December 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of John Muir. Muir passed away on December 24th, 1914. His last fight was to save the Hetch Hetchy valley. If you are not familiar with John Muir and the Hetch Hetchy Valley, I am going to spoil the story for you. The valley is under water. Flooded behind a dam to create a water reservoir for San Francisco.
The Hetch Hetchy was reported to be as beautiful as Yosemite Valley. When speaking of Hetch Hetchy, John Muir said it was “a grand landscape garden. One of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.”
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Now, a century after the death of Jon Muir, the fight for Hetch Hetchy is going to come alive again. Robert Hanna is going to pick up the torch Muir carried to save the valley. Hanna reminds me of the water behind the dam. He is gentle but can apply so much pressure he can move a mountain.
Robert Hanna has shown once before what can happen when he applies pressure. California was going to solve budget problems by closing 70 state parks. Hanna stepped in and became a key figure in keeping the parks open. Just like water, Hanna can shape an outcome with a constant drip, or an all-out flood.
It was Hanna’s work with keeping state parks open that caught my attention. But after talking with him, I know his fight to reclaim Hetch Hetchy is going to be a great story.
In itself, the fight for the valley is a good cause. But now, 100 years after the death of John Muir, the charge is being led by Robert Hanna, who is the great great grandson of John Muir.
Robert Hanna founded a clothing company, Range of Light, based on the principles of John Muir.
What a great interview! He words really resonate “No matter the odds stacked against you. If you’re passionate about something you’ve got to roll up your sleeves and do it… If opportunity doesn’t knock you just build a door.”
Thank you Joseph. It was a fun interview to do. Robert Hanna is an inspiration for more than just parks.
Great Job Robert. I knew you had it in you. #Muirlife
Thank you Teresa for connecting me to Robert. It was a great interview.
Thank you for the work you do, Jody.
Very cool. Great advice in this. All generations are watching and hoping that we make the right decisions in regards to the environment.
In twenty years this is going to be a story people point to and say “This is when things began to change.” Bringing down the Hetch Hetchy Dam will have that much of an impact.