The Perfect Partnership:The Delaware Highlands Conservancy Comes Together with the Eagle Institute

May 31, 2012 – 8:00 AM

 by Virginia Kennedy

On February 10, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, the region’s foremost organization for the protection of healthy lands and waters, and the Eagle Institute, the Upper Delaware River Watershed’s premier organization for the protection of eagles and the stewardship of their habitat, announced their merger. The partnership is a wonderful development for eagle lovers and for all residents of the Upper Delaware River region for whom clean waters, healthy lands, and thriving wildlife are vital to quality of life. Going forward, the Eagle Institute will be a Project of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy.

Since its founding, the Eagle Institute has been hosted by the National Park Service and located in the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. As a Project of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, the Eagle Institute will increase its capacity for engaging visitors and residents with our iconic national bird and the beautiful forests and rivers that are home to it. Superintendent of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, Sean McGuinness, affirms that, “the Eagle Institute and the Delaware Highlands Conservancy are the best at what they do.” Together with the Park Service, this partnership will provide enhanced leadership in conservation in our region.

“I founded the Eagle Institute to support the return of the endangered eagle to the Upper Delaware River region,” states Eagle Institute founder and executive director, Lori McKean, “Nearly two decades ago, I dreamed things would turn out just as they have: The eagles are back in the Watershed and thriving, the Eagle Institute is supported and run by incredible volunteers, members, and contributors who are passionately concerned about the protection of our national symbol and its habitat, and we have educated nearly 50,000 people over the years about the critical role this region’s healthy lands and clean water play in the survival of this magnificent bird. We are ready to open a new chapter in our success story.”

Conservancy Executive Director, Sue Currier, is excited about the possibilities: “Coming together with the Eagle Institute means we’ll be stronger. In these days of doing more with less, leveraging the resources of both organizations means those resources will go further. By combining the energy of dedicated members, volunteers, and supporters, we’ll protect more eagle habitat than ever. We’ll reach more people with the message that the eagle thrives when the lands and waters where it lives are healthy and protected.”

“We know what it feels like to watch an eagle fly freely; to see it dive for its food or perch majestically against a winter blue sky” adds Lori McKean, “We all realize that if the eagles are thriving, the lands and waters where they live are healthy for humans, too. Eagles are good for our hearts, our spirits; their healthy habitat is good for our bodies. We need to make sure the eagles and their habitat are protected now and into the future.”

This is a great move for the Conservancy,” affirms Conservancy founder, Barbara Yeaman, “the Eagle Institute’s passion for protecting eagles together with the Conservancy’s passion for protecting the lands and waters where eagles live truly is the perfect partnership.”

The board and staff of the Conservancy are enthusiastic about the unlimited potential of this new partnership to protect the eagle and its habitat and to build support for the Conservancy’s conservation mission in the region.

Reprinted with permission by the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, from the  Conservancy’s Highlands Journal (March 2012).

By conserveland | Posted in Individual & Organizational News, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (0)

Weed Warriors

May 31, 2012 – 7:58 AM

Weed Warriors are people who dedicate themselves to removing non-native invasive plants from private land, parks, trails and wherever the problems are found. They spend their weekends pulling and bagging garlic mustard, mile-a-minute, multiflora rose, wavy leaf basket grass, Japanese stilt grass, Japanese knotweed, Japanese honeysuckle, wineberry and similar. One of my grad committee is Dr. Marc Imlay is one of the earliest weed warriors. He has taken on parks in the DC area such as Anacostia Park, Greenbelt Park and Paint Branch Park.
Locally, our biggest problems are garlic mustard, Japanese stilt grass, Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, bush honeysuckles, oriental bittersweet, Russian olive, autumn olive, multiflora rose, wineberry and Tree-of-Heaven. Control of all of these plants except Tree-of-Heaven is to pull the plants out with all the roots if possible before seed set and then bag them. When walking trail, instead of bagging, I often shake the dirt off the roots and hang them from shrubbery or on a rock so they desiccate. Tree-of-Heaven is an important exception. This needs holes 3/8” drilled every 2” around the trunk below the lowest branches and filled with @ 50% glyphosate (RoundUp®). One treatment usually works. Any attempts at pulling out or cutting down this plant will result in clones, even from 2” or 3” tall seedlings.
My greatest concern is mile-a-minute. It is a serious hitchhiker and spreads easily throughout our area. Pull it whenever and wherever it is found or we are in for an awful mess. It has prickles, so be careful. Second to this is Japanese stilt grass which is found all over our trails and appears to be primarily carried on our shoes, socks and other clothing. Fortunately, there is a pathogen that is beginning to kill it.
Multiflora rose and Tree-of-heaven are two more plants beginning to be affected by pathogens. Whenever I walk, I see “witches broom” on multiflora. This is a sign that a mite and its pathogen are beginning to give us hope for its demise. With Tree-of-heaven, I see a wonderful orange, black and white spotted moth, along with its larvae. Along with this are a pathogen and at least one mite which is the probable carrier of the pathogen.
What can we do besides pulling the weeds? When walking trails, check for hitchhiking seeds in socks, on shoes and on clothing, especially after walking through beds of invasives such as Japanese stilt grass and garlic mustard. Brush or wash shoes. Bag any seeds you see and drop them in a trash can at home.

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The AT and invasive plant spreading

May 31, 2012 – 7:55 AM

One of my concerns being an ecologist, a naturalist and a person who enjoys walking the AT is the inadvertent spread of non-native invasive plants through our actions. A pattern I see locally is that the many of the plants are being transported on our clothing and vehicles. It appears that the plants start their invasions by hitching rides on us and then dropping off as we walk and drive. The plants then spread along the trails and away from them. If we can stop these weeds from gaining a foothold we maintain the natural biological diversity of the AT and protect local native species diversity. Along with this, my fear is that we will spread the non-natives the length of the AT.
What we can do is to take notice of any weeds we walk through, especially Japanese stilt grass, garlic mustard and mile-a-minute. These three weeds are almost exclusively spread by our actions. When walking through a patch of these monsters, make sure to brush off all clothing and shoes to make sure there are no seeds or plant parts on us. At the end of a walk look for hitchhiking seeds on shoes, socks and clothing. Pull, brush or shake off all the seeds onto newspaper or a trash bag. Then bag the seeds and put them into a trash can at home. In areas we control, take a few minutes to pull the weeds and shake the dirt from their roots.
Vehicles are a tougher problem. Park in open areas without any weeds. Avoid driving across fields and on dirt roads covered with weeds. Dust off or sweep vehicles, especially tires, bumpers and other lower areas. Shake out floor mats after a hike. Shake shoes and clothing before entering vehicles or change and bag footwear. Wash or sweep off vehicles before moving from one trail to another.
If you have any questions about controlling non-natives in your yard or on trail, please contact me.

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Poison ivy tips

May 31, 2012 – 7:50 AM

Poison ivy is a constant companion on trail. Over the years I have developed strategies for preventing and controlling exposure.
1. The first rule is to know my enemy. I have found that this foe comes in a wide variety of forms, colors and shapes. Knowing that there is a near infinite amount of variation helps in recognition. The traditional three leaves at the end of a stem is the starting point. Beyond that, the leaves can be toothed, smooth, shiny, dry, dark red, dark green, medium red, light green and etc. The leaves may resemble oak, Virginia creeper or a wide number of other plants. The vines can grow along the ground, form a thicket up to several feet high or climb trees like Virginia creeper, wild grape and Oriental bittersweet. Although the vines are usually hairy, this can vary.
2. Touch no plants I do not know.
3. Pet no animals that have been for a walk in the woods or fields – their fur can carry the oils.
4. Dogs are sent for a swim near the end of a walk and then held on a tight leash to the vehicle. If a swim is not possible, the dog is wrapped in towels until it can be washed.
5. When knowingly having been in contact with poison ivy on a trail I wash all exposed skin in fresh running water, preferably with clean sand, to remove the oils as soon as possible after contact.
6. Shoes are dusted with talcum or baby powder after a walk to absorb the oils and put into a plastic bag.
7. Clothing is peeled from the inside out so that the oils are contained where I will not touch them and put into a bag.
8. Skin that has been in contact is washed with soap and water or rubbing alcohol as soon as possible after the walk.
9. All clothing is washed separately at least twice after a walk where poison ivy contract is probable.
10. Jewel weed has worked with me to help heal a dermatitis outbreak. I also use aspirin or another anti-inflammatory to control symptoms. This is me, it may not work for other people.
11. Cortisone creams may work, but I am not certain. The same is true with the poison ivy scrubs. I also have planned beach trips when the outbreak is extensive, hoping the salt water and sun will help the healing process.
12. If the case is severe, see a doctor.

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (0)

Designation of Susquehanna as part of national historic river trail system: Environmental story-telling’s power

May 17, 2012 – 8:00 AM

Image

Sometimes people wonder how to connect the humanities with environmental efforts, although the two are inseparable given the environmental function of story-telling among humans. One prime example occurred yesterday, when U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar designated a new extension of the national historic river trail system, including the Susquehanna River through Pennsylvania (all of the main branch and the West Branch up to around Lock Haven). Here’s the account of our university’s involvement in that effort as an environmental humanities project involving environmental organizations, community groups, and Native American communities. The Chesapeake Conservancy led the project, catalyzed by the Conservation Fund, and involving on the Susquehanna groups such as the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, which acted as the organizational sponsor for the Susquehanna designation. All these partners realized the importance of connecting story-telling with landscape in helping to preserve the Susquehanna watershed. Pictured above (second from left) Sec. Salazar, Bucknell University research partner Sid Jamieson (fourth from left), Iroquois-Haudenosaunee Confederacy leader Tadodaho Sid Hill (sixth from left), and to the right of him Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, at the designation ceremony yesterday on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

—

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay designated the Susquehanna and several other smaller rivers as national historic connector trails to the Chesapeake’s historic water-trail network, culminating five years of work by a Bucknell-led team involving undergraduate researchers. The Susquehanna trail will be part of the first, and longest, system of historic water trails (or “blueways”) overseen by the National Park Service.

In attendance were delegations from Bucknell and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, partners together in the project linked by Sid Jamieson of Bucknell, former coach of Bucknell men’s lacrosse team and of the Iroquois National Lacrosse Team, and a Haudenosaunee chief.

The new national designation recognizes the importance of the Susquehanna River, including the stretch adjoining the Bucknell campus, in the early history of America, and particularly as a central corridor for interactions between Native American and Euroamerican cultures.

“This designation marks an important moment in the history of the Susquehanna River and the communities that have lived along its banks for thousands of years,” said Professor of German and Humanities Katherine Faull, whose research led the effort at Bucknell, which was coordinated by the Nature and Human Communities Initiative of the Environmental Center. “Rather than being America’s forgotten river, the Susquehanna will now take its place as America’s mother river, the location of human history and cultural contact.“

Faull is translating the diaries of early European inhabitants of the river, detailing their interactions with Native Americans. She has also developed a kayaking tour of the North Branch of the river this summer, associated with the new trail and focusing on eighteenth-century relations between Moravian Christians and Native American communities on the corridor. Bucknell’s involvement in the historic trail project has also spawned three new courses and a multimedia book series, involving a dozen Bucknell faculty, and research projects involving four more undergraduates this summer.

Work on the trail at Bucknell also involved collaboration with researchers at Bloomsburg University and SUNY University of Buffalo, and Native American communities in Pennsylvania and New York, in mapping the river’s early history and its historic landscapes.

Prof. Faull’s work on a National Endowment for the Humanities funded project on eighteenth-century Moravian Christian diaries from a community at the Confluence of the West and North Branches formed a central part of the Bucknell research, along with GIS research led by Bucknell student Emily Bitely ‘11. The GIS work compared John Smith’s early seventeenth-century map of the river to current geography and historic American Indian sites.

Bucknell students in the initial project also included A. Joseph McMullen, Emily Anderson, Jenny Stevens and Molly Clay. Other faculty and staff involved in the trail effort have included Library and Information Technology GIS coordinator Janine Glathar, Professor of Geography Ben Marsh, and Associate Professor of English Alf Siewers.

Bucknell’s involvement with the historic trail project is coordinated by the Nature and Human Communities Initiative (NHCI) of the Environmental Center, which focuses on humanities and social science approaches to the Susquehanna Valley’s natural and human environments. In tandem with the trail project, NHCI is also developing with the Bucknell Press a multimedia book series, Stories of the Susquehanna Valley, co-edited by Faull and Siewers.

“This is a unique learning and research opportunity in which students and faculty are able to participate in efforts to examine the connection between story-telling and environmental conservation on the Susquehanna River,” said Siewers, who was founding faculty coordinator of NHCI and received a Scadden Fellowship from Bucknell to work on the literary history of the river in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Bucknell alumni Skip Wieder provided key leadership in forging a partnerships between the university and environmental partners including the Conservation Fund, the Chesapeake Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, which have all been involved in the trail’s development.

Faull and Siewers will teach a new Integrated Perspectives course on “The Susquehanna Country” this fall, which will use the new historic trail corridor as a focus. It follows their teaching of two courses last fall as part of the Bucknell on the Susquehanna program, which also involved the trail project. In addition, Siewers noted that the trail would form part of the curriculum for the Bucknell Environmental Residential College this fall, in which he will be a senior fellow. Other faculty such as Associate Geography Professor Duane Griffin, who also attended the designation ceremony, are involved in the Stories of the Susquehanna Valley series. Griffin is leading a team of seven scientists who are planning a volume and accompanying online materials on the natural history of the Susquehanna.

Through the Nature and Human Communities Initiative, Faull and Siewers will continue this summer working with students on developing interpretive materials for the historic corridor, including work on digital mapping of the river’s early history. The summer work is being done in conjunction with LIT and is funded by the Program for Undergraduate Research and an environmental education grant to Bucknell from the Mellon Foundation.

By Alfred Kentigern Siewers | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

A note on Ailanthus altissima and other invasive plants

May 9, 2012 – 11:17 AM

In SGL 106, Fish and Game, besides destroying a great research site for Ailanthus along Pine Swamp Road, is doing its best to spread and compound the problem. The parking area I discovered a biocontrol system in last summer has since been mowed and the Ailanthus trees bush-hogged. This has also apparently happened in the open field along the service road from the parking lot in Drehersville. Instead of controlling and preventing a problem, Fish and Game is increasing it exponentially.
The good news is from research I did in the last year, Ailanthus is easy to eradicate 24/7/365. The significance is that this problem can be dealt with in the times when other plants are dormant, the insects are not around and there is a much smaller risk of poison ivy.
I found that by drilling 3/8 inch holes 1 to 2 inches deep every 2 inches around the circumference of adult trees and squirting in 50.2% glyphosate, the trees die. This appears to work as well during dormancy as it does during the growth season. Apparently, I killed around 200 trees this way in the last year with circumferences from 4 inches to 65 inches. When all the data is in from experiments last summer and this past winter, I will write a formal report of the results.
My big concern from the dormant and late growing season injections of Ailanthus is the persistence of glyphosate in plant tissues and the environment. There is a strong possibility that the glyphosate remains in the tree until the growing season when it is transported throughout the tree. I will be investigating this during the summer in addition to trying to understand the circulation pattern within adult trees and further investigating the native biocontrol system I saw at SGL 106.
Anyone interested in this research please drop me a note.
Other thoughts:
Sprayed vinegar, 5% from a supermarket in a spray bottle, is catastrophically destroying the foliage on the thistles in our yard and in a lesser way on dandelions. Vinegar may have a chemical reaction happening with the leaf chemistry which enhances the effects of the acetic acid. This gives hope that stinging nettle and other plants with similar traits may be successfully sprayed. It may take several applications, but in sensitive and small areas, this may be successful.
Multiflora rose in our area is being hit hard with rose rosette disease. It is not yet in all the areas I have walked, but around Lamb’s Gap, Blue Marsh Lake and areas south of Blue Mountain in Berks County, it is prevalent.
I saw a small patch of Japanese Knotweed near the Bartram Trail, just west of Auburn, with disease symptoms. There are a couple small patches in SGL 110 along the service road from Mountain Road in Tilden Township that I will be looking at today for symptoms of disease. At the same time if Fish and Game attacks these two small patches, they can easily be eliminated before becoming a problem.

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (0)

Garlic Mustard Observations and control in Central Pennsylvania

May 9, 2012 – 11:15 AM

Garlic mustard in the central Pennsylvania State Game lands appears to be mainly spread by vehicles and the practices of Fish and Game. In the State Game Lands in northern Berks County/southern Schuylkill County and Boyd Big Tree Preserve what I observe is that the plants are primarily along roads, service roads, trails and other places of disturbance where there is either vehicle and/or heavy foot traffic. The apparent dominant pattern is vehicle transfer of seeds as hitch hikers. This is logical as the seeds are not of a type that can spread easily on their own by attachment to animals or in wind and water. At the same time, seeds may be falling into socks and shoes, moving from one part of the trail to another or a completely different location. However, this is probably the secondary mode of transportation.
I see narrow bands of garlic mustard along the service roads and parking areas. The places with the heaviest infestations are almost always flat. Invasion of the deeper wooded areas has not generally happened yet except in areas of disturbance. Again, Fish and Game may be helping this spread through their road “maintenance”. There are numerous areas Fish and Game has dug wide trenches shallow from the service roads into the forest to control erosion along these service roads. Beyond serving as mosquito and mosquito borne disease breeding sites, this is pushing the garlic mustard plants deeper into the forest, in previously uninfested areas.
My suggestion for weed warriors is to pull up plants along the edges of service roads, parking lots and trails to prevent the spread of the plants into the wooded areas. Special focus needs to be on steep slopes where the plants can spread down slope as their seeds are released. I saw the down slope spread pattern along the Bartram Trail in Schuylkill County and in the parking lot on Rt. 183 near the AT. Simultaneously, Fish and Game needs to limit travel along the service roads and quarantine certain areas from vehicle travel. Hikers who see non-seeding garlic mustard along trails, need to take a few minutes to pull the plants, shake the dirt from the roots to discourage re-rooting. When walking through areas of mature plants hikers need to shake the seeds off their shoes/clothing after walking through the mature patch. (The same is true for Japanese Stilt Grass – shake out the shoes and socks.)
Places like Lamb’s Gap may be beyond saving except by extraordinary efforts and concentrated volunteer activity. However, where the infestation is not too extensive, there is a good chance garlic mustard can be eradicated.
While on the subject of Lamb’s Gap – the area around the parking lot at the top of the ridge and from the parking lot south on the orange trail is heavily infested with invasives; garlic mustard, mile-a-minute, multiflora rose and Ailanthus altissima. The meadows along the trail need extensive weed rehabilitation.
Biocontrol-wise I am seeing three different things happening. The first is unusually dark crumpled leaves on stems. Then there is some herbivory along the outer margins of leaves. Thirdly, yesterday I saw leaves with roundish holes of @ 2 mm in diameter.
What is happening with one invasive plant I am following is probably happening with others such as Japanese barberry, Japanese Stilt Grass, Japanese Honeysuckle, Japanese Knotweed multiflora rose, wineberry, Phragmites australis and Ailanthus altissima. Therefore, Fish and Game (and DEP in general) needs to take a time out and review their policies to minimize their impact on the environment.
A note on Ailanthus altissima and other invasive plants:
In SGL 106, Fish and Game, besides destroying a great research site for Ailanthus along Pine Swamp Road, is doing its best to spread and compound the problem. The parking area I discovered a biocontrol system in last summer has since been mowed and the Ailanthus trees bush-hogged. This has also apparently happened in the open field along the service road from the parking lot in Drehersville. Instead of controlling and preventing a problem, Fish and Game is increasing it exponentially.
The good news is from research I did in the last year, Ailanthus is easy to eradicate 24/7/365. The significance is that this problem can be dealt with in the times when other plants are dormant, the insects are not around and there is a much smaller risk of poison ivy.
I found that by drilling 3/8 inch holes 1 to 2 inches deep every 2 inches around the circumference of adult trees and squirting in 50.2% glyphosate, the trees die. This appears to work as well during dormancy as it does during the growth season. Apparently, I killed around 200 trees this way in the last year with circumferences from 4 inches to 65 inches. When all the data is in from experiments last summer and this past winter, I will write a formal report of the results.
My big concern from the dormant and late growing season injections of Ailanthus is the persistence of glyphosate in plant tissues and the environment. There is a strong possibility that the glyphosate remains in the tree until the growing season when it is transported throughout the tree. I will be investigating this during the summer in addition to trying to understand the circulation pattern within adult trees and further investigating the native biocontrol system I saw at SGL 106.
Anyone interested in this research please drop me a note.
Other thoughts:
Sprayed vinegar, 5% from a supermarket in a spray bottle, is catastrophically destroying the foliage on the thistles in our yard and in a lesser way on dandelions. Vinegar may have a chemical reaction happening with the leaf chemistry which enhances the effects of the acetic acid. This gives hope that stinging nettle and other plants with similar traits may be successfully sprayed. It may take several applications, but in sensitive and small areas, this may be successful.
Multiflora rose in our area is being hit hard with rose rosette disease. It is not yet in all the areas I have walked, but around Lamb’s Gap, Blue Marsh Lake and areas south of Blue Mountain in Berks County, it is prevalent.
I saw a small patch of Japanese Knotweed near the Bartram Trail, just west of Auburn, with disease symptoms. There are a couple small patches in SGL 110 along the service road from Mountain Road in Tilden Township that I will be looking at today for symptoms of disease. At the same time if Fish and Game attacks these two small patches, they can easily be eliminated before becoming a problem.

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (0)

Thoughts on Biocontrol or why not to engineer the environment

April 30, 2012 – 9:12 AM

  Presently, I am writing an article on traditional vs. native biocontrols and how to locate native biocontrols.  With Ailanthus altissima, I have found native biocontrols.  At the same time, I was able to develop the theory and practice that allows us to locate other natives.  My basic attitude is a hands-off approach until we understand the problem we are trying to solve.  As humans we try to engineer the world and correct what we destroy before taking the time to look beyond the surface.  We tend to be very impatient, looking in human, not ecological time.

 

  Ailanthus provides an example of this impatience and the arrogance that we as humans can control/engineer the natural world, correcting its “mistakes”.  Native organisms take time to develop and adapt to new food sources in the same way we as humans take time to move from one idea or paradigm to another.

 

  Another example of this is the chestnut blight. The disease is very virulent in both American and Chinese chestnuts, which talks of its recent development.  However, even with my recent introduction to the problem I am seeing native chestnuts that are developing resistance.   When I look at this, I see a new disease, in ecological time, which needs time for chestnuts to adapt to.  At the same time, chestnuts have a short generation time and heavy seed crops.  This means that the rate of adaptation will be fast in biological time due to the resistant trees putting out many generations with increasing resistance as the generations proceed.  With a little patience and lots of field time, we will be seeing this growing number of resistant trees.  Therefore, we do not have to introduce the Chinese genes into American trees.  However, people are introducing new foreign genes to “fix the problem”.  (There are several experiments locally, including a plantation where this is being done.)

 

  In North Carolina, researchers are looking for native Canada hemlock trees that are resisting or resistant to the wooly adelgid.  This is what I consider the right approach.  Here, in central Pennsylvania, within sight of the Appalachian Trail, I am seeing trees that are targets and trees that are resisting.  Yesterday, we were walking south on the AT from Rt. 183.  I saw a tree apparently free of the wooly adelgid and one where it was like snow on the branches within 40 feet of each other.

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Language and Culture: Why Environmentalists Need to Control the Language of Environmentalism

April 3, 2012 – 3:53 PM

Language defines a culture.  Those who control the language control the culture.  The context of a word defines whether it is viewed as good or bad, a label to be proud of or feel shame for.  As Environmentalists we face this on a daily basis.  I am a tree hugger, ecologist and liberal without apology.  I stand positively for concepts that have been negatively defined by those who seek short simple answers and answers that benefit no one but themselves.  I look for the deeper long term answers that solve problems in ways that everyone benefits.

Applied to environmentalism this means taking back the language and turning concepts that have been given negative connotations back into positive ones.  A tree hugger is someone who actively protects the natural world by standing up to those who would destroy it.  An environmentalist is a person who acts in positive ways to protect the natural and scenic resources so all can enjoy and appreciate them.  An environmental activist is a person who is visibly working to protect and preserve the environment through political and non-political means.  We are not wimps or any other word that defines non-violent people who care about the future.

Green and Green Technology are two terms that are being diluted.  A Green Technology is more than one that only minimally harms the environment.  It uses renewable or recycled resources.  It solves problems of waste production or wasteful resource use.  Its wastes are recyclable or reusable and all waste problems are handled where they are created

At the same time we need to apply the proper connotation to people who selfishly act in their own self-interest and not for benefit of society, even though they may pretend to be acting to benefit other people.  They represent unethical and immoral people who cannot see the future and who judge the validity of the rest of the world and the people in it by their own selfish short term benefit.  A serous example of this is fracking and PA DEP.  The bigger the lie the greater is the denial.  Take a look at DEP’s web site to see this.

Finally, we need to guard against concepts and terms being degraded, diluted and generalized to the point they have no meaning.  DEP should be protecting the environment, not selling the lies of shallowly profit motivated corporations and shutting down people who are standing up for it their rights to a clean and healthy world beginning with their backyards.

 

Article I, section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides as follows:

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

 

 

 

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Environmental Destruction of Our Own Making?

April 3, 2012 – 3:52 PM

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the natural result of environmental degradation through human actions.  Conquest or Plague is the first horseman.  If he is considered Conquest then this is the natural result of human arrogance.  If he is considered plague the analogy fits tighter as a natural result of an overpopulated area or of bad sanitation in the crowded conditions of the cities at that time resulting in unhealthy conditions.  The contamination of water through the dumping of wastes was common at the time this was written.  Or, if you lived on the downwind side of a city, literally heaven help you because the air around was toxic with smoke from homes upwind and the stench/flow of sewage.

The next horseman, Civil Strife, is natural as people strive to feed themselves from a limited food supply and polluted land and to escape crowded unhealthy living conditions.  Hence the second horseman is considered to represent civil war.  Following this is Famine.  The third horseman is a logical result of war and the environmental degradation.  This is especially true in a civil war when the hatreds and the resultant destruction are more intense than that of a war between countries.  Russia in the 1920’s, Spain in the 1930’s and Bosnia, Serbia, Libya and Syria are examples of the intensity of a civil war.

Finally there is Death or Pestilence.  When the environmental destruction is complete, through neglect or war, death and pestilence are natural consequences.  Polluted air, poisonous water supplies and stressed sick people packed together into small areas without food, good shelter or proper sanitation has only one result, disease and death.  The examples of this are too numerous to count.

A more simplistic and direct analogy assumes Pestilence > Civil Strife > Famine > Death in that order.  Each is a natural result of the prior.  Overpopulation and the resultant natural resource depletion lead to pestilence.  Civil strife naturally follows as the hungry attack the government and each other.  The infrastructure then falls apart leading to famine.  Famine is further intensified by destruction of the country’s natural resources, especially agriculture related.  Death in all its nastiest forms is the end result.

Regardless of how this is interpreted, the analogy was very familiar to the writer.  He (they) lived in a world where this was in the collective culture and in the immediate culture of social collapse.  That it can be interpreted as a natural result of human actions on the environment is a strong possibility.

 

 

By rtgardner3 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
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