A new film about community energy in Europe

Plus, we're headed to a swamp in Florida and a few more fun places. [patagonia®]( [The Cleanest Line]( This week we're excited to bring you a new film about community energy in Europe. We've also got a few new stories including some news on the Klamath River dams, a piece about a ski town's relationship to a coal mine and some really good mountain bike trails in Florida. Enjoy! [A large wind turbine in a field]( Activism We the Power The future of energy is community-owned. [Watch the Film]( [An alligator with its eyes peeping up above the water]( Mountain Biking, Activism A Swamp and 60 Feet Amid the swamps and jungles of central Florida, a thriving community of mountain bikers used abandoned mining remains to create a world-class trail network—and, in the process, became an unlikely force for public lands conservation. [Read the Story]( [A person surfing on a huge wave in the ocean]( Surfing On Letting Go In Chile, Léa Brassy found herself under the guide of Kohl Christensen and Ramón Navarro—two gentlemen who’ve been on the heaviest swells around the globe for the past two decades. “It was bigger and more challenging than anything I have ever surfed,” says Léa. [Read the Story]( [Two people on skis and with packs on looking at a snowy mountain]( Snow, Activism Overburden In British Columbia, Elkford, and its ski hill, exist because of the mines. But the jobs that keep people there are destroying what makes it a desirable place to live. During the winter, coal dust accumulates in the snowpack and joins the annual runoff into creeks, lakes and the groundwater below every spring—polluting drinking water and bringing fish populations to the brink of collapse. The question is, how do you kick a coal habit when it’s your economic lifeblood? [Read the Story]( [Mist and clouds above mountains]( Fly Fishing, Activism Born with This Can the Klamath, a river that once hosted the third most abundant salmon runs on the West Coast, overcome a calamitous history of dams, mining, logging and numberless other insults? Can it be a welcoming home again—not just for fish—but for the people who live, work and pray on its banks? [Read the Story]( [A person on a climbing rope hanging off of a wind turbine]( Workwear The High Life Wind turbine technician sits at the top of the list for fastest-growing US jobs over the next decade (solar photovoltaic installer is third). With a median annual wage of $52,910 and projected growth of 61 percent, the winds of change are blowing in favor of renewable energy. [Read the Story]( [Lots of pink salmon swimming in a river]( Photos: (Top) A still from the film We The Power . VACATIONLAND and DGB (Middle) By the 1950s, the American alligator was nearly extinct. Today, over 1.3 million gators live in Florida alone, where they can be found wandering golf courses and sunbathing on singletrack at wildlife refuges like Alafia River State Park. NATHALIE DUPRÉ (Middle) Léa Brassy holding steady, drawing off the bottom of the beast. JEAN LOUIS DE HEECKEREN (Middle) A coal mining operation might look cleaner covered in snow, until you discover the coal dust buried throughout the snowpack, dirtying nearby cars and houses, poisoning local fish populations and polluting the air. Yet, here at Teck Resources’ Greenhills and Fording River mines the coal extracted is labeled “clean” because it isn’t burned for energy. Leah Evans and Dave Quinn overlook a small section of the 6-mile-wide coalscape. Elkford, British Columbia. KARI MEDIG (Middle) For cloud watchers, Klamath, California, is prime territory: gauzy mist mingles with redwoods, steam lifts off the river and the sun illuminates the foothills with streaks of gold. JEREMIAH WATT (Middle) “Blades are constructed of two independent fiberglass shells glued around an I-beam core,” says Chris Moore, a senior supervisor and blade repair tech at Rope Partner. “Sometimes they split along their bond lines, get damaged by lightning strikes or have factory defects. The ground tech does all the glass cutting and resin weighing on the ground and sends it up on the bucket. The at-height tech then gets to work covering the repair with a filler, sanding it smooth and coating it with polyurethane for UV protection. It’s like building a surfboard while riding it, especially on those high-wind stormy days.” Rio Vista, California. BLAKE GORDON (Bottom) Pink salmon in Campbell River, British Columbia. EIKO JONES Sign up. Show up. Take action. [Patagonia Action Works]( Patagonia Customer Service 8550 White Fir St, Reno, NV 89523 | [Help Center]( Email Preferences Set your gender, locale and frequency so we can send you emails that matter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Update My Preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} | [View on web]( | © 2021 Patagonia, Inc.