#like they try to get f1 to be more climate conscious and this is what happens | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

parcoeurs · 3 years

Note

Extremely fascinated by your wag AU tag 👀.

thanks bestie so am i.

okay lmao so this isn't an actual fic that'll ever be written but. i was talking to my friend about it who still hasn't finished dts season 3 unfortunately but it means that i've switched around ages and years etc. i promise this has the potential to be a fun and sexy time but there's just s o much background shit that needs to be discussed. tw for mentions of irl deaths etc:

but pierre & charles meeting when they're 5-6 (which is what i think charles actually says irl but someone said it might've been closer to when they were 10-11? regardless.) and charles' dad passes away when they're 9-10, and jules when they're 13-14 and charles quits racing then. (fyi i know that irl jules passed away first)

he thinks about quitting when his dad passes away but keeps going with help from jules. so when the accident etc happens, it's not even like an active decision he ponders. he just knows there's no way he'll race again.

and pierre's been with him throughout everything, his best friend who he can talk to when he can't bear looking at his own family. so he doesn't understand when pierre tells him he's going to keep racing. when charles had told him he was never going to get into a kart ever again, pierre had nodded, grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. important to note that they're barely teenagers rn so yes charles feels betrayed that pierre isn't feeling the same things he is and isn't choosing the same future for himself etc.

they have a huge fight, lots of crying, lots of dramatic teenage angst. but it ultimately ends with charles shutting pierre out of his life. which is easier said than done when it's your best friend whose family is super close with yours. but it works because pierre is off racing around the world and charles has done all he can to never have to think about that stuff.

so charles goes to school, is doing uni somewhere in europe. studies something generic like business or maybe if i'm feeling suuuuper indulgent i will have him major in environmental studies like moi <3 pointedly does not come to monaco during grand prix weekend or the week before or the week after.

and then anthoine passes away too. (they're 20-21 now)

they see each other again at the funeral but don't talk, they meet up afterwards. pierre breaking down in charles' arms, clutching at his back, telling him he was right. pierre should've quit, he can't do this anymore either. they haven't said a word to each other in 7 years but charles still knows pierre, and knows that this isn't actually what pierre wants. or what he should do. (charles vaguely knows pierre's in f1 but doesn't know he's with redbull, doesn't know redbull's the top team etc)

"you can still do this, you will," charles tells him.

"not without you again."

so then comes the challenge of mending their relationship while still working through the shared trauma, and the Layers of past trauma. and also just the general awkwardness that comes with a friendship breakup/makeup situation you know! they can't just act like nothing happened but would it be easier that way?

they start texting first, then they play fifa or cod together. (sometimes pierre's british friend lewis joins too.)

slowly slowly slowly, they become friends again and then inseparable too. maybe even closer than they were before and charles only now realizes how much he missed pierre. while pierre still can't believe he has charles back now, it's as good as he let himself imagine.

the part i'm unsure about is if i would want pierre's career trajectory to be the same or not. because i think the demotion adds SUCH a painful but interesting aspect to his ~storyline. but ultimately i think maybe he just doesn't get the second seat immediately. spends more years with toro rosso/alpha tauri before getting "called up" (sorry i have no idea what the proper terminology is haha ignore the nba/nhl terms).

he invites charles to his first race in the red bull and charles says no. immediately. pierre's quiet on the other side of the phone, internally thinking he messed this up somehow. he thought things were going well and he takes this as charles doesn't want to see him. but he knows there's a lot more that's stopping charles and he also knows charles will definitely pull back if pierre asks about the other stuff. so he moves right along, asking charles about school, the weather, and tries not to let it show in his voice that he misses his best friend and needs him too.

"i'm going to try to watch," charles says, after pierre's yawned goodnight through the phone and is waiting for him to hang up. because you know pierre's not going to hang up first.

"what?"

"the race. i'm going to try. goodnight!" mentally charles slams the phone shut but really he just smashes at the red button before shoving it under his bed and looking at his hands trying to get answers for what he just did.

his only relief is that he didn't promise pierre he would watch, just that he would try. couldn't even choke out a, "good luck." (insert long paragraph about charles letting pierre down or thinking he has).

he only watches qualifying. pierre p3. already knows on saturday that there's no way he can watch the actual race.

but on sunday when he's supposed to be going over his notes for his climate change science & policy course (yes.... i did it...) he finds himself with his heart in his mouth refreshing formula1 dot com. watches the random names move up and down while keeping his eyes on 10 - gasly. (starts shaking for a second when he sees pierre's name drop until the IN PIT sign comes up across his name. fellas the thing about triggers is-- anyways.)

the scariest part is that by the time he's scrolled through all of red bull's socials to look at pictures of pierre on the podium (he finished p2 sorry i know this truly does not matter), he's forgotten about the race. the anxiety sits small in the back of his throat, his happiness for pierre is bright and loud in front of him. charles sends him a message, asking him to call whenever he can and adds a blue & red heart emoji which feels like a Big Step. but basically pierre calls and acts like nothing has happened since the last time they talked. mentions the breakfast he had in detail as if he didn’t get a podium in his first race with red bull. finally with a big team. but charles embarrassingly realizes that maybe his text didn't exactly imply in literally any way whatsoever that he knows the results of the race and was trying to congratulate pierre with this call. charles probably feels so embarrassed at this point but somehow still can't manage to say anything about the race until the next day maybe.

maybe texts pierre, good job. or, you were great. or something about him and not the race. or maybe reposts a picture from red bull but not one of pierre in his car, pointedly. only one of him on the podium. and pierre probably reposts it with the squid emoji and/or my favourite sentence in the world, merci petit calamaro.

charles cries when he reads it.

not to be lazy now but [insert 10k words of them building their friendship. meeting up in monaco with both of their families. meeting in milan or london or paris idk where pierre would live. but he flies charles out. not on a private jet because charles flat out refused lol. not because he's an environmentally conscious king he's just too, embarrassed? overwhelmed? by pierre doing Things Like That for him. even though he wants it lol. like when he graduates he's soooo annoyed that pierre couldn't come celebrate immediately because it was race week. but when he comes home his apartment is filled with flowers (roses, his favourite) and balloons and a giant teddy bear as tall as charles. and he DOES post 12 instagram stories to go with the other 30 from his other friends congratulating him. so yeah charles goes through a lot of personal growth and therapy. to the point where he's watching pierre race again, and waiting for him to invite him to a race again!!! do not even think about actual dates i'm fucking begging you but the one he goes to is monza :))))]

ultimately charles' path to understand/accepting/moving on from, his trauma, happens once he has pierre back in his life. it's also encouraged by pierre, but it's also not entirely because of him. not sure how to word that but yeah. these things are happening at the same time but charles still has to go through them by himself.

pierre takes him on romantic dates all around the world and charles doesn't realize that's what they are. fully in his bestie vibes only mood while pining for pierre in a way he doesn't even quite understand. almost a self deprecating, jeez whoever gets to date pierre is going to be so lucky :/

fanpage on ig: met pierre's alleged bf he's so pretty and sweet, i complimented his shoes and he was so nice. charles reading that: i didnt know he was dating someone :( why wouldn't he tell me :( well at least someone complimented my shoes today :(

pierre doesn't necessarily think they're dating, but he does know charles doesn't quite realize what they're doing so he's just waiting for him to come to terms with it.

not to give this au 10 different subplots but yeah that miscommunication plot becomes our prize for surviving through the first part of this.

but yeah at the last race of the year, that pierre wins because i said so? charles finds him before he goes on to the podium, kisses his helmet. says i love you, i'm so proud of you.

THEN, finally, charles does become pierre's wag. we made it kids. we did it joe.

#rs #anonymous #asks #1016 #just checked this is 1.7k words i am so so so sorry

36 notes · View notes

thefireescapegarden-blog · 5 years

Text

Happy Spring everyone! I can’t believe it’s finally here!

I’m a bit late to the seed-purchasing extravaganza this season, but just in case you are not finished shopping yet, I’d like to share with you where I buy my seeds and why.

Disclaimer: I receive no profits or products from any of the companies mentioned in this post.

I’ve stuck with sustainable gardening for as long as I had a garden of my own, but I never paid much attention to where my seed came from. After all, as long as I grow it sustainably, that’s all that matters – right? Well, it finally dawned on me that the answer is: no…

You may notice that in this post I use the term “sustainable” instead of “organic”. I’d like to explain why. People tend to think that if the product is labeled “organic” it must be produced sustainable. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case. USDA regulations allow organic growers to use a whole selection of “natural” pesticides, which are as destructive to the wildlife as synthetic ones. For example, permethrin is a plant-derived organic pesticide. It is very efficient, yet non-discriminate, and kills bees, amphibians and other precious wildlife along with any pest insects. So as with everything else, conscious consumerism is a must. Now that I’ve said this, let’s get back to the seed production issues.

Of course, even if you use conventionally produced seed, but grow it organically, the resulting product will indeed be clean of pesticides, and you won’t contaminate your garden with synthetic fertilizers in the process. However, those seeds we purchase, they come from plants, too. So if I buy conventional seed, it means it has been grown on a conventional farm, which did harm the environment through the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and the like. And thus, I myself contributed to those practices.

On the other hand, when I purchase organic seed, I support the farmer that uses gardening practices I believe in. An added bonus: organic seed suppliers often have better variety than conventional seed suppliers and provide more information on how to best grow those plants. And besides, these days organic seed costs are so close to conventional, you can barely call it an investment anymore!

So, here are my favorite seed suppliers.

Botanical Interests are my go-to source of seed, and I’ve been using their products for 10 years, which is as long as I’ve lived in the US. They offer a variety of heirloom and F1 hybrid seeds, many of which grown organically. I particularly like the diversity of their catalog: for example, back in Russia, Yarrow is only considered a wildflower and I doubt you can actually buy seed. Yet this year I am trying the Colorado Blend Yarrow Seeds, offering several colors, not just the wild white variety!

Over the years I have tried a number of varieties from Botanical Interests, always with great success, and this year I am trying the “Made in the Shade Flower mix” – very exciting, because my balcony garden is mostly shady, but I want flowers there, too!

The family-owned company was established in 1995 and is based in Broomfield, CO. I have reached out to Botanical Interests to ask some questions about their practices, and they put me in touch with April Shelhon, their marketing horticulturalist. I was particularly interested in where the seed comes from, and here is what April told me: “Like most seed companies we do buy from suppliers and direct from growers. We do a lot of research to make sure those suppliers and growers are not affiliated with GMO companies […,] and in July 2018 all of our seed is officially verified by the Non-GMO Project.”

The company’s main goal is “supplying locally-owned garden centers with quality products that gave good, simple instructions to gardeners”, and in my humble opinion, this is exactly what they do. As you can see in the pictures, the seed packets are not only beautifully illustrated, but provide detailed growing instructions. Not all the seed sold by Botanical Interests is certified organic, but it is always stated clearly on the packet.

Renee’s Garden is another wonderful US-based seed supplier. They offer a variety of heirlooms, hybrid and certified organic seed, as well as some roots and tubers. Founded by Renee Shepherd in 1985, it is proud to call itself “a company run by gardeners, for gardeners”. In my mind Renee’s Garden and Botanical Interests are interchangeable. I hope this does not offend either one – they are both exceptional! Both companies have the most amazing seed packets with gorgeous illustrations on the front and detailed growing instructions on the back.

Image source: http://www.reneesgarden.com

When I emailed the company with my questions about where the seed comes from, I got a response from Renee herself, and here is what she had to say: “We buy seed from seed producers both large and small literally all over the world. I try to buy my varieties in the country where they are most popular or where they originated. So, for example, I buy a lot of our basil seed from Italian seed producers…… When we decide to carry a variety , we carefully evaluate it in our trial gardens which are in a mild winter climate here in Northern California, and in a very cold winter climate in Middlebury Vermont. Then, I can write the growing instructions based on our own growing experiences. We choose varieties for flavor and easy culture and flowers for form, color and fragrance.”

Not all the seed sold by Renee’s Garden is certified organic, but the entire company holds sustainable agriculture as an integral part of their mission, and they never cell treated or genetically-engineered seed, adhering to the “Safe Seed Pledge” developed by the Council for Responsible Genetics.

Adaptive Seeds is a company I learned about just this winter, so this is my first year

growing their products. However, I was so impressed by their mission, that I just had to share this with you! Their motto is “Bringing biodiversity back”, and all of their seed is grown in the Pacific Northwest and open-pollinated. Adaptive seeds’ goal is to “steward rare, diverse and resilient seed varieties for ecologically-minded farmers, gardeners and seed savers”, and one of my favorite features is that the source of the seed (the actual farm that produced it) is always stated in the variety description, along with a very detailed description of the plant’s features.

A whooping 99% of seed sold by Adaptive Seeds is certified organic, and they provide a complete list of all their seed growers on the About Us page. The final feature that I liked a lot is that any variety can be purchased in a range of sizes from standard to bulk, which is awesome for things like salad greens that you have to keep re-seeding throughout the season. Seriously, you can get a pound (!) of lettuce seed for just $75 (that would be over $500 in standard size seed packets).

I have first heard about Adaptive Seeds from A Way To Garden podcast, and I strongly recommend you listen to that episode, where Margaret Roach (the podcast’s host) interviews Sarah Kleeger, one of the company’s co-founders. I was so inspired by that interview, that this year I am growing two grain varieties – amaranth and quinoa, which I purchased from Adaptive Seeds. Both are frost-tender plants, so you do have to start indoors, and here are my seedlings at the moment:

High Mowing Organic Seeds is another exciting company selling exclusively organic

seed produced in the US. Tom Stearns is a passionate gardener and seed saver, and he started his first company, the Good Seed, in 1996 with just 28 varieties, many of which grew in his backyard. Today, the company sources its huge variety of seeds form independent organic seed farmers, including Tom’s 40 acre farm in northern Vermont.

I have only learned about High Mowing Organic Seeds this winter, and this will be my first season growing their seed. Unfortunately, thanks to my local postal service, my order arrived only a few days ago (3 weeks late), so I can’t share with you any images of thriving sprouts yet. However, I have read and heard so much about the company from many sources I rely on every day, that I absolutely had to tell you about this company, and I am sure it will be one of my favorites from now on! I encourage you to listen to an interview with Tom Stearns in another episode of Margaret Roach’s A Way To Garden podcast, as well as an interview with Joe Lamp’l on the Joe Gardener podcast, where Joe and Tom discuss why it is essential we support our sustainable seed producers. And if you prefer video to audio podcasts, here’s a link to the episode on Growing A Greener World.

As with other seed suppliers in this post, I approached High Mowing Organic Seeds with a few questions about their practices, and received detailed answers from Maggie Highby, the company’s marketing manager. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of their seed comes from about 60 independent farms across the US. Initially, I was concerned to learn that a fraction of seed comes from other sources, sometimes outside of the country, but here is what Maggie told me about this: “We also work with other seed companies who have their own organic breeding and research programs to purchase organic seed they produce through their network of growers. Some of these seed companies work with farmers who grow seed outside of the U.S. This highly diversified sourcing allows us to offer varieties that are widely adapted to a variety of growing conditions, which in turn allows the farmers and gardeners who purchase our seeds to experience success in their individual locations all across the U.S. and Canada. It also gives us the opportunity to offer more certified organic varieties in our seed catalog than if we were only growing seed in a single location or in a handful of locations; as you know, the offerings available for certified organic seed are significantly less than those for conventional seed. It is our goal to bring more high quality organic seed to growers each year we are in business“.

My other concern with organic labeling is “natural” pesticides, and I was relieved to find out that High Mowing Organic Seeds shares my values: “While broad spectrum pesticides can be an effective organic treatment, some of these organic-approved pesticides can still be harmful to the environment and to human health – furthermore, the development of resistance in pests remains a concern whenever we rely heavily upon a single class of pesticide for control. For these reasons, High Mowing’s own growing practices utilize a wide range of holistic management techniques in order to minimize dependency on any single class of inputs, including pesticides. In turn, we encourage our seed farmers to approach organic seed production with a holistic perspective, prioritizing soil health and nurturing the natural symbiotic relationships that exist on organic farms. We work hard to find seed farmers whose values align with our own, and whose growing practices prove to not only produce the healthiest, most vigorous organic seed, but also do so with a deep respect for the land upon which they are growing and for the communities – both human and wild – that are impacted by their work.” Needless to say, the words “seed production with a holistic perspective” just melted my heart!

Garden bloggers and authors. What can be better than purchasing seed form a

Image source: http://yougrowgirl.com

gardener whose work you read and admire? The correct answer is: nothing. I have been a fan of You Grow Girl project for a while, and last summer I found out that Gaya Trail, the genius behind You Grow Girl, also sells seed straight from her own garden! Gayla loves tomatoes, so these are the seeds she offers most varieties of (I’ve counted 21) – all unique and often rare. What I am most excited about with You Grow Girl seeds are all the uncommon greens she offers, like red orach, epazote, purple shiso and garlic chives, that are often hard to find elsewhere. And of course, every seed pack comes with detailed growing instructions.

These are my little garlic chives seedlings. They are a bit stressed now, because I kept them in my hot kitchen for too long and then took them outside without proper hardening off, but I’m sure in a week or so they will be thriving.

So here they are, my favorite seed suppliers as of Spring 2019. Even though I put these companies in an order, there is no sort of first- to fifth-best rating here, the order for me is more historical, if anything, in terms of when I found about and started using each supplier. And even as I am writing this, I keep learning about more seed companies and projects, like Sow True seed and the Seed Savers Exchange that I can’t wait to try and tell you about.

I hope you find this post helpful, and I’d love to hear about your favorite seed sources as well!

My favorite seed suppliers Happy Spring everyone! I can't believe it's finally here! I'm a bit late to the seed-purchasing extravaganza this season, but just in case you are not finished shopping yet, I'd like to share with you where I buy my seeds and why.

#organic #seeds #sustainability #wildlife

0 notes

ds4design · 7 years

Text

What It Means To Be A Woman Who Loves Racing

Being a woman who loves racing is exhausting.

Being a woman who loves racing means wanting to go to a race but not wanting to go alone, because going alone means subjection to harassment. When I went to a 2015 Pirelli World Challenge race, I had men ask for pictures with me because they “try to get pictures with sexy little things at every race they go to.” During that same weekend, a man sat next to me in a grandstand, his three friends surrounded me, and he proposed a bet: we choose a car, and if his car wins, he gets my number and a kiss.

At the IndyCar race in Toronto, during the two hours I was at Friday practice by myself, the man who approached me confused IndyCar with Formula One, protested when I tried to correct him, and wouldn’t accept me trying to leave until I told him a made-up boyfriend was waiting for me to bring him his tickets at the gate.

Being a woman who loves racing means constantly being questioned and second-guessed. The round of questioning a woman is subjected to feels more like an interrogation than a friendly conversation. When I’m asked how I got into racing, it’s because I need to prove my worth as a longtime fan and not just as some silly girl who decided to show up to a race one day. There’s almost a set script. “Who’s your favorite driver? Team? Why did you choose them? Why did you travel for a race? You really like racing that much?”

Being a woman who loves racing means that if you fail any one of the many qualifications and requirements you’re supposed to meet, you can’t be a real fan. I can see the disdain—the exact moment where I’m written off—when one of my questions falls short of expectation. Oh, you haven’t been a Formula 1 fan since you left the womb, well… Oh, you don’t understand the complicated engineering terms I’m throwing out to you, well…

Lovable F1 backmarker Marussia, repping America proudly on its endplates in 2015. Photo credit: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Being a woman who loves racing means being constantly undermined. When I told men I was a Marussia fan, they wanted to know if I was aware that they were the worst team on the grid. When friends told men they were Mercedes fans, they rolled their eyes and wrote it off as the woman choosing the team they saw at the top of the time sheets. When I support for a driver, more often than not I’m asked if I support him because he’s cute.

Being a woman who loves racing means having to choose between being vocal about the problems in motorsport—and there are many—and being silent, subjecting both yourself and your fellow women to more of the same. It means being branded a “rabid feminist” if you criticize. It means hours of arguing. It means stating your point over and over and over, to one man after another. It means no one listening to you, to the case you’re making, to the logic you’re presenting. It means standing up for yourself, and having your experience undermined in the face of the status quo. It means “Can I just play devil’s advocate for a second?” It means “tradition.” It means men scrounging for every example they can to shove in your face and say, “See? This one single woman doesn’t believe in what you’re saying, stop being so sensitive!”

Being a woman who loves racing means you don’t have the luxury to get to see yourself in motorsport in a non-visually appealing way. It means grid girls holding signs on the grid. It means women with sponsor logos branded on crop tops and booty shorts. It means women posing next to cars. It means women as decoration next to the drivers at events, on podiums. It means albums of photos on Motorsport.com titled “Paddock Beauties.”

This year’s Daytona 500, where the Monster Girls were out in force. Photo credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

It means seeing the exact moment when a man stops seeing you as a person and starts seeing you through the heart-eyed lens because “wow, you like racing?” It means a barrage of unanswered DMs from men who all want to get to know the girl who watches F1.

Being a woman who loves racing means some iteration of the above, every single day, for as long as you exist as a visible feminine presence in the sphere of motorsports. And y’all, I am tired.

Which only makes it worse when shirts like the “Girls who love racing are rare. Wife ’em up” make their rounds, and you have to watch the people you admire—drivers, pundits, fans, and friends alike—take part in perpetuating a stereotype that you spent every day trying to reverse. For them, it’s a justification for their behavior, justification to not have to think about what it means to reinforce the objectification of women in a male-dominated sport, justification to sit back and let the status quo run its course. For women, it’s a step backward that we now have to redouble our efforts to overcome.

I know that these things aren’t done intentionally, or with malice. I know that for many, it seemed an innocuous enough shirt. But that doesn’t negate the fact that this kind of thing is Not Okay and does more harm than good.

It doesn’t negate the fact that the people spreading this kind of message are the ones who have the power to be heard and taken seriously and therefore need to be more conscious of the things they’re saying. It doesn’t negate the fact that it creates a climate detrimental to female race fans – and yes, even female race fans spreading that same message.

A group of female fans watching qualifying for the 2009 F1 European Grand Prix. Photo credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

The group of fans that I attend races with is entirely female. We’ve met, traveled the world, and watched races together—all of us women. It’s one of the most passionate, well-informed, friendly, funny, and incredible groups of race fans that I know.

And yet not a single woman in that group has been afforded access into the world of motorsports fandom with the same ease as a man would have. Not a single one has been free from criticism, ridicule, questioning, or objectification. It breaks my heart that such a talented group will have to fight tooth-and-nail just to achieve a fraction of the respect they deserve. This is not the kind of welcoming committee I want to see represent my sport.

I don’t treat racing events like parties of the eighteenth century. This is not me presenting myself in my quest for a husband. I don’t attend to be “wifed up” by starry-eyed men seeking their manic pixie race car dream girl or ogled by those who think any woman at the track is there for their specific entertainment. I don’t attend because I want to steep myself in an a testosterone-drenched atmosphere where I am exclusively singled out, objectified, or harassed because of my gender.

I go to racing events for one reason, and one reason only. I am woman who loves racing, and I’m just here to watch race cars and have a good time. I only ask that I be respected for that.

This post originally appeared here on The Grid Girls podcast co-host Elizabeth Werth’s blog and we wanted to share it. You can find Werth on The Grid Girls podcast here, on her blog here or at numerous tracks throughout the year.

0 notes