Patagonia Going Public

If you’ve been reading this newsletter long enough, you know I love running on trails and have an appreciation for public lands. And if you know me well enough, you know I have a bit of a man-crush on Yvon Chouinard and his Patagonia brand, so you can imagine my excitement when the Ventura, California-based company released this TV ad spot—its first—to help fight the continued and very real threat against America’s public lands. Sadly, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke didn’t get the message and recently recommended to President Trump that he “shrink ‘a handful’ of different national monuments across the country.” This upsets me greatly and represents the latest threat to the open spaces that should remain protected for public use—not exploited for private gain.

“Public lands have never been more threatened than right now,” Chouinard says. “A few self-serving politicians want to sell ’em off and make money. Behind the politicians are the energy companies and big corporations that want to use up those natural resources. It’s just greed.”

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A version of this post first appeared in the morning shakeout, my weekly email newsletter covering running, writing, media and other topics that interest me. If you’d like for it to land in your inbox first thing on Tuesday mornings, subscribe here.