So I've been reading de Saussure...

Today in class people began a conversation which I thought was spectacularly interesting. It was cut short by Professor Schwartz so I thought I'd continue it here.

I find this perceived divide between nature and humanity fascinating, because to me it seems to be the exact same sort of divide which exist between me and any given person I pass on the street. I mean, I will never know what it is to be a snake, true, but I'm also never going to know what it's like to be that homeless guy on the corner. I think for anyone to ever assume that they share experiences with anyone else is pretentious, or at best overly optimistic.

I started trying to figure out what the difference was, and I finally decided it was language. I can't be the homeless guy on the corner, or understand the way he sees the world-- for all I know, to him the color purple might look like the color red does to me, but this doesn't matter to me, on some level, because we can both point at a purple grape and say "that is purple". We might not be talking about the same purple, but we can label the experience and feel reassured and affirmed because we've both used the same label. We think we've shared an experience. But really, have we? Is there any way to know?

We can't receive any similar sort of validation from the snake, which I think is the difference. The snake is not going to answer if I say "Hey, do you think that's purple?" and there's something a little frightening about my ability to engage in dialog with him. But that doesn't mean that the snake is any more alien to us than the people we pass by every day. I think so, at least.

Walking Reflection Piece - Cait

Leaves

The fall

so deep in

lowly light,

Brazen through the

billowing might.

The touch to touch

on fellow

friend

as falling

down on

woodland end.

Ride, sweep, ride

the billower

keeps

hold of things and all that

sleeps.

But sleepy woods

they tell no

lies

The truth

said Waldo,

needs no

spies.

And spies we are

against

the grain

to ravish

life

like Abel’s Cain.

But ravish we

don’t hear

weary sigh, oh weary sigh!

- instead forget to

self-rely.

Though man can cut

to hit

to cut

The cutting

stops

when Fallers rebut

the ease at which

false power

is shown

For with each hit

more Fallers

grown.

The Faller see,

never

fails.

The woods

long afterwards

prevail.

But if such

man

were to fight

the keep,

between

the Faller and mother’s

sleep,

Then let him be

for on his

neck

will hang no cross

just wormy

peck.

diners vs. toxic waste dumps

So I couldn't decide which one of my "homes" to report for hometown current events. I was thinking of searching the news in Wall Township, New Jersey, because it is really the only town that I ever stayed in for a period of more than 3 years, whereas my loyalty to California expanses a region in which I moved many times in my childhood over the span of 9. I started off browsing the Asbury Park Press for news and was immediately disheartened by titles and tidbits such as "New Jersey's air pollution worst in the country," "Two New Jersey landfill operators fined 2 million," and the slightly startling stat that New Jersey is home to 108 toxic waste dumps (but perhaps its excess of diners can compensate?). I switched gears to try to avoid becoming overly discouraged by this unfortunate land I had fallen into during a period of my life and turned to the LA Times instead. If I could pin my floating sense of geographical identity to one place, or really, earthly domain, it would be the Pacific Ocean. It is where I have returned always to be enveloped as into the arms of a great mother and my existence and origins confirmed. I had traveled several times to distant coasts of other countries only to recognize that that same sea's magnetism had brought me back to it, if in another latitude. I sense that my entire life will be a circular pilgrimage back to it again and again.

Anyway. California's environmental news as expected was more progressive and positive than depressing. 500 companies in 8000 stores in the state have joined the bandwagon to ban plastic bags. The state annually had been using about 19 billion plastic bags. Each bag takes only a few minutes to use, but 500 years to decompose.

More good news: There will be a ban on the use of septic tanks in Malibu. The city intends to move towards a centralized wastewater system. Apparently septic leakage has been showing up in the waters of the area. Surfers were getting rashes and eye infections. Gross.

Not so good news: Toxic algae from freshwater runoff killing sea otters off coast of Calfornia.

Nursing home in downtown L.A. attempts to install 1400 solar panels (the size of a football field's worth). Operation halted due to being an eyesore and possible fire hazard. Shucks.

Potentially better news: World's largest solar plant wins approval to be built in California. Its construction would create 1004 jobs and the plant would generate 1000 megawatts, as opposed to the current 200-350 megawatts generated in solar energy facilities currently.

Saw the Sand

I really enjoyed Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. It was highly compelling and an interesting read after studying a bit of Emerson and Thoreau.

One of the passages that grabbed my attention the most concerned wilderness recreation. When Leopold states, "Daniel Boone's reaction depends not only on the quality of what he saw, but on the quality of the mental eye with which he saw it" (291). This look at perception towards the natural world I think signifies how most of the world (particularly the Western world) sees nature.

Despite most of society and their lack of environmental-friendly lifestyles, I do think that the majority acknowledge that nature is beautiful and important. However, like Boone, they only see the aesthetics of the world and neglect to fully understand what it is they are looking at. They do not see the the network and relationships between the natural world.

Looking at the sky, people love to look at the brilliant colors and shades of purples to oranges and fiery reds at sundown. Little to they know, or care that the "brilliant sky" is unnatural and a result of the pollution within the atmosphere. Its color reflecting off radiation and poisonous toxins.

On a whole, I think we need to understand why things are beautiful and furthermore question our standards of "natural beauty". We need to identify the pure from the corruption; in a world that has experienced the industrial revolution and the biggest World Wars known to man, the most of what is pure has already been tainted.

Steel Giant Nucor To Build La. Plant

Recently the greenlight was given by Louisiana government officials to move forward on allow -ing Nucor, one of the largest, private steel producers in the U.S. ,to design and construct a multi-billion dollar facility in Convent, Louisiana. The plant which would rest near the Mississippi River in St. James Parish, is said to be a large boost for the local economy, allowing for residents to compete for more than 1,250 jobs which would pay workers around $75,000.00 per worker. More importantly beyond the increased tax revenue generated and jobs, is the company's vision to design a DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) facility which would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, or green house gas emisssions from the use of the mill's industrial-grade furnances. Originally, Nucor's idea was to build a pig iron plant, but it would be too costly on the environment and locals long term health. The company is said to have a long track record of success in building good relations with the communities surrounding their operations. A spokesperson for Nucor said that they intend not only to profit from the expansion of their business, but more importantly executives for Nucor are concerned about cconveying a positive image to the public by focusing on ethical business practices, and taking into account the implications for the affect their industry has on the residents living witin close proximity of the plant.

Vietnam News

These are the articles I found about Vietnam. I am from Binh Son, Quang Ngai, Vietnam. The first article is about a $30.67 million dollar project to improve the sanitation of water in my province. It is suppose to help the rural area get cleaner water and thus avoid water prone illnesses.

http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/content/vietnam-province-oks-3067m-water-supply-environment-project

Second, there is a battle about the prices of cassava, which is a root. It is mainly eaten for starch, but can also be use to make ethanol and alcohol. It is also used to feed animals, but the problem is there is a high demand for it in China too and as soon as those cassava farmers cross the boarders, the Chinese demand it for less and the Vietnamese farmers lose a lot of profit.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/201009/Manioc-war-breaks-out-936889/

The last one is about how the cost of food is going up nearly 10%. That is really high in a country where most people grow their own foods and the exchange rate is really bad too.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-24/vietnam-consumer-price-growth-quickened-in-september-as-food-costs-jumped.html

Dallas, Tejas and the Environment

Our class discussion brought up some interesting points about identity and the role 'home" plays in how we identify ourselves. When asked where I was from I answered "Canada" (I felt like contributing something different than the rest of the class or I probably would have said Dallas). I spent the majority of my life in Vancouver, British Columbia but have since lived in California, Texas, Cayman Islands, Montana, and New Orleans (most recently). So when people ask where I'm from the answer is not as simple as it could be. I usually answer Texas because for some reason I really identify with the Dallas culture. I feel like "home" to most people is where they want to make it. For some, the answer is easy-- wherever they grew up, where their "roots" are in a sense. For others, like myself, it's more about where you fit in and the culture you most identify with. My personality quirks are very Canadian. If you have spent time in Canada you would probably notice. I notice the most when I'm around other family members who still live there (and make fun of me for saying y'all!).

The articles I found were from The Dallas Morning News. I noticed an extreme lack of discussion of environmental issues in all the top Dallas online periodicals. Dallas isn't exactly known for being environmentally conscious. The only relevant and recent article I found combined football and the environment (go figure). It talked about planting trees to make up for the harmful effects Super Bowl XLV will have on the city. Kindof not much else to say about the article itself except that the extreme lack of concern for the environment in the archives of the Dallas Morning News was shocking. As one of the largest cities in the United States with 5 million people, Dallas contributes greatly to pollution in the South (not to mention the booming industrial areas of the city). I always assumed more was going on in terms of prevention. Of course environmental issues may not be considered as "newsworthy" as something as popular as football, but I think everyone would agree it's a topic on most people's minds these days with global warming, oil spills, obesity, and so many health/environmental issues.

Our National Parks: Conserving the Best of the United States

So I was reflecting on what I wanted to blog about for this week's observational post, and a letter that I received in the mail this past weekend came to my mind.

Now, this particular letter came in one of those envelopes - you know the type - on the outside they say "hurry! open soon!" or, "special offer enclosed!" or, "limited time only!" or, heck, for all I could care, it could've been saying I just won $5,000,000 just so that I would open the darn thing.

But, rather than just ripping this one in half and chunking it (as is my usual course of action), for whatever reason I proceeded to open this particular one and found inside this letter:

Dear Friend,

Our National Parks represent the BEST of the United States. They are our most precious natural, cultural, and historic landmarks. By working together, we are safeguarding them as a uniquely American legacy for our children - and for all coming generations. And that's worth celebrating!

You see, the most wonderful aspect of our national parks is that they are open to everyone. All are welcome to visit a national park to restore the spirit, refresh the body, and inspire the heart.

...As beloved and cherished as the parks are - as much... as they are part of our identity as Americans - they are underfunded, sometimes mismanaged, and often decaying. And that's a shame!

The national parks tell the story of America. They deserve our care and attention!"


And the letter went on to elaborate on the benefits of becoming a NPCA member (National Parks Conservation Association), the fact that we take our parks for granted, and that these parks tell America's history and that "America the beautiful" is contained within them.

It included a nice little brochure on each National US park and a few other items and pamphlets.

Your typical "Send us some money please" letter.

But in light of our class discussion on Tuesday, what struck me the most (and what reverberated with me when I read this letter) was our discussion about how something can only be preserved/conserved if there is a sense that is is being lost. Otherwise, there is no need to preserve it or to conserve it (or what is left of it). So that sentiment really resonated with me when I stopped for a moment to think about our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.

However, in class today, we talked about our National Parks and the paradox that they themselves present: they are "controlled spaces" that are meant to be "wild."

So do I really want to put my money toward conserving "the best of the United States," as the brochure declares, or would I rather put my money toward simple, little ways that I can preserve/conserve on my own, in my day-to-day habits and routines? I guess for some, contributing some sum of money and having a little membership card and getting a free hat or t-shirt or whatever that says NPCA clear across it is a way in which they feel that they are really helping the environment and preserving a "piece of America." True. Yet, what if we all made the decision to put our money toward little changes that we can make here in our own lives, in our own communities, in our own, personal "environments"? Would that not have a more lasting effect? Perhaps.
Perhaps not.

Either way, this letter - while petitioning my pocketbook for funds to protect "national landmarks" that I've never even been to - does address the fact that something needs to be done. And, as Leopold claims, it is only when man and land can find that balance that any permanent change will be made.

Random Musing

I think the thing which I find most tragic about the-- I'm not even sure what the term for this is. Environmental damage? Earth's illness? What I think I find most tragic about it is the loss of potential experience.

I will be completely honest. I have an anthropocentric perspective on pretty much everything. I believe that eating meat is okay-- not great, but okay-- because you're sacrificing a lower form of consciousness for a higher consciousness, and that's ethically viable. Probably not the best thing which could happen, but ethically viable nonetheless.

So until nature develops the ability to write poetry or perform opera, I shall remain anthropocentric. Perhaps I should say other parts of nature. Nature did develop the ability to write poetry, and it is us. But none of this Rousseau-type BS about how the hills are alive with the sound of music; I don't believe that. After a few hours in the woods it all begins to look the same to me. A transcendentalist I am not.

But I've always been sort of intrigued by the Gaia hypothesis, that theory which postulates that the Earth is a living organism, hence all of the self-regulation which occurs in the biosphere. It makes an odd amount of sense. And if this is the case, then the most complex form of consciousness in existence is that form of consciousness which is comprised of all other forms-- the Earth itself.

Whether it could be called a conscious being or not, the Earth is undeniably complex and all parts of it intricately interconnected, and I think if we have a responsibility to anything other than ourselves, it is that interconnectedness, the glorious richness of it, and the mystery, that something less than conscious can juggle a mind-boggling number of factors and create ecosystems which we, with all our culture and poetry, could never fabricate and are only beginning to comprehend.

Black Bears and Oil Spill

I'm originally from Uptown New Orleans and the only other place I could possibly call home is Pierceton Indiana where I lived for over a year after Hurricane Katrina put a damper on our financial situation.
Most of the environmental articles I found about New Orleans pertained to the oil spill (take your pick, there are so many) so I chose TWO articles, one of course on the spill and another on Black Bears in Louisiana. There is a lot of debate as to whether or not these animals are threatened anymore and for the longest time--no one ever counted them... So the answer was unclear. The last count in 2008 at Louisiana's largest black bear concentration was 300.
Since we were on the topics of homes I thought it should be noted that black bears are losing theirs. They are protected from hunting as of the decision to have them on the federal list of threatened species in 1992, but they are losing their habitats.

The article is just below for further information. I found it rather interesting as it's not normally a topic I think of in Louisiana but it is certainly an important subject as these animals are very important to this state.

Louisiana black bears are counted for the first time

Published: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 1:53 PM Updated: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 2:00 PM

The Associated Press

Louisiana's largest black bear concentration, in a northeastern refuge, had about 300 animals in 2008, the first-ever scientific count shows.

View full sizeThe Associated PressThe study is the first of several that will decide whether the Louisiana black bear -- inspiration for teddy bears -- should still be considered threatened.

State wildlife biologist Mike Hooker, who recently completed analysis of data collected in 2006-08, said that doesn't count 49 sows and their 100 or so cubs moved from the area during that period to build numbers of the threatened species elsewhere in the state.

Hooker's study is the first of several that will decide whether the Louisiana black bear -- inspiration for teddy bears -- should still be considered threatened. State officials expect to decide in 2013 whether to ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to "delist" the bears.

"I don't think they could justify that," said Harold Schoeffler, who filed the Sierra Club lawsuit that got the bears onto the federal list of threatened species in 1992, protecting them from hunting. He said their numbers are increasing, but they face many threats, particularly habitat loss -- and, for a coastal population, hurricanes.

There has never been a reliable count of black bears in Louisiana, though the Wildlife Service estimated the total two years ago at 400 to 700.

Hooker's estimate of 300 in and around the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge compares to statewide estimates of as few as 150 before the bear was protected.

Signs the total is rising include increases in the numbers hit by cars, seen in new areas, caught and relocated because they've been plundering garbage cans in south Louisiana, or wandering in residential neighborhoods from New Iberia to Ruston. Some Louisiana black bears have settled in east Texas, where they once were plentiful.

To get scientific data, Hooker used DNA samples snagged by hair snares -- knee-level triangles or squares of barbed-wire baited with sweet scents such as raspberry, anise or sassafras and a bit of stale pastry as enticement to follow the next lure.

Those identified 202 bears from the subspecies once found in Mississippi, south Arkansas and east Texas as well as Louisiana.

Black bears are the smallest U.S. bears. The Louisiana subspecies, one of 16, is small for a black bear, with females averaging 120 to 250 pounds and males 150 to 350.

It's the only federally protected subspecies, though the Florida black bear has state protection and the American black bear cannot be hunted in Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas.

Defenders of Wildlife, which tried unsuccessfully to get federal protection for Florida black bears, estimates there are 300,000 black bears in the United States and another 300,000 in Canada.

The 150 relocated Tensas animals were released about halfway between the Tensas bears and the Pointe Coupee population in the northern Atchafalaya basin. A third population is in coastal areas of the Atchafalaya basin, cut off from the northern bears by water and two highways.

To get black bears off the threatened list -- as farmers and hunters want to do -- Louisiana must show at least two groups are big enough to survive without protection and that bears move freely between those groups. An initial three-year study is winding up in Pointe Coupee. Follow-up studies are under way there and in the Tensas refuge. A three-year count also began this year in the coastal area.

Sixteen bears have been fitted with tracking collars and researchers hope to collar another 14 to see if they move between groups, said Maria Davidson, large carnivore program manager for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Hooker presented his study Sept. 18 at a department meeting in Tallulah, where the refuge is headquartered and where the fourth Teddy Bearfest will be held Oct. 9.

The bears' biggest population is in and around the refuge, Hooker said.

While the bears are revered by many, farmers don't think they are so cute.

"We've had a lot of trouble with them," said Kyle Holloway, who can see the refuge from his farm southeast of Delhi. He said he sees more bears than deer in his fields. They've torn up the hoppers of a planting machine that had to be left overnight in a soggy field; they ripped plastic irrigation pipe; one has repeatedly torn insulation from the outside walls of his hunting camp.

"The farmers really hate them," said Joe Pankey, who has studied bear damage to farmland for the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

He said he could easily see damage to corn running hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Bears also get into peanuts, soybeans, sugar cane and sweet potatoes, he said.

Because they're protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, anyone harming a black bear can be fined $5,000 and get two years in jail. Problem bears can be caught and relocated.

Schoeffler said farmers objected to listing the bears as threatened, and their objections would be just as unjustified now. "Cane farmers came unglued: 'We got bears all over the place. We've got to shoot 'em to get 'em out of our behinds.'"

By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press writer

© 2010 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.

Oh, and this is a link to the article about the oil spill. Equally important, of course, I just figured that most of us have already read quite a bit on the spill and should already be in the know about what is going on.

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/efforts_to_clean_up_gulf_oil_c.html

Local News &c.

EDIT: I can't make the end of this post a visible font color for some reason. Just highlight over it and it's readable.

I'm from here (here meaning New Orleans Louisiana, unequivocally the most most uberfantastic and ultraspectacular city in the world-as-we-know-it), and ridiculously proud of it, in case I hadn't made that clear.

I'm also from Lakewood, a minuscule section of New Orleans which can be traversed in roughly twenty minutes, if you take the scenic route. It's entirely residential and about as close to the suburbs as you can get without moving to Metairie. I generally don't make this information public. I'm much more at home in the Quarter (during the day), and also Uptown, which is why I live here now.

I couldn't find any information about the Lakewood environment because with the exception of that one time the city flooded nothing ever happens there.

I found a lot of information on the oil spill being capped, but really, anyone who hasn't heard about that by now hasn't been paying any attention to anything.

I found more interesting the conflict between the people who want to erect berms to prevent the oil from reaching the shore and the people who point out that to erect the berms one would have to dredge the sea, thereby killing turtles and things.

'The National Marine Fisheries Service pointed out that when the state used hopper dredges to mine sand from the Hewes Point area north of the northernmost Chandeleur island at the beginning of the construction project, the dredging contractors were reported to have killed at least six turtles. Three turtles were killed in trawlers used to corral them away from the dredging area and three were killed by the hopper dredges. They also had to relocate 191 turtles.

'"Sea turtle abundance in the areas is not just high, but extraordinarily high," the NMFS comment said. It warned that the state's plan to switch to a different kind of dredging was still likely to injure or kill turtles.'

Honestly no idea where I fall on this issue. I'm generally against killing turtles unless delicious soup is involved, but these are extenuating circumstances.

More info here: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/barrier_berm_advocates_not_det.html

San Antonio, Texas' new Energy Plan

San Antonio Plans to Convert Human Waste to Energy
Texas City Expects to Recycle More Than 90 Percent of Liquid and Solid Wastes

By Larry West, About.com Guide

San Antonio is poised to become the first U.S. city to transform the human waste of its residents into clean-burning natural gas that can fuel their furnaces and the power plants that light their homes.
Every year, San Antonio residents flush about 140,000 tons of biosolids down the drain. In a deal approved by the city on September 9, 2008, Ameresco, Inc., a Massachusetts-based energy services company, will convert the methane from San Antonio’s biosolids into natural gas and purchase the fuel from the city.

Fuel from Human Waste to Generate Income for San Antonio

San Antonio produces enough biosolids to generate an average of 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day—enough to fill 1,250 tanker trucks. Under the new agreement, San Antonio will sell Ameresco at least 900,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily for 20 years, which will produce up to $250,000 in additional revenue for the city every year.

"The private vendor will come onto the facility, construct some gas cleaning systems, remove the moisture, remove the carbon dioxide content, and then sell that gas on the open market," said Steve Clouse, chief operating officer for the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), in an interview with Reuters.

Cities Worldwide Explore New Ways to Convert Waste to Fuel

With this move, San Antonio joins the ranks of other cities in the United States and elsewhere that are finding innovative ways to convert human and animal waste and byproducts into energy. In San Francisco, city officials are exploring the feasibility of turning methane from pet feces into fuel, while Sweden plans to recycle human body heat to warm a new shopping/hotel/office complex at Stockholm Central Station, the largest train station in Sweden.

San Antonio to Recycle 90 Percent of Wastewater and Biosolids

Clouse estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to construct the facilities needed to fulfill the contract. Once the new program is under way, however, more than 90 percent of the liquid and solid wastes flushed down San Antonio’s sinks and toilets will be recycled.

The city already sells treated waste water for irrigation and converts some biosolids into compost that is sold to homeowners who use it in their gardens and yards. While a few other U.S. communities already use the methane gas from solid waste to fuel sewage treatment plants or similar small facilities, San Antonio will be the first to achieve large-scale commercial conversion of sewage into natural gas for power generation.

"As far as we know, SAWS is the only city [utility] in the United States that has completed the renewable recyclable trifecta," Clouse told the Associated Press. "We're very pleased that we can capture and sell this gas, which is good for San Antonio's air quality and puts this renewable energy resource to work for San Antonio."

Estuary Program Hoping to Help Birds Affected By Oil Spill

Officials from the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program are hoping to parlay generosity sparked by the recent Gulf oil spill into expanding habitat for birds affected by the disaster and ongoing land loss.

Shell Oil Co. is donating $25,000 to Barataria-Terrebonne
National Estuary Program to aid the group's work. In July, Delaware
businesses and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, a sister
estuary program, held a festival that raised more than $60,000 for
the local program.

Kerry St. Pe', director of the Barataria-Terrebonne National
Estuary Program, said the organization plans to use the money to
rebuild habitat for birds affected by the oil spill.

That includes creating new forested habitat for the migratory
birds that pass through Louisiana en route to warmer southern
climates. Those birds begin their travels in August, resting on
barrier islands and wetlands and feeding in local waters. Many of
those traditional habitats were affected by oil, and scientists
worry about the impact the spill will have on the birds.

St. Pe' said some of the money will be used restore Grand Isle
forests. A plot of land on the island is mostly lawn, and the
program aims to plant trees and cover the ground with shell to make
it more appealing to birds.

Program officials also hope to launch a more-ambitious effort to
restore small barrier islands popular with nesting birds "because
they don't have predators like raccoons or coyotes on them," St.
Pe' said. "But a lot of these islands have gotten much, much
smaller."

The islands are often overlooked for restoration projects
because of their size.

Wine Island off Terrebonne Parish, for example, is a popular
nesting site that has eroded to as little as 5 acres by some
estimates. Though it hosts thousands of nesting birds in spring, it
was cut from a corps project restoration project. Scientists deem
it unsustainable.

St. Pe' said the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
is also considering projects that would restore some unnamed
barrier islands popular with nesting birds off Plaquemines Parish.
The islands are a few miles north of Grand Terre Island. They're
working with landowner Apache Corp. and the Plaquemines Parish
government to investigate the possibility of putting dredged
material on the islands.

"It will require a lot of money to restore those islands," St.
Pe' said. "But they're very important to birds."

To double the size of those islands from 7 acres to 14 acres
would cost roughly $2 million.

The estuary program could also partnering with the federal
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act program,
which often takes on restoration projects.

Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, Recycling seemed like second nature. My family always had the garbage bin for trash and one for recycling. I found this article interesting and surprising that recycling in apartment complexes has not been seriously addressed or enforced. "In theory, the apartment association agrees that recycling is good,"

http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/apartments_might_have_to_recycle_103411689.html

Apartments might have to recycle

By Josh Baugh - Express-News

Web Posted: 09/21/2010 12:00 CDT

San Antonio apartment dwellers generate as much as 300 million pounds of solid waste annually, according to city figures, more than half of which could be recycled — but isn't.

That means area landfills take in about 150 million pounds of garbage from apartments — 47 times the weight of the Fairmount Hotel, a three-story structure that was moved through downtown in 1985.

But local leaders want to begin redirecting that waste to recycling centers by next year. The City Council is expected to discuss a new ordinance this month that would require most apartment complexes to collect recycling. It's not currently required for multifamily residences or businesses.

The council could act on the proposed ordinance as early as next month.

That timeline could be too aggressive for the San Antonio Apartment Association, the main stakeholder working with the city on developing an ordinance.

“We're not even remotely close to being able to sign off on a program or a plan that we can move forward with,” Executive Director Rachelle Landry said.

David McCary, director of the city's solid waste management department, said the initiative is part of the council's directive to substantially reduce waste. The council has adopted a goal of reaching a 60 percent recycling rate by 2020. Right now, 18 percent of residential waste is recycled.

McCary is optimistic about working with the association and ensuring that the ordinance is practical for its members.

For Mayor Julián Castro, incorporating the city's 140,000 apartment units in the effort is vital.

“I don't think we can reach our goal of 60 percent without getting apartment complexes on board,” he said. “The numbers just don't add up if we don't do that.”

The solid waste department collects garbage and recycling from the 340,000 single-family homes in San Antonio. Everyone else, including multifamily complexes and businesses, contracts with private haulers to take away their garbage. That's why the council would have to adopt an ordinance that makes recycling mandatory.

In theory, the apartment association agrees that recycling is good.

“In general, we're very interested and committed to exploring recycling opportunities,” Landry said.

But apartment complexes face “an enormous implementation issue,” she added. There are potential problems with locating recycling receptacles onsite, bearing added costs and educating residents about how to properly recycle. Landry also said she's concerned that property managers could be forced to police recycling efforts.

“We're not interested in being the waste police,” she said.

If residents use the recycling bins for garbage, the cost of hauling off contaminated loads could skyrocket, Landry said.

McCary and Landry both said the draft ordinance would phase in complexes based on their number of units. The largest properties would have to submit a recycling plan to the city by Jan. 1, and McCary estimates that recycling would begin by April 1, which would also be the deadline for medium-sized properties to submit their plans. Small complexes would have to submit their recycling plans later in 2011.

Extending recycling to multifamily residences is only part of the larger equation, and it'll take broadening efforts to reach the city's ultimate goals. Also in 2011, McCary's department will begin coordinating with businesses to start a recycling program with them.

Also, beginning in January, the city and some of the area's largest retailers will roll out a voluntary pilot program for recycling plastic bags.

The city has budgeted $500,000 for fiscal year 2011 to fund an education campaign, McCary said, which will focus on both the multifamily recycling efforts and the single-use plastic bag program.

Plastic grocery bags are recyclable but not through the city's single-stream recycling program because they get caught in the sorting machines, McCary said.

The solid waste department has teamed with H-E-B, Walmart, Target, Walgreens and J.C. Penney to run an 18-month pilot program that could increase the rate of recycling for single-use bags and the number of reusable bags. At the same time, the program could reduce the number of plastic bags distributed and the litter associated with them.

The stores will have recycling kiosks, McCary said, and clerks will help with the campaign by offering reusable bags over single-use plastic bags.

The program will attempt to track plastic bag usage and litter to determine whether the voluntary recycling program is effective.

City Council members have been briefed on various methods that could be employed, from taxing the bags to banning them altogether. But McCary said “our thought was to begin with education before enforcement.”

Hometown Event

I'm from a very tiny town in Louisiana (westbank!) called Gretna--"small city, big heart!" There is not a wide range of topics to choose from, but what I picked was a story about a woman who's house has become infested with cockroaches. It's not the most relevant topic to choose, but I didn't have much to work with. I thought it was interesting the way the cockroach infestation in this one woman's house escalated to involving a crisis team "wearing full hazardous materials gear and using cans of insecticide to battle the swarms of roaches". It just seems a bit ridiculous, but also terrifies on some deep "bugs-are-icky" level.

link!

Roach infested home brings out crisis team

by Bill Capo / Eyewitness News

wwltv.com

Posted on June 30, 2010 at 6:06 PM

Updated Thursday, Jul 1 at 4:43 PM

GRETNA, La. -- The extreme roach infestation in this Gretna house was daunting for even the toughest members of the Jefferson Parish Mobile Crisis Team.

"Thousands and thousands of roaches, just stagnant water -- very, very nasty," said Chris Jones.

"Pretty shocking," added Clarence Casey. "It's unbelievable, really."

Wearing full hazardous materials gear and using cans of insecticide to battle the swarms of roaches scurrying everywhere, team members had to remove all the belongings in the home, finding that the roach infestation was so bad that nothing could be saved.

"I didn't know how we were going to begin," said Jefferson Crisis Team Coordinator Lisa Ruffin-Williams. "That was the first thought, I was like, where do we start?"

Normally crisis team members provide counseling and similar services, but they knew they had to take action when a relative of the owner contacted them because the roach infestation had gotten so out of control she was at the end of her rope.

"She felt that she had no reason to live," Counselor Tracey Peden said the owner told her. "She was very tearful because there was no one here to help her."

Not surprisingly the owner of the home did not want to appear in this story. She is a bit overwhelmed and embarrassed by all this. But for the crisis team, this is only the first step.

They'll have an exterminator out here Thursday to take care of the insect problem in the house, and then they'll turn to area charities for help to replace the furniture that can't be salvaged.

And for the resident, they'll be providing some longer term help.

"We have what we call a post crisis worker that will come back, check on her, take her to her appointments because she doesn't have transportation, come in, make sure she is following the regimen we give to her," said Lisa Ruffin-Williams.

Jefferson officials dispatched a truck to remove the infested contents of the house as quickly as possible, while the crisis team completed plans to help the owner.

"We are going to stick with her until the conditions in her home are livable," said Tracey Peden.

Local bird migration in the Turnagain Arm, AK

This article comes from "my" local newspaper, "The Turnagain Times," "serving Bird, Indian, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & Moose Pass" Alaska.

Hometown Current Events: Animal Abuse in Baton Rouge

Firstly, I am from Baton Rouge and I identify myself as a person from Baton Rouge. I feel this way because I feel most like myself when I am in the house I grew up in with the people that know me best. When I was looking for current environmental news going on in Baton Rouge, it was extremely hard to find an issue not having to due with the BP incident. I wanted to find an article that was strictly about Baton Rouge. The one that I came up with was about animal abuse.

Apparently, there are complaints that have been filed to the Ascension Parish Police Department regarding the well-being of several horses on a property right off of Highway 941. There are about twelve horses. They have been described as looking emaciated. The owner of the property had made some sort of arrangement to allow the horses and their owner to live off of his land. If the allegations are proved to be true the owner could face up to 1,000 dollars in fines, 6 months in jail, or both.

What was most disturbing to me is that the location of the horses is clearly visible to all passerby vehicles. People were seeing these animals mistreated everyday and choosing to do nothing about it because they felt that it did not concern them or they did not care. I remember one time my sister was attacked by a dog while taking a walk and my neighbors came to their windows to see, yet still did nothing to help. I don't understand why people get animals that they cannot care for and I don't understand why people so often choose to ignore living things that are struggling to survive.

The City of Covington: Preservation...through Expansion?

This picture presents an interesting image, doesn't it? Covington has always been interested in preserving, and maintaining its small-town history - the history of its landscape, the history of its buildings, the history of its people. Originally founded in 1813 as the Town of Wharton, Covington is "surrounded by three beautiful rivers, [and] has air quality unique to the world. Oxygen-rich ozone is found here, Arizona, and Germany. It's our pine trees." Note, too, that to get here "you'll cross a bridge when you come to it." (http://cityofcovingtonla.com/live.php)

Yet following Katrina, our "small-town" has expanded tremendously, welcoming many newcomers to its charming ways. This rapid expansion, however, has brought about many changes to our geography, and as a result, a massive new zoning overhaul is currently underway. The City of Covington's Planning and Zoning department claims that they are "Preparing for Covington's Future." Its mission: "To promote quality, sustainable development within the City through such programs as growth and land use management, community development, and code and zoning compliance."

Yet when I read this on the City of Covington's website, (http://cityofcovingtonla.com/planning-and-zoning.php) I was somewhat confused by the ambiguity of the language in its mission statement. On the surface, it sounds great; sure. But what exactly is "quality, sustainable development?" And what does a "land use managemen program" entail, exactly? I read further.

"The primary issue for the Planning & Zoning Department is to promte livable and sustainable development, which ensures more orderly and efficient growth within our community...[and will] administer regulations that govern how land is developed within the City of Covington." (Namely, "Subdivisions, Apartment Complexes, Shopping Centers, Business parks," and the like).

These "Land Development regulations help provide for sound community growth by establishing certain standards for new land development or redevelopment."

The City of Covington, ultimately, seeks to "protect both quality of life and quality of investment" for its inhabitants.

This certainly makes more sense. That's wonderful that the City is so eager to monitor growth and see that our history and unique character is not lost due to our expansions of late. However, what does this mean for me? As a homeowner? As a taxpayer? As a citizen?

Come to find out, the block that my house sits on (while it was the very first house on its block back in the 1950s,) has now been re-zoned as being "residential-commercial." Wait, so now my neighbors on either side of me might actually be neighbors, or might I be sandwiched in-between a law office and a salon? Or between an antique shop and a notary? Or a restaurant? Or a doctor's office?

I must say, I would be none too happy should any situation like that occur - I much prefer having my neighbors as neighbors and living in a residential area, driving downtown (a few blocks) to experience any thrills of commerce.

Don't get me wrong - I love Covington. There is something unique and special about this place that you just don't quite meet just anywhere. This is home, and always will be. I never want to leave. But if Covington does in fact seek to "protect the quality of life and quality of investment" for me - a homeowner, citizen, and inhabitant - then perhaps they should revisit their "planning and growth management."
http://cityofcovingtonla.com

Hawai'i 5-0

Beach to be rebuilt with recovered sand

The $2.5 million project would haul thousands of cubic yards from offshore deposits

By Gary T. Kubota

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 30, 2010

The most popular beach in Hawaii is due for a partial makeover.

State officials plan to restore a portion of Waikiki Beach by taking sand from nearby shoals.

The estimated $2.5 million project would widen the 1,700-foot-long beach by about 37 feet between the Royal Hawaiian Hotel concrete groin and the Kuhio Beach crib wall.

Officials also plan to remove two deteriorating concrete groins at the east end.

The state Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands has completed its environmental assessment and plans to apply for government permits.

The project, scheduled to start in January or February, would widen the beach to its 1985 width.

Coastal lands administrator Samuel J. Lemmo said recycling the sand is cheaper and kinder to the environment than bringing in new sand.

"It's a more sustainable approach," Lemmo said. "Hopefully, this project will facilitate future projects."

Save Our Surf spokesman George Downing said he supports the method of replenishment because it is taking sand from areas that have become shallow and changed the surf in some places.

In the past, Downing has opposed importing sand and continuing to add to sediment in offshore areas, burying reef life and changing the nature of surfing areas.

One of the areas where the sand removal is planned is between surfing areas known as Queen's and Canoes, Downing said.

He said the removal will help to restore a channel that has been covered with sand from the beaches.

In the past, sand has been imported from other areas to replenish the eroding beach and contributed to additional sediment in offshore areas.

State officials plan to periodically perform regular beach maintenance by using nearshore sand.

The $2.5 million for the project includes $1.5 million from the state and $500,000 from Kyo-ya Hawaii, owner of several nearby hotels.

Lemmo said his office is seeking funds for the remaining $500,000.

The project plans to recover up to 24,000 cubic yards of sand from deposits located 1,500 to 3,000 feet offshore at a depth of 10 to 20 feet.

The sand would be pumped to a dewatering site in an enclosed basin within the eastern Kuhio Beach crib walls and then spread to the rest of the beach.

Officials also want to conduct a sand replenishment of 12,000 cubic yards in 10 years, restoring the beach to the 1985 shoreline.

The project is larger than a prior recycling effort in 2006-07, when state officials recovered 10,000 cubic yards of sand from the sea and pumped it onto the shore within the Kuhio Beach crib walls.

current event: Fairhope, AL

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, I no longer call it "home." My parents have moved to the eastern side of Mobile Bay to the small town of Fairhope. It is an uncomfortable feeling at times to not go home to a place of memories and experience, however, I have spent enough time in Fairhope through out my life to hold at least some connection to it. Not to say that it is time that offers this connection, but luckily time is what I was given. Growing up, I was fortunate to summer "over the bay" at my grandparent's home on the water. There, my brother and I enjoyed boating, sailing, fishing, swimming, watermelon-eating, and one rather shocking annual event.

Between the months of June and September, a natural phenomenon occurs on Mobile Bay. It is called a Jubilee. No one knows exactly how or why or when it happens, but local lore will provide you with some possible explanations and a definite recipe. For example, it always occurring in the hours immediately preceding dawn, during an incoming tide, with an easterly wind, and when two water masses of salt and fresh water meet.

It only occurs on the eastern shore of the bay in the area on, and north and south of, the Fairhope coastline.

The bay, consisting of brackish water (a fresh and saltwater mix), is fed from five rivers in the north and feeds into the Gulf of Mexico in the south. From the northern rivers and delta region come decaying leaves and sediment. If the conditions are just right, the organic matter on the bay floor can rapidly lose oxygen. This depletion drives the fish to the surface seeking oxygenated water.

Not only to the surface. The fish come right up to the coastline. And to fulfill every young fisherman's dream, the usually hard-to-catch-fish are stunned into a comatose state.

JUBILEE!

Residents along the bay, who know how to spot the right conditions the day before, will stay up into the night to check on the waters with flashlights and see if a jubilee has occurred. If he finds the shallow waters stocked with fish, crab, shrimp, and eels, then he runs to ring the jubilee bell. The bell wakes his neighbors and they ring their respective bells and the early-morning-noise continues up and down the bulkhead until everyone is out on the water in their pajamas scooping up breakfast.

People bring gigs, shovels, and nets to catch the seafood (an incredibly easy task--perhaps with what some may say is an unfair advantage). Then, they throw their treasured catches into anything that can hold them: trashcans, baby pools, wheelbarrows, pick-up trucks, and refrigerators.

It is a very communal ritual that people will drive in the early morning all the way from Mobile to join in for the fun and free food. Free food that may feed many hungry families in times of recession.

The origin of the name "jubilee" is unknown, but it is a word found in slave spirituals used to mark times of celebration. The day after a jubilee feels like a holiday. With beach parties, cookouts, and crab boils, there is enough food for everyone and enough for the rest of the summer as well!

Mobile Bay is the only place in the world where this natural phenomenon occurs. There is record of it happening as far back as European settlement in 1702. It has happened just about every year and, frequently, more than once a year.

However, since the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf, there has yet to be a jubilee. The "season" ends at the end of this month and residents are concerned if there will ever be a jubilee again.

Visble Eyeballs

On my walking tour I kept trying to have some Thoreau-type transcendental experience. I kept trying to rise up above Audobon Park and become an "invisible eyeball", but I felt like in the stillness my ego shone more brightly than ever.

Because the images accumulated so slowly, and because I had so much time to think, every image took on layers and layers of meaning. I had time to organize my thoughts in a way which was either more complex or less cohesive. I internalized every image and ruminated on it deeply. I expected my internal monologue to fade at some point, but it never did.

I kind of wondered if anyone else had a similar experience.. Admittedly, Audubon Park isn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but the last thing I felt like was an invisible eyeball. The piece of transcendentalist literature with which I identified most closely on that walk was the part of Emerson where he discusses how man gives meaning to nature. I felt like without my existence, or the existence of any form of higher consciousness, nature would mean less. I can't decide if this is a selfishly anthropocentric perspective I should try to overcome or if this is the sort of enlightened egotism upon which postmodernism is based-- the idea that a universe is constructed inside one's mind. I'm rather attached to my anthropocentrism. I'm not sure I want to move past it. I wonder if that makes me a bad person.

A "koanic" interpretation

A single dewdrop!Falls from a petal of the lotus flowerAnd seeps back into unityA brief ripple in the waterTo what shall I liken my self?~Gregory Smith
What is death but the remanifestation of the self? Liken yourself to this dewdrop and peer into its very core, for you are it, and it is you. Distance yourself from the discordant voices of the outside and listen in silence to the story of the dewdrop. You believe that you are a single, solitary entity, indeed naïve to the world, born from the cloud womb and taken consciousness, fallen from the heavens to earth in order to take part in this collective experience, this interbeing called Life. Seeping into the waters, you find that you have become a ripple, a brief spell, an impermanent undulation, a swoon upon its variegated surface. You begin to rise to your climax and experience the divine rapture of life. You are at your prime and can see over the entire surface, taking pleasure in its depth and purity. Soon the spell is broken and you instantly realize that this moment will not last forever. You fall into dénouement and consider this the end of your self. Death is the end. You will no longer be, and the water will be your eternal grave…
WAKE UP! See that you were, are and always will be water! You were never born! You will never die! You are eternal. Life is an infinite flux of impermanence. Impermanent in order to appreciate the moment. You were never separate from the source. You are the source! Realize your self in it.
The purpose of this analogy is to spur you into the realization that there is no “you” without nature, without the source, nor is there a “source” without you. Tap into that source of power. Seep back into that unity and come back in contact with the source around you.

Gimme some fish food

After a particularly sweaty bike ride to school this morning, I walked into a Tulane classroom where I am taking a course (ironically enough) on Religions of Native North America. As we have come to be able to expect, the classroom was far lower in temperature than the air outside. While at first I was relieved to cool after a hot ride, my perspiration soon turned into a clamminess and I was forced to bundle up in a sweater. I noticed on the wall next to me a little sign that said "CLIMATE CONTROLLED CLASSROOM, PLEASE DO NOT OPEN WINDOWS." I instantly felt slightly trapped and was reminded as I am again and again how much we live in a society obsessed with condition control. The indoors have become our fortresses against the "outside" world which we strive to defend: no insects may infiltrate our territory--for this is automatically perceived as a personal threat (all spiders aim to strike, all wasps to sting), facilities must be sanitary and the atmosphere inside must give no hint to the natural season occurring when you step out the door. Not only do we draw the line between ourselves and our co-inhabitant creatures adamantly, but we subject our bodies to extreme changes in temperature to which they must constantly re-adapt. It makes me wonder not only how this way of living affects our health (and I suspect a connection to the beginning-of-the-year common cold epidemics among students to overly-A/Cd classrooms), but the toll of such sterility on the soul.

Humans are very peculiar animals. I find it strange and perhaps evolutionarily faulty that we have developed to be this species (or really a sub-set of a species if we are only really talking about "first-world" humans here) who has constructed an infrastructure and way of life that makes it possible to spend only the mere minutes a day actually exposed to the atmosphere: between one door and another (from your home to car to building to car to grocery store to home) . Most of us no longer possess the sacred knowledge passed on for thousands of years of making a fire. The torch has been dropped. On the time line of human history we have adapted to existence in such a way that we can no longer adapt to the world which we have not created ourselves. We built walls and our windows are now screwed shut. We can only look through the glass of human civilization to the rest of the world. We are the sickly spectacle. We are the ones in the aquarium being gawked at.

Images of My Emerson

I was really excited to do the "walking tour" for this course, since the subject matter we are focusing on requires a lot of hands on application. I generally jog in Audubon in the mornings and I find that there are a lot of differences between the times of day, be it morning, noon, or dusk (since its closed at night). All three of these times gives Audubon a totally different personality.

On the side, I do photography as a private business and have done photo shoots over there. The photos always resonate with me since it is such a beautiful place in the middle of such a chaotic city. Much like Central Park in New York, Audubon gives a type of serenity and natural appeal that can be hard to find in such a nitty-gritty city. The contrasts

between the two are remarkable, but are beautiful I find in different ways.

I know that Emerson and Thoreau were very loyal to the natural world, but I do appreciate the man made one as well. In its own way it has a life, that can be corroded or intrusive, but certainly "alive" with just as much personality.

I suppose I just have a lot more walking to do, but I know I'll figure out my stance soon - taking photos and writing reflection pieces along the way.

Green Lit, Food Rules, Us and Nature

I really wanted to talk about Food Rules. I know we have a blog for that, but this post is not really about the rules in food rules, but the idea of food coming from nature so I thought it was more fitting to put it in this blog.

Really Food Rules has really been interesting and it makes the argument that we need to start going back to nature and eat what nature has given us, not something that is chemically made in a lab or plant. We have just started in the class, but as we gone through and look at our reading list, it is a call to nature - to the wilds. As globalization and industrialization we have lost touch with nature and where we and the food we eat come from. As we begin to read this texts on different landscape and environmental issues we are facing we should begin to make changes in our own life that reflect our new understand of nature and an integration back into it.

Food Rules is one of the first texts that presents us this with this opportunity. After walking in nature and as we see what is around and what is growing under our feet we should wonder where are food is coming from. I came from Vietnam so even as I'm living in America I have a good understanding of growing food, the land, and being apart of that system. I do often find myself eating things that doesn't have one natural ingredient in it! I think now we should really start at what we're buying at the grocery stores and what our food is made of. We should be more conscious of where the food we are eating comes from - what country, what ingredients, and it from the ground or from a food production plant. Green Lit is given us a chance to look at many different type of landscape and the way some are slowly becoming alter of human development and advancement. I think we have to start of being more mindful of how our wants are affecting nature, and it doesn't have be in an obsessive way. But once we know we can find a way to still have what we need to live well, with little impact on the environment. I also highly recommend those who have land or pots to start growing a few things so we can see the dedication and love people and nature put into growing plants that nourish us.

If you want to know more about what some of us are doing with Food Rules, come check out the sister blog : D

(The, an, a, your, our, this, my) environment

In class last week, we discussed the idea of how the word "environment" has had many words added before it in the modern day. These often give us a different idea of the word itself and how we view its definition. We discussed the phrase "the environment" for a while and what comes to mind when we think of the phrase. I took sometime to think of other various ways the word is brought up in ever day conversation and what type of view that gives us of the word.

Take for instance the phrase "Our environment." This seems to give a possessive sense to the word obviously, but what does that tell us about the phrase? Since it is possessive in tense, it comes with a sense of obligation. Some would feel inclined to find some sort of pro-action with the environment by saying "our environment" but it also seems to comes with a sense of detachment as well. The detachment we would feel from this possessive sense would make us lose the idea of "spirit" as Emerson calls it. Spirit meaning a relation between reason and nature which we must be separate from. If we were to take this idea of the spirit being something we can't get to as Emerson does, the possessive nature in the phrase "our environment" would immediately detach us from that and would lose a sense of reason in understanding the environment.

Another example, which I heard a dog handler say, is the idea behind this whole "healthy environment." What exactly is an unhealthy environment? Generally the sentence one would normally hear would state something like "We have created a healthy environment for the (blank)." Again there is a detachment from the spirit but it also brings on this sense of the "man made" or artificial which completely debunks this whole idea of the environment aiding us.

The idea of an environment being bad or good brings leaves one with a sense of separation as well. Modern psychology strictly believes that a persons surroundings or their environment effects their behavior which has shown to be true. However, if the original sense of the environment within nature is supposed to possess all these unattainable things, how can one truly determine what is a healthy or unhealthy environment?

These an other examples show how the definition of the word has certainly changed in perspective and has taken on a sense of ambiguity. These perspectives have certainly strayed from the original study or definition of the word however.

the privilege to BE!

"What noble emotions dilate the mortal as he enters into the counsels of the creation, and feels by knowledge the privilege to BE!"

This selection from Emerson and his whole Nature is a lot to grasp at times. To be so in tune and ecstatic about nature is something we all feel from time to time but usually not on an everyday basis. When one goes to some exotic island or to a lush park, the feelings of awe and true privilege are there, but not in our general surroundings. This is especially true if one lives in the city, like I have my whole life.

Yesterday while walking home from school(normal walking, not my walking tour), I tried to look at the little nature around and my ideas on it were. While walking from Loyola to Tulane and then one Broadway, there wasn't much besides fairly small tress and nicely trimmed grass. This allows us to have slight glances at nature and remember what it looks like. I understood this, thinking there had to be roads and house is this neighborhood and it was lucky enough that some of the trees were kept since so many are cut down in building. I thought about how young they looked though; not that tall or with a thick trunk. I did notice though that many had exposed roots. When looking at these roots, I remembered my times on my grandpa's property in the hill country of Texas playing around those think roots, hiding behind them and trying not to trip. Roots of trees are the visual origin of the tree for us and of truly so much more. These roots grow trees for us to play on, look at, allow for our breathing and those this is completely sacrilegious to say in a "green" world, they allow for paper making to write these beautiful and life changing novels and poems we read.

When thinking of this, I realized even the smallest parts of nature can bring us back to moments in our lives that truly touched us and then really let us feel a connection to nature. Maybe when we are not in Hawaii or Alaska or other breath taking places, we must find the small pieces of nature we see and relate it to ourselves and our experiences to find connections. Though this sounds self-centered, it is in this connection that we realize how amazing this nature is and the incredible entity it is.

As a Catholic, I found myself feeling such gratitude to the God I believe in. Like Emerson said, whatever your "counsels of creation" happen to be, you relate it back to that; whether a God or simply the great creator nature itself.

It is through this knowledge of my connection to my "counsel of creation" and nature that did make me feel privileged to be. Privileged to be alive.

Current Event, 9/10/10

Some of you may have heard this by now, but coming home from class today I heard on 99.5 that there had been a huge gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California. I came home and looked up the article online, curious to find out more details.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129838309

This article gives a detailed explanation, and also raises economic issues concurrent with the potential hazardous situation we find ourselves in with the aging gas lines across America.

Part of my house runs on gas; kind of makes this hit a little too close to home, if you know what I mean.

Not sure if this or suicidal shrimp is more disturbing..

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/special-features/freo-snails-grow-pensies-on-head/story-e6frg19l-1225917615063

To be one with nature is to be eaten

Last night I watched Herzog's Grizzly Man long-awaited from Netflix. I was submerged in many bizarre sensations as I watched Timothy Treadwell's attempt to commune with nature

by spending his summers for 13 years in close quarters with massive grizzly bears, which he had granted names such as Freckles, Mr. Chocolate, Mickey, etc. He was in love with the bears for their perfection, and claimed to be their "protector". He expressed several times throughout the film his desire to be one of them in this beartopia of Alaska, and his distaste for human society. He longed to become a bear but as this is not possible but in cultures of magic or

reincarnation or Animorphs, he became an advocate for them instead by making his film documentary on his bear-enthusiasm and giving lectures at schools for free.

While Timothy had good intentions in being with the bears (perhaps Emerson's unity or the equalization of the species), he was clearly misguided. Timothy could have actually been putting the bears more at risk by acclimating them to humans, which in other situations could result in their being shot. And as an Alaskan Native American interviewed pointed out, the bear and human line had always been up kept in native culture for thousands of years, and to cross it was the most disrespect that could be given to the creature. Apart from that, Timothy was not the naturalist he strove to be in that he denied the predator-prey division (or union) and felt that this was something that could be smoothed over by sweet words. Unfortunately his affection could not counter-weigh the bear's hunger.

I wish Timothy could have been a bear. I too have felt at different points that I would have preferred to exist on this earth as a different species, to experience the world and time from the perspective of an insect (dragonflies have a 360 degree field of vision). While it can invoke wonder to imagine, at some point you have to come to terms with your flesh and mind as a human being. I do not think homosapien-hatred is the solution to the gripes we may have with where we are at in the development of our species; I find it frankly sad. We cannot escape into the fantasy of being another form to avoid responsibility. It is a strange paradox to love "nature" so much that you put animals and plants and on a pedestal to the point that you take hostages at the Discovery Channel Headquarters and threaten the lives of another kind of animal. While an appreciation of our co-inhabitants of this earth is necessary for the empathy to protect them, we have to keep that love healthily in check. We are animals too.

Westward to Freedom

“Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free” (Thoreau 603)

In “Walking” Thoreau mentions specifically the outline of his walks to be that of a “parabola” likening his path through the woods to the orbit of the planets. The point he makes with this comparison is that like the orbit of the planets, the human race *naturally* migrates in a fixed path and to go against this path is in a sense, unnatural. He repeatedly proclaims that the path eastward is to the politics of the city, but to travel westward is to freedom. At the time Thoreau was writing this essay, the west was an untamed wilderness. Europeans had traveled west to discover the new land of the Americas and many immigrants flocked to this land of opportunity creating a melting pot of cultures. America represented a new and exciting civilization brimming with potential while Europe remained an established culture full of history. However, the eastern coast of America had developed into an established and bustling civilization and settlements were slowly expanding westward. In his lifetime, Thoreau did not see the full expansion and settling of the west (which still remained untamed for many decades). Therefore, the west to Thoreau represented opportunity, freedom, and most importantly beauty in its most natural state in a way that we today can only understand in historical context. Thoreau believed firmly that “we go westward into the future” which could easily be a slogan for the majority of United States history. However, how does Thoreau’s philosophy on the west still hold true today when the “wild west” has been tamed? The modern reader may still interpret the essence of Thoreau’s thoughts without the same understanding of eastern vs. western culture. Today the east is still traditionally richer in history; and the west is the home of radical new ideas (think Southern California in the 1960’s where the “free-love” and anti-war movements flourished).

The image below is of a car driving along a Southern California highway. I think it demonstrates what is difficult to put into words; a certain contradiction of the freedom Thoreau saw in the west (which we experience much differently today) and the development that inevitably came with the journey westward.