Soooo the first month of The 'New' Kin Project has passed. How did you like the new format??I have to say, I found it a lot more satisfying to have five specific, concrete things I could do rather than just an overwhelming general topic to ponder and feel depressed about.In case you need a recap, the full info for September's Five Good Things is here.Here's how I did:1. Sign a petition to free Fuko the elephant from solitary confinement at a zoo in Japan. Easy-peasy. Took literally ten seconds to sign that actual petition. But then I went on a petition signing spree thanks to the format of the Care2 site where they suggest another petition you might like to sign right after you sign the first petition. So that's petitions against bullfighting, trafficked children, toxic pesticides at Prescott school, cougar hunting and Brett Kavanaugh signed.2. Celebrate Boyan Slat getting the first version of the Ocean Cleanup out into the waters.I celebrated this by going skinny dipping at six AM after a big girls' night out ended up with us dancing in a beach club. I mean, we were already on the beach, may as well take a dip to honour Mr. Slat's machine reducing the amount of crappy plastic that is already in the sea.3. Remember to ask bars and restaurants to stop sticking stupid fecking straws in every drink. This is a work in progress. Sometimes I do great with this, sometimes they ambush me by putting a straw in something I really don't think they'll put a straw in - like my morning orange juice. WHYYYYYYY?4. Listen to a podcast about why the heck we all think it's so normal to eat animals.This one warrants its own blog post... 5. Buy carbon offsets next time you book a flight.My friends and family are scattered across the globe, so not flying is not an option for me. I NEED TO SEE THESE PEOPLE. Also, even more selfishly, have you noticed how spectacular our planet is? I want to see as much of it as possible before I kick the bucket. Which, again, means flying. So, buying carbon offsets is the most obvious way to assuage my guilt about my shitty airmile-induced carbon footprint. We're going to California to visit my family for Christmas this year. So that's four of us flying from Spain to California... which will apparently bump our carbon footprint up by 5730 kg according to this carbon footprint calculator. I can offset that amount directly via the site for the princely sum of $46.92.DONE.

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