Jake Sigg's Nature News

1. Open positions: Vegetation Mgt Project Leader/SF Urban Forest Council (unpaid)
2. Scientific observations from Copernicus, Kepler, Venerable Bede
3. Draft Yerba Buena Island Habitat Mgt Plan to be released Dec 21
4. Good comments on Sharp Park Golf Course
5. Another charity-rating organization
6. Feedback
7. Failing states: 17 or 20 have high population growth rates
8. Coyote-killing 'tournament' in Maine
9. "explain a facet of modern life in the style of Dr. Seuss" ... and the winner is:
10. Accurate and detailed knowledge of even a small area lifts the possessor out of the commonplace
11. Tulare Lake redux?
12. From the horse's mouth: eradicating broom in the East Bay Ridgelands - Jan 8
13. Join the Xerces Society: "We protect the spineless"
14. Why was the climate conference held in Denmark around the solstice?
15. East Bay Municipal Utilities District Director and Sierra Club California Chair is in Copenhagen
16. Last minute Christmas gifts: Bay Nature and SaveNature.org
17. Legal action taken to save bison, 143 other species
18. Orchid conservation
19. Houston elects lesbian mayor
20. Southwest desert lands being trashed by off-road vehicles/No more silence, no more aloneness?
21. Portrait of a multitasking mind/Do bidets save forest and water resources?
22. Dan Quayle lives

1. Open Positions

Audubon Canyon Ranch

Audubon Canyon Ranch is hiring a vegetation management Project Leader, a newly-created position within their Habitat Protection & Restoration program.

San Francisco Urban Forestry Council

The Urban Forestry Council has a vacancy due to a resignation. Click here for application instructions and additional requirements. Contact Mei Ling Hui, Council Coordinator at 355-3731 for information.
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2.

In the middle of everything is the sun. For in this most beautiful temple, who would place this lamp in another or better position than that from which it can light up the whole thing at the same time? For, the sun is not inappropriately called by some the lantern of the universe, by others, its mind, and its ruler by others still…Thus indeed, as though seated on a royal throne, the sun rules the family of planets revolving around it.
Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
The sun alone appears, by virtue of his dignity and power, suited for this motive duty (of moving the planets) and worth to become the home of God himself. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

Since Britain lies far north toward the pole, the nights are short in summer, and at midnight it is hard to tell whether the evening twilight still lingers or whether dawn is approaching, since the sun at night passes not far below the earth in its journey round the north back to the east. Consequently the days are long in summer, as are the nights in winter when the sun withdraws into African regions.

Bede, English monk/scholar (673? – 735)

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3. The DRAFT Yerba Buena Island Habitat Management Plan is expected to be released on December 21. Please check TIDA's website for a link to download the draft plan.

There will be (2) public presentations of the Draft Plan in January.

Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island Citizens' Advisory Board (CAB)
January 5, 2010,
6 -8 pm
City Hall, Room 305

Treasure Island Development Authority Board
January 13, 2010
1:30-4:30 pm
City Hall, Room 400

If you wish to submit comments you may do so at either of the meetings, or submit written comments anytime during the public comment period, which ends 
February 2, 2010. Any comment received by January 21 will be addressed at the CAB meeting on February 2.

Written comments should be mailed to:

Michael Tymoff
Office of Economic and Workforce Development
City Hall, Room 448
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

You may also send comments electronically to: michael.tymoff@sfgov.org



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4. Excellent comments on Sharp Park Golf Course issue:

http://natureinthecity.org/SharpParkcomments_NTC.pdf

or just natureinthecity.org

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5. I recently posted an item about a charity-rating organization, American Institute for Philanthropy: charitywatch.org

Here is another:

Charity Navigator accepts no funding from the charities that we evaluate, ensuring that our ratings remain objective. Furthermore, in our commitment to help America's philanthropists of all levels make informed giving decisions, we refuse to charge our users for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations and foundations that believe we provide a much-needed service to America's charitable givers.

This is how they arrive at ratings: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=48

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Name a charity in the search engine *****************************
6. Feedback

Dan Gluesenkamp:

Also saw the SF manzanita press release that Wild Equity had issued. I just wanted to give credit where it is due –Lew Stringer and Mark Frey identified the plant. After I drove by the plant three times, trying to get a better look, I left a message on Lew’s answering machine telling him about it. The message was garbled with excitement, and was cut off before I completed the story, but no matter; when I called Lew again 15 minutes later he had already recruited Mark for a trip to the site. Lew and Mark didn’t ignore the report. They didn’t add it their list of things to do if they ever have extra time. They went directly to the site, drove past again, and then sprinted across lanes of traffic to identify an extinct plant. Lew and Mark are conservation heroes. Without their quick response the plant would have been lost once again. Forever.

Jim Houillion:

Jake, Lech, Good to let the everyday members of these big enviro organizations at least have a chance to know what their leaders might be up to. I don't think most get that this gambling development would be as gigantic as anything on the Las Vegas strip.

I'm stressing that Richmond and the Bay Area deserves better because many in the Richmond community are captured by the "thousands of jobs" promises. It's not a completely false promise, but an overblown one.



A NY times article (from awhile back, but still prescient) reports how casino jobs are not good for families. A lot of divorce, drug abuse, and depression is associated with them.
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/14/nyregion/for-casino-employees-pace-takes-a-personal-toll.html?scp=1&sq=2/14/89%20Casino%20employees&st=cse



I'm in favor of a better development that also conserves access to incredible quality bay open space . (These folks are skilled and I know they will try to pit poor families against enviros if there is no come back that it's not just about a beautiful natural place.) There's a lot better things for the Bay Area that could go on this real estate. Plus, an Ok would open the legal gates for wealthy casino tribes to move into every California metropolitan area....that's not what we voted for.



Thank you, maybe we can nibble away the glittered veils behind this artful, but false goliath.



Jeanne Koelling:

Hi Jake: More news on recycling opportunities at UCSF: I was at UCSF Parnassus Campus yesterday and found out that the campus has expanded its hard plastic (i.e. CD, DVD, etc) recycling THROUGHOUT the campus buildings, not just Millberry Union. The CDs, etc. go into the bin labelled "recyclables and have small icons depicting what goes in there. (This bin is usually situated between a bin for garbage and a bin for paper). No doubt all the UCSF locations throughout the City have this program.

Glad they're finally doing something. I'm shocked by the number of events I go to in various places where there is no attempt to recycle anything. Glass, cans, paper, food, everything goes into the same place. Our institutions of higher learning have been some of the worst offenders. Duh.

Dennis McCormick-Kovacich wrote:

Hey Jake, I'm catching up on my email and had a question about Betelgeuse. First, you quote James Kaler as saying "If placed at the Sun, the star would go 55% of the way to the orbit of the planet Jupiter." Then, you quote Science News as saying "The star, a red supergiant, has a radius roughly the distance between the Sun and Jupiter." If its diameter when its center is placed at the Sun's center goes 55% of the way to Jupiter, then its radius would be roughly half the distance between the sun and Jupiter. This matches what I've heard and read before about Betelgeuse. My question is whether you misquoted the Science News or they suddenly doubled the width of the star, which does who-knows-what to its total size!

Dennis: Nice to hear a response about an astronomical subject, especially Betelgeuse. I can think of few things that are more fascinating than astronomy and physics...well, there's biology, of course.



I was aware of the discrepancy, but decided to post as is rather than try to concoct an explanation. However, I think I do know at last part of the reason. For one thing, estimates of Betelgeuse's distance vary wildly; 425 light years, 527 light years--and that probably isn't the full range, only what I remember. That would make a great deal of difference in its diameter estimate. Also, what I print is what I had in my computer files, taken over a sizable time span. Astronomy is evolving so fast that even a year can bring dramatic shifts in knowledge. Kaler and Science News information may be separated by ten years or more. I am not able to keep up with the pace of research. Whether it's 55% or 100% of the way to Jupiter, it's still pretty dramatic. Kaler's information is older, so my assumption is that Science News reflects more recent research.



On a related subject--and one closer to home--is the fate of our Sun about five billion years from now, when its nuclear engine has run out of hydrogen and is fusing helium into carbon, nitrogen, silicon and other heavier elements. When hydrogen stops fusing into helium the Sun can no longer hold up all the weight of its outer layers, and it begins to collapse and die. But the increased compression caused by the shrinking provides the heat and pressure needed to start helium fusion, and that provides the energy necessary to hold up all those outer layers. But the compression prevents it from transferring the energy to the surface through convection, as it did when hydrogen was fusing. That inability causes the Sun to swell up into a red giant. Some accounts talk about it incorporating Mercury and Venus and frying Earth. Other accounts say that it swallows Earth also. So science's understanding of stellar workings is very incomplete. Either way, all life is long gone from Earth.



Although the Sun will become a red giant, it is nowhere near the size of the red supergiant Betelgeuse. The Sun's death will be relatively undramatic. It will puff off its outer layers and only the superhot core will remain--ie, it will become a white dwarf. That's another story. The much larger Betelgeuse will not die quietly; it will go out in super-spectacular fashion--as a supernova. That, too, is another story. Stay tuned.



Come to think of it, I wonder what creationists have to say about this? Even the universe evolves? What lies will evolutionists concoct next?
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7. Population


From www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/press_room/C68/pb4_ch1_datarelease



Each year, the Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine rank 60 “failing states,” countries which on some level fail to provide personal security or basic services, such as education, health care, food, and physical infrastructure, to their people.

Failing states have much in common. Seventeen of the top twenty have high population growth rates (several close to 3 percent per year or twenty-fold per century); these countries have seen enough development to reduce mortality but not fertility. In fact, birth rates in five of these seventeen states exceed six children per woman. Soaring population growth puts strain on educational facilities, as well as food and water supplies. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that almost half of the top twenty failing states depend on food from the UN World Food Programme or that in fourteen of them, at least 40 percent of the population is under fifteen.

As breeding grounds for conflict, terrorism, drugs, and infectious disease, failing states represent a threat to global order and stability. In 2004, only seven countries had scores of 100 or greater. In just four years, the number of states in this category doubled.

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8. COYOTE-KILLING ‘TOURNAMENT’ IN MAINE

Right now in Northern Maine, predator hunters are killing coyotes as part of a contest “tournament.” Sponsored by the Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce, the “kill” runs from December 16th through January 30, 2010. Prizes are awarded for those hunters who kill both the most coyotes and the largest individuals. Ethics aside, random coyote killing will do nothing to protect Maine’s deer herds, as tournament sponsors contend. A copious and growing body of literature shows that coyote population reduction efforts through lethal control are futile, given the species’ resiliency and ability to biologically rebound.



If you want to express your thoughts:



Jackman-Moose River Region

Chamber of Commerce

P.O. Box 368

Jackman, Maine 04945

Email: mooserus@jackmanmaine.org

Phone: (207) 668-4171 or 1-888-633-5225

(Good grief, I'm in a time warp. I was brought up to think this way on our ranch in Montana in the 1930s and '40s. We were taught to kill everything that moved. I thought this kind of thinking had died two or three decades ago.)



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9. "explain a facet of modern life in the style of Dr. Seuss" ... and the winner is:



"I mail, I text, I tweet, I blog,

I build a Facebook for my dog,

I speak no words, I shake no hands,

I am at last a modern man."



by Twitterer@smacbuck, recounted in AARP magazine Jan/Feb 2010



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10. "The lack of popular interest in the natural history sciences, failing some other cultivated interest, is unfortunate both for the individual and for the community....The natural surroundings of Californians are singularly rich and varied. A scientific interest in at least certain features of our natural environment, as for example the trees, shrubs or herbaceous plants, directs one to useful and agreeable intellectual activity. Accurate and detailed knowledge of even a small area lifts the possessor out of the commonplace and enables him directly or indirectly to contribute to the wellbeing and happiness of his community."

-Willis Linn Jepson, Trees of California, 1923

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11.

The ghost of Tulare

Steve Haze is determined to restore California's long-vanished Tulare Lake, and now it seems that his dream might finally come true.



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12. ERADICATING BROOM IN THE EAST BAY RIDGELANDS

Featured Speaker: Ken Moore, Wildland Restoration Pioneer



Co-Sponsors: East Bay Regional Park District and Claremont Canyon Conservancy



January 8, 2010, 7-9 p.m.

Trudeau Center, 11500 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland MAP

(There is plenty of free parking in the Trudeau Center's parking lot and on Skyline Blvd.)



Ken Moore is a pioneer in habitat restoration and invasive species control in California with some 40 years of in the field experience behind him. In 1990 he founded the Wildlands Restoration Team, a volunteer program which has been widely recongized for its accomplishments. Ken is also known for his innovative knowledge of tools and methodologies that enable workers to efficiently control invasive species on a large scale. He is a key field instructor for the California Invasive Species Council and a popular speaker at restoration conferences throughout the state.



Mr. Moore will make a presentation focused on the long term and large scale management of broom in the East Bay. There will also be a discussion period.



In this era of declining resources, and advancing invasives, it behooves all wildland/parkland stewards and interested citizens to understand and practice techniques of control and eradication that are field-tested for efficiency, maximum utility, and genuine restorative results. Mr. Moore can speak to all of this and perhaps we can learn how to combat the broom invasion with a well-educated like-minded cadre of stewards and citizens.



(Ken is a long-time friend of mine and ally in the weed wars, and he is the horse's mouth on the subject, as he has had more practical on-the-ground experience than anyone. In addition he is resourceful and creative. JS)



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13. The Xerces Society--named after a butterfly last seen in San Francisco in 1941--is a national (and somewhat active internationally) organization dedicated to preservation of that very-much-overlooked group of organisms, invertebrates. And what a group! Invertebrates are not confined to bees, butterflies and other lepidoptera. It includes creepy-crawlies, a myriad of organisms that live underground, and strange and bizarre life forms seldom encountered by humans. How important are they? Listen to E.O. Wilson:



“So important are insects and other land-dwelling arthropods that if all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a few months.”



"Quite simply, the terrestrial world is turned by insects and a few other invertebrate groups: the living world would probably survive the demise of all vertebrates, in greatly altered form of course, but life on land and in the sea would collapse down to a few simple plants and microorganisms without invertebrates."



You can help preserve our life-support system by becoming a member of Xerces. Every little bit helps, and clicking on the pollinator hyperlink below will put you in contact with information you can incorporate into your backyard.





NEW POLLINATOR CONSERVATION RESOURCE CENTER ONLINE

The Xerces Society’s Pollinator Conservation Resource Center is now on-line! Containing a wealth of information, the resource center gives access to all you need to complete a pollinator conservation project in any region of the United States. When you visit the resource center, select your region from the map to access plant lists, details of creating and managing nest sites, pesticide protection guides, and practical guidance on planning and implementing habitat projects on farmlands, gardens, golf courses, parks, and wildlands.





“The evidence is overwhelming that wild pollinators are declining. Their ranks are being thinned not just by habitat reduction and other familiar agents of impoverishment, but also by the disruption of the delicate “biofabric” of interactions that bind ecosystems together. Humanity, for its own sake, must attend to these pollinators and their countless dependent plant species.” Edward O. Wilson

“Our species and its ways of thinking are a product of evolution, not the purpose of evolution.” -Edward O. Wilson

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14. Why was the climate conference held in Copenhagen--around the winter solstice?



For one thing, Denmark has the best record in the world for concrete actions already taken to reduce emissions. Because they were concerned about climate change? Partly. But after the first oil embargo in 1973 the government slapped on steep taxes on gasoline and oil--and kept them, even after oil and other fuel prices came back down. Copenhagen is one of the most transit-friendly cities in the world. Why did the electorate not insist on repeal of the taxes after oil prices went back down to the basement? Because the government made heavy investments in every form of transit and alternative forms of energy. As a consequence, the Danish economy is healthy and the least affected by high oil and gas prices.



(Hastily-scribbled notes from commentary heard on NPR's Marketplace)



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15. East Bay Municipal Utilities District Director and Sierra Club California Chair Andy Katz is in Copenhagen:



I have been in Copenhagen this and last week for the International Climate Negotiations Conference. Check out my blog at http://www.andykatz.net, where I am writing about my perspective on the negotiations and activities at the Conference as events progress.



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16. Bay Nature - We've Got You Covered For That Last Minute Gift



Still wondering what to get your family and friends for the holidays? It’s not too late to give the gift of Bay Nature (baynature.org) and take advantage of our great holiday discount price. With this gift subscription your loved ones can learn about local hikes, trails, wildlife, parks, native plants, and much more. Each holiday gift subscription starts with the January 2010 issue, which features the following articles:



Beyond Jaws: What we're learning about great white sharks, the Bay Area's top marine predators.

Public Transit and Other Endangered Species: A local artist aims to drape MUNI buses with the images of some of the critters that used to live here.

The Improbable Transformation of the Concord Naval Weapons Station: With its munitions gone, this wide open landscape will soon become a major park and wildlife corridor.

On the Trail: Climbing the Waves at Castle Rock State Park: Get introduced to this Santa Cruz Mountains mecca for climbers and hikers alike.

________________________





SaveNature.Org's Gifts for Nature



Protect the rain forest or coral reef by choosing from four great gift packages!



Earth Saver - 1/4 acre, deed only, $4.95 s&h

Earth Explorer - 1/4 acre + one holiday treat, $9.95 s&h

Earth Crusader - 1/2 acre + one holiday treat, $9.95 s&h

Earth Hero - 1 acre + two holiday treats, $9.95 s&h



Choose from our holiday treat selection of See's Candies or Martha & Bros. Coffee!



To order your gift and help save the planet go to www.savenature.org or call SaveNature.Org at 415-648-3392.



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17. Legal Action Taken to Save Bison, 143 Other Species

To save scores of imperiled animals and plants before they succumb to extinction, this Monday the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal "notice of intent to sue" the Department of the Interior for failing to protect 144 imperiled species -- including the plains bison, California golden trout, black-footed albatross, cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, Tehachapi slender salamander, and giant Palouse earthworm. These species have been waiting years (some up to nine) for federal protection, but have been systematically ignored.

This legal action is part of a larger campaign launched by the Center to protect the 1,000 most imperiled U.S. species in 2010.

Read more in The New York Times.

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18. I am on all sorts of email lists. Here is another conservation cause:



1% for Orchid Conservation Update 17

Feel free to pass this update on to anyone who may be interested.



1. The Greater Cincinnati Orchid Society is participating in 1% FOC

2. Orchid Conservation Donation Requests

3. Severe burn of main habitat and type site of Rhizanthella slateri

4. Note on AOS Conservation Committee





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19. Houston's new mayor

Leading lady

Dec 17th 2009 | HOUSTON, From The Economist print edition

Time for tight budgets and eating vegetables

“SOMEHOW in the United States, we’re almost an afterthought,” said Annise Parker, the Houston city controller, the night before the city’s mayoral election. “I don’t care. I think our future is international.” That kind of blunt talk is central to Ms Parker’s appeal, and the next day, on December 12th, Houston elected her as its next mayor in a run-off.

Houston, America’s fourth-biggest city, is now its largest ever to have elected an openly gay mayor. And Ms Parker is one of the two most prominent gay elected officials in the country alongside Barney Frank, an influential congressman from Massachusetts...At that point some right-wing groups circulated homophobic flyers, but voters seemed not to care. A more remarkable fact is that Ms Parker will become the only woman to lead one of America's ten largest cities...

(And now, the first openly-gay speaker of the California Assembly):

PEREZ-IDING OVER THE ASSEMBLY: NEW LEADER COULD BE CHAMPION FOR ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH



Last week, the Assembly Democratic Caucus elected John Pérez, a freshman from Los Angeles, to be the new Speaker of the Assembly.



While Mr. Pérez did not earn a 100% score from either the California League of Conservation Voters or Sierra Club California during his first year in office, he has built close ties to the environmental community. For example, he successfully championed legislation that will help ensure that residents of Maywood in Southern California have access to clean drinking water.



We're hopeful that Pérez will use his power as Speaker to protect California's environment and public health. With the growing attacks on California's most fundamental environmental and public health protections, we need leaders in both the Senate and Assembly who understand the importance of clean air and water, smart and sustainable land use choices, and fighting global warming.



Planning & Conservation League



(Another shibboleth falls. We've got an African-American president; now to get a female president, then a homosexual (a lesbian would give us 2 in 1). We still wouldn't be there, though--can you imagine us electing an atheist? That would indicate that at last we've grown up. Wouldn't it be great to choose a leader based on ability? What a concept!)



"The Equal Rights Amendment is part of a feminist agenda that is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."

Reverend Pat Robertson

"They're trying to prove their manhood." Ross Perot, on two women reporters who asked him tough questions.

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20. From Center for Biological Diversity



Right now, healthy, intact lands in the Southwest are being thoughtlessly trashed by off-road vehicles. The Center for Biological Diversity needs your help now to put a stop to the destruction and protect wildlife.

Over the recent Thanksgiving holiday, off-road vehicle riders illegally rampaged through sensitive riparian areas and damaged historic sites on our public lands in the Mojave Desert -- while the agency charged with protecting those lands did nothing.

This out-of-control behavior trashes irreplaceable wilderness and also spills over onto adjacent private property. Despite recognition by Congress and the courts that the Mojave Desert and other wild places owned by the American people suffer from virtually unconstrained access by off-road vehicles, no concerted law-enforcement presence was on hand to stop the destruction and ticket offenders.

Please submit a letter to elected officials and other decision-makers demanding they take action to protect our public lands and wildlife from off-road vehicle damage.



Click here to find out more and take action.



(I can personally attest to the horror of the off-road vehicles in our deserts, particularly at Thanksgiving. The Algodones Dunes (aka Imperial Dunes) is one of the very special magic places on the planet that I can't describe in a few words. They are huge hills of sand that are sculpted daily by the winds, which repair the damage to the formation done by the hundreds of dune buggies. But the winds are unable to bring back to life the plants which have--magically--adapted to this strange and demanding environment. Many of the plants are listed as Endangered by both the federal and state governments, so the Bureau of Land Management is mandated to protect them. Such is the power of the off-road vehicle lobby that this is problematic to BLM. Meager budgets don't help.



Off-road vehicle horror? Drunkeness is rife; in fact there probably isn't a sober person there. Every year people get hurt, some intentionally, and murders occasionally happen. Loss of participants' life is no loss, but the loss of irreplaceable natural resources is. JS)



Joseph Wood Krutch:

How many more generations will pass before it will have become nearly impossible to be alone even for an hour, to see anywhere nature as she is without man’s improvements upon her? How long will it be before—what is perhaps worse yet—there is no quietness anywhere, no escape from the rumble and the crash, the clank and the screech which seem to be the inevitable accompaniment of technology? Whatever man does or produces, noise seems to be an unavoidable by-product. Perhaps he can, as he now tends to believe, do anything. But he cannot do it quietly.



Perhaps when the time comes that there is no more silence and no more aloneness, there will also be no longer anyone who wants to be alone.



(Krutch wrote that last sentence many decades ago--1960s or before. [Those were separate quotations that I elided into one.] The time he feared is largely upon us. I took that quotation from Time and the River Flowing, a book about the Grand Canyon, and published by the Sierra Club during the 1960s' battle to prevent the construction of two dams in the Canyon. The battle was successful, but shortly after that, ironically, silence--part and parcel of the Canyon's assets and personality--was beginning to disappear, violated by hundreds of flights by tourist helicopters. Money uber alles.



Another illustration of disappearing silence was provided when I was camping near the base of Mt Everest in 1975. I thought at the time that this had to be one of the areas safe from human clangor. I was disabused: the sound of a generator was very remote, but audible, and it ran all night. We couldn't even tell the direction it was coming from. Even the local Sherpas, our guides, didn't know where it came from, and we never found out.)



Hotel brochure, Italy:

"THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE."



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21. Scientific American



(Multitasker? Don't brag about it - get over it)



MIND MATTERS: Portrait of a Multitasking Mind

What happens when you try to do three things at once?

http://cl.exct.net/?qs=6876977c1cdd98f29fcc05f06969fec3369a00d3bf73cc07298bcf37102b992e



EARTHTALK: Wipe or Wash? Do Bidets Save Forest and Water Resources?

Popular everywhere except North America, where Americans use 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper annually, switching to bathroom bidets could save some 15 million trees

http://cl.exct.net/?qs=cc95729750871f08d12bc66683a5044a3ec74b4a60ce8c3c639a2dccc9908fd3



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22. Dan Quayle lives
Roadside sign seen near Mitchell, South Dakota:
"Suddenly It's Like New!"
DICK'S Body Shop
24 Hr. Toe Service
(For those emergency pedicures, I guess.)