literary journal worth checking out

Maybe I'm behind the times on this one, but I thought you all would be interested in this literary/environmental journal. Seems to follow a good environmental humanities approach. Ecotone.

H2Oil: animation

See this link for a great overview of the relationship between oil and water: http://vimeo.com/7408834

KUER: Rangers Make the Case for Dark Skies (2009-12-09)

Ross Chambless hits the airwaves and makes a compelling case about the importance of dark, night skies.

 Take a listen to Part 1 of 2 of his work on the "Dark Triangle". 

KUER: Rangers Make the Case for Dark Skies (2009-12-09)

Great job, Ross!

Guerilla Dinners

I figured this would be topical, considering how potluck-intensive this semester has been.

In class the other day, Alison brought up the idea of "guerilla dinners". The concept is basically this: coming together, cooking with and eating with friends. The idea is to eat locally, frugally, cook together and spend time together. Nice fit into our idea of community. We can take it further by dining in hard to access places, outdoors, etc. We eat together, but don't spend a lot of time cooking together. Isn't the kitchen where the magic really happens? 

In the spirit of eating, I think we should post some of our favorite recipes (Brussels Sprouts recipes are even invited to participate), and haikus about food in the comments section. If we get enough, maybe we can start working on an EH cookbook? Go Team!

-Alex Porpora

Red Rock Wilderness

KUER, our local NPR station ran a story today about how Emery County is forging ahead with its own wilderness act. This is in direct response to America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, which has been around in some form for about 20 years and would in its current form declare 9.4 million acres as wilderness. 

Emery County is a big deal, it is a highly contentious area that is home to the San Rafael Swell. The area that this wilderness bill at the county level would protect is half a million acres; the RRWA would encompass that plus another half a million. 

While Emery County is not breaking new ground with a county level bill, Washington County passed such a piece of legislation, it is different than Washington County in that it is somewhat less politicized. I definitely believe that an effort like this works better from the ground up, citizens should have a say. unfortunately wildlife doesn't pay attention to county boundaries. Where should consensus lie and where should we be willing to compromise?

While doing research for a large piece on Red Rock Wilderness I visited this area not just to hike but to ride an ATV. I had previously experienced areas of the Swell on foot, so I wanted to know what the "other side" was fighting for. The folks who took me out that day had an intimate knowledge of the land. They certainly agreed that some should be set aside, the problem seemed to be with Wilderness, (as opposed to "little w" wilderness), as defined by someone else and imposed on them. Perhaps by focusing on local levels and encouraging community engagement a bill can be devised that satisfies all needs. 

I feel a little scattered right now on this issue, probably because I've spent so much time on it. So, listen to the sweet sounds of Dan Bammes' voice as he explains what's goin' on: 

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuer/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1585981/KUER.Local.News/New.Wilderness.in.Emery.County

Your truly, clad in blue jacket, on the "Behind the Rocks Trail" in the Swell. 

-Alex Porpora

Beginnings and Endings

Those of us who participated in "Art, Advocacy and Landscape" taught by Terry Tempest Williams wrapped up our class this past week. Our final task was to create a project or piece of art that incorporated all of the themes we discussed, with an emphasis on community, advocacy and the environment. I am overwhelmed by the power of what we were able to create, both as individuals and a community. Everyone worked on something that was intensely personal to them, and that passion showed. I am grateful to know all of you. Even at the end of this experience, the momentum is there for us to carry on the knowledge that we have gained and to aspire to create the community we want to live in. 

I'm please that some of my peers were willing to share their work for this forum.  In their piece entitled "Cost Benefit Analysis" Ben C., Alison H., Ross C., Meags M., Lindsy F., and Katie P. created a world made out of currency and change that was photographed at a variety of locations around the state, including the Sun Tunnels, Energy Solutions Arena, Rocky Mountain Power, Kennecott, Temple Square and Pillars of the Community. This was a commentary on how we choose the value the world. All the money that was used will be donated to the Grand Canyon Trust, specifically Mary O' Brien's beaver re-introduction program. 

           CBA visits Energy Solutions Arena 

Earth in perspective at the Sun Tunnels

Andrea N. created a piece of art in response to the proposed bridge across Utah Lake. She said that she wanted to create something positive about the lake, rather than negative about the bridge. Working with friends, she created a bridge out of natural materials and set it out on the lake. The entire process was filmed, no coots were harmed in this production. 

These pieces are just the tip of the iceberg, there were maps of lives lived, sunset faces, air pollution dances, primate art, climate change spider plants and more. All of these projects made me so proud to be a part of this community. This is just the beginning of things to come. 

-Alex Porpora

Thanksgiving Inversion Hike

Well, despite the Thanksgiving holidays and my tight turkey-into-face-stuffing schedule, I'm also obligated to write something for our EH collective blogging effort this week. This is Ross by the way. This past Wednesday, 11/25, I was feeling lots of pent up energy. Having been chained to various tables in the library for the past couple weeks reading and writing papers, I was ready to burst come mid-week. So I rode my bike over to my old childhood stomping grounds, the foothills overlooking the Salt Lake valley and hiked to the top of mountain. Actually the mountain is best known as "the H-Rock", a giant black and white, spray-painted rock on the mountain side, a traditional symbol for nearby Highland High School. It's not a long hike to reach the top, but it's very steep. Hiking over sliding shale you have to take your time, lest you lose your footing and have an undesirable tumble backward.

One of the main reasons I decided to hike up this day was to see if I could actually get above the terrible smoggy inversion layer that engulfed the valley that day. Anyone who has lived along the Wasatch Front for sometime is familiar with what happens to our air quality on cold wintery days. Essentially the high pressure, warmer air presses down the colder air coming off the ground, and the enclosed, surrounding mountains don't allow it to escape. This has been a normal phenomenon in the valley forever. But in recent decades with our population growth, increased development, and more people driving automobiles along the Wasatch Front, things have gotten worse. Now we swim in a massive soup of our own automobile exhaust and factory and power plant emissions. Yuck! To read more about the inversion effect in Utah, this guy did a great job explaining it on his blog here)

From the top of the mountain I found a nice rock to perch on and I snapped off a few photos here with my cell phone camera. Having grown up here, I can testify that Salt Lake winters were never this bad. However, I do remember getting asthma when I went running when I was a high school soccer player, and that's when I began realizing what was happening.















It's hard to know what to do. Many of us can walk or bike, but for the most part we all still have to drive cars to get where we need to go. While UTA is pushing ahead with its mass-transit long range plan, we will just have to suffer through it. However, since the EPA revised its standards for stricter air quality to PM 2.5 (PM meaning Fine Particulate Matter), the State was given 3 years to reach compliance. This winter will be three years since then and the state will need to take serious measures to address our air quality situation. This is a good thing, but it also could mean restrictions on driving, incentives for taking the bus or Trax, handing out gas masks, who knows! You can read more about the State Implementation Plan (SIP) here. I for one favor any actions taken to get more people out of their cars and exercising.