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DROUGHTS, BUCKETS, AND THE FUTURE OF VIRAL ALTRUISM Make up for all that dumped ice water with this new brand of online charity BY BILL GAUS  |  OCT 10 2014 | The Sierra Club | Green Life Blog

DROUGHTS, BUCKETS, AND THE FUTURE OF VIRAL ALTRUISM

Make up for all that dumped ice water with this new brand of online charity

BY BILL GAUS | OCT 10 2014 | The Sierra Club | Green Life Blog

 
CAL POLY MAGAZINE : THE MAGAZINE FOR CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO RUNNING DRY | Fall 2015 | by Larry Pena 

CAL POLY MAGAZINE : THE MAGAZINE FOR CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO

RUNNING DRY | Fall 2015 | by Larry Pena 

 
Posted : Oct 21, 2014 4:12 PM PDT |  Updated: Mar 31, 2015 6:09 PM PDT : KSBY NEWS , San Luis Obispo, CA KSBY : Locals take on the 5-Gallon-Challenge

Posted : Oct 21, 2014 4:12 PM PDT | Updated: Mar 31, 2015 6:09 PM PDT : KSBY NEWS, San Luis Obispo, CA

KSBY : Locals take on the 5-Gallon-Challenge

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The word “home” takes on many shapes and sizes, and I sure am grateful for mine.... 💛 It’s nice to be here, even if only for a hot second. Next up, the Sierras with the fam, then Appalachia with DigDeep, then Lodi with the Wetlands Preservation Foundation, and then... drumroll.... it’s FAIR time!! #78squarefeet #tinyhouse #tinyhome #creston #gratitude #workingwoman #professionalphotographer
“Today I decide to let go. I let go of my grasp on people, things, thoughts, feelings, expectations and outcomes. And though I acknowledge my desires, I acknowledge I do not control anything. Letting go activates my faith and allows God to send what is meant for me. Letting go helps me because holding on does not. Holding on will not change the situation, the person, the problem or the thing. But letting go sets me free to accept that life is just as it is meant to be. An experience full of open spaces for new outcomes, new opportunities and new possibilities.” - Emmanuella Raphaelle #lettinggo #freedom #quotes #emmanuellaraphaelle #ocean #redondobeach
Learning about my body, and happy to be doing so. Knowledge is power, and this particular kind of knowledge, honestly, feels like a super-power. This is one of those books that all folks who either a) have a vagina, or b) interact with a vagina, or c) are curious about vaginas, should read. Like, pronto. And I do suspect that we would find the world would be a happier healthier place.... 😉 #readersareleaders #shecomesfirst #iankerner #brittanyappbooklist #cunniligus #humansexuality
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” - Maya Angelou #holyground #lowndescounty #alabama #quotes #mayaangelou #history #courage
I’m currently in Alabama shooting another assignment for DigDeep. This is part of a broader research project, looking at six water hot-spots in the USA. Today we visited two homes in rural Lowndes County. At Charlie Mae’s home, pictured here, whenever it rains (which is often), septic tanks in the neighborhood overflow, and the water and sewage pools in her yard. The children don’t play outside. The health risk is too high. Due to the clay soils in this area, standard septic tanks consistently fail. Charlie Mae’s septic tank requires pumping 3 times a week. She was recently connected to the city’s waste-water system, but the connection keeps failing. Neighbors are in similar situations. Most of the human waste that is actually collected by the city system is pumped to a nearby lagoon, untreated, and exposes the community to a multitude of health risks. This is America, folks. This is 2019. How can such basic infrastructure needs be so sorely neglected? @digdeepwater #digdeepwater #water #waterislife #waterisahumanright #civilrights #alabama #lowndescounty #wastewater #hayneville #alabamacivilrightstrail
To celebrate my 40th year, I stepped in front of the camera today. Like, for really real, stepped in front of the camera. Hair, make-up, wardrobe, fancy backdrops, the whole deal. Thank you to my super talented friends @dinamandestudios and @forever_wear_makeup for pampering me. So fun. So important. Time, as we know, waits for no one. Photos are important. Thank you Dina for a wonderful day. Thank you for inspiring me to document this time in my life. Thank you for helping me see my inner shine. Thanks for being willing to play. I adore you. And you are so damn good at what you do. 💕 #bts #btsselfie #photoshootselfie #professionalportraits #dinamande #pasorobles @dinamande #womeninfilm #femaledirector #thisis40
“But love is much like a dam: if you allow a tiny crack to form through which only a trickle of water can pass, that trickle will quickly bring down the whole structure, and soon no one will be able to control the force of the current. For when those walls come down, then love takes over, and it no longer matters what is possible or impossible; it doesn't even matter whether we can keep the loved one at our side. To love is to lose control.” - Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept This is a section of the border fence near El Paso, Texas. It’s existed for 13-15 years. In my personal opinion, it’s gross enough as it is. A wall would be even worse. #loveoneanother #nowalls #elpaso #texas #borderfence #quotes #paulocoelho
Water kiosks like this one are a common sight around El Paso. All the Colonia residents we spoke with use these kiosks daily/weekly for their cooking & drinking water. Each Colonia is different... Some families are on wells. Some get water from a water truck. Some haul water on their own. But across the board, none of that water is safe to drink. In most cases, neighboring communities, sometimes just a few hundred yards away, are hooked to to city or county water infrastructure, but the Colonia residents feel that, somehow, over time, they have just been “forgotten”. This research project that I’m photographing for @digdeepwater is further opening my eyes to the harsh realities of life without clean running water, right here in our own backyard. It’s estimated that somewhere between 1.7 - 2 million Americans live without clean running water at home. Imagine your life, for just a moment, if that reality was your reality. #digdeepwater #elpaso #waterislife #water #colonias #waterisahumanright #waterpoverty
Outside El Paso, Texas, near a small Colonia, people dump their garbage along a dirt road. Families who live in the small Colonia nearby say they have been waiting for water for 25 years. The developer promised it, and the water never came. Water is only available from water trucks that fill large household storage tanks, costing upwards of $160 a month. This water is of unknown origin and unsafe to drink, so these families also have to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking. This is America. This is 2019. This is unacceptable. #waterislife #digdeepwater @digdeepwater #water #texas #elpasocolonias #waterpoverty #waterisahumanright
Approaching El Paso, Texas... I’ll be out here for a few days photographing a story for @digdeepwater . We’ll be visiting the Colonias, settlements around El Paso and along the border, where American citizens are living without running water in their homes. DigDEEP wants to solve this problem in our lifetime, and I want to help. This is the first of a handful of “hot spots” that I’ll be visiting with DigDEEP researchers over the coming weeks. Deeply honored to be doing this work. Deeply grateful to DigDEEP for their commitment to this most important issue. #waterislife 🙏🏻💙 *keep an eye on my story for BTS updates while I’m here. #digdeepwater #elpasocolonias #elpaso #texas #waterisahumanright
“I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures.” - Gail Caldwell Five years ago today Steven and I married each other in Yosemite. We didn’t expect our lives to end up where they have, and today has been a day of intense grieving. I am grateful to him for the kindness we are showing each other as we move through these changes. If you have some love to send to either or both of us, please do. It’s been a heavy day for these tender hearts. 💚 #grief #loss #love #gratitude #quotes #gailcaldwell
“Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.” - Thomas Merton #thomasmerton #quotes #divine #creston #78squarefeet

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The Five Gallon Challenge : August 2014

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In honor of the #CaliforniaDrought and the #ALSIceBucketChallenge we present to you the #FiveGallonChallenge And if you are reading this, we challenge YOU.