 Autumn view in mountains, Kanenori/Pixabay.com 2020.10.11 Here is an article that gets at why air travel is so much worse than Earth surface travel in the short term. The issue is the timing of emissions and the type. Breaking emissions down into CO2e for ease of convo has a certain convenience, but the differences in each non-CO2 emissions is significant. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/sep/09/carbon-emissions-planes-shipping 2020.10.10 The reason why agriculture is considered such a high carbon footprint is everyone participates in it. Infrastructure and agriculture are the two biggies in global warming. That’s why we only saw 20% decrease emmissions when people stayed home from work due to the pandemic. As for air travel, here is an article from Yale Climate Connections (great group) about the issues and nuance (multipassenger vehicle/type of vehicle/etc.) https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2015/09/evolving-climate-math-of-flying-vs-driving/ 2010.10.09 An Own It fan asked about a groovy dish soap so here is what I found out to be the grooviest. Adding vinegar cuts grease: Bottom line, the dish soap is simply dissolving a bar of organic glycerin soap in water and then putting it into a bottle for dispensing. You can either heat the water for a faster dissolve or just leave a bar in water in bowl for about 24 hrs to let it happen without spending carbon emissions. The greater concentration of soap in the water, the more cleansing action. Opt for thicker and richer for best results. Links to the cleanest soaps I could find are below. The first is not olive oil, the second one is. A pound makes about 4 bars of soap. It’s very important to buy organic ingredients with soaps because non-organic ingredients not only have in their wake pesticides, but also chemicals to extract the oil from the seeds. Bonus about these soaps: they are melt and pour. You can buy a brick melt it, add scents or exfoliants, like sand, or a little floaty things even toys inside, then pour in a mold to make unique soaps for gifts or just conversation pieces at your home. Also, if you really want to go there, you could make your own soap at home. It’s a bit of a chemical experiment, and maybe you would enjoy doing this. There are lots of instructional videos to give you an idea of the whole chemical process. I’ve decided to not make my own soap from scratch because I think other people making it in big batches is probably more carbon efficient even with shipping. Plus I like supporting vendors who do good work. Regular soap base https://www.mooseberry.com/product-p/msc-smb-11.htm Olive oil soap base https://www.mooseberry.com/product-p/msc-smb-09.htm Importance of organic a—how oils are processed https://www.google.com/amp/www.centrafoods.com/blog/organic-vs.-non-organic-oils-are-they-really-that-different%3fhs_amp=true If you want to go even further and being super, super groovy, you could gather your gray water from washing dishes and put it in your garden to cut down on carbon emissions for cleaning water that is perfectly fine to put on plants when you use good soaps. My little video on my set up in my kitchen for this is below. Making grey water has caused me to cut way down on my water usage, which further cuts down on the carbon to get the water to me and also cuts down on the demand for water that’s often imported through artificial channels that take the water away from ecosystems. Plus, it’s a very sweet ritual to have as part of my dish washing the watering of plants and pouring back into the earth the water remnants of what fed me as well as what was used to clean my dishes. It feels like a lovely full cycle meditation every time I do the dishes. (Bigger food scraps go into the work bin.) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ol1wh2d1N5s&t=2s 2020.10.08 This article is over a week old—great news. China pledges to zero out emissions by 2060. Finally, a major player making a big statement. It’s not as ambitious as our plan, but hey, it shows a major shift in focus and we welcome it!! https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54347878 2020.10.07 How climate change affects hummingbirds: their at rest states are not as deep and they don’t forage as much in the hot weather. https://climatechange.lta.org/risks-to-hummingbirds-an-important-pollinator/  Nicman/pixabay.com 2020.10.06 The bumble bee (a high impact pollinator) population is now 50% reduced since 1974. These are the types of negative feedback loops that are so troubling. Not getting connected to how much you can do to restore the Earth has dire consequences. All the news, all the anxiety, all the concern are calling cards to live in a deeper, more gratifying way. I am always happy to answer any questions and am of service to you with implementing Own It. Contact me. Here’s the article to read from February. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/02/bumblebees-going-extinct-climate-change-pesticides/?fbclid=IwAR2FgBHOxcHFSyzyC7uh_d6dtCJgAz4RF1ufzYvQPmUz2EUw7VwuLpqS7tc  2020.10.05 Doing yoga on the deck in a P100 mask due to smokey air. Did the camel (a backbend) pose and was weeping in short order. Just four years ago we didn’t have the Northwest go up in flames. Australia hadn’t burned. And now fire season burns up the joy of summer. So we grieve. It hurts. Sure we can reverse it, but now it just hurts. 2020.10.04 Check our #23 podcast! They talk about “owning it” in the last part, so I had to write Josh and let him know about Own It. Looks like I’m gonna be in the podcast in November sometime. So honored! https://greenrootpodcast.podbean.com/  2020.10.03 if you’re wondering about how North America will fare with climate migration, check out this link. https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration  2020.10.02 Looks like the tenets of Own It can restore humanity to be on a trajectory to compassion. Sure, this is five years old, but still relevant:) 2020.10.01 More fires in California leaves many feeling like the entire world is burning. Purpleair assures us it's not, but then again, have you seen other places' air quality? Look at the pic below. Yikes, we need more green. This year is a year of learning to adjust to the horrific air conditions and still keep in shape, still keep on being proactive. We simply cannot give up, no matter how depressing global warming is. When entire regions are choked with smoke it's hard to imagine how one little life adjustment will really matter. Yet, the evidence shows that it does. It's not just about your world alone, it's about your influence on the world around you, while you're doing you. Your activism will be part of you and you'll easily talk about things differently, because you're living differently. Sometimes I feel like I'm not making a difference and then someone lets me know they're now watching their carbon footprint because of our friendship, or they shop for more natural clothing. You just never know how far the ripple out effect is most of the time. Stay with it, the world needs us. 
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20200930 This is why we're in a hurry to start Owning It! It's okay to make the change ... you'll be the happier for it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/30/greenland-ice-melt/  20200929 Some days no matter what you do, time gets wasted, food gets wasted, gas/carbon emissions are used and it's a bit of a waste. We still keep going, though. Still keep doing our best to Own It. 20200928 As times become more challenging, there is a pull to isolate and protect oneself. The truth is, the greatest chance for prosperity is through connection. 20200927 This is a worthwhile podcast of about an hour to hear how someone else puts together how all the systems of the earth interweave to one meta-ecosystem. Forgive the initial mention of John Muir, who has finally undergone the scrutiny he deserves for his anti indigenous and Black sentiments. If you want to learn more about that, see second link further below. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2dyZWVucm9vdHBvZGNhc3QvZmVlZC54bWw/episode/Z3JlZW5yb290cG9kY2FzdC5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9jOTkzMzgyNi0xN2Q5LTMyNWQtYmNhMS1hMWQ2NzdjZTAyOTk?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiAqOLEgovsAhXV6Z4KHcaaDcQQieUEegQIDBAI&ep=6 https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/sierra-club-apologizes-for-founder-john-muirs-racist-views/2020/07/22/5f932f20-cc78-11ea-99b0-8426e26d203b_story.html 20200926 Today's update didn't go through to publish and so this is a makeup entry. The failure is a gentle reminder that technology can fail. What matters is intent. We just keep doing our best. We don't have to be perfect, we just have to keep at it. 20200925 Tempers are short, people are tired. Patience and compassion are needed. 20200924 Saying thank you to people can be about making amends for a history you inherited. So many countries, including the U.S.A., have populations of people who struggle to play on equal footing due to our past. Developed countries have "wealth" due in part because of a history with unfair labor practices (including slavery) and bio-diversity destruction. Owning It also means understanding history and helping people out, right here at home. Feeling secure in your life to give is the bridge to cross. Own It Economics is a means to get there. 20200923 This is from a few months ago, but as we enter the latter part of this year, it is a good reminder. How do you take care of the earth in gratitude for the life you have? When you burn carbon when you turn on lights and the stove, do you invest to pay her back? Are you connected with your acts have a direct influence on the earth and that relationship needs tending as any other? Message from White Eagle, Hopi indigenous: “This moment humanity is going through can now be seen as a portal and as a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the portal is up to you. If you repent of the problem and consume the news 24 hours a day, with little energy, nervous all the time, with pessimism, you will fall into the hole. But if you take this opportunity to look at yourself, rethink life and death, take care of yourself and others, you will cross the portal. Take care of your homes, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual House. When you are taking care of yourselves, you are taking care of everything else. Do not lose the spiritual dimension of this crisis; have the eagle aspect from above and see the whole; see more broadly. There is a social demand in this crisis, but there is also a spiritual demand -- the two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. But without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and lack of meaning. You were prepared to go through this crisis. Take your toolbox and use all the tools available to you. Learn about resistance of the indigenous and African peoples; we have always been, and continue to be, exterminated. But we still haven't stopped singing, dancing, lighting a fire, and having fun. Don't feel guilty about being happy during this difficult time. You do not help at all being sad and without energy. You help if good things emanate from the Universe now. It is through joy that one resists. Also, when the storm passes, each of you will be very important in the reconstruction of this new world. You need to be well and strong. And for that, there is no other way than to maintain a beautiful, happy, and bright vibration. This has nothing to do with alienation. This is a resistance strategy. In shamanism, there is a rite of passage called the quest for vision. You spend a few days alone in the forest, without water, without food, without protection. When you cross this portal, you get a new vision of the world, because you have faced your fears, your difficulties. This is what is asked of you: Allow yourself to take advantage of this time to perform your vision-seeking rituals. What world do you want to build for you? For now, this is what you can do -- serenity in the storm. Calm down, pray every day. Establish a routine to meet the sacred every day. Good things emanate; what you emanate now is the most important thing. And sing, dance, resist through art, joy, faith, and love." copied to clipboard 202020922 Happy equinox! 20200921 Careful about what you read. It's serious what's happening, but sometimes, hyperbole is afoot. From Nick, a fellow researcher, about the link below, from which the picture is taken, "Nothing in any of the real research behind this art piece claims there is a point beyond which we won't be able to reverse global warming. The research they are getting the seven years from is describing the global carbon budget. This is the amount of carbon we can release without going above a certain number of degrees of global warming, in this case, 1.5° C. Assuming current emission rates, we will use up that budget in seven years." "https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/arts/design/climate-clock-metronome-nyc.html  20200920 An article on what's headed our way by 2070 if we don't turn this around. Thing is if we don't turn it around now, we will suffer far more later, if we even get to survive. No downside to just making a shift now, you'll actually be happier every day living the Own It way. Promise. https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration/?fbclid=IwAR2Xoyfjcr4zVpyw1r1v8PIfjz5mip3ShriW5Z2YGJyuG99EOZf7Sh73Imc 20200919 Thoughts on migration if we don't turn this around? It's one way or another, and either way you do have to change. The good thing about Owning It is that it gives you back a life of calm while you reverse global warming. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-will-force-a-new-american-migration?fbclid=IwAR3buS0_inONXHaRooS7BHda0KtsrUKQI27_YoVv2nTgfgsY-jIDbMm1jdo 20200918 if you wonder what one person can do from modest means, R.B.G. was a remarkable example. Like her, we all need to feel in our bones that we each have so much to offer and can do incredible things this life. If it weren’t for her efforts some would not feel this as deeply as they do. Yet we all have to bump it up to the next level, don’t we? 20200917 Did you get outside this eve to stroll and listen to the crickets? The days are shortening, but the warmth remains. A special time of year on our home planet in northern hemisphere. 20200916 1/2 of the CO2 from fires is absorbed by oceans. Be enlivened! Take action! Sequester 113 tonnes of CO2 a year to reverse GW in 30 years — about $50/mo or 1/2 cell plan. Can you hear me now? 20200915 there are four things you can do to feel stellar: eat well, exercise, get ample rest, and Own It. It’s the missing link for personal and planetary health. You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it. 20200914 Now that the air is clearing a little I hope people don’t forget how much the skies were darkened. We lost millions of acres of carbon sequestration, animals burned to death, and also we have all that life turned to air particulates that o crease the carbon load in the atmosphere. How do we repay the earth for again taking on a huge carbon load? We invest to restore her.
20200904 If you're looking for a new way to tickle your brain and get a fresh perspective on your world, try the hack in the 0828 post (link to youtube vid). This new practice calms you in an instant — you get so present just by doing one little thing differently. We keep finding over and over that unplugging from "conveniences" actually invigorates your mind and is calming at the same time. Oh, and you'll like be using less water than you ever imagined, which means another way to reduce your footprint. I'm telling everyone to give this a go! Super fun, and great lesson for kids. 20200903 The video is coming together, got images in early morn and wrote ideas through the day. Just like with Own It, you take steps, little steps, every day and you make something different, something new. 20200902 Going from feeling inconsequential when it comes to the world’s ills to feeling, knowing, you made a big difference is not so hard. You’ll be seeing a video soon about it. Stay tuned ...
20200831 Monday got away from me ... days aren't always easy to fit everything in. You do your best and do better tomorrow. 20200830 Hello and happy Sunday! Are you rested? Did you eat well? Exercise? Being in shape and caring for yourself are radical acts. The next few years are going to be challenging.. Stay healthy and stay informed. You are needed! 20200829 Hello and happy Saturday! I hope your weekend's going more. There is a more news about the Amazon burning. You'll find a new link below in the Amazon section (search for that and in the future you can always use the Searth+Info page to find out about more updates). Stay tuned for a little movie about how making yourself happier, healthier, and wealthier has far-ranging positive effects, not just for you, but for all of mankind.
THESE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS It’s difficult to believe that our current situation with Covid, wildfires, hurricanes, and soon to be even darker winter storms in some places with much more moderate winters in others, that these are the good old days. We just beginning to see the compounding negative feedback loops because we haven’t been paying attention as closely as we could have. And now we are learning just how much the world can grow less hospitable. How much we take for granted. It makes us appreciate a calm earth even more when we get to see it, however socially distanced we are from whoever shares our view. Take heart. We can reverse it. It’s simple math and a simple refocus of attention, but the window is getting smaller. The simple truth is if we start now it’ll never be cheaper or easier. Why? Because these are the good old days. 20200827 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE CHANGE Just as there are people who don’t believe in climate change, there are also people who believe we are burning this planet to a crisp and will have an issue of sterilizing the planet at our current rate of carbon emissions. Below is a podcast from a man who was involved with the movie Planet of the Humans put out by Michael Moore and his interviewee, who knows a lot about what we’ve studied with regard to global warming but has a bit more of a nihilist view. It can be daunting to sort through facts about climate change. The man who believes the earth to be on the path to fry to a crisp is a learned guy who comes across strongly. Further below are links to counter points as well as a shot of the view from the deck yesterday. The air cleared and stay cleared—a drastic change from yesterday. I celebrated with chocolate cake from the grocery store. I should have taken a picture of that beauty, but alas it was gone before I thought of that. We’re beyond tipping point podcast: https://greenrootpodcast.podbean.com/e/has-the-climate-crisis-passed-the-point-of-no-return-with-kevin-hester/ Nick Seigal, fellow researcher, got involved in an online dialogue with the interviewee and here’s a synopsis. Nick’s Rebuttal - Earth’s been hotter before and had more carbon in the atmosphere https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/whats-hottest-earths-ever-been Kevin’s Counter rebuttal NOAA is a government source and therefore unreliable because of the close connection between corporations and government. Response from Nick “NOAA is just the source of the article. This is widespread scientific knowledge. The key study was performed by scientists at the Smithsonian, but, as the article says, "geologists and paleontologists have found that, in the last 100 million years, global temperatures have peaked twice." This is data collected and corroborated by numerous sources in multiple disciplines. “I'm sorry, but I'm as skeptical of your skepticism here as I would be of an anthropogenic climate change denialist's skepticism about the scientific consensus. That doesn't mean I'm dismissing your position, just not seeing convincing evidence for it yet. “I recently read a study that found that a level of 10,000 ppm CO2e would be needed to cause a runaway greenhouse effect, a la Venus. It seems like that is what it would take to sterilize the planet and I'd like to see evidence or research supporting why you think we will get to 10K ppm or why you think it won't require 10K ppm. As I understand it, life on this planet has survived 7,000 ppm before (not the forms of life we see today, of course). I can provide citations for the above if desired.” So, you see, even well informed people on the same side for all practical purposes—making personal changes to have minimal impact on the Earth and taking assertive steps like activism and planting trees and donating to sequester carbon and for human dignity—are working out the details and looking to still learn from each other. This is how we move forward—keep engaged, keep sharing what you know, keep pressing for deeper understanding, and don’t be afraid to get into tough conversations. Have a great day everyone. 2020826
 View from deck on a clearer day. Been socked in with smoke too much lately. THIS COULD BE A GROUP PROJECT See link below about planting pocket forests of natives that may be one hack for global warming. Do you see this stuff on social media and you wonder, “Is it legit?” I do ... so I’ll be looking into this and getting back to you. But it sounds like a lovely idea, very little work, and a great yield not only for the earth but also in building community. It’s an outdoor activity so we can do it during this horrendous pandemic. And not only is giving good for your brain chemistry, so is digging in the earth. There’s actually a bacteria that causes us to have surges in serotonin. Pretty awesome. Anyway if you know anything about this and wanna share with me I’d love to hear from you, otherwise I’ll be getting back to you as soon as I can about this, hopefully, lovely idea. 20200824 https://www.facebook.com/1283803401/posts/10224139502296990/?extid=NO684PdRURcQ2O5M&d=n
AMAZON BURNING—SUMMARY PAPER (last updated 8/21) The Amazon continues to be be burned by ranchers to grow cattle to export, mostly to China. Living in the U.S., we can still do something. You can donate to groups to preserve acres of pristine forest. Two are on this site at this page (Rainforest Action Network and World Land Trust). Do an internet search on your financial institution (think bank accounts and credit cards) with "[Financial Institution] Amazon Beef." You can also search out your retailers to find out more. If they support Amazon beef, stop supporting them. But if you cannot avoid them, then donate even more to Own the stuff you buy. If you're into leather, even if it's made in Italy, the hide can be imported to Italy from the Amazon. Either skip leather or make sure your hides aren't raised in the Amazon. Amazon Assholes Whoops! Did I write that? Do you think it's too vulgar? Any worse than photos of burned forests? They're burning at the rate of on football pitch a minute. That's the real vulgarity. Plus, I'm a huge fan of alliteration. Going one step deeper, though, why would ranchers think burning is a good idea? What drives them to see only profit for the immediate and not realize they have a global treasure that is needed for life on earth? The ax they grind is about prosperity for them and not being told what they can do with local lands. Like all of mankind that has wandered from being in sync with the earth, they feel like they deserve "prosperity" and have yet to see much of what modern culture considers the trappings. Developed countries have exported a warped sense of wealth that has immediate allure on a superficial level, yet is inherently flawed. Not having a lifestyle that is in sync with a healthy earth is anxiety causing due to our innate wiring. We suffer endlessly with micro-to-macro cognitive dissonance. We know we're out of sync and we don't know how to extricate ourselves, until now, with, IMHO, Own It Economics. So while boycotting the below listed companies is certainly warranted, you can go beyond to ask yourself, what ways do you lean on the earth more than you give back. How much do you want to reign it in a bit, and then donate to causes to bring your Own It footprint (carbon, plastic, and people) so low that the earth is in a better place because you existed. Because you Own It, you make the air and oceans cleaner and people more prosperous in genuine wealth with clean air, waters, and health. Banks [1, 3] Blackrock BNP Credit Suisse Deutsche Bank HSBC JPMorgan Chase Santander Retailers/Restaurants [2, 3] Costco Leclerc McDonald’s Stop & Shop Sysco (ask your favorite eatery where they get their beef) Walmart/Asda Meat and Feed Dealers [2, 3] Cargill JBS Marfrig-Beef [1]See paper: MONEY TO BURN How iconic banks and investors fund the destruction of the world’s largest rainforests by Global Witness an NGO (Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organization has offices in London and Washington, D.C.: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1raLNJXISGi2IOfpkKeP4u-TentZOFCWL/view Even if your bank isn't listed, do an internet search to make sure you don't find anything. [2] https://stories.mightyearth.org/amazonfires/index.html Mighty Earth is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for International Policy, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. [3] https://amazonwatch.org/news/2019/0830-dirty-dozen-companies-driving-deforestation-must-act-now-to-stop-the-burning 20200829 Update: https://apnews.com/0ed3562a94f5b20b561adbbd11b20731?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningwire&pnespid=gLJzrv5TX1KN9i4omBNcydNoMU9xLgqUg3riNqcz
Credit Card Companies and Financial Institutions to Avoid Large European institutions like Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Santander and Credit Suisse, per https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/all-talk-no-walk-green-financiers-still-support-amazon-beef-industry/#:~:text=One%20such%20sector%20is%20the,19%25%20of%20Brazil's%20CO2%20emissions. How US Consumers Are Unwittingly Contributing To Deforestation In The AmazonSomeone gets Owning It, “The consumers are part of the problem because of course if the consumer decides not to consume any of this, there would be no supply.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/amazon-fires-us-consumers-beef-leather-deforestation
Meet the ranchers who burn the Amazon for cattle. They want prosperity and see the land as theirs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcJUSMiKQyY Who is buying Amazon beef? https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/27/how-beef-demand-is-accelerating-amazons-deforestation-climate-peril/
 Spoiler alert: you are or you wouldn't be here.
You could just read and be inspired by the idea of Own It Economics., which is outlined here, but when will you actually be pressed to act? Can I get you there through fear? Global warming is bad, we are in the middle of a mass extinction not seen since the dinosaurs disappeared and we have nature now emitting greenhouse gases in conjunction with manmade. If we don't act now, we'll never make it. Coral is expected to die off by 2050, which means ocean life dies off because coral support fish, which supports the rest of ocean life, and humans are slotted for 2100. Go ahead, search the net and look for robust articles from science. It's all there so I won't bore you here. Can I get you there through encouragement? The numbers of Own It don't lie. We can reverse global warming if we start now, and it can be achieved in as soon as 30 years. You can look all over this site for that info. If you're an spreadsheet type of person, you can view our calculations here. Can I get you there with promises of abundance? It is scientifically proven that the Own It plan increases your happiness, health, and wealth. In fact, there's a simple 2 minute-plus video outlining it all on each of those pages on this site. It's a solid life upgrade on all levels, or I wouldn't have dedicated my life to sharing it. Believe me, it'd be way easier for me to just go to work and not bother with getting the word out. So with all that's available to you, what is it going to take? What is holding you back from all the good this can do? If you need a little push, here's an article I wrote a few years ago. I wanted to call it "Getting a Case of the Fuckits" but it was retitled by the editor. Go figure. Friends have used the tools to make important decisions in their lives, and, if I may say so, being a participant in reversing global warming is the biggest decision you can make. Hope you'll join us. |
From BethWhen you commit to leaving the world better than you found it, lots can happen. You are poised to be part of the generation that makes the world healthier and more vibrant than it would have been had you not be be born — in every area that you touch: the sky, the oceans, other people. It's possible to reverse global warming in as little as 30 years. It all starts seeing and enjoying your abundance. Then you employ simple hacks to rid your mind of cognitive dissonance. Some say too many people on the earth is not healthy. Actually, the numbers say differently. You are reading this now, which means you have the wiggle room in your daily life to take in new information and to act on it, everyday, even if subtly. Know that when you stack a bunch of little subtle things on top of each other for years, you get huge impact. This is a place that celebrates all that you do. Archives
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