Green Options

As seen in photos released today, a group of six trespassers ventured off the visitor boardwalk; two apparently urinated and one dropped a rock into Yellowstone’s famous geyser.

The United States Supreme Court ruled today that environmental groups do not have legal standing to sue against the logging or environmental destruction of federal land.

“Broad concerns shared by all citizens, like an interest in ‘good government’ or in the ‘health of the forests,’ are not sufficient to establish standing,” Justice Antonin Scalia noted, writing for the court’s 5-4 majority vote.

With help from the Wildlife Conservation Society, a population of 600 lowland gorillas will find protection within the borders of a new National Park in Cameroon.

The designated area, to be called Deng Deng National Park, is approximately 224 square miles in size, which is roughly the size of Chicago’s city limits.

Deng Deng is the second National Park created by the Cameroonian government in the last three months, and is the latest in swift actions taken to help protect the country’s abundant but threatened wildlife. Aside from the gorillas, the park will also shield a rich population of chimpanzees, elephants, buffaloes and bongos.

Florida’s Everglade’s National Park has faced an invasion from giant pythons that prey on nearly any animal, big and small. But according to park biologist Dave Hallac, the problems caused by the spread of pythons pale in comparison to the proliferation of exotic fish species in the Everglades.

Walking catfish, African jewelfish, and around fourteen other species have been found in the Everglade freshwater marshes. The catfish began invading the everglades long before pythons entered the scene, with reports beginning back in the ’60s.

”In some ways it’s a form of pollution,” said biologist Jeff Kline.

EPA released an assessment with the news that 37 states aren’t doing their part to make sure that pollution doesn’t wind its way back to our nation’s preserved areas.

The Senate passed a bill on Sunday expanding wilderness protection more than any legislation in the past 25 years.

[Creative Commons photo via rjime31]

It’s actually a collection of 160 bills and covers over two million acres in nine states. THe land ranges from the Sierra Nevadas in California to Mount Hood in Oregon and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. It also includes areas in Virginia, Idaho, Michigan, Arkansas, and Utah.

In the past week or so, some 400 earthquakes have added to the already precarious land at Yellowstone National Park. Although the area is the largest supervolcano in North America, the rumbling is a bit more than normal.

Despite pleas from environmentalists and wildlife groups, the Scottish government has approved Donald Trump’s plans for a $1.5 billion golf resort along the Aberdeenshire coastline, an area previously designated as a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest.’

The government defends the decision by pointing to the hundreds of jobs the 2,000-acre facility will create amid a damaged economy. The facility is expected to generate $100 million annually for the Aberdeenshire community.

The government has essentially given Trump free reign to do what he’d like with the land with little-to-no environmental supervision. Wildlife groups had hoped to form a compromise, but instead, Trump’s development will not be required take the wildlife habitat into account whatsoever.

Quicker-melting snow cover will allow forests to encroach on meadows and, ironically, eventually aid in cooling the planet.

Regina Rochefort, a National Park Service science adviser at Mount Rainier, said the meadows surrounding the famous peak have been shrinking because of less snowfall and shorter periods of snow cover. In the past, the snow has restricted new tree growth with freezing temperatures a limited water supply.

So you’re probably thinking this is great news—after all, more trees will store more carbon, right? But according to a study performed last year, the good news is more so that less snow will mean more water for the trees, which will dramatically increase the forest’s overall cooling impact.

Dear Justin… and Dear all!

Special thanks to Jeff Strasburg for helping us indulge our imaginations in this series!  I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Justin for engaging me in this form.  It has been edifying to explore concepts about sustainability.  I hope that the readers of this “debate” have enjoyed the process as well, and I know I speak for Justin when I say: we welcome all comments!  This a dialog, a free exchange of ideas, so tell us yours and help to fuel the mutual inspiration.

(Author’s Note: I include the image above not only because, figuratively speaking, the “sun is setting” on our Sustainability dialog, but also because I will be travelling westward-ho! throughout the United States until the beginning of September.  My objective is to get some relief from my high-technology-based lifestyle right now, so the vacation will heavily consist of camping in national parks.  Therefore, I will blog if I am able to during this time, but if not… be prepared for both the Sust Enable episode debuts AND a bona fide blogging bonanza upon my return in early September.)

Without further ado,

Here are my final thoughts, in conclusion.

1) If you can learn to modify your life to be as close to environmental sustainability as possible, it is necessary that you proceed to do so. The human will is one of the most powerful–and dangerous–elements on the planet.  At first glance, it might feel like “too much” to give up using a flush toilet (just for an example).  But is it really?  Think about the idea.  Get familiar with it.  Picture what it would look like to use a composting toilet in your home.  Maybe start with a little one, to be used only sometimes.  Soon, the consequences may not seem all that daunting. There is always a choice. 

Don’t let your true identity and dreams for what the world could be become casualties of conforming.  You only have one life, so use it, in the most effective ways visible.  If many individuals decided that, deep in their hearts, ecocide felt wrong to them, that many persons when taken together comprise a mutiny against old, obsolete customs and beliefs.  Your little action today plays a role in a social revolution, of the “green” kind.

Can a summer vacation help create a sutainable future? YES! Sustainability begins with a concern for the wild places in the world and summer vacation is an excellent place to instill love of the outdoors.  A few months ago, I was privledge to attend the Student Conservation Association’s Earth Vision Summit.  I know the young folks walked away inspried and ready for action; but I learned a few things too.

There are 391 National Park areas  comprising over 84 MILLION acres in the U.S.   A meaningful summer vacation is closer than you think!  Our National Parks are your tax dollars at work.  If you want your kids to experience the wilderness, explore it, be amazed by it, develop a sense of stewardship and a passion to protect it, you might be surprised by all the ways our National Parks can help make that happen!

For example, do you know about the Passport?