discount offer.
Today, it was half a year ago that I wrote my first newsletter. It is a moment to look back, to look forward, and to thank you, the subscribers to The Planet. It is your support that makes this newsletter possible.
In this post, I will go back to that very first article, where I described the idea behind this newsletter. I will also use the opportunity to give links to several articles that you may have missed in the past half-year, which also provides you with some weekend reading.
But first: to celebrate half a year of The Planet newsletter, reach new readers, and get more support for this project, I offer a discount of 20% for the first year of a new subscription.
I hope many of you will join as paying subscribers. It gives you the full experience; access to all posts and the entire archive. Paying subscribers can also comment on the articles. I keep this newspaper advertisement free, so your support is my income. To subscribe, click this button:
I just reread my first post of 17 March to see if my ideas about this initiative have changed. Perhaps to my surprise, that wasn't the case. I wrote that I would base my approach on three elements, or better, a core issue with two layers of storytelling around it. Imagine a picture of our planet with a core, surrounded by a mantle and the crust.
The core issue is the climate crisis. I wrote:
"For a newsletter named 'The Planet,' you may expect me to write about some of the most significant challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, water, food, energy, and related problems that we have to face on this rapidly changing planet. There is a lot of confusion about these issues, and part of that confusion is fabricated by those who prefer to keep us ignorant of the existential threats that we should urgently solve."
I wrote, for instance, about agriculture being hardest hit by climate change, dying coral reefs, melting glaciers, or how NATO should prepare for climate change.
A second element is a mantle around this core issue; we need to remind ourselves of what's at stake: the beauty of this fragile planet. I wrote:
"These threats and opportunities are what motivated me to start this newsletter. I have worked most of my life on environmental and security issues, and I have seen how these have become increasingly intertwined into planetary security challenges.
But if we only look at our planet through the lens of climate change and the loss of nature, we miss an essential part of the story. We often admire anything fragile; we see its beauty and want to protect it. It is also a way of looking at our planet: delicate, beautiful, and in need of protection. I have increasingly changed my focus from the threats to our world to what is at stake. Nowadays, I focus more on the beauty of wildlife, forests, or oceans in my public speaking. Remembering what we risk losing motivates us to preserve all this for the next generation."
I wrote, for instance, about how to recognize bird sounds, the peatlands of Mer Bleue, cicadas, or the Red Admiral butterflies in my garden.
The third element, see it as the crust of the planet image, I described as:
"I mentioned the threats and solutions, mixed with reminders of our planet's beauty. Still, that is not enough to tell the whole story. The stories of our times on this planet will mostly be about us. We live in the Anthropocene, the new geologic epoch that is all about our impact on this planet. Therefore I will also focus on us. Not just the burning of fossil fuels, but about all kinds of aspects that are part of the story of who we are at this point in history. My writing about history, archeology, travel, science, or art will often relate to the core planetary challenges."
I wrote, for instance, on: 'Spring, a season for love,' the history of The Hague, or Veere, and you could join me on a virtual trip to the beach.
I also published 47 'Island Stories,' often combining these three elements. For instance, in a recent article, I described that climate change leads to an increase in some jellyfish species. I combined that story with pictures of jellyfish that I found on the beach.
Sometimes I spoke to you on video, like in this post about the climate and biodiversity crises.
The second half of the first year starts today. My worries about the planet have, unfortunately, only increased since I started writing. You only have to read the latest IPCC report to know how dire our situation is. I will write about our challenges and possible solutions, from COP26 to local initiatives. In these six months, my respect for the beauty and diversity of all life forms has grown further, and I will continue to share that with you. And there will always be room for all other stories that I today called the third element, the crust, or perhaps I should say the icing on the cake.
I love to hear from you
I always love to hear from you. Would you like more focus on one of these three elements? Now that the summer (and thus the Island Stories) are nearly over, I will probably write more about climate change in the months before the Glasgow Summit.
Would you like more videos, posts, photos, history, science, climate, biodiversity? More challenges or more solutions? I could ask more questions, but it is up to you. Any idea is welcome. You can use the comment button (for everyone to read) or reply to the email (which reaches only me).
More paying subscribers are really needed, so any promotion that you can do is much appreciated. This is this weekend's discount button:
Let me end by thanking you for being there, for reading, for sending your suggestions, and for all the encouragement. I do look forward to writing new articles for you about this beautiful but challenged planet.
Notes:
Illustration By Surachit - Self-made, based on the public domain image File:Earth-crust-cutaway-english.png by Jeremy Kemp This W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape ., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2584710
Fantastic, and congratulations! I, for one, am always looking for ways to reframe the idea of "crisis" and "emergency" into something actionable like "emergence." In my eco-fiction writing, I've noticed that I have used the words "but" and "yet" a lot. In my new way of revising my work, I'm looking to not do that so much. Now, I'm embracing "and." So I would ask as you move forward, what is your "And?" or what is your "And then?"... Just a thought from a faithful reader! Keep up the great work! Shine the light on possibility!
Happy 6-months anniversary!
Thank you for the recap of things you've written about. And lovely pictures. I have liked your approach from the start and I love that I learn something new with every newsletter you publish. Sometimes it's "little" things like how you frame your pictures that give me ideas for my own. Sometimes your newsletters inspire me to go out into nature and share what I saw with friends. Other times I end up reading about a subject for hours thanks to the sources you provide (I especially enjoy the Dutch ones). The videos that just show the beauty around you let me forget everyday struggles for a minute or two and the ones where you talk about the climate crisis are always interesting and informative. I'm sure there will be more island stories in the future - so I might be a bit sad for those to end, but it makes sense to focus on the climate crisis in the lead-up to COP26. One thing that I just thought of - how about "recycling" some of last year's Alexnotes as a basis for a newsletter?
As I've said before I have thoroughly enjoyed the past six months' worth of newsletters. What a great idea you had back in March. Thank you!