Ganoderma applanatum "Artist's Conk"

Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Polyporales
Family:	Ganodermataceae
Genus:	Ganoderma
Species:	G. applanatum

Bloodroot in Bloom

Trout Lilies

Collection of shelf fungus, sea shells, pine cones, fossils and hardened cherry sap.

Reindeer Moss Lichens, White Pine cone, Cedar bark and Ferns
, 

Presumpscot River Preserve

Today we hiked the Presumpscot River Preserve, an easy jaunt in the vicinity of Falmouth/North Deering neighborhoods, just north of Portland, Maine. The trail-head is well marked with a sign and runs through a 60 acre preserve starting from Summit Street.  There is a metal gate in place to prevent vehicles beyond the mountain bikes from entering.   Summit Street doesn't offer parking, but the nearest side street to the trail head is a quiet residential neighborhood just footsteps away.  There were perhaps 10 or so other people enjoying the trail today.

This trail offers an easy mile-or-so hike to the Presumpscot river, with one area at the river that's uphill for perhaps 20 yards. There are several more trails branching off once you're down to the river, but we didn't venture more than that first mile and then back again, since I had been to the dentist this morning, so I was feeling a little uncomfortable.   It was around 65 degrees, a little hazy but sunny, and far less windy than it's been on the Portland peninsula.

It's a mixed woods, with primarily a few small Eastern Hemlock, White Pine, White Birch, Beech, and Oak.  Several small streams, and other runs, low-lying marshy areas are all along either side of the trail, but mainly to the right, or river-side of the trail.

It is obviously an area that experiences a lot of drainage and was quite moist despite the recent dry, clear weather.   Solomon's Seal is up, we saw a few dozen to the side of the trail, about 6” high with 5 or so leaves. This is typical timing for them in the region. A thriver, they extend all the way from Sasketchewan south to Florida, Montana to New Mexico. They come up in May and bloom from late May through June.

We saw one patch, about a square meter, with around a half dozen Sessile Bellwort in bloom. This very common early bloomer from the lily family, Uvularia Sessifolia, get to be about 6”high, and have a range across nearly all of wooded North America.

Yellow Trout Lilies are a favorite of mine, not for their graceful drooping flowers, but for the speckled patterns on their waxy, wide leaves. There were quite a few of these....

"Troutlily Gaggle"

Exceptional specimens of  Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl.

The Trout Lilies we saw were all 6" in height.   Common Violets were in the lawns in the residential area, but we only saw purple,  no canadian, white or yellow varieties.  One chipmunk was spotted.

Strangely, there were no song birds. Not a lot of undergrowth to attract them, and with a hundred bird-feeders in the residential area flanking the trail, it's likely they've got it pretty good...Nik did think he saw a Turkey 

We were pleased to see Horsetails with their graphic looking stems.

They were new, also about 6" tall, stems perhaps 1/2 inch diameter, tops. I had, in fact, never seen horsetails before, but knowing that these are prehistoric fern-like plants with unique and interesting characteristics and taxonomy, I was pleased to run up on them.  I would love to re-visit them to get a good look as they grow and as the season wears on. Today I was very interested to learn that their rhizomatic root system outweighs the tops by a 100 to 1. 

Everything seemed at the same height, about 6".  Probably everything shot up at once about 1 week ago.  

Along the trail today, we saw that a number of trees were downed, or otherwise done-for,  most likely broken off in wind storms,and hanging in precarious positions. We have had a rough, long winter here in Southern Maine, with temps below F. 0 for a good week, and one of the worst blizzards ever, so it's not surprising to see this amount of downed wood.  Wind provides a cleansing of weaker branches, a natural pruning, if you will.  These trails are maintained by volunteers, and I'm sure they are always happy to have helping hands or donations. If you live in Maine, or a frequent visitor, and value access to the outdoors and experiences in natural setting, support Maine Trails, a very good cause, methinks.

Warmer Springs Mean Less Snow Cover, Disruptions for Plants and Animals, and More Allergies, Scientists Say | Union of Concerned Scientists

Warmer Springs Mean Less Snow Cover, Disruptions for Plants and Animals, and More Allergies, Scientists Say | Union of Concerned Scientists

The Ecology of Snow http://www.grida.no/publications/geo-ice-snow

Maine is famous for Tourmaline, and it is the official Maine State Mineral.

Tourmaline is a group of similar mineral species varying in composition and color. 

Two species of the tourmaline group are widespread in the igneous rocks of southwestern Maine. 

 

Schorl is a black iron-rich variety, and by far the more common of the two.

Elbaite is a lithium-bearing tourmaline that forms beautiful crystals in pink, green, blue, or combinations of these colors.









Attribution: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com

The Unjust, Conscience and Happiness...

It's been said that ignorance is bliss, because when the unjust remain ignorant of the nature of their acts, they can be happy.  But the deliberate unjust seek temporary and selfish satisfaction sowing seeds of strife with others and abide with the knowledge of the harm that they do.  We have conscience and laws to answer to.  Where either is lacking, injustice thrives.  Some are of the mind that appearances and self satisfaction are enough to be happy in life.   Others believe that freedom to act within our personal rights is a greater good than justice for all.  When we are shown to be self serving, we may be just if it does no harm to anyone, but where these interests compete, the greater good must be determined and must prevail for society to function.  Individual interests do not a happy society make. 
The more injustice a society has injected into it, the unhappier it becomes for all.  I  believe the unjust man is not ultimately happy.  The actions of the unjust create suffering for the just and the unjust alike.  Suffering injustice leads the unjust to become so.   The unjust do not trust others or situations enough to be just or believe that being just is going to bring happiness.  I believe that the unjust experience happiness in a selfish and temporary way.  The unjust seek personal ends, but have a kind of contempt and distrust for their fellow man.  Their actions may provide temporary gains to themselves, but would not make for the most happy circumstances necessary to constitute a happy life. Their actions take away from happiness in society. 

Socrates asked if the just compete with the just, and Glaucon determined that they do not.  So the just can abide with the just, and increase harmony, or happiness for a society.   He also then postulated that the unjust will compete with the unjust or the just, the same.   This part of Socrates reasoning resonates with me as key to understanding how competing interests create strife.  I think it's important to consider that "The Republic" is utopian theory, or a view toward a perfect society.

I think that the views of Socrates are not flawed, but are inconclusive.  Socrates does not offer perfect reasoning, but reasoning can never be perfect because nature is not consistent.  Instead, he provides a framework with several ways of viewing what can be considered best practices.  He is correct in that to be just and to have the knowledge that one is just is beneficial to many in the most circumstances, and creates the most good relations in society, which in turn leads to the most possible "net" happiness.   Even if our "gross" actions are thought unjust by some, we can gain personal satisfaction and happiness knowing we did our best to do the right thing.  However, this personal satisfaction must not be the goal of the just, as that gives no thought to the benefit to society, or what is for the good of the whole.  What others perceive is relative to their position on the matters at hand.  Thus we are presented with the Allegory of the Cave.

The Allegory of the Cave holds much relevance to society today.  Particularly American society, where we are now each exposed to so much of the same things through the media. Our reality is subverted in this way, but few pause to consider the implications.  We must remain alert to things that would chain us to concepts, ideas, conclusions about ourselves, each other, and about the world.  When thinking becomes outdated and no longer useful, or worse, harmful to our fate, it's because we fail to consider the nature of things from a different perspective.  We do things how they've always been done.  We stick with ideas that we are taught by our parents and grandparents.  We vote the same way our neighbors vote.  We believe things because of popular sources, not because of the substance.   When crisis comes, do we have the capacity to solve problems, or might our “little world” shatter because we cannot think outside the box?

  

This conference has been a good place for conservation psychology
research.

>>> Human Ecology <humanecology@coa.edu> 6/19/2012 8:04 PM >>>

XIX International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology
jointly with
IV International Conference on Sustainability Science in Asia
February 5-8, 2013 The Australian National University Canberra,
Australia


Decisions that Work: Linking Sustainability, Environmental
Responsibility and Human Well-being
Register your interest at http://societyforhumanecology.org/ or email
she.icssasia@gmail.com


On behalf of the organizing committee, you are invited to contribute to
SHE XIX / ICSS-Asia conference Decisions that Work: Linking
Sustainability, Environmental Responsibility and Human Well-being. The
conference will bring together a diverse group of educators, researchers
and practitioners interested in interdisciplinary and ecological
approaches to humanity’s relationship to the natural environment. The
2013 conference will focus on the co-benefits that actions to increase
environmental sustainability have for the health and well-being of
people. This broad theme will be further refined through four special
plenary panel discussions that will each introduce a sub-theme.
Conference Sub-Themes
a) Reinventing the Future: How can we develop the holistic and
integrative knowledge required for tackling sustainability problems,
what is the role of design, and what contribution can institutions of
education make?
b) Global Food Security: How can we sustainably and equitably manage
global food systems to reduce the vulnerability of urban populations and
increase the resilience of rural communities and landscapes?
c) Co-Benefits of Sustainability and Human Health: How can we improve
the links between policies and sustainability interventions to emphasize
that these are co-beneficial for both the environment and human health
and wellbeing?
d) Responsibility for Change: The primary obstacle to sustainability is
not lack of knowledge but an inability to act based on what we know.
What are the respective responsibilities of formal policy institutions,
NGOs, informal citizen groups and individual consumers for achieving the
necessary behavioral change? How can collaboration between these
elements of society be fair and equitable?


4 Ways to Contribute


1. Organize a Session

Organized Sessions should fill a 1½ hour block and involve up to 4
speakers. Session organizers are invited to propose a theme or set of
papers that expand on the conference themes. Other session topics are
also welcome. The organizer is responsible for the coordination of
participants. At this point, only provide session summary information
and the names of your intended sessions speakers. Abstracts for the
individual speaker’s papers are not yet needed.
2. Contribute a Paper

Individual papers will be grouped by the organizing committee into sets
of four papers on similar issues. Paper presentations typically follow a
format of 15 minutes talk plus 5 minutes of discussion.
3. Facilitate a Workshop

You are invited to propose a workshop or roundtable discussion. These
hour and half long sessions are in a looser format than formal papers.
They are designed to encourage exchange of ideas among participants and
to discuss different approaches to knowledge integration. Please include
a description of your session’s format and objectives and target
audience.
4. Student Online Workshop

Local and international students are encouraged to participate in a
pre-conference workshop to be held 4 February with the theme “Sustaining
People Sustaining Places”. The workshop will feature short pre-recorded
powerpoint presentations (pecha-kucha format), suitable for on-line
delivery. A further 5 minutes will be available for discussion,
including by skype for remote student delegates. Limited funding for
international travel may be awarded to the best presentation proposal.
Teachers of programs of human ecology who would like their students to
participate in this initiative for course accreditation in their home
institution are encouraged to email she.icssasia@gmail.com
Register your interest at http://societyforhumanecology.org/ or email
she.icssasia@gmail.com
For all session types, please provide your name, affiliation, a title,
30 word summary description and 250 word abstract.


Please forward this email together with the attached flyer to any
relevant lists.
Who look forward to seeing you in Canberra in 2013!

Regards
Rob Dyball
SHE President elect, on behalf of the organizing committee

Greatest Danger to Capitalism? (Hint: It isn't "Treehuggers")

The main dangers to the success of capitalism are the very people who would consider themselves its most ardent advocates : the investors who insist on profits, the management of these companies, and the politicians who tirelessly insist that they are 'pro-business'."

From The Economist:

"Many of the corporate scandals that America, especially, has endured in recent years reflect outright criminality. A lawful order knows what to do with criminals, and pro-business politicians are in truth militantly anti-capitalist if they flinch from cracking down on bosses' crimes."

"...widespread and quite outrageous abuse, by capitalists, of capitalism... The danger exists everywhere in the world, but it matters most in the United States."

The Economist, Special 160th Anniversary Issue, A Survey of Capitalism and Democracy, June 26-July 4, 2003

..............................................

Politicians strain to outdo each other with promises to 'get tough' on crime and to bring law and order back to the streets.There is no question that common street crime is an important social concern. But its image has become so bloated in the mirror of public opinion that it blocks our view of the white collar crimes which are both more costly and more dangerous to society."

James Coleman. The Criminal Elite. 1985. St. Martin's Press

.............................................

Here's an example of that beloved unfettered capitalism....

Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation 

in the US High Plains and Central Valley. 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1200311109

Bridget R. Scanlona,  Claudia C. Fauntb, Laurent Longuevergnec, Robert C. Reedya, William M. Alleyb, Virginia L. McGuired, and Peter B. McMahone

Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78713-8924;

Geosciences Rennes, University de Rennes, Rennes Cedex, France

Edited by William A. Jury, University of California, Riverside, CA, and approved March 14, 2012 (received for review January 10, 2012)

Abstract

Aquifer over-exploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for 50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains results in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower re-charge in the central and southern High Plains has resulted in focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater, mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion is highly localized with about a third of depletion occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area. Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next 30 y. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater. The Central Valley is a more dynamic, engineered system, with north/south diversions of surface water since the 1950s contributing to higher recharge.  However, these diversions are regulated because of impacts on endangered species. A newly developed Central Valley Hydrologic Model shows that groundwater depletion since the 1960s, totaling 80 km3, occurs mostly in the south (Tulare Basin) and primarily during droughts. Increasing water storage through artificial recharge of excess surface water in aquifers by up to 3 km3 shows promise for coping with droughts and improving sustainability of groundwater resources in the Central Valley.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So we can see how capitalism will push businesses to eat their seed stock to maximize profits in the short term.  I suppose those trading in derivatives of these markets are thinking they can gamble their way out, or perhaps this leads to businesses who need to be bailed out by the taxpayers later on.  This is obviously unsustainable, and will inevitably be challenged.  Investors and those profiteering from the depletion of non-renewable resources are their own worst enemies.

Der Spiegel's Victims of Extreme "Green"

It seems Germans have taken it upon themselves to become martyrs for the cause of environmental degradation, and are suffering for it greatly… The whole article is a huge whine fest about how all of Germany is suffering under the weight of their own green – extremism. Sounds like a high school science project gone amuck.

Notice how nothing you hear about is ever being done in moderation. It’s all or nothing… overreacting, hysteria, burdensome impositions...

...and then, of course the resentments and backlash from those opposed to stopping the collapse of the ecosystem we rely on for our existence..

Also, notice how there has been no onslaught of grass roots efforts to reduce environmental impact of our behaviors... No ‘bottom up” solutions, such as “community gardens." 
In Germany, it can be argued that "Veggie Thursday" is more aptly named "Expensive Guilt Reconciliation Thursday" leaving everyone feeling a bit anemic in the nation famous for sausage.  Are there express misgivings over preparing vegetarian meals for a small fraction of their existence? It's probably not making many gourmets out of them, is it?

As I read the scathing criticisms for all these "literal" translations of what amounts to experimental solutions, I easily conjure up practical, and basically FREE solutions for nearly every one of these “complaints” as I read them…

The regulations from above that are enforced onto people are going to be huge let downs… and we're surprised by this, why?   Are people really so helpless and hapless in the face of environmental challenges? Simple solutions at home seem quite salient and realistic.

Have Germans lost their “edge” when it comes to innovation and engineering?  And never mind that, a better question is, why on this green earth would anyone rely on “industry” at any rate to solve these problems?  Think about that for a moment...

Germany's citizens are sounding a lot like beleaguered guinea pigs for industrial solutions. 

Not that there may be some solutions that are applicable on a wide scale, effective, and successful in a wide distribution... I'm sure there are... but are too many just going to rely on that?

But wasn’t it Einstein (A German) who said that the thing that causes the problem is unlikely to be the source of its solution, or some such pap?

Traditions and Cultural Evolution

Cultural traditions evolved because they carry a people forward. Too many cultural traditions no longer serve the purpose they once did, but have been carried around like a cross to bear.  We are now splintered, being bogged down, held back, confounded, and controlled. Technology, mobility, and advances in education and available knowledge have rendered very much of our great grandparent's worlds completely foreign to us, so why do we still dust off so many of the same beliefs, traditions, habits that they held in order to continue to tell ourselves nothing has changed, while the world outside is on fire with changes? We might begin to look at these changes with wide open vision, and examine our beliefs, our traditions in the light of this fire, and do what we can to create new understanding. Where once there was trust and belief, we must find new ways of coping. Where once there were rituals fit for a world that is behind us, we need new ways to make sense of the world in which we now live.

So, do economic values trump everything?

Dec. 20, 2011

Want to be spoon fed an apologist's resolved defeat in an all you can eat, bottomless barrage of fatalism?  If this sounds like something you could go for right now, read today's TIME Science article "Winning the Conservation War: How to Manage the World We're Stuck with"

It really crystallizes so much of what's wrong, and what cannot be made right in the world.  The mainstream mentality so often heard now, complacency. 

So, Time's piece encourages us to be complicit to a "reality" to which we are subjected and of which we are subjects at once;
From the article:

"...a recent scientific review that looked at 240 studies of different types of ecosystems following major disturbances like deforestation or oil spills, and found that the abundance of plant and animal species recovered at least partially in 72% of them."

They call this "winning."
How very Anemic and pathetic.
In this Time article, the most solemn and sickening sentence I see is this:

"In a world where economic values almost always trump environmental ones this may be the best we hope for"

So, do economic values trump everything?  Maybe in a world to which the apologists would damn us all.  In that world, those who would think of revolting, the message is, "You Lose."

It seems to me there is often displayed in certain corners of the media, this arrogant agreement toward conciliation. A "bow" to moneyed interests which seemingly prevail in all aspects of the physical world to a degree that is disheartens if you know of no other reality.

There is certainly a tense resolve in our collective situation that can urge most of us toward denial and distractions a-plenty.  The burdensome sense of truth is met with what must surely be the ultimate, "Fuck It!" a la the Bohemian Grove's infamous "Cremation of Care" ritual. 

Some folks really know no other way than the one they're in, and the one that is also, in effect, doled out to us.   Some, likely most, folks wake in the morning to a reality that more and more, they did not choose for themselves; they wake to a life that is less and less of their own design. We are born into a prescribed sense of fatalism, we are defined. We are defeated.

But are we damned?

If not, then, what does saving ourselves even look like?

We cannot choose to walk, or ride Bicycles instead of driving a car because, in many areas there are too many dangers.   Limited or nonexistent access to this option or many others leads some to fight for bike-lanes and awareness.  Some take this front and a few in some more progressive urban areas make it their life's work.  It is one battle in the war.

We can seek out or work to build up alternative economies, smaller, local economies.  Worker  Co-ops.   Local barter groups,  "hours exchange" programs,  local currencies.   Buy from makers you know.  Make for ourselves, DIY.    Skillshares.   Many actively reject the extreme specialization that creates dependency on the destructive system.  "Don't be a cog."   Some take this front.  It is one battle in the war.

We look for ways to reuse things, recycle, use it up, make do.... but then we learn that recycling garbage into fabric and selling it back to us is bad for the oceans... It's all garbage.  A plastic world.  Garbage in, garbage out. The laws of conservation of matter are a real bitch.
Solution: Choose local, organic foods. Organic fibers. Natural organic fibers. Flax. Hemp. Cotton. Wool. Non gmo.  This is another front.

We innovate, cut back, shore up and access renewable energy. Some opt for wind, photovoltaics, masonary stoves, coppicing managed woodlots, use of passive solar, fuels made from recycled vegetable oil, alternative building, alternative lifestyles, public transport, rail...
Another front.

In the city, programs are underway to figure out how to grow food vertically, or to reclaim and remediate such nastiness as mercury and lead in unused lots through a process of chelating pollution by growing sunflowers. Growing healthy food nearby. Security from fluctuating food prices, and processed foods that make us sick... Food justice.  It is one of life's greatest pleasures to understand what there is to appreciate about the ability to eat healthy, tasty, slow food. When more people come to see what factory farms are really up to, we can choose to become vegetarians or vegans, even for only one day a week, and it cuts the problem by 1/7th.
Another front.

We can demand, or build our own, homes that are within the landscape, not on it. We can build with natural materials, locally sourced, renewable. We can live in homes that are scaled down, comforting, nurturing, protective. As it turns out efficient and small is also smart. The opportunity to adopt minimalism is always at hand. Give away "stuff", and stop buying more. Far more people can choose to go with a low tech lifestyles, head on back to the earth. Alternative building. Rammed earth. Strawbale.   Another front...

So the more this information is shared, becomes known, becomes our first hand experience, then the more support for our own industriousness at hand instead of industry imposed upon us we shall see. (Unless we're repeatedly denied access to such occasion, experiential learning, information, and resources, which is why co-ops and community initiatives are of vital importance now.)

It is in us, we have evolved to sow and grow, and it is still with us since long before marketplaces, or our propensity to sell and buy.

As it turns out, it's helpful, healthful to green things up, and it's not "rocket science", though science is immensely helpful when applied to something of use.

Back to the earth.

Will more and more of us move away from the technology, refusing to be "in on it",  or will we continue to play along nicely?

It is becoming harder for the dungeon masters to convince the players to continue on with the status quo.  It's becoming obvious that human beings will fuck a majority of their own selves out of existence on the current trajectory.

By creating my own life, right where I am and wherever I go in the future, I can increase my own "environmental values" in all the ways I possibly can find to do so. Breaking from a world where economic values trumps all else. Finding out ways and means to make my whole life, everything about it, into an endeavor of activism and protest.
over 30 years ago,  my dad abandoned my mom and I.  When he came to get his remaining things, I questioned his cold stare. I mustered the guts to ask him how he could sit there and watch his own daughter cry like that and not even flinch. He said, "That's just the way it is"
To this day, these words lift me out of complacency, out of apathy, and move me to action, because that was how it was to him, in his world. In my world, what was happening was inconceivable, and remains so to this day.
I am sick of having the values of the world explained to me, being told, this is just how it is.

When I make up my mind that I simply refuse to be complicit in predefined, status quo, traditions that support the reality that was created for me without my say, that alone eliminates a reality that has been dictated to me, and all in my society.      I strive to see, and hope to understand the world, not based on what I've been told, or what others believe, but solely on face value.  I want to see the reality in the world for what it is; Not for what others see, or what I'm told it is, So often there is a pre-arranged lie everyone agrees upon.  Everyone goes around telling each other these same lies again and again.   

The path less chosen...

Something is happening on the planetary scale. Humans have caused a lot of damage to our planet over the course of very short time. We have withdrawn from having direct experience in nature, and turned toward symbolic realities; we have a tolerance for being crowded, we can get by in managed artificial environments, we survive through commercialization, relying solely on socially facilitated constructs of nature.  We are at a crossroads, and one way continues on the status quo, the other will be very challenging.  Change is difficult and even when one wants it, it is hard won.

International Panel on Climate Change Press Conference November 18

The 1st joint session of IPCC Working Groups I and II will consider the finalization of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. In accordance with the IPCC procedures, the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Special Report will be approved line by line by governments and the underlying assessment report, which runs to several hundred pages, will be presented for acceptance. Media representatives are cordially invited to a press conference on 18 November 2011 where the
findings of the Special Report will be presented and the Summary for Policymakers made available.
(Please note that clicking the paragraph above takes you to a PDF file of the press release)

The 2011 Interim Report from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change presents an overview ... And this is the information that 's being presented by the "private sector", and it states that global warming will be a good thing. If you'd like to see the junk science from the for profit lobby, go here: www.nipccreport.com/reports/2011/2011report.html

I expect the political climate will be "heating up" quite a lot after November 18.

Philips presents: The Microbial Home (tm)

The Microbial Home

Industry charges thousands of dollars for a "solution".  Products that are sustainable and that make good sense because they can afford the R&D to meet government approval, (or perhaps government gives them millions to develop such technology?).
Meanwhile, there are other ways of going about it that are essentially restricted. It would not be that difficult to develop solutions  like these with basic materials, that are DIY, and able to be built by nearly anyone right in the home and be far more affordable and accessible. There would be immediate benefits, but not if only those wealthy enough can access the technology (while meanwhile our former centralized infrastructure outside crumbles for lack of tax revenues?)

Instead of elected bureaucrats with no understanding of science, usually with a vested interest in  solutions offered by some industry, or their "nephew's" company... 

What if we had an "office of innovation" in every region of the USA where a group of engineers could evaluate DIY solutions and tell the bureaucrats what's the score, instead of the other way around?

If we can't allow for innovations and solutions at that DIY level, we disempower people from accessing practical, sensibly sustainable solutions that we desperately need. Aternatives make us hopeful, but they're just not realistic. No one believs these solutions are necessary here and now.  People say, Oh, my grandchildren might live to see this. No.  It is here, now. In the next 5 years, these solutions will begin to be implemented all around us...

...if we can afford to adopt them.

I can't yet afford an electric car.  (Though I saw an ad for the 100% electric Mitsubishi for around $20,000 that gets something like 130 miles to a charge?)

Another example, we're seeing bureaucrats decide to divert tax money toward private or charter schools, primarily supported by those who can afford it, while public schools in impoverished areas with a shrinking tax base are left to fall apart.

Another example, CSA collectives offering organic foods, grass fed local beef and so on... though they are wonderful for soil health and the environment,  they are out of the price range for most working class families who won't bother to consider food options, because they have none that appear economical to them in any immediate way. They just eat what's found at the grocery store and can't afford to question too deeply. (Some might see "organic" foods as a communist plot!  )
Consider the DIY solution.  Grow your own gardens, get some chickens?  Here again, Bureaucracy steps in to regulate DIY solutions away.   People, citizens, individuals...  are not allowed to take it upon themselves to work solutions... landscape with edibles, or collect rainwater or whatever it is....


Can we really trust that governments, infrastructure, the grocery store, the oil supply,  will be there to deliver?  Like Pilgrims, we are now "eating our seed stock" so to speak.

Consider which part of the problems we can afford to choose to delay?  To continue status quo because we see the solutions as strange?  10 years ago, people thought it was strange to use a cell phone for text messaging.

Would love to hear some discussion on this...

Made in America: New Report Finds National Parks at a Tipping Point Leading Into Super Committee Deadline

Made in America: New Report Finds National Parks at a Tipping Point Leading Into Super Committee Deadline

Elevate your awareness (and literacy) of the greater place in which you live

30 questions to elevate your awareness (and literacy) of the greater place in which you live:


1) Point north. [Recommendations for answer methods]
2) What time is sunset today? [Recommendations]
3) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap. [Recommendations]
4) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water? [Recommendations]
5) How many feet above sea level are you? [Recommendations]
6) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom here? [Recommendations]
7) How far do you have to travel before you reach a different watershed? Can you draw the boundaries of yours? [Recommendations]
8) Is the soil under your feet, more clay, sand, rock or silt? [Recommendations]
9) Before your tribe lived here, what did the previous inhabitants eat and how did they sustain themselves? [Recommendations]
10) Name five native edible plants in your neighborhood and the season(s) they are available. [Recommendations]
11) From what direction do storms generally come? [Recommendations]
12) Where does your garbage go? [Recommendations]
13) How many people live in your watershed? [Recommendations]
14) Who uses the paper/plastic you recycle from your neighborhood? [Recommendations]
15) Point to where the sun sets on the equinox. How about sunrise on the summer solstice? [Recommendations]
16) Where is the nearest earthquake fault? When did it last move? [Recommendations]
17) Right here, how deep do you have to drill before you reach water? [Recommendations]
18) Which (if any) geological features in your watershed are, or were, especially respected by your community, or considered sacred, now or in the past? [Recommendations]
19) How many days is the growing season here (from frost to frost)? [Recommendations]
20) Name five birds that live here. Which are migratory and which stay put? [Recommendations]

21) What was the total rainfall here last year? [Recommendations]
22) Where does the pollution in your air come from? [Recommendations]
23) If you live near the ocean, when is high tide today? [Recommendations]
24) What primary geological processes or events shaped the land here? [Recommendations]
25) Name three wild species that were not found here 500 years ago. Name one exotic species that has appeared in the last 5 years. [Recommendations]
26) What minerals are found in the ground here that are (or were) economically valuable? [Recommendations]
27) Where does your electric power come from and how is it generated? [Recommendations]
28) After the rain runs off your roof, where does it go?   [Recommendations]
29) Where is the nearest wilderness? When was the last time a fire burned through it? [Recommendations]
30) How many days till the moon is full? [Recommendations]
The Bigger Here Bonus Questions:
31) What species once found here are known to have gone extinct? [Recommendations]
32) What other cities or landscape features on the planet share your latitude? [Recommendations]
33) What was the dominant land cover plant here 10,000 years ago? [Recommendations]

34) Name two places on different continents that have similar sunshine/rainfall/wind and temperature patterns to here. [Recommendations]

Nice Docmentary on the Elwha

Unconquering the Last Frontier This documentary covers the removal of the Elwha dams and the hard work done by the Klallam tribe, Park Service and local residents that made it possible...

Unconquering the Last Frontier from Robert Lundahl on Vimeo.

Deforestation of the Vital Papua New Guinea Rainforest

In East New Britain, Papua, New Guinea, indigenous people are being intimidated for protesting a massive land grab that is taking place. Indigenous people there still retain control over their land, and only 3 percent of the country is controlled by government or private interests, until recent leases that assign almost 20 percent of the remaining forests to agriculture leases.
The government has taken a controversial role in allowing more "Special-purpose Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs), where the government leases the land, and then sub-lets it to corporations. In recent months, groups have called for inquiry, and an investigation can determine if in fact these leases facilitated by the government are in fact just an avenue to allow logging and agriculture companies access to one of the largest remaining expanse of rainforest in the world.
Palm Oil companies want to log the forest to use the land for plantations. These private interests involved in the efforts toward deforestation involve a giant Malaysian business conglomerate called Rimbunan Hijau. They have been paying police to threaten and intimidate protesters. These security guards wear uniforms that indicate they're with a company called Gilford Limited, which is suspected to be a front for this conglomerate, has obtained a permit to clear the area, but local villagers say the lease was obtained without their consent.
One international organization that has a presence in Papua New Guinea also has local chapters in many corners of the world is Friends of the Earth. This group does a lot to support the empowerment of indigenous peoples, helping them to organize at the local level to hold back the onslaught of "for-proft" development of corporations that may not be required to act with concern for the environmental impacts of their activities, particularly in the developing world where most of the earth's unspoiled landscapes are found.

Deforestation is a concern to me because I love wild places, and believe that we should have the smarts and the ability to find alternatives without destroying the natural environments, but "moneyed" interests make decisions that affect people in far-away places where they don't (yet) feel the impacts of the destruction they cause. The forests of the world are carbon sinks – the lungs of the earth, if you will, that are being depleted and contributing to the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and climate change/current global warming trend. The destruction of forests is the "H"in HIPPO, the number one contributing factor to the extinction of species on earth.
A very neat site that has a lot of information and resources is Wilderness.net, so i thought i'd share that link here as well.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-11/png-police-reveal-crackdown-financed-by-loggers/3496032
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/massive-land-grab-of-papua-new-guineas-remain/blog/37337/?
Global Corruption Report 2011: Climate Change Hypothetical offsets Carbon trading and land rights in Papua New Guinea, Sarah Dix (Transparency International Papua New Guinea) 345-347
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_network&utm_term=19_10_11_1330&utm_campaign=forests
http://www.foei.org/
http://www.wilderness.net/

USA is 39th worst out of 136 nations in Disparity of Distribution of Income

Rank country Distribution of family income - Gini index Date of Information

1 Namibia 70.7 2003 2 South Africa 65.0 2005 3 Lesotho 63.2 1995 4 Botswana 63.0 1993 5 Sierra Leone 62.9 1989 6 Central African Republic 61.3 1993 7 Haiti 59.2 2001 8 Colombia 58.5 2009 9 Bolivia 58.2 2009 10 Honduras 57.7 2007 11 Guatemala 55.1 2007 12 Brazil 53.9 2009 13 Thailand 53.6 2009 14 Hong Kong 53.3 2007 15 Paraguay 53.2 2009 16 Chile 52.1 2009 17 Mexico 51.7 2008 18 Panama 51.0 2010 est. 19 Papua New Guinea 50.9 1996 20 Zambia 50.8 2004 21 Swaziland 50.4 2001 22 Costa Rica 50.3 2009 23 Gambia, The 50.2 1998 24 Zimbabwe 50.1 2006 25 Dominican Republic 48.4 2007 26 Peru 48.0 2009 27 Singapore 47.8 2009 28 Madagascar 47.5 2001 29 Nepal 47.2 2008 30 El Salvador 46.9 2007 31 Ecuador 46.9 June 2010 32 Rwanda 46.8 2000 33 Malaysia 46.2 2009 34 Argentina 45.8 2009 35 Philippines 45.8 2006 36 Mozambique 45.6 2008 37 Jamaica 45.5 2004 38 Bulgaria 45.3 2007 39 United States 45.0 2007 40 Cameroon 44.6 2001 41 Iran 44.5 2006 42 Cambodia 44.4 2007 est. 43 Uganda 44.3 2009 44 Macedonia 44.2 2008 45 Nigeria 43.7 2003 46 Guyana 43.2 1999 47 Nicaragua 43.1 2001 48 Kenya 42.5 2008 est. 49 Burundi 42.4 1998 50 Uruguay 42.4 2009 51 Russia 42.2 2009 52 China 41.5 2007 53 Cote d'Ivoire 41.5 2008 54 Senegal 41.3 2001 55 Venezuela 41.0 2009 56 Morocco 40.9 2007 est. 57 Turkmenistan 40.8 1998 58 Georgia 40.8 2009 59 Sri Lanka 40.3 2007 60 Mali 40.1 2001 61 Tunisia 40.0 2005 est. 62 Jordan 39.7 2007 63 Turkey 39.7 2008 64 Burkina Faso 39.5 2007 65 Guinea 39.4 2007 66 Ghana 39.4 2005-06 67 Israel 39.2 2008 68 Mauritius 39.0 2006 est. 69 Malawi 39.0 2004 70 Mauritania 39.0 2000 71 Portugal 38.5 2007 72 Moldova 38.0 2008 73 Yemen 37.7 2005 74 Lithuania 37.6 2008 75 Vietnam 37.6 2008 76 Japan 37.6 2008 77 Tanzania 37.6 2007 78 Indonesia 36.8 2009 79 Uzbekistan 36.8 2003 80 India 36.8 2004 81 Laos 36.7 2008 82 Mongolia 36.5 2008 83 Benin 36.5 2003 84 New Zealand 36.2 1997 85 Bosnia and Herzegovina 36.2 2007 86 Latvia 35.7 2008 87 Algeria 35.3 1995 88 Albania 34.5 2008 89 Egypt 34.4 2001 90 Poland 34.2 2008 91 United Kingdom 34.0 2005 92 Niger 34.0 2007 93 Azerbaijan 33.7 2008 94 Croatia 33.7 2008 95 Switzerland 33.7 2008 96 Kyrgyzstan 33.4 2007 97 Bangladesh 33.2 2005 98 Greece 33.0 2005 99 France 32.7 2008 100 Taiwan 32.6 2000 101 Tajikistan 32.6 2006 102 Canada 32.1 2005 103 Spain 32.0 2005 104 Italy 32.0 2006 105 Timor-Leste 31.9 2007 est. 106 Estonia 31.4 2009 107 Korea, South 31.4 2009 108 Romania 31.2 2008 109 Netherlands 30.9 2007 110 Armenia 30.9 2008 111 Pakistan 30.6 FY07/08 112 Australia 30.5 2006 113 European Union 30.4 2009 est. 114 Montenegro 30.0 2008 115 Ethiopia 30.0 2000 116 Kosovo 30.0 FY05/06 117 Ireland 29.3 2009 118 Cyprus 29.0 2005 119 Denmark 29.0 2007 120 Slovenia 28.4 2008 121 Serbia 28.2 2008 122 Belgium 28.0 2005 123 Iceland 28.0 2006 124 Ukraine 27.5 2008 125 Belarus 27.2 2008 126 Germany 27.0 2006 127 Finland 26.8 2008 128 Kazakhstan 26.7 2009 129 Austria 26.0 2007 130 Slovakia 26.0 2005 131 Luxembourg 26.0 2005 132 Malta 26.0 2007 133 Czech Republic 26.0 2005 134 Norway 25.0 2008 135 Hungary 24.7 2009 136 Sweden 23.0 2005