A Subsistence Christmas pt. 1
My Kenyan hosts have a homestead and coffee farm in Nyeri county, near the village of Mihuti. This particular region of Kenya is hilly and mountainous, the topography uneven and sporadic. The area is notably fertile and green, especially in the weeks following October-November’s rainy season that had precluded my stay here. Nyeri is predominately … Read more
A Subsistence Christmas pt. 2
As previously mentioned, most rural Kenyan households have no electricity or running water. Water is a scarce and precious resource in Kenya, particularly during the two annual dry seasons. Nearly every home I visited in Nyeri was equipped with a set of gigantic water catchment tanks, and possibly a few rain barrels as well. Residents … Read more
Climbing Grays, Torreys, and Kelso Ridge
With no full moon to light our way, Steven and I had no reason to set our alarms for 11.30 pm to leave by midnight for the trail. Instead, we decided to sleep-in until 2am. At 1am I was brewing coffee, and just as tired as if I’d woken at 11.30. So much for energy … Read more
Some Quotes on Preserving Language, Culture, and Place
“In our efforts to preserve endangered species, we overlook something equally important: To me, it is a sign of a deeply disturbed civilization where tree-huggers and whale-huggers, in their weirdness, are acceptable, while no one embraces the last spoken languages of our world.” -Werner Herzog from documentary film, Encounters at the End of the World “Ojibwemowin … Read more
Where to Buy Outdoor Gear Online…with a Student’s “Salary”
When I see photos of grizzled mountaineers on top of Denali or Rainier in what appear to be burlap sacks, leather moccasins, and heavy, inefficient wool jackets, I wonder if they survived the trip down. Of course, many of them did–albeit with less digits and limbs that were claimed by Jack Frost. Nevertheless, the fact remains that their gear was, … Read more
Quandary Peak: The Quandary of Stewardship, Recreation, and First Ascents
One of my greatest fears when Fall semester begins is the inexorable aggregation of fat around my midsection and the phlegmy hacking that comes from unused lungs. Much of this is due to the lack of an active community who pushes the members to physical limits all year round. Thankfully, I met a peer who … Read more
Nine-Eleven: Remembering Terrorism at Home and Abroad
Today is nine-eleven. Week-long tributes will air on national television as well as, according to my mom who lives in Australia, there, too. It’s not only a day to remember, but an entire week. What is it exactly that we’re rallied to remember? What emotions are dredged up once again, like dusty Christmas ornaments that … Read more
The Columbian Exchange and Protecting Our Ecological Heirlooms
In Charles C. Mann’s latest eco-historical book “1493″, he recounts how Christopher Columbus re-assembled pangea’s flora and fauna identity. Pangea was the connected conglomeration of the earth’s continents before they split. He did this through, what we can now deem, ecological globalization: The spreading and re-distributing of flora and fauna back to continents where they had … Read more
Cost-Counting and the Delusion of Free Car-Camping (Night 5)
“If we make that shift toward a life simple in means but rich in goals, we are not threatened by plans for saving the planet.” -Arne Naess After leaving the South San Juan Wilderness, my wife and I went north to backpack in a less monsoonal climate. When we arrived at Minturn, hoping to camp … Read more
Endangered Species Act: Numbers, Facts, and Defining Success
Posted by sainteterre on October 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Despite a strong bi-partisan agreement that environmental protection is in fact economically and socially important, a major issue we’re now faced with is how to evaluate the success of existing publicly funded environmental programs–such as the Endangered Species Act–in the midst of economic turmoil. Over the weekend I read budget proposals and press releases from … Read more
Filed under Review & Commentary · Tagged with Biodiversity, Environment, ENVS 1342, essay, political