Remembering Cactus Ed

Can't let the day pass without a word of tribute to the one and only Cactus Ed Abbey now, can I? Hell, I think it should be a national holiday. Edward Paul Abbey would have been 81 years old today. Here's a birthday quote:

Though men now possess the power to dominate and exploit every corner of the natural world, nothing in that fact implies that they have the right or the need to do so.

I raise my fist in salute Ed. Your words will never die.

Piece By Piece

Piece by piece. That's the way BushCo is working on whittling away our roadless lands protections. Piece by piece. I guess we have to fight back the same way.

Now is a critical time. Much attention is being focused on the primaries. The State of the Union speech is coming up. More attention will be turned to that. This is also the time when public comments are being taken on the various attempts to shred the roadless rule. Let's not lose sight of that -- there's too much at stake to drop the ball now.

I've mentioned the plan for Colorado. Also the one for Idaho. Last Friday the plan to open up much of the Tongass in Alaska was announced.

These press releases include links to where you can add your comments on these forest plans. Let's all do it. Let's not let our wild lands slip away when we're not watching.

Update: Some more on the Tongass give-away.

Action Alert

I received an email alert from the Wilderness Society that I tried to post a couple of times. Didn't work, so I'll just pass along what I can here.

Bush and the BLM have plans to expand gas and oil drilling, as well as ORV use, in the wilds of Utah. We're talking about 11,000,000 acres here. They just don't give up -- we can't either.

If you want to find out more, or take action, try here and click on 'take action'.

A Pleasant Surprise

This is more of a personal post than I usually do, but once in a while something comes through the comments on these posts that really makes my day. There were a couple of comments, one in an earlier post here and another over at the Pest from a San Francisco blogger named Devin that did just that.

Actually Devin is more than just a blogger from San Francisco. He's from Montana and I've known him since he was about 8 years old. He and my son Vaughn became best friends when they both attended the same elementary school when we were living in Hamilton, and last summer they packed up and moved to SF. I've watched both of these kids grow up into fine young men over the last 20 years or so, and I'm mighty proud of them.

Enough of the family history, but Dev, and Vaughn, and Tara -- I'll just say that I hope all is going well for all of you in the Bay area, and keep the blogs rolling. You too Vaughn. To the rest of you I'll simply say check this out, it's good stuff. The guy can write.

Salute!

Most of us are familiar with the big environmental groups who work to protect our wild places. We know too the constant attempts to chip away at environmental protections, and the threats wilderness and other public lands chronically face. The watchdogs, all of them, deserve a hearty round of applause for the tireless, and oftentimes thankless work they do.

I won't list the major groups, but I want to mention two that are based right here in Missoula. They work in different ways, but both do much critical work. Vital Ground operates as a land trust to protect and preserve grizzly bear habitat, which of course encompasses much unprotected public land. Wilderness Watch is pretty much what it's name says it is. A watchdog that keeps an eye on various threats to wilderness, whether from the government or industry or any other source. If you're not already familiar with what they do, go on over and see what they're up to. They deserve the support of all of us who love our wild country.

These are but two groups. There are others of course, and if you have any in mind pass them along. I'll add them to a links list.

To Vital Ground, Wilderness Watch, and all the others I offer a heartfelt salute. I sleep much better knowing you're out there.

What Have I Done Now?

Oh god. What have I gone and done now? I have a long and sordid history of jumping into things without thought or heed, and immediately end up thrashing around in water over my head. Somehow I survive it though and learn to swim. Now there's this...

Other Beings

We don't treat other living things very well. Not very well at all. We have this peculiar mind-set that says we're going to what what we damn well please, we're going to have the stuff we want to have, and that anything or anyone who gets in our way is shit out of luck.

There's the matter of the border fence between the US and Mexico. It spells disaster for the American jaguar, a gravely endangered animal. There are very few left. The government position on the jaguar? Well, we can't seem to find any so we're not going to worry about them. We'll just build the fence. And that's that.

The grizzly bear? Hell, they're in the way of development so we'll treat their protection on a piecemeal basis and get on with our plans. The manatee? Too much prime real estate at stake to worry much about them. Spotted owls? Trees man, trees. We need to cut them trees. That old-growth is worth big bucks. Polar bears? Naw, we'll postpone protecting them too until the oil leases in their stronghold in the Chukchi Sea are sold off. Then it won't matter much anymore. We'll get that oil at all costs. On and on it goes. The list of other species, both great and small, that are threatened because they stand in the way of our bulldozers and drilling rigs could damn near fill a book.

It's been said that to use a particular species as a rallying cry for protection is a bit of a red herring, that there are many other compelling reasons to protect the natural world. True enough -- there are a lot of good reasons to do a lot more, but I think the plight of other living things that inhabit this planet counts too. Much more than we acknowledge. Of all the earth's mammals our impact is by far the greatest. Our way of life destroys the fragile conditions that many other species need for their survival, and that destruction is increasing at an alarming rate. The survival and well-being of other creatures, whether it be the snail darter or the spotted owl or the polar bear, needs to be on the table, needs to be part of our policy decisions from here on out. This world isn't ours alone to do with as we please. It's more than simply a warehouse of resources for us to gobble up and a dumping grounds for the resulting waste.

We're a unique animal. We are capable of extreme destruction, as is becoming more and more obvious. But more importantly we are capable of seeing that, seeing the impact we have on all that live on this home of ours, and above all doing something about it. It seems to me that we as humans have that responsibility. I think it's high time we accepted it.

Interesting Question

There was an interesting question brought up in the comments to last night's post on the Green Party. It was asked that now, with no real opposition to Denny Rehberg from the Democrats, wouldn't it be a great time for the Montana Green Party to run a high profile campaign for the US House?

I think it's a great idea and deserves some serious consideration. Any of you Green Party folks out there have any thoughts on this? Any plans? Is it in the works and I've just missed it? What do you think? Feel free to weigh in on the idea right here.

A Real Opposition Party

So the folks in Iowa and New Hampshire have spoken, and whaddaya know? Barack and Hillary are still the Democratic front-runners! Gotta admit that it's been kind of fun watching the media and pundits swing back and forth in the wind though. We've been hearing for months now that Hillary was in the driver's seat, and then lo and behold, Barack kicked her ass in Iowa. Suddenly the press had to stop, change direction in mid stride, and get on his bandwagon and annoint him as the one to beat, and proclaim that Clinton was all but through. Then Clinton pulled out a squeaker in NH. Now what? What does it mean? Well, all it means is that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still the Democratic front-runners. Nothing more. But so what?

I can only speak for myself, but I'm still looking for a party that will stand in opposition to the business-as-usual agenda of our current political parties. Both of them. I've held out hope for years that the Democrats would be that opposition party, but I have yet to see it. In fact it's getting worse. But yes, there is an opposition party in this country. The Green Party. And I think it's well worth pointing that out. While the chart in the link doesn't go into any great detail, it does point out where the two major parties stand on several issues, and how closely in lock-step they really are. The Greens on the other hand oppose both at every turn, and they stand pretty much where any party that I could get behind would stand. If the Democrats would take steps, and I mean big steps, not baby steps, in this direction I would proudly get behind their candidate. Not the reluctant support I've given them for the last couple of decades. That's getting harder and harder to live with. And yes, there will be Green Party candidates running next fall. They won't be on every ballot, but they will be out there. So if you're so inclined you might want to take a look.

I'm not about to tell anyone how to vote. I won't even say how I'm voting yet -- I don't know. It depends on how things play out over the next months. I'll watch the Dems to see if they are willing to pull together something different, but frankly I don't expect to see it. I'll keep a close eye on the Greens too. They represent real change, not gaseous platitudes about change, and change won't happen if we're afraid to make it happen. That's the way I see it this election year of 2008.

Just Get The Damned Oil

OK. I see now. The important thing is to get oil out of the ground and out onto the market as quickly as possible. Never mind the future costs. Never mind the relatively meager amounts available. Just get the damned oil.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service has been planning to present their recommendations about giving the polar bear threatened species status within the next few weeks. Threatened status of course would have a major impact on resource development in the far north. Now they have decided to postpone their recommendations for at least another month. Why?

The Minerals Management Service, also a part of Interior, announced that they plan to start selling oil leases in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. Next month as a matter of fact. The areas to be offered up are nearly the size of Pennsylvania, and are the home of roughly 16,000 polar bears, as well as habitat for whales and walruses which could also be seriously threatened by oil drilling.

Threats to wildlife aren't the only concerns though. The Arctic is home to some of the fiercest weather known on this planet. Accidents and spills are virtually guaranteed sooner or later. No one has a clue about how to clean up an oil spill that soaks into ice, let alone what drifts and blows into fragile arctic coastlines. It could be an environmental nightmare beyond our imagining, and probably would be. What's to be gained from all of this? An estimated 15 billion barrels of oil. That's all.

How much is 15 billion barrels of oil? At our current rate of consumption in the US alone, it's less than a two year supply. There's an awful lot at risk for a mere two years of oil. Yet FWS apparently is willing to roll over and allow the oil interests to triumph yet again. Is that the way this one will play out? We'll see soon enough, but if I was a betting man I'd bet on Big Oil walking away from the table with the winnings.

Carving Up Our Roadless Areas

The US Forest Service announced a plan to remove roughly 4.4 million acres of National Forest lands in Colorado from roadless consideration. This follows closely on the heels of last week's announcement that the FS will start formulating a plan to remove millions of acres in Idaho. The Colorado ruling is in response to a recent petition filed by Governor Bill Ritter asking for more flexibilty and more of a voice for Colorado in management plans. The Idaho plan is in response to a petition by then Governor James Risch in 2006. Risch has since been replaced by Butch Otter, but the petition still stands. Yet another plan to open up much of the Tongass in Alaska is expected soon.

This seems to have become the tactic of choice for BushCo in their attempts to get as much of our public forests into the hands of their cronies in the timber and mining industries as possible. They tried to overturn the roadless rule passed by the Clinton administration shortly before they left office but were in turn overruled by a federal judge. Now they are working on relaxing and eliminating the rule with state-specific plans -- kind of a plan to keep the opposition too busy putting out small fires to be very effective overall. It's a clever tactic. It'll be much harder for the watchdogs to marshal the resources and manpower to keep fighting one skirmish after another, let alone be able to keep track of them all. BushCo is determined. We need to keep watching them closely in their final year and not get so caught up in the upcoming election that they are able to get away with a lot of this behind our backs.

The public comment period for the Colorado plan runs through Feb 25 and comments can be registered here. You know the drill. The comment period for the Idaho plan will open when the plan is published, and will run for 90 days.

Here is the Forest Service website for the roadless rule.