My First Ghost Town Trip, Part II: Cortez, Nevada
July 14, 2008
By Clint Thomsen
Click Here For Part I To This Ongoing Series
CORTEZ? I didn’t remember seeing a Cortez on Chris Case’s map, but our collective euphoria spiked again and we were off. The mining woman’s instructions led us up a winding canyon past a modern-ish mining operation. We stopped on a sandy knoll and got out of the Jeep to do what men do after they’ve just downed a twelve-pack of Dr. Pepper. That’s when we noticed remains of foundations in the distance and old wood strewn on the ground.
That’s also when we noticed the flames under the Jeep.
We frantically tossed handfuls of sand until we extinguished the fire. Turns out the Jeep’s undercarriage had collected some brush during earlier bushwhacking. Unfortunately, the Jeep also leaked oil. Oil plus brush plus engine heat makes for a scary situation, and we were happy once the flames were doused. We were even happier when the Jeep still worked.
An Open Letter To The Future President
July 14, 2008
By Josh Donlan
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, 20 million people experienced the grand vision of Senator Gaylord Nelson: the first Earth Day. More than a celebration, it was a revolution, a single day that raised America’s awareness of the plight of our earth and its ecosystems that support us. During the years immediately before and after April 22, 1970, the world witnessed the onset of American environmentalism. Agencies were formed and legislation was enacted to protect America’s biodiversity: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Today, the ESA remains one of the most powerful pieces of environmental legislation ever enacted by any country. Despite these actions, we have much left to do to protect biodiversity–our country’s natural heritage. Many plants and animals, like the dusky seaside sparrow, continue to go extinct despite such legislation. With the human population at 6 billion and realistic predictions of 10 billion by 2050 and our rates of resource consumption at all time highs and rising, safeguarding our nation’s biodiversity, along with our neighbor’s, will be an unprecedented challenge.
Hiking With Olivia: Trail Entertainment
July 14, 2008
By Olivia Reese
Hiking is about the scenery, the physical exertion, accomplishing goals and of course, the food. But playing games and singing songs while wandering through mountain meadows and shaded forest paths keeps our brains fresh and makes us laugh. Check out some of my favorites:
20 Questions
20 Questions is an old standby capable of entertaining for hours. It is simple and one of my favorites. I spent a weekend last month hiking the Great Sequoia National Forest and it took 3 hours of intense questioning to determine what my friend Victoria was thinking about…it was a mailbox. We played the game again hiking in Tahoe. It took us 2 hours to figure out “keyboard”.
The rules:
One person thinks of an object. Everyone else asks yes or no questions about the object, attempting to determine what it is. Some helpful questions: “Can you buy it at Walmart?”, “Is it made of plastic?”, “Would it cost more than $50?”, “Do you own one?”.
Michigan DNR Revises Wolf Plan
July 14, 2008
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources have come out with a new plan on how to handle the states 520+ population of wild wolves. The plan initiated by the DNR includes educating the public to wolf issues, as well as trying to ensure that the local wolf population can thrive and succeed in an area where it was once nearly wiped out. To read the full plan of what Michigan’s DNR is proposing, click below.
Federal Trapper Hired To Find and Kill Attacking Mountain Lion
July 14, 2008
The city of Palo Alto, California has brought in a federal animal Trapper to locate and trap or kill a mountain lion that was recently involved in an attack on a hiker. The hiker, who remains nameless in the press, was hiking along a local creek when the mountain lion lunged at him, forcing him to fall down a small slope. He was lucky enough to survive the ordeal and only suffered minor injuries, but the city of Palo Alto is not taking any chances on future Mountain lion attacks.
President Bush Announces Lifting of Oil Drilling Ban
July 14, 2008
President George W. Bush has announced the lifting of a ban on oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf. Rising fuel prices and public dismay over the price of gasoline and other oil based products has lead to President Bush’s announcement this afternoon.
Even though President Bush has publicly called for the lifting of the federal ban on offshore oil exploration, the measure would still have to be approved by Congress, which could be another fiasco in the making. The current position of banning offshore oil drilling dates back to 1990 when then President Bush, George W’s father was in office.
Under the President’s measure, states would now have control over whether or not to allow drilling off of their coastlines. This measure was brought up by the President, to the Congress, roughly a month ago, but no action was taken. President Bush is hoping that his public announcement will spark Congress to take quicker action on this issue, and it also clearly puts Congress in control of how to proceed.
It is being mentioned in the Press that many Democrats are against opening up the shores to oil drilling and exploration. They feel that this is an effort by the President to try to come to terms with a problem that isn’t an easy fix. Even if these measures are immediately initiated, it could be years before a single drop of oil is ever tapped.
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has expressed that he would like to see offshore exploration and drilling enacted to help come to terms with a growing problem of relying upon other nations for our fuel stability for the future. This includes possibly opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve to drilling, as well. This issue has fostered some great debate amongst the ranks of environmentalist and conservation workers who say that the oil that would be brought in would not do one bit of god in the future. It is to little, to late, and could affect the local environments in a negative way.
For more on this developing story, check out the video and news updates from Reuters, as well as the Associated Press.
Study: Active Lifestyle Lowers Cancer Risk
July 11, 2008
Physically active people are less likely than sedentary types to develop cancer, a research group led by the Japanese health ministry announced Thursday.
Men in the most active group of people surveyed had 13 percent less risk of developing cancer compared with the least active group, and women in the most active group had a 16 percent lower risk than their sedentary counterparts.
“There has been a lot of research done in the past on the relationship between leisure and development of cancer in the West,” said Dr Manami Inoue, section chief of the National Cancer Centre.
Deaths on Denali: Two Climbers Die In Same Week
July 10, 2008
Pungas Tri Baruno, a climber from Indonesia, has died while descending from the summit of Denali (Mt. McKinley). Pungas Tri Baruno’s death is the second death this week on North America’s highest peak.
Pungas Tri Baruno had apparently topped out on Denali and was in the process of descending to one of the higher camps. He had complained of a headache while descending and collapsed less than half a kilometer from the summit. Several guides did attempt to revive Baruno, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Baruno’s death on Denali represents the second climber death this week. This past Friday, climber James Nasti collapsed on the summit. Nasti’s death resulted in a high-altitude burial as a body recovery was deemed to risky in the area. Baruno’s body is currently being recovered, will undergo some scientific testing, then be shipped back to his native homeland of Indonesia.
Many people have been stopping by and emailing me on this latest incident–the second death on Denali in a week. I was holding off on posting about Baruno until I was certain that his family had been contacted in regards to this situation. When it first occured, there was not a whole lot of information coming out. I do have a few more facts about Pungas Tri Baruno at this time, as well as more information on the death of James Nasti.
Protecting Yourself From Bears in Alaska
July 9, 2008
Need to know how to protect yourself during a wild bear encounter? For many, Spring and Summer are the best times to journey to Alaska or Yellowstone National Park. Looking at the media, one would think that the bear populations have exploded. but in reality more encounters are usually a test of a growing outdoors population of humans in bear territory.
KTVA 11 recently reported on how to protect yourself during bear encounters. Some of these tips, which are common sense to those of us that report on these issues, are not well known to the many tourists who travel to these destinations. Hopefully, by reading these tips you can gain a better understanding of how to handle a bear encounter, while not getting eaten alive like Timothy Treadwell.
Homeland Security Targets Protected Land For Virtual Border Fence With Mexico
July 7, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security has a few people up in arms over their proposal to place portions of the nation’s virtual border fence on land currently under protection in Arizona. Oregon Pipe National Monument is scheduled to receive seven virtual fence towers by the end of 2008. The completed project calls for 11 towers, some rising as high s 200 ft. There are also plans to include towers at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge within the next two years. This is all part of a massive plan to stretch the United State’s proposed virtual border fence across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Opposing factions are concerned about the local impact on the environment, as well as local animal populations in such protected areas. Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is home to an estimated 75-100 endangered Sonoran pronghorn–the only wild herd left in the United States. Two more groups of Sonoran pronghorn live across the border.
The following information is coming from an article in the Arizona Daily Star:
In a letter to Secure Border Initiative Executive Director Gregory L. Giddens dated April 4, 2008, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle wrote that the proposed locations of seven towers and four repeater locations would be in prime pronghorn habitat within the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.“The project would result in lower recruitment of pronghorn fawns in the area and, over time, may ultimately lead to the eventual extinction of the species,” Tuggle wrote.Matt Clark, Southwest representative of Defenders of Wildlife, is also concerned. “We have all our eggs in one basket there on the Cabeza Prieta,” Clark said. “When there is a prolonged drought and the animals are stressed, literally, a series of human disturbances can kill the animals.”
