There is no success as either a developer or environmentalist, until one accepts that as a species, we are both. Nature made us the species that imagines worlds more enjoyable than the one we exist in at any given moment. What humans beings do to the planet is a part of nature - we are not separate. There is no free lunch, everything we use is either grown or mined, but there is a responsibility to all other facets of nature to treat their needs as equal. Our energy can be more responsible, our impact lessened, our infrastructure designed to favor human powered transportation, our conservation efforts done with true ecological goals in mind. But it is that recognition that we are users that must be accepted in order to be environmentalists. A few days on Capitol Hill in DC helped solidify this acceptance for myself. It is part of democracy to sit down directly across from congressional representatives and committee staff to speak one’s personal story. As an athlete my training days are limited by smoke and unseasonal storms. As a trail builder my work is as much based in catching up to miles destroyed by wildfire as it is in building new networks. As a scientist, my work is to understand something that is constantly in greater flux. But as a citizen, my work is clear, as it solves the mitigation efforts above with true solutions - responsible budgetary spending, clean air & clean water, equitable trail infrastructure, a new grid for renewable energy. It always takes me time in a place to appreciate it, and this humid swamp (in a true geographical sense of the term) has certainly grown on me. We were all once kids in a sandbox, trying to build what we could from available elements. Developing animals we sure are, and I look forward to working in this arena further to help drive change for a better future. One where I can pass down the outdoor sports I love. One where I can see development on a mass scale done for species other than our own. Thank you @protectourwinters for the support you provide to make these dreams feasible. . #soilsearching #buildbackbetter #mountainbike #iamspecialized #protectourwinters #trailadvocacy