This week’s edition is a loose collection of topics:
Flying into the Himalayas
Some feel-good climate stories
Episode 60 of Carbon Sessions: The Future of Work, Parenting and What to Bring to Mars, hosted by The Carbon Almanac
Flying into the Himalayas
My heart lurched when I heard of a plane going down in Nepal this week. “Could it be between Katmandu and Pokhara?” I wondered. Because it immediately brought back memories of flying a similar journey 19 years ago. Little planes that negotiate the delicate thin air and narrow gorges as they rise around peaks and dip between foothills and valleys, connecting remote communities.
Yeti ATR 72 went down on January 15, 2023. My prayers are with the many families who will be feeling intense loss and pain at this moment. All those who were waiting to welcome home their dear ones. And the families of tourists like us who were looking forward to the opportunity of a lifetime - hiking the Himalayas. In our case, the Annapurna range that you see behind us in this photo.
When a number of you asked for more stories from our year of travels with young children, I’d planned a series of feel-good stories. But risk is also one of the realities of travel - as this crash reminds us. It could be a year of travel. Or a weekend away.
The approach into these narrow mountain troughs can be treacherous. The gradient of the drop. The fluctuating air and wind conditions. Descending into Katmandu reminded me of a similar flight between two ranges of the Andes mountains into Merida, Venezuela. Heart in your mouth, especially in fog.
I am in awe of the pilots who take on this challenge of flying into difficult spaces day in and day out so that remote populations can have contact with the world. Places that were previously isolated, weeks of foot travel away from larger hubs.
We experienced this once we set foot on the Annapurna Trail. The only way in and out of all these tiny hill villages was via donkey or your own two feet. No bikes. No carts. We had two sherpas accompany us to give the younger two a ride on their shoulders when their little legs grew tired of climbing 3000 stony steps. But our 8-year-old did the entire climb himself. Travel offers us an opportunity to truly understand distance and value time, to experience the advantages of technology and the shrinking of the globe.
I recall our flight from Bangkok to Katmandu. The dramatic descent into Katmandu is particularly challenging on the engines. Planes are routinely grounded for maintenance. It was the first and only time I saw Mt. Everest … framed in the tiny porthole.
This is an excerpt from our from-the-internet-cafe blog that we shared with our family and friends while on the road:
Then you see the foothills of the Himalayas. What a thrill!
The 'hills' ... which must be about the size of mountains on the east coast of America ... take up about a fifth of the porthole windows on the airplane. Our son was fortunate enough to have as company a delightful American from Seattle. He was flying over to volunteer teach at one of the many orphanages. He let our son take a window view, which was important: because the closer we got to Katmandu, the bigger the mountains got, until they filled the entire porthole! Just imagine something so big that it can dominate your view from so far away!
Then we flew into the Katmandu valley and lost our view. Katmandu sits within a circle of hills that hide the major mountains. The descent is a regular challenge for pilots.
But now, it is a landscape rich in agriculture. And the rice terraces are the first thing that catch my eye from the sky. I had always dreamed of seeing these when I was a child! But imagined that I would be in Japan.
Landing at Katmandu was a treat. If we thought that the bus to the plane in Bangkok was a different level of aviation technology, then this went one better. We disembarked by walking down the stairs onto the tarmac .... and then, thrill on thrill, the kids actually had to walk UNDER ‘Their’ plane and into the terminal!
Our other great flight was the next morning - when we got on a little 18-seater Cosmic Air plane to fly over the hills and into the foothills of the Annapurna range. You are so low down, it is scary. But also amazing! Our flight back on Buddha Air was just as great. We flew above the clouds - -it actually appeared it was just us, the clouds and the mountains!
Some climate-positive stories
It is Davos week. Still processing all those challenging conversations. Meantime, I’d like to raise the volume on good ideas in climate space.
I’ve profiled Adam Tank’s monthly newsletter “At Water’s Edge” in previous editions (remember the stories about the Water Witcher, and Water Sommeliers) He informs and inspires. If you like what you see, please subscribe.
In the latest edition “What if Water was illegal (and much more)” I liked the idea of using onshore algae farms to create a new form of nutrition. Then there are the innovative Floating Islands that are cleaning up the green goo in lakes in India.
What inspirational water stories have you read recently? Let’s share them.
Where does Climate dovetail with the Future of Work?
“Would you be interested in being on CarbonSessions, a podcast of conversations about climate change with everyday people from everywhere in the world? On this podcast, we don't necessarily talk to people who have all figured it out, so if you are still learning, it's even better.”
Leekei asked me if I would mind sharing my thoughts. It was less of an interview, more of a conversation, taped the day after the world’s population ticked over to 8 billion. And is now E60 of CarbonSessions (make this series a regular listen on Spotify).
The team titled my conversation (click here to listen):
Oh. Everywhere! Every futurist actually exists from a position of hope. You can’t be a futurist if you are not thinking positively about the future. If you think we’re going to get destroyed, well, get a different job.
We were able to send a rocket to the moon, with a computer the (processing) size of a calculator. We now have more people, more intelligence, more educated people out there - motivated people consistently working towards these solutions.
I feel a lot of the dynamic change that's going to happen over the next 20 years is going to come from the young people who are literally finishing high school, finishing university, already in their first jobs right now (GenZ).
My reason for hope is the “best idea can come from anyone, anywhere at any time”. So long as they're not depressed. So long as we don’t get in their way. So long as the environment exists for them to think positively.
Because from that, you dream rich dreams, you dream rich solutions.
We don't want bandaid solutions. We want rich solutions. We want solutions that could in quotes, “disrupt”. I want the kind of dreaming that says it's okay to change the financial system, it’s okay to change our social structure, it's okay to change politics. Nothing is off the table.
Because this is a big ask that we have right now. It is (the future of) their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as much as it is of ours.
What about “What to bring to Mars”? You’ll just have to listen in (00:13:26 - 00:18:42)! [Spoiler - What skills can we parents offer our children or great-great-grandchildren who may be making a life on Mars?]
DM me if you are looking for a guest on your podcast, or a speaker for your event. And contact me or Leekei if you would like to share your climate conversation on CarbonSessions.
As some of you know, I’m the eldest of 28 cousins. The topic going wild on our global family WhatsApp chat these days? Chat GPT. Education. Opportunity. Algorithm funnels. Cartoons. Tweets. Never a boring day! I love my family.
And check this out. I cannot unsee a human gymnast. You?
A warm welcome to the many new Tribe Tilt members who recently subscribed. You have joined an engaged, collaborative, and supportive community that believes we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us. I appreciate the many members who think of our audience’s varied interests and forward me podcast and article links on the topics of GenZ, Future of Work, Climate and Hope. (Terri, Ilona and Ellen, thanks!)
Is this your first edition of our newsletter? Come join us:
Thank you for welcoming edition 71 of Tilt the Future into your mailbox. See you again next week.
So appreciate the support Karena!
-Adam
www.adamtank.com
Love the travel stories. Also, the Boston Robotics video is so mind boggling.