Of Shark and Men

Ed Abbey once said, "If people persist in trespassing upon the grizzlies' territory, we must accept the fact that the grizzlies, from time to time, will harvest a few trespassers." And so it goes in the vast blue sea....

A fatal shark attack occurred this morning in Solana Beach, California. This initially caught my ear, because I've surfed there on a few occasions. I glanced over at that square box that seems to control the majority of americans minds (you know the television), and I was immediately horrified.

The beach patrol and the coast guard were flying up and down the coast looking for "the" shark that killed a human. Sharks must be the latest threat to homeland security...perhaps it was an Al-Ki-eda shark? Beaches were closed for a 17-mile stretch. People were not allowed to enter the water and in some areas, not allowed to walk onto the beach.

The horror I initially felt was not for the victim (yes, I do feel for his family and friends); instead it was for this majestic creature that some ignorant human will most likely hunt down and slaughter. The sad thing is that many sharks will probably be assumed to be "the" shark, and they will all be killed.

It saddens me that we are so far removed from the fact that we are animals, and that we can't accept when a more worthy predator gets a less agile prey. It's the way nature rolls....I'll take a natural passing to a steel coffin any day.

May the force be with the shark....I guess maybe the lineup will be a little less crowded tonight.

Look, listen, feel,
Ostrich

Was it Earth Day the other day???

Tuesday April 22nd.
It was the 112th day of the year.
It was Discovery Day in Brazil.
It was the Pennsylvania Primary.
Oh yeah, it was Earth Day, but most folks didn't notice.

It is also the birthday of one of life's easy riders, Jack Nicholson. What a character of life he is. It was his character (Colonel Nathan Jessep) in the 1992 film "A Few Good Men" that uttered the now infamous line...."You can't handle the truth."

I find this line quite fitting for today's society. The truth is hard to swallow. Global Warming, filthy, smelly, awful-tasting drinking water, cigarette butt litter, sewage in our recreational waterways, not just over development but senseless development, cigarette butt litter, the domestication of white-tailed deer, squirrels, and other critters due to loss of habitat, cigarette butt litter, more reality TV shows, a plastic continent-sized island in the Pacific (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89099470), cigarette butt litter, education cuts, resource exploitation, cigarette butt litter, etc. etc. etc.

Oh excuse me, I was on my cell phone in my SUV drinking from a plastic bottle driving 1/2 mile to buy the lastest US Weekly to find out about American Idol....what's the problem with the earth?

Is it that people just don't get it? Or is it that people choose not to believe the truth of the plight of the our planet. Or is it that they simply can't handle the truth.

I recently heard that somewhere over 20 million people watch American Idol. Now imagine if that many people turned their TV off for the 1 hour a week. That's a lot of energy saved. Now imagine if each of those people picked up one piece of trash in their neighborhood (while walking and conversing face to face with their neighbors). Imagine if each carried a canvas bag to the store.

So, here it is, my pact with tierra de madre:

1. Consume less. I will only buy from reputable companies that are seriously working towards helping the earth, not just "green marketing" to make a buck. CHECK out the links below to an interview with YC of Patagonia (some nice, honest thoughts are discussed). I am planning to have several days of the week where I simply make them "no-purchase" days.
2. Cease the use of disposable plastic beverages. If I must purchase a beverage, I'll buy glass. My Klean Kanteen shall become a fixture on my eco-utility belt. Here's a link about the ugly of plastic (to include Nalgene). http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/bpa-in-water.php
3. Get in the saddle as much as possible. I will work on the concept of bike-body meld. My kid's bike trailer will make a great grocery/errand cart.
4. Motivate, instigate, activate. Ghandi said "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
   

Here's the link to the interview with Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard. (There are two parts, be sure to read both.)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/the_th_interview_yvon_chouinard.php

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/the_th_interview_yvon_chouinard_2.php

look, listen, feel,
ostrich