BRER' BEAR

THE BEAR TRUTH

        By the time I snapped this shot at Brooks Falls in Katmai in Alaska, I already had a fascination with bears.  The Grizzly Bear, pictured in these shots, is a ferocious beast and can be a man killer.  Still, I've always thought of bears as a sort of super steroid sized dog.
I know that's not the case, but their loping amble almost seems playful.  
        I suspect the image of bears was set in me back with the old Brer' Bear character in the Joel Chandler SONG OF THE SOUTH literature of the Uncle Remus stories.  The Disney
version painted Brer Bear as slow, somewhat dimwitted and always being tricked by Brer Rabbit.

       Living in the west, you learn to live with the reality of Bears.  We've had bear sightings within a couple miles of our home.  We have hiked into brown bear country in the Sierra.  Bear lockers are something we frequently use and we always observe the no food in the car admonition in certain areas.  
       What we think of as the California Golden Bear is really a type of brown bear.
They are less lethal than the Grizzly, the bear on the California Republic state flag. Ironically the Grizzly is probably extinct in the state.  
        However, interaction between bear and society is problematic, even in mostly wild, pastoral, agricultural  or undeveloped San Luis Obispo County. A local bear that has developed a taste for chicken, is now on a hit list.  The term we use out here is a "depredation permit."  That's a lyric Uncle Remus never sang about.
The bear/community interaction has been lethal. Link here for the San Luis Obispo Tribune story of the bear kill.
  Read abut the background of the story by  linking here to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

      

        Enjoy seeing the Big Grizz in their natural environment.

       Do you figure this gull has any idea of who he may be trying to steal a fish from?

       Katmai National Preserve and Park in southern Alaska, in the area of the 10 thousand smokes is an extraordinary place. Not only can you observe Grizzlies in the wild, you are also in one of the most active volcanic regions in the world thus the name-The Land of the 10 Thousand Smokes.   

See you down the trail.

WILDLIFE BATTLES

KILLING THE BIG CATS

  

Photo by California Department of Fish and Game

The graphic scene from high in the Eastern Sierra near Rovana illustrates
the centerpiece of an ongoing wild life management debate.
Should big mountain cats, mountain lions, some call them cougars,
be killed to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep?
Wildlife experts say there are maybe 400 Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep. They say
at most, there probably has never been more than 1000.  When they were federally
listed as endangered in 1999, the number was down to 114.
The Sierra Nevada Bighorns are a relative to the more common Desert Bighorns with their rounded horns, the type used on Ram trucks and by the football team.

The alpine Eastern Sierra is vast, rugged and a harsh environment.
The Associated Press reports 23 mountain lions have been killed by trappers in the 
last ten years.  There are said to be some 5,000 Mountain Lions in the region. The AP says the cats have eaten at least 59 sheep. In the same ten years 1,079 mountain lions have been killed for threatening livestock or pets.  
THE NUMBERS
5,000 Mountain Lions
400 Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep 
Passions run on both sides of the kill issue.  
For the time being the lions can be killed only  if
they are proven to have killed a sheep.  Of course a
lot can happen in the wild that goes beyond monitoring.

DAY BOOK

HAPPY COWS
as the commercial says
"California Cows are Happy Cows."

See you down the trail.

THE CABLE DRAIN

THE HOT BOX

      Did you see where an HD DVR and HD cable box burn an average of 446 kilowatt hours a year?  That is 10% more than a 21-cubic-foot energy efficient refrigerator. It is estimated there are more 160 million cable boxes in the US.

            A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council says the boxes consumed $3 Bllion in electricity but the stunning fact is 66% of that was wasted because no one was watching.  The energy hogging boxes run all day, even when not in active use.

            Elisabeth Rosenthal in the New York Times, quotes John Wilson, former member of the California Energy Commission-"Companies say it can't be done, or it's too expensive.  But in my experience, neither one is true.  It can be done, and it often doesn't cost much, if anything."

            The former energy Commissioner is talking about what is done in European countries.  Energy draining devices go into a stand by mode or even deep sleep when

not being used.

            Rosenthal quotes Alan Meier of Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory about the industry in the US-"I don't want to use the word lazy, but they have had different priorities  and saving energy is not one of them."

            Maybe American consumers need to smell the coffee and remind those companies

that depend on our dollars, we demand a more energy efficient model.

           

DAY BOOK 
SHORE SCENES

See you down the trail.

MAKING MESSES

SOMEDAY WE'LL LEARN

       Living near the Pacific and mountain ranges has motivated me to see things on at least a couple of tracks of time.  Human time, our schedules, lives, goals and the like. And  geologic time.  Geologic time is teaching me patience, though a couple of recent items

gives me pause to wonder if something more aggressive wouldn't be more appropriate.

BLIND JUSTICE

OR CROSS EYED?

      The Supreme Court decision on California law on violent video games is a bad call' but it was seen and argued on the wrong premise and in the wrong context. 7-2 the Supremes upheld a lower federal court ruling that restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to children violates their First Amendment rights.
       A couple of thoughts-you would be hard pressed to find a more emphatic supporter of the first amendment than me.  Decades in journalism only forged more deeply in my very being the importance of the freedoms guarded over by the First - and the amendment's irrevocable steel in the fabric of American society. But it is not a First Amendment issue.  It is a health, safety and wellness issue.
       In the spirit of full disclosure-I have worked on this issue for 15 years. I've counseled
state legislators, worked with members of the judiciary, mayors, members of the US House and Senate.  I have produced documentary and information programs on the topic.
There is a new body of medical data, based on measurement of brain activity that demonstrates the undeniable impact of violent images.   
       Before that is practical knowledge.  Lt Col Dave Grossman, a former ranger and psychology professor at West Point, wrote the stunning ON KILLING in 1995.
Grossman says we-modern society-have taken the psychological safety switch off our revulsion to killing. We have done so by classical "operant training," developed by the military to teach humans to kill other humans. Specifically point and shoot range activity that has now been turned into point and shoot video games.  ON KILLING is a chilling document to how and why the training was developed, the efficacy of its impact, the psychological and biological affect on humans and the spread of that same psychology to games, gaming and entertainment.
         "We are reaching that stage of desensitization  at which the inflicting of
         pain and suffering has become a source of entertainment and vicarious
         pleasure rather than revulsion.  We are learning to kill and we are learning
         to like it."
                            Lt. Col. Dave Grossman   ON KILLING


       It is not that the Supreme Court's decision is stupid or bone headed.  It is wrong
headed.  That is apparent in something Justice Scalia wrote


         "Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat,” Scalia wrote. “But these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional ones."


       The problem is not cultural and intellectual difference, it is health, psychology, wellness and public safety.  I hope the continuing flow of medical research will move this
issue into a proper focus.

AND THE NUKES

       There is another matter on which  patience may have run its course.  The storage

of nuclear waste.

         A good friend, an ex-marine, lawyer and one of the most aware people I know

caught something from a French source.  Link here. You too may wonder why American media has missed this.  

         A later report provides additional information. Link here. More flooding is expected. 


         I'm left with those lyrics  "...when will they ever learn?"

AND ALWAYS- TIME FOR JOY

DAY BOOK

Geologic Time

         See you down the trail.

        

THE WEEKENDER :) THE KISS

CONSTRUCTING AND DECONSTRUCTING

ICONS

Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt Life Magazine

It is one of the joyous scenes in the quilt of American History.
Times Square at the end of World War II and an improbable embrace captured by
photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. For the millions for whom World War II is 
something in a history text or file, this picture has relevance.  A moment, a chance, a legacy, and a piece of pop Americana

Photo by Rich Lam Getty Images
Then came this.  Spread around the world on web sites, tweeted, and 
the focus on enormous social network interest.
Rich Lam captured the image the night Vancouver police confronted rioters after
the locals lost the Stanley Cup to Boston.
I was struck by the early references to the "original kiss photo." It was asked,
could this image become the 21st Century version of the Times Square kiss?
Sad if that is so.
It is a dramatic image.  As a journalist and news manager I would have 
been grateful if one of my shooters had captured the image.
But a kiss in the jubilation of the end of a world war is a 
far different moment than what appears to be a passionate moment 
in the midst of violence.
Both are extraordinary images, capturing dramatic moments, but the 
mitigating circumstances put the former and the latter into different
levels of significance.
Still there is a curiosity.
It took years to identify the nurse as Edith Shain, who lived to be 91. The sailor was just a guy in Times Squares who had reason to celebrate.  His identity has never 
been learned.
And as perhaps you have noted on this blog there has been the ongoing revealing of the particulars of the
"Vancouver Kissing Couple."
There is a new video that now seems to verify the explanation that it was not a moment of 
passion, rather a boyfriend coming to the aid of his girl friend who had been
clubbed by a Vancouver riot cop.

And we've always thought
"a kiss is just a kiss..."
Kiss someone this weekend.
Ignore the cameras.
See you down the trail

AN ENDLESS BATTLE?

PERSISTENCE VS DETERMINATION

      It has become a weekly riddle, almost like a zen koan; am I locked into an endless and perhaps futile effort?

Here's the back story. Scene 1

       Those slats on a second story deck have become a favorite of squatter spiders. More back story detail-we will usually go to great lengths to peacefully move a spider from inside to safety out doors.  I cut them plenty of slack, outside. Scene 2

      The spiders are left alone in nature, but once they cling to the house, lights, outdoor furniture or decks, I brush away the web.  Lot of good that does.  Each week they are back. Their beautiful webs a kind of "na, na, na, na, na!"  For the last year or so, I often trip over the thought that perhaps this drama is a bit like trying to impose nation building in a place like Afghanistan. 

     As I take the the broom to the web, I pause to enjoy their marvelous beauty.

 What do you think?  Should I quit this war?

Or in our battle are we making each other 

stronger or more appreciative?

To quote a favorite writer, who would appreciate this dilemma-"so it goes."

See you down the trail.

CLASS ON THE GRASS

WATCHING WIMBLEDON

       I've been slowed by a stomach virus the last couple of days, which may be good for only one thing-being in an easy chair and watching some great tennis.

       There were some outstanding matches today and I can only hope my game improves by an act of absorption.

        The most outstanding moment was the incredible scene of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga jumping over the net to lift a despairing Grigor Dimitrov who lay prostrate after loosing a superbly played match.  That act of superb sportsmanship was thrilling to see and it ignited the fans in the stadium as well.  CLASS!

See you down the trail.

THE RIGHT TO A PARK

As California wrestles with bringing a budget under control, some State Parks are on a hit list.  

As a taxpaying voter, I have no trouble paying more in taxes providing they are designated specifically to the parks system.  And/or a stepped up user fee gets my support.

I'm including some very cogent thoughts on this subject.

This is from the Pelican Network.

 Opinion: People must rise up and demand that parks be preserved

By Donald W. Murphy

Special to the Mercury News

The closure of 70 state parks will be one of the greatest blunders of California's budget crisis: An important component of our freedom will have been lost. It is a tragedy in the making. Only we the people can avert the final scene.

The lack of will, or perhaps ability, on the part of a succession of legislators and administrations to put in place budget reforms is the cause of this looming tragedy.

This must stop. It is time for a paradigm shift in how we manage our parks, recreation areas and cultural resources. Alternatives must be explored, which should include management of some parks by volunteer organizations and public/private partnerships with responsible concessionaires. There may be other valid ideas. But a guaranteed amount of public funding must be part of any solution.

Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature should appoint a commission to come up with a plan to secure the future of California State Parks.

One hundred years ago it was visionary people and groups like the Save the Redwoods League and the Sempervirens Fund that worked to preserve our natural and cultural resources. It is time that these groups, along with the California State Parks Foundation and the California State Parks and Recreation Commission, took control to formulate a plan to establish a secure and permanent funding source and preserve our parks for future generations.

During my tenure as director, the Legislature and administration agreed that if California State Parks reduced its budget by $10 million, while putting in place more efficient and effective management practices, then the budget cuts would cease, and the agency would be rewarded with the funds it needed to manage and maintain the parks. The savings were achieved. The successful management practices of performance measurement and budgeting that California State Parks put into place are being discussed in the Legislature this month -- 15 years after we proved them successful.

Enter the old saw, no good deed goes unpunished: Over the past 16 years, the Legislature and various administrations have continued the practice of systematically whittling away the finest system of parks anywhere in the world.

Access to natural and cultural resources that are owned by the people is a fundamental right. I assert it is a natural right, just like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Fifteen years ago, famed Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and I were on the radio program "The Osgood Files" discussing Biophilia. It is a simple principle. Human beings evolved from the world around them and consequently have a genetic connection to that world that fosters understanding, good health, a sense of wonder and discovery, and the desire to preserve the land for future generations. The same is true for our cultural resources. California State Parks represent the essence of this principle.

I have heard it repeated by countless legislators and at least three governors that the choices they must make during economic crises are tough. They wax eloquent about how they love parks and how it hurts them to have to make these cuts -- cuts that ultimately kill. And not unlike the tragic figure Othello who uttered, " ... and I will kill thee, and love thee after," our political leaders will feign much love after the parks are gone.

Ultimately, we the people are responsible. If we do not rise up and craft a solution to save what is ours, then we are complicit in this looming tragedy.

-------------

DONALD W. MURPHY was director of California State Parks from 1992 to 1999 and deputy director of the National Park Service from 2001 to 2007. He wrote this for this newspaper.

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"In the end, we will conserve only what we love;
We will love only what we understand:
And, we will understand only what we are taught."
Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist


Contact:   Jack Ellwanger      831 667 2025    PO Box 144    Big Sur, CA    93920

SWEET SUMMER

THE FAVORITE SEASON

Summer.  The word alone evokes a wash of memories and 

emotion.  On California's central coast, especially here on the ridge, nature celebrates.

 A couple of days ago a post showed the Lily of the Nile and the Orchid Cactus, getting ready to bloom.

So far the deer have spared the Lily of the Nile,

 and left a couple of the Orchid Cactus blooms.

 The deck is flanked by what is called a paper bark-

we think it is a kind of bottle brush tree.  We simply 

have not seen many of them, but this time of year

it explodes in a kind of creamy fuzz.

SUMMER REPRESENTS A COSMIC EVENT, WE ARE CLOSER TO THE SUN AND HAVE MORE HOURS OF DAYLIGHT. WHILE YOU PONDER THE EXQUISITE WONDER OF THAT, HERE IS ANOTHER BIT OF FASCINATION. LINK HERE AND SEE A STAR, DEVOURED BY A BLACK HOLE.

Now, that is something different than what you did a school kid on summer break.  I used to spot shapes in the clouds.

In fact, I still like to.

Happy Summer.

See you down the trail.

GREAT WORKING CONDITIONS--MORE ON "THAT" PHOTO & AN UPDATE FROM BOB

A REBUILD AND LEARNING

Visitors to Cambria's Moonstone Beach have noticed a team of young men and young women hard at work and creating new photo ops.

The ballet of balancing beams has added industry to the

extraordinary oceanscape.

The famous Moonstone Beach Boardwalk is in for a bit of repair.

 Erosion has taken it's toll and so youth from the California Conservation Corps

have again been put into action.

Under the watchful guidance of the California State Park Rangers

 members of the CCC do vital work to public infrastructure. 

The Corps hires young men and women 18 to 23 to do natural resource work and emergency repair.

Direction and guidance comes from senior staff and the California State Parks.

Modeled after the 1930's era CCC, the Corps does important work, while training

young Californians in specific skills, project work and management and environmental and natural resource preservation.

Cambria's Moonstone Beach Boardwalk is an example of the important investment the CCC has made in the beauty of California.
While a motto for the CCC is "hard work, low pay, bad conditions...and more,"
one has to question how can it be, working along the big blue?
MORE ABOUT THE FAMOUS PHOTO

Photo by Rich Lam  Getty Images

NOW, THERE IS MORE "BACK STORY."

ESQUIRE HAS JOINED THE PURSUIT OF THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO. SEE WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED AND ADDITIONAL VIDEO BY LINKING HERE



UPDATE FROM BOB
Here is the latest from Bob as he continues preparation for
a bone marrow transplant procedure.

Two intensive days of evaluations and testing are now behind us. Rad 
> Oncs say there will likely be only one radiation treatment (200 cGy). 
> Minor short term side effects.That's a good thing. Diane and I are now 
> lodged at the Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, MN. It's 
> very comfortable and incredibly clean. The reason for cleanliness is 
> obvious.  We are 
> getting bits and pieces of what lies ahead. Diane and I look forward 
> to this week's a one-on-one with my transplant coordinator.
>
> Foster

See you down the trail.