Category Archives: environmental news

environmental news, International news

How do you bring Dead Sea back to life?

dead-sea-sinkholes-1024x576

This story caught my eye, not because it surprised me, but because it portends potential tragedy for one of the world’s great treasures.

And I’ve had the high honor and pleasure of seeing it up close.

I refer to the Dead Sea, a small inland lake at the mouth of the Jordan River between Israel and Jordan.

I got to swim in the Dead Sea in May and June 2009. Take it from me: You haven’t lived until you’ve taken a dip in water that is 10 times saltier than the ocean, and which contains natural oil that prevents your skin from wrinkling up the way it does in normal salt or fresh water.

Public TV’s NOVA documentary series is going to look at the future of the Dead Sea, which according to the producers of the program isn’t looking too great … at the moment!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/earth/dead-sea-dying/

According to NOVA: “The lake has a storied place in history. The biblical Sodom and Gomorrah reportedly overlooked its shores, while King David allegedly sought relaxation there in 1000 BCE. A few paces away, on the mountain top of Masada, Herod the Great built palaces, and in 73 CE, a thousand Jewish zealots chose death in their fortress over surrender to the Romans. Centuries later, Byzantine monks lived in monasteries overlooking its shores, and Crusaders built their castles.”

That was then. The future looks bleak.

The lake levels are receding. We were told that while we swam in the Israeli side of the water.

The culprits are dams, as NOVA reports: “But since the 1960s, the sea has had a more troubled history. That’s when Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel started building dams and diverting the rivers for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use, the same waters that have been feeding the Dead Sea for millennia.”

The lake has lost about 112 feet in depth; its volume has dropped about 30 percent.

What to do? It’s interesting to me, as NOVA points out, that a joint Israeli-Palestinian environmental group is seeking to call serious attention to the danger of continued depletion of the Dead Sea.

Does the world allow this treasure to disappear? Does it continue to stand by while its water evaporates?

Perish the thought. Perish even the hint of a thought that the world could allow such an international tragedy to occur.

john

OK, I’m biased. I’m one of those who has enjoyed the water. I’ve slathered myself in that mystery mud the Israelis and Jordanians tell you has restorative qualities. You smear it all over your body, let it dry and then wash it off with fresh water.

I can’t say it made me look younger, but I felt great just being able to say I did it.

Check out the story attached to this blog post. It provides tremendous detail about the ancient history associated with the Dead Sea and the myriad problems that threaten this holy body of water.

The Dead Sea must not die!

environmental news, local news

Back country keeps calling

canyon

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

Four nights in one of Texas’s great natural wonders whetted my appetite for more of the same.

I was intrigued by what my wife and I saw as we took off on our morning hikes through some glorious back country in Caprock Canyons State Park, comprising more than 15,300 acres just about three miles north of Quitaque, Texas.

We chose to hike in the morning before it got too blasted hot. The temperatures were at or near 100 degrees almost every day we were camped out.

But we’d set out from a selected trail head and trudge along toward the red rock cliffs before us. They were a gorgeous site. As we got farther from the road, I was struck by the remoteness I would feel.

It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that we were “away from it all,” it only for a few days.

Caprock Canyons isn’t exactly at the end of the world. It just seemed that way for the four nights we parked our fifth wheel at the Honey Flats campsite.

We were told by Texas Parks & Wildlife rangers that bison were known to roam through that site. We didn’t see any out there. We did see several of the glorious beasts grazing in pasture just off the road that courses through the park.

What lies ahead for us as we move toward full-time retirement?

I hope more of the same. Since we live in an expansive and magnificent continent, I’m quite confident we’ll find it out there.

Perhaps by the time we have made the transition fully I will learn to accept the feeling of remoteness as the “new normal.”

environmental news, local news

Trying to make up for lost time

canyons

CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK, Texas — I’m kicking myself in the backside.

My wife and I moved to the Texas Panhandle more than 21 years ago. We’ve had a wonderful life here. We’ve been able to enjoy much of what the region has to offer.

Why the kick in the kiester?

It’s because it took us so damn long to get into the back country known as Caprock Canyons. I’m telling you, this is a truly gorgeous part of the world.

I’m preaching to the choir that’s already been here. For those of you haven’t yet had the opportunity, I encourage you to spend some time here, to enjoy the solitude and the splendor that the Almighty provides for you.

Of all the things Texas state government does well, I rate its care and maintenance of its state parks system to be among its greatest triumphs.

During our more than three decades living in Texas, we’ve visited a lot of state parks from the Big Thicket in East Texas to the red rocks of Palo Duro Canyon on the High Plains of West Texas … and many of the parks between them.

Caprock Canyons’ splendor takes our breath away as the sun comes up and the air is still relatively cool.

If you’ve been living in the region for a while and you haven’t seen it yet, shame on you!

I can say that because I am shaming myself for waiting so long.

environmental news, local news

Trash: Biggest pet peeve in the world

2 Comments

trash

CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK, Texas — What is wrong with this picture?

Time’s up!

It’s that empty water bottle someone must’ve tossed aside while walking along the Canyon Rim Trail.

This might rank among the top three pet peeves of my life; the other two might be the sight of someone talking/texting while driving a motor vehicle and someone talking too loudly on a cell phone while sitting in a public place with other people who have zero interest in hearing about the person’s big-money business transaction.

I have done my share of griping about Texas state government during my 30-plus years living here. The state too often seems run by partisan morons who cannot seem to get it into their thick skulls that they represent all Texans, not just those who voted for their election to whatever public office they hold.

Texas government, though, does a lot of things right. One of them is the development and maintenance of its state park system.

I’m telling you, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department runs a first-rate state park network.

Caprock Canyons State Park, just outside Quitaque, is one of the jewels.

So, what did we see this afternoon while along the Canyon Rim Trail? That damn empty water bottle.

Earlier in the day, my wife went through our campsite and police it of myriad articles of trash that others had tossed aside. They just couldn’t bring themselves to walk a short distance to the nearest Dumpster.

The water bottle tossed along the rim of the canyon reminded me of a series of roadside signs my wife and I see as we drive southeast along U.S. 287. Just as you enter Estelline in Hall County, you cross a riverbed and the signs read, in order: Real Texans … don’t litter … Texas highways.

Hmm. One might hope that “real human beings” wouldn’t want to litter one of Mother Nature’s true gifts to us … which looks like something like this.

beauty

 

environmental news, national news

Those signs are up for a reason

BBtPTUl

Yellowstone National Park officials are unambiguous about how people should interact with the wildlife that roam the park.

Do not do it. Period.

That didn’t deter a Canadian visitor and his son from interfering with Mother Nature when they grabbed a newborn bison and put it into their SUV, thinking they were saving its life.

Well, they didn’t.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/canadian-men-defend-loading-yellowstone-bison-calf-into-vehicle/ar-BBtPHPl?li=BBnb7Kz

Shamash Kassam and his son, Shakeel, would learn in quick order just why the park insists that human beings keep their hands off these beasts.

The park took the critter and then tried to re-integrate it with its herd. The mama bison rejected her baby, which then sought to approach other human beings, putting itself into imminent danger.

It was then that park rangers had to euthanize the little critter.

My hope is that rangers gave Papa and Son Kassam a serious tongue-lashing for interfering with Mother Nature’s way.

Shamash Kassam said he and his son thought the animal was shivering. They didn’t want it exposed to the elements.

How can the National Park Service make it any clearer?

Human beings should not ever interact with wildlife, which are called “wildlife” for a reason.

environmental news, national news, political news

Yes, Donald, there’s a drought in California

460x

Donald J. Trump has declared there to be no drought in California.

It doesn’t exist, he said. There’s so much water way out west, he said, they’re sending it into the sea.

Let’s see.

That part of the country has seen record low snowpack. The rain has tailed off dramatically in many parts of the state. Residential, commercial and industrial development has continued at a frantic pace, forcing the consumption of water.

No drought?

Trump is mistaken. Again!

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fea527c86dfe42c78609619c5ce7fd59/trump-vows-solve-californias-water-crisis

Trump’s reference to sending water into the ocean appears to deal with a dispute inside the state. According to the Associated Press:

“Trump appeared to be referring to disputes over water that runs from the Sacramento River to the San Francisco Bay and then to the ocean. Some farmers want more of that flow captured and diverted to them.

“Politically influential rural water districts and well-off corporate farmers in and around California’s Central Valley have been pushing back against longstanding federal laws protecting endangered fish and other species, saying federal efforts to make sure endangered native fish have enough water is short-changing farmers of the water they want and need for crops.”

Sure, there’s always longstanding disputes in California between environmentalists and agricultural producers. That appears to be the norm there. I won’t argue the point.

However, there really and truly is a drought occurring in California. It’s just not that difficult to realize that diminishing moisture and continued consumption of water puts strains on that priceless resource.

Yes, we have a drought in California.

environmental news, national news, religious news

Why not debate climate change in public schools?

books

As a believer in the view that human beings are contributing to Earth’s changing climate, it causes me some pain to say the following.

I believe the Portland Public Schools system has made a mistake in banning texts that question the causes of climate change.

Oregon’s largest public school district has issued a directive that bans texts that cast doubt on what many scientists have said: that human activity has created a global warming crisis that threatens the planet’s ecosystem.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-20/portland-public-schools-ban-educational-materials-denying-climate-change?src=usn_fb

I grew up in suburban Portland, Ore., so this decision strikes me close to my heart. I attended Portland schools until the seventh grade; my parents moved us to the ‘burbs in East Multnomah County in 1962.

I have long feared that human activity — deforestation and the emission of carbon gases into the atmosphere — have contributed to the changing climate. Did you see the latest report that said April was the 12th consecutive month of record temperatures worldwide?

That doesn’t mean, though, that we cannot allow our students access to those who doubt the results of such activity.

This isn’t even close to the same thing as teaching the biblical version of Earth’s creation alongside Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory. One theory is based on a faith-based belief; the other is based on science. Teach the scientific theory in public schools and teach other in church.

Climate change and its causes, though, seems to be fair game for an open discussion in our public schools.

The Portland school system has slammed the door on those who have raised legitimate concerns about the notion that Earth’s climate is changing and that humans are the primary cause of that change.

Do I accept those concerns? No. That doesn’t mean they’re coming from crackpots.

The students would do well to be exposed to competing ideas on this important global issue.

 

environmental news

They’re labeled ‘wildlife’ for a good reason

baby-bison-with-mother

This is one of those stories that simply sends me into orbit.

Some visitors were driving through Yellowstone National Park. They see a newborn bison calf. They pick it up and put it into their SUV, believing it was “freezing.” They take the creature to a park office, where I presume the National Park Service rangers were none too happy to receive this arrival.

The rangers sought to return the animal to the wild, return it to the herd from which the visitors “rescued” it.

Mama bison wouldn’t care for her baby, which at that point was doomed.

Faced with the prospect of allowing the young bison to starve to death, the rangers decided to euthanize the tiny critter.

You know, of course, why this story is so outrageous.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/yellowstone-tourists-put-bison-calf-in-car-spurring-warning/ar-BBt7pJ9?li=BBnbfcL

The National Park Service spends a lot of time and energy — not to mention public money — educating the public about the hazards of messing with these creatures. Tourists must not feed them, pet them, love on them … pick them up and put them in their vehicles.

As for the bison in particular, they are powerful and often cantankerous beasts that can inflict serious bodily harm.

The visitors were fined $110 for touching the baby bison. A part of me wishes the penalty was a lot stiffer. I also hope the rangers gave these visitors a serious tongue-lashing for what they did.

OK, you are welcome to accuse me of restating the obvious — but these animals are labeled “wildlife” for a very good reason.

 

environmental news

Bison get new, exalted status

bison

Let us take a break from partisan politics for a moment and talk briefly about something that ought to warm our hearts.

The bison has been named the national mammal of the United States of America, to which I offer a hearty “bravo!”

President Obama has signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law. This new designation does not remove the bald eagle from its standing as the national symbol. It does give the bison some added standing as the national mammal, which is a good thing, considering what human beings did to the grand creature during much of the 19th century.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/north-american-bison-national-mammal-us-222975

We’ve all studied American history enough to know how humans slaughtered the great herds on which Native Americans depended for food, clothing and shelter. Bison would roam the prairies in vast numbers. Millions of them galloped across the High Plains, for example.

Humans killed so many of them that their numbers were decimated to fewer than 1,000 or so head of wild beasts by the turn of the 20th century.

They’ve come back. Thankfully.

Several hundred thousand of them now are being raised on ranches and farms. Thousands more roam on public lands. Why, we’ve even received some of them at Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle, where the herd is doing quite well, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife officials.

I’m glad that Congress and the president saw fit to honor the glorious beast with this national mammal designation.

Fans of the bald eagle need not worry about the national symbol, though. It, too, was nearly killed off until the government banned the use of the pesticide DDT, from which the great birds were dying because they were eating fish that had been poisoned by the chemical.

So, what’s next? Designation of the national reptile? I have a suggestion: the alligator, which has made a dramatic comeback of its own along the Gulf Coast.

Meantime, let the buffalo — ‘er bison — roam.

 

 

environmental news, local news, State news

Why not dress up our highway interchange?

Texas Freeway road art - Lone Star State on abutment wall with landscaping June 2014 I-10 pic

My wife and I — along with our dog Toby — have just returned from a week on the road.

Our travels took us south, then west, then north and back home. Along the way we zoomed through three substantial cities: Tucson and Phoenix, Ariz., and Albuquerque.

Tucson and Albuquerque are about the same size, roughly 550,000 or so residents; Phoenix is home to more than 1.5 million folks.

What do they have in common, other than fairly picturesque landscapes?

They all have highways that are attractive to the eye. Moreover, they are attractive to those of us who are just passing through. They leave us with a smattering of good vibes about the city and the care the leaders there take in dressing up their highways.

Whenever we see such things on our travels around the country, the same question keeps popping back into my pointed head: Why can’t Amarillo dress up its lone major freeway interchange?

One of these days — maybe soon — I intend to get to the bottom of this dilemma.

The Texas Department of Transportation rebuilt the Interstate 40/27 interchange just a few years ago. It reversed the over-under ramps of both highways. It built new structures and then painted the concrete in Palo Duro Canyon colors, with green trim. It painted those Amarillo Chamber of Commerce boots on the side of the overpasses.

Then it decided to plant a few native trees.

That’s it.

TxDOT hasn’t done much to spruce up the appearance of the interchange. I visited once some years ago with the TxDOT officials who oversaw the landscaping of the interchange and he told me — in response to a question about the then-shabby appearance of the interchange — that the state was allowing “native flora” to take over. My reaction was, well, laughter.

The state can do much better than it has done with this highway “beautification” effort.

If other cities and states can make their public rights-of-way attractive to visitors passing through, why not Amarillo?