Archive for the ‘Environmental Issues’ Category
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Colorful duplex and garden, Orsono, Chile. Please click the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
I’m depressed. I just watched “Manufactured Landscapes”, (2006) and if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you do. It’s a pretty intense documentary, featuring amazing photography by Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky creates some powerful imagery of some of the most unlikely subjects – largely industrial wasteland. Coal mines, dams, factories (the opening shot shows the inside of a factory over three quarters of a kilometer long), parking lots, construction sites, destruction sites, you name it. It’s compelling stuff – the beauty in his photos is moving, yet discomforting. The reality he brings to the viewer is a bit overwhelming; this stuff IS our world, today.
The film is set in China, largely, though the narration points out that this industrial development is global; almost all of the products being pieced together in factories throughout China consist of raw materials shipped in from around the globe, then shipped back off to meet demand overseas. The stark reality here is that China’s environmental problem is our problem; insatiable demand from the “developed” world is altering not just the landscape, but the land itself. (more…)
Tags: Art, Edward Burtynsky, films, Manufactured Landscapes
Posted in Art, Chile, Environmental Issues, Musings, Reviews, Travel | 3 Comments »
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Waterfalls, Baker River, Rio Baker, Patagonia, Chile. Click the thumbnail to see a larger version.
Hey Folks
“How many rivers do we have to cross, Before we can talk to the boss, eh?” – Bob Marley, “Burnin and Lootin’”.
Today, Feb 6th, 2010, is the 65th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birthday. Bob is one of my highest musical heroes, and this tune, of all his great songs, is probably the one that I love the most. So, in honor of the great Bob Marley, here’s a version of his classic ‘Redemption Song‘ that I recorded a few years back with my friend Steve on vocals.
Bob Marley's Redemption Song, Steve Lusk on vocals.:
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I thought this photo would be a fitting accompaniment. This photo is of the waterfall on the Baker River, beginning of a series of Class 5 and Class 6 rapids through an unbelievable canyon. (more…)
Tags: Baker River, Bob Marley, Carl Donohue, Chile, conservation, dams, environment, Patagonia, photos, Rivers, Skolai Images
Posted in Adventures, Chile, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, Musings, News, Rants, Rivers | 6 Comments »
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
A grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), close and personal, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click the image for larger version.
Hey Folks,
In honor of the recent decision (last week) by Judge Molloy of Montana to continue to have the grizzly bears listed under the Endangered Species Act (in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem), here’s a grizzly bear photo, from my recent trip to Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. In September the Court ruling was for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to relist the bears, but the F&WS requested the judge to reconsider. He reconsidered, and turned down their appeal, so the bears remain, for now, on the ESA. I’ll write a lengthy post about it later; for now I’m going to bed.
I think September was a good month for the bears – (more…)
Tags: Alaska, bear, Brown bears, Carl Donohue, grizzlies, grizzly, Grizzly Bears, Katmai, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Ursus arctos
Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Trash bottles and construction equipment on construction site, Marietta, Atlanta, Georgia
Hey Folks,
A word (or rant) about ‘pragmatists’.
How often do we hear people cloak their position in this language, smother their position and use the veil of ‘realism’ as a cover for rationale? The phrase “well, sure, that’s too bad, but we need to be pragmatic .. “ is so often merely an attempt to preserve the status quo. Rather than reach a little further, push a little harder, get a little creative, or honestly examine ourselves and the lives we lead, we fall back on language like “realistic” and “pragmatic” – neither of which solve a problem, and, ironically, express a position often seated on neither pragmatism or realism.
Conversations around environmental issues seem to invoke this veil all too often; “we’d love to leave the caribou alone, and let them roam on the coastal plain, but we need to be practical – realistically, we need oil.” An entire platform was built around this excuse for an unwillingness to change that supporters labelled “Wise Use” – it’s nonsense. (more…)
Tags: Art, artists, carson, development, environment, Environmental Issues, leopold, muir, thoreau, wise use, writers
Posted in Environmental Issues, Georgia, Rants | 12 Comments »
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Mt. Blackburn stands tall to catch the sun’s first rays of alpenglow, high above the Kennicott Valley, early fall, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
I just visited my friend Mark Graf’s great blog, and read with interest his commentary on mountains and the import and grandeur of nature, the role it can play in our lives. Mark prefaces his post with the legendary John Muir, so I’ll do the same:
“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail. – John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901”
While I think it’s a fantastic photo Mark posted, and a great post, (I’d ask that you read it and the comments that follow) I have to be the lone opponent in the discussion here; (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, alpenglow, Carl Donohue, color, Fall, images, John Muir, Mark Graf, Mount Blackburn, Mountains, Mt Blackburn, nature, photos, sunrise, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Fall, Glaciers, Landscape features, Mountains, Musings, People, Rants, Trees, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 9 Comments »
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Hey Folks,
Here’s an interesting thought; there’s been a lot of discussion in Alaska on wolf and other wildlife management, particularly ‘predator management’ (aren’t ALL animals not predators of some creatures, and prey of others?), and this raises the issue of orcas (Orcinus orca) and northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni). In more recent times, for various reasons, it appears that orcas have begun preying more heavily on northern sea otters in the Southwestern part of the otters’ range – South Central Alaska out across the Aleutian Islands. Orcas, “Wolves of the Sea”, appear to be extirpating the sea otter within this Distinct Population Segment (DPS), and this sea otter DPS is now listed as threatened on the Endangered Species Act. So, what of it? Should the ‘wildlife authorities’ fire up the choppers, Cessnas and Supercubs, hire a sniper or 2, and begin an aerial ‘predator control’ program? (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, Carl Donohue, endangered species, endangered species act, killer whales, mammals, marine, orcas, photos, sea otters, Wildlife, Wolves
Posted in Alaska, Cool stories, Environmental Issues, Musings, News, Rants, Wildlife | 5 Comments »
Friday, October 16th, 2009
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” – Thich Nhat Hahn.
Hey Folks,
Well, with all the comments about landscapes versus bear photos on the last few pages, I thought I’d try a compromise. I know, I know, compromises end up pleasing no one, right? Well, so be it.
This is possibly the last photo I took on my trip last month, a sunset over Naknek Lake – I was hoping for some nice clear skies the following morning – and actually had a big sunrise – but then it clouded over, very soon afterward, and no good light was had for the morning shooting. Then I had to pack and get ready for the plane to come pick me up. The trip was all over too soon.
The photo is one exposure, so no real photoshop trickery – I even left the gull in the bay (@ Ron 
).
The real reason I wanted to post this photo was, honestly, a talk I went to listen to tonight, at a local bookstore, by a great Alaskan writer, Bill Sherwonit. (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, animals, bears, Brown bears, Carl Donohue, Grizzly Bears, images, Katmai, Katmai National Park, Landscape features, mammals, Mt. La Gorce, Naknek Lake, photos, scenics, sunset, Ursus arctos, Wildlife
Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Fall, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Lakes, Landscape features, Mountains, Musings, People, Wildlife | 7 Comments »
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Hey Folks,
Here’s another image from my recent trip to Skolai Pass. This, along with the previous image posted of Mt. Bona and Mt Churchill, was taken on the first day of our arrival in the pass. Pretty nice day, eh?
These caribou are part of the Chisana Herd (pronounced ‘Chushana’) and are, according to legend, the only Woodland Caribou herd in Alaska, and maybe ought be listed on the Endangered Species Act, possibly the strongest environmental legislation in the US. Woodland Caribou are found mostly in Canada (possibly a very small population in Idaho and Washington – often referred to as a separate subspecies, Mountain Caribou), with the great herds of Alaskan caribou, such as the Porcupine Herd, or Central Arctic Herd of the north slope, like the caribou more seen in Denali National Park, being Barren Ground Caribou. (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, animals, Caribou, Carl Donohue, images, Landscape features, mammals, Mountains, photos, Wildlife, Woodland Caribou, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Caribou, Cool stories, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, Mountains, Summertime, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 5 Comments »
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s another image from the summer just gone by. This one was from near our campsite on the Canning River, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). We’d had a nice day paddling, enjoying some sunny weather, found a sweet spot to camp, and then I wandered around into the evening looking for a composition that caught my eye. The unnamed mountain across the river is a ridge leading up to Mt. Salisbury. This is one of my favorite areas in the region, right at the edge of the coastal plain and the Brooks Mountains. Typically these kinds of terrains are interesting; (more…)
Tags: Alaska, ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Brooks Mountains, Carl Donohue, hiking, Landscape features, photos, Rafting
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, Mountains, Rafting, Rivers, Summertime, Travel | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s a Pectoral sandpiper photo, taken on our recent trip to ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The shorebirds out on the coastal plain were really a treat – we were so lucky to see a number of cool birds. I’ll try to write a thorough report when I get time. In the meantime, dig this.
Cheers
Carl
PS – I edited this after the great biologist Milo Burcham pointed out the error of my initial post, which said the bird is a buff-breasted sandpiper – Milo, of course, is correct, and I, of course, was wrong – the bird is a pectoral sandpiper. Thanks Milo.
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Birds, Environmental Issues, News, Summertime, Travel, Wildlife | 5 Comments »
