Thunberg-1, Wealthy Elite-0

Sixteen year old Greta Thunberg scored some major points at the WEC this week. Since, as she and the rest of the world suspected, none of the wealthy elite who make up the WEC delegates stood up to be counted, I'd say the score is Thunberg-1, Wealthy Elite-0. Is anyone surprised?  If there's no money in it for them the wealthy elite are not going to play.

I must admit that I find it rather amusing that older generations will ridicule the younger generations for not caring or participating, and then when they do the gray haired old farts get their noses bent out of shape and start yelling that the kids should stay in school and leave serious decision-making to them.  (Like they're really going to do anything. LOL)  I'm an old fart and I can see the temptation.  I'm also reminded that the old farts of the 1960s were saying the same thing about me and my generation as we hit the streets, but we made a difference. The gray haired old white men in Congress back then knew what needed to be done. They just didn't want to do it until we forced them.  

Greta Thunberg is a good example of this phenomena. There are plenty of gray haired old farts and financial elite at the World Economic Conference (WEC) being held in Davos, Switzerland. In challenging the WEC delegates to really do something about climate change instead of talk and traveling the world in their high polluting private jets (which by the way put an average of 1,102 pounds per passenger per hour of CO2 into the atmosphere and have an average cost of $1,611 per hour to fly),  Thunberg laid the blame squarely in the laps of the world's biggest capitalists and financial elite sitting right in front of her.  "Some people, some companies, some decision-makers in particular, have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money. And I think many of you here today belong to that group of people."

From the reports I read that was received with resounding silence which says to me, as a retired psychotherapist, that they knew they had been caught.  When people, whether actually guilty or not, truly feel that they are being wrongly accusation, they will react and object. When a person(s) knows that the accusation against them is true, they get very quiet.  Mothers, you know exactly what I mean. What happens when you wrongly accuse your child of something and/or they truly believe they were right? Don't they throw a hissy fit, scream, yell, etc.? Mine did. What happens when you accuse them of something and they know they are guilty and have been caught?  Silence.  These guys might be the financial elite of the world, but they're still human (or so I'm led to believe) and will react as such.  They weren't quiet because they didn't like what she said, or didn't think she was right. They were silent because they knew she had exposed them.  

 What was particularly sad was that she expressed a feeling that I suspect most of the world watching the WEC shares.  She said, "I don't believe for one second that you will rise to that challenge, but I want to ask you all the same."

You can bluster all you want about a sixteen year old telling the world's financial elite that they are amoral and should pull up their big boy/girl panties and do what they know is right. We all know prefectly well that she's right.  You can fulminate about how she doesn't have the experience, education, etc., to talk to such a distinguished group of world leaders as she did. You can say anything you want. Besides the fact that she is right, and we all know it, she has become a voice of the generation whose future, or lack thereof, is totally controlled by people who can't think beyond profit and power today. She has become the voice of the generation whose future, or lack thereof, is being totally and absolutely ignored. 

With young people around the world responding to Greta, we can only live in hope that they, like we did in the 60s, will prevail and force those in power to do the right thing. If we can't live in that hope, we will die in dispair.  

Homo Sapiens is an Extinct Species

 

   I am sad to anounce that there is strong evidence that the species known as Homo Sapiens is extinct.  

      I'm sure you've all had those moments of great epiphany.  Well, I was doing some research where there was discussion about the dates for the existence of homo habilis and what constituted the transition to homo erectus and then homo sapiens.  It was all pretty dry stuff and nothing new. Then it hit me.  We can't put an exact date on any species. There is going to be a transition period. For example, homo erectus didn't just suddenly exist and everyone walked around errect. 'Hey, guys, are you ready. January 1st we've got to be ready to walk erect because that's when we become homo erectus.'  

     Looking at things from this perspective I realized that we might actually be transitioning or have transitioned into something else. The more I thought about it the more I became convinced that homo sapiens, as a species, is extinct. 

     Homo sapiens literally means "wise man". That was my first clue that homo sapiens are extinct.  There is a whole long list of adjectives that I would use to describe our species but wise (sapiens) isn't one of them. I began to wonder how this transition; this extinction of homo sapiens; came about. 

     I have been interested in and reading about hunter-gatherers for some time and recently started an actual research project based upon the hypothesis that we started moving rapidly toward the mess in which we find ourselves today when we ceased to be hunter-gatherers and started 'owning' land which quickly led to the development of haves and the havenots, and you know the rest of that sad story.  

     Yes, that could have been the beginning of a transition as a species as well because throughout our history we see the constant struggle and swing betweeen an attempt to maintain some wisdom and total lunacy. We had the Greeks trying to figure things out and the Romans who just wanted to conqueror it. We had the Mongols, whom everyone think were the monsters, who actually had some very enlightened social rules, and the Chinese, whom most people think were the enlightened one but were actually . . . .  well, you all know world history.  For those of you who went to college, that's the required general education history course that, if you dozed off - and you probably often did - you missed a thousand years. 

     There had to be some point in history where the transition was totally or almost totally complete. After considerable thought I figured that somewhere around the the time of what we call the Industrial Revolution Homo Sapiens had actually become Homo Perniciosa (L. destructive).  The Greeks lost out. The Romans perfected greed and destruction, destroying most everything in their way. The Romans lost to an even more destructive social system, during which time homo sapiens made one last ditch effort at civilization. We call it the Rennaisance. In reality it failed. Greed, power, and colonization took over which was agumened by industrialization.  Homo Perniciosa was now the only species. Homo Sapiens were basically gone.  

     Despite their great ability to practice cruelity and inhumanity, the tenure of the Homo Perniciosa was probably the shortest lived of the homo genus. From the best I can tell we are in the final days of the Homo Perniciosa. My theory is that to deal with all of the pollution of the industrial world the brain began to change.  We are all very aware of the number of other animal species that went extinct because of the pollution created by the Homo Perniciosa. There is no way that the Homo Perniciosa could survive without likewise suffering brain damage.  This must be the reason because it is the only explanation for how a species could have proven that it was killing itself and everything around it and still not changed its behavior to survive. 

     This I believe is evidence of the transition from Homo Perniciosa to Homo Vacuous (L. empty)  We still have the destructive, greedy, violent characteristics of the Homo Perniciosa but we have done so much damage to our brains that we can only be described as vacuous - empty. Myopic might be another possible descriptor, but I think we are mostly vacuous. I mean, how can a thinking species know that it is overpopulating the planet and still breed faster than rabbits?  How can a sapiens species know that water is life, the forest is the lungs of the world, and still pollute everything and cut 80,000 acres of forest each day?  Suicide for the sake of wealth, comfort and power.  You'd have to agree, it is hard to comprehend that those commiting such behaviors have anything but space between their ears, hence Homo Vacuous. 

     It seems evident that since Homo Vacuous is incapable of dealing with the mess created by Homo Perniciosa there will be no next species in the Homo genus.  As hard as it is to admit, being one of the species, the extinction of the genus homo would probably be the best thing that could happen to the world. For our progeny, that's a real bummer. 

Image courtesy of RK008 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To Live Deliberately

     One of my favorite Henry David Thoreau quotes is his explanation of going to Walden Pond to live.  He wrote,  "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." 

     What he learned was that what passed for advanced civilization; viz. town, government and business; was really quite psychologically, emotionally and spiritually impoverished.  He found that those whom the white people called "savages" were actually more comfortable, happy and, in many ways richer than the whites who looked down on them. Those whom he observed in the community near Walden lived with tremendous debt, never found and/or took time to live, and saw nature as a contradiction to what they perceived as progress. Progress, he learned, was an excuse to destroy nature. 

     The reason that this quote has so much meaning to me is our similar experience.  Six years ago Pamela and I went into the woods. We became volunteers at Glacier National Park in far northwestern Montana. While we both have always had a great love for nature our action wasn't as deliberate as Henry's. That is to say, we weren't expecting the epiphany that awaited us. We were ready and anxious to learn all that the wilderness had to teach us. We just didn't expect the Walden Pond type of enlightenment. 

     That simple act led us to a life on the road, exploring mountains, prairies and desert; to live deliberately. We now live in our twenty foot trailer which we named Nitsitapiisinni.  That is "our way of life" in the Blackfeet language. The Blackfeet Nation is our Montana neighbor.  One of the first things we learned was that modern society is extremely limiting, confining and isolating.  

     I bet you find that strange. I also bet that you've never known anything other than what we call 'sticks-n-bricks' (permenant buildings) and accept the idea that everyone has to have a "permenant  address".  That's just a good way to be controled, but that's another story. 

     My intent is to focus upon the positive aspects of the Thoreau quote, but I do need to lay the ground work by explaining how modern society is limiting, confining and isolating.

     Society limits you by defining who you are, where you live, where you will work, what you will believe, what you will wear and many other controls that limit your ability to experience life and experience the phenomenal vastness of your potential.  To be so limited is an artificial barrier created for the sole purpose of controlling you. If you give in you will not experience the fullness of life nor will you ever know your full potential. You will be content with a stereotypical concept of success. 

     When was the last time you stood on top of a mountain you have just climbed?  Not driving up and walking out to a vista. You climbed the whole freakin' way.  You look down and feel the rush of life. Yes, that's life you're feeling. That's what it feels like to not be controlled and limited. You realize 'I just did that!'  You climbed a mountain. You made friends with a bear. Well, maybe making friends is too much but you encountered a bear and the two of you went you own way in peace. You climbed rugged trails, encountered animals you've never met, and gawked at magnificent panoramic vistas from high promotories. You walked along narrow ledges that made your head spin, forded rushing mountain streams, and climbed over magnificent bolders.  You experienced life fully.

     Why would you want to allow yourself to be limited?  It's not because you want to be limited. It is because you've been taught to accept the limits.  I spent an entire career dressing, acting, and talking like I was expected.  When Pamela suggested that we go to Montana I asked 'for how long?'  When she told me all summer, my reaction was 'can I be gone that long?'  Of course I could but I was still living within societal limits.  Like those observed by Henry David Thoreau, societal limits keep you pigeon-holed and confines you thought and behavior.

     The problem with the type of confinement we experience in society is that those who control the society want you to see the confinement as security.  I would suspect that's how it found its way into Orwell's book "1984". We have been brainwashed to see confinement as security. 

     "Oh, I have security here," says the person about their life in the same town in which they grew up, in a house with a big mortgage and a job that, if they were honest, could go away at any time. But they've been taught that. That, they were taught, is the American dream. They didn't experience it as truth.  'Oh,' the controllers of society say, 'you've got a house and a job. You have security.'  Yeah. Right. If you believe that I've got a bridge in Brooklyn that I'll sell you cheap. 

     Now, I do not have anything against having a house in the same town for years. That's really nice if you know that's what you want. In fact, if you've actually givien it serious thought, tried or considered alternatives, and decided that's for you, I think it is absolutely wonderful.  But when you do it because you've been told and expected to do it that way, then it is confinement. Everyone has to make a living, but hundreds of thousands of people have figured out that they don't have to have a house with a mortgage or pay an exhorbitant rent for an apartment and a job in a factory, store or office. Just like in the village near Waldon Pond, most people are confined.

     Two new friends of ours are just starting their nomadic life. They are in their thirties. One runs a business with her phone. It doesn't matter where they are. The other is a bartender. She can walk into almost any town, anywhere and get a job.  We have friends that work as camphosts.  Others do things like work the sugarbeet harvest. One man sharpens knives while another sells his photography on-line. Another man installs solar systems while yet another gets jobs as a handiman.  All of these people are leading a free, unconfined life, but we are looked upon as odd or worse. For over 90% of our existence humans have lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Where did we go wrong?  (Actually I have a theory on that, but you need to follow my research on hunter-gatherers for that.)

     Put these two - limitation and confinement - together and it equals isolation. For those of us who have experienced the alternative to modern society to be forced back into that mold would be like being put in solitary confinement. 

     It is rather ironic that those who live in the cities and town have a much higher rate of depression and are more isolated than those of us living in the wilderness sixty miles from the nearest town.  Both Pamela and I realize that we have many more really good friends in our nomadic life than we ever did in our "work" lives. The reason that I am bold enough to say that we have a lower incident of depression is because of the number of good friends we have who suffered from depression and PTSD and have found relief by going, using Thoreau's words, "into the woods" where they found unconfined and unlimited life. 

     "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." 

     Like Henry David, Pamela and I came to live deliberately ... to live simply ... to learn what life in the wonderful world around us has to teach.  We have learned that what passed for advanced civilization; viz. town, government and business; is really quite psychologically, emotionally and spiritually poor. In fact, it is quite suffocating. We found that those whom the white people called "savages" were/are actually more comfortable, happy and, in many ways richer than the whites who looked down on them. We observe people with tremendous debt being encouraged to buy more and more and more of everything they don't really need which puts them in greater debt. We see people who never found and/or took time to live, and who see nature as a contradiction to what they perceived as success and progress. They live in the dark, being told that that's all the light there is. They live in a monkey cage, being told that that is security. They work long hard hours because they were told that would make them a success, and then, if they don't become rich, which they are told is every human's dream, it was because they didn't work hard enough. 

      Pamela and I went into the woods to live diliberately, wanting to learn what nature had to teach us and we experienced an epiphany. We learned a great deal about nature - plants, animals, geology, ecosystems, deserts, prairies, forests and mountains. We have learned that humans are not the smartest or most important animal on earth just because we're the deadliest. We have learned that all you really need to feel extraordinarily blessed is a warm place to rest at night, enough to eat, and a mate with which to share. We learned that the richest, happiest people on earth are not necessarily the ones with the most power or money. 

     Thoreau was concerned about coming to life's end and discovering he had never lived. I now have no such worry.  My only regret is that I did not do it sooner.  I knew Thoreau's message philosophically but I had not yet allowed myself to go into the woods. Now that I know the joys of living off the grid where I can find peace and strength in nature I have no desire to go back to being a round peg driven into a square hole for someone's profit or pleasure.  

201924 - Walls

 
     Pamela Smith wrote an excellent post on Facebook  about issues surrounding walls. Her purpose was to get people to use their own critical thinking skills before jumping on a bandwagon.  I certainly hope she is successful.
     The Wall along the US-Mexican border is a critical environmental issue among other issues, so I decided that it would be appropriate for me to make a few points here about walls in general and Trump's Wall in specific.  As Pamela said, we're not arguing about having border security. We're talking about how best to achieve border security without destroying the environment and hurting innocent people.  
     In the past I have talked about our personal experience living near the border.  We have spent six of the past 13 months living anywhere from several miles to only a few yards from the US-Mexican border.  (x on map below indicate closest locations.) That gives us some rather extensive and close-up experience. But what about a person who not only lives near the border but represents US citizens who live on the border in Congress? 
     Will Hurd is a Texas Republican who represents one of the largest congressional districts in the United States stretching from San Antonio on the east, to El Paso on the New Mexico state line. "The border is broken up into multiple sectors," Hurd said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "I have four sectors just in my district. I represent 820 miles of the border, 29 counties, two time zones. My area is larger than 26 states, roughly the size of Georgia."  (red line on map below)

     Now I think that most people would agree that a man who has 42% of the entire US-Mexican border in his district has a better comprehension of border issue than anyone else in Washington.  Will Hurd called Trump's crisis a "myth" and the wall a 3rd century solution to a 21st century problem. Why is no one listening to this man?  42% of the entire freeking border is in his district!  

     His remark about a 3rd century solution to a 21st century problem made me go back and look at the history of walls as a defense. 

     (1) The Great Wall of China was built by the Ming Dynasty to protect themselves from the Mongolian invaders. It didn't work.

     (2) The Sumerian's Amorite Wall. 21st century BCE. The Amorite simply went around it.

     (3) The Athenian Long Wall built in 461 BCE. Destroyed by a Roman general in 86 BCE.

     (4) The Constantinople Walls. Fell to the Ottoman who had canons.

     (5) The famous French Maginot Line was built in 1930 to protect France from Germany. It even had pill boxes, bunkers and defensive placements. It failed. The Germans just went over and around it.

     (6) The infamous Berlin Wall. Failed.  

What was it Congressman Hurd said about a wall along the US-Mexican border. Oh. Yes.  A 3rd century solution to a 21st century problem.  From what I can see walls never really work. Just think about it. 

20190123 - The Magnificent & Ubiquitous Creosote Bush

 

      I went for a walk today in the desert behind Nitsitapiisinni. It was a beautiful day with bright sun and a clear blue sky that goes on forever beyond the mountains in the distance. The ground was like a black and brown terrazzo floor more spectacular and more beautiful than any palace. The material is volcanic. Just lying there it tells a tale of a violent fiery power beyond our imagination. Looking around at the circle of low lying mountains of volcanic material I can't help but wonder if we are camped in the middle of a giant caldera. It wouldn't be surprising since the southwest has hundreds of ancient caldera that have been filled in with volcanic debris and erosion. Every once and a while there is a glitter of white. Beautiful white quartz.  In the area just 40 miles south of us there is more quartz than dark lava. The ground is covered with gigantic chunks of the beautiful crystal. Quartz and gold go together. This is actually where the gold rush started and there's a mine just a few miles up the road from us. Some are still active today. 

     The area around us is showing the impact of human activity.  There's one lone barrel cacti about fifty yards south of us. It found a place near a wash where it has water and is somewhat protected from the dust kicked up by the nearby road. The Bigelow Sage, Artemisia bigelovii, is here.  It seems to be able to co-exist with the toxic Creosote, but they do keep their distance. Their iconic dusty green-grey leaves and yellow pansy like flowers dot the landscape. Some are blooming. 

     What struck me most was the magnificent, ubiquitous creosote. This plant was the local pharmacy for ancient peoples who enjoyed a rich life here. Many times I have commented in blogs on the wonderful analgesic, antiseptic, antiviral and antibiotic properties of Creosote. These have all been confirmed by modern science plus there is research into possible cancer fighting properties. One of the reasons I am out here is to collect creosote to make an arthritis salve.  I take only one small sprig off of each plant so that I don't damage any of them. 

     Creosote is an unbelievably hearty plant. It is sometimes the only plant able to grow in habitat that has been severely damaged by human activity. I'm sure that is why it is the dominant plant here. It is exceptionally drought resistant and can live without rain for over two years.  In Big Bend National Park it was found to have done quite well during a serious drought but started to die off during an unusually wet season. 

     All of this is pretty remarkable, but we're just getting started. One of the most remarkable features of Creosote is its' longevity.  It has two root systems to gather moisture which, like the cactus, it stores. One root is a tap root that can go as much as ten feet deep. The other is a shallow network that spreads out as much as fifty square yards around the plant. The plant also clones itself. There is a plant in the Mojave Desert that radiocarbon dating shows to be 11,700 years old, and one near Yuma that is 18,000 years old. If you consider these clones to be a part of the same plant, these Creosote bushes are the oldest living thing on earth! 

     How can we not admire such a plant?! I find myself thanking each plant as I cut a small branch for my salve. I wonder if the ancient inhabitants of this land felt the same. They had a much deeper and personal relationship with the land, plants and animals around them. Most tribes thanked the spirit of an animal they killed for food for feeding them.  

     I must admit to being in awe of the Creosote bush.  I realize that there are many other plants and animals here who are amazing in their development and adaptation. What I learn is that they have all adapted to their environment and become a part of nature's balance thereby not just surviving but thriving. Is this not a lesson for us?  We do not attempt to adapt but try to overcome and control  nature. Despite our growing population we are a dying species. Our overpopulation is one of the things that is killing us. If we do not change we will soon be gone. We need to give up the notion that we are the most important and most intelligent living thing on earth and realize that there are plant and animal species that have survived hundreds of thousands of years before we showed up. We need to return to being a part of nature and learn from all living things.  The nature of our future is totally dependent upon the future of nature.   

     Good night and may your morrow be amazing.  

20190122 - Life in the Desert

     We have four deserts in continental United States. The Great Basin Desert goes well into northern Oregon, covers part of southern Idaho and almost all of Nevada and Utah. The southern tip of Nevada and part of southern California is the Mojave Desert.  A bit of southern California and a large part of Arizona has the Sonoran Desert. The vast majority of our desert time is spent in the Sonoran Desert. New Mexico and Texas have a bit of the Chihuahuan Desert.  

     Four year ago Pamela and I had never spent any appreciable time in the desert. We both thought we'd like to, but we had no idea if we would like the desert. We were filled with so many of the myths and misinformation about the desert. Being educated conservationists we had read books and seen documentary programs about life in the desert, but none of those prepared us for reality. 

     We were relatively new Montanans. We started working as volunteers for the National Park Service at Glacier National Park in 2013 and fell in love with the Rocky Mountains and the heavy cedar and hemlock forests of the west side of Glacier.  How could we ever love anything else?  Well, guess what?  

     Perhaps one of the greatest surprises for either of us was how we almost instantly fell in love with the desert.  Granted, we don't get here before October and we're not only homesick for the mountains of Montana by March but the desert heat is driving us out. We're not the only ones. The little town of Quartzsite, out in the Sonoran Desert, will have a million people there during its big RV show in January but even most of the locals are gone by mid-March.  Summer temperatures get close to 120 degrees. 

     We move around a lot. That's partially because we're nomads and can't handle being in one place too long, and partially because many of the places we stay have a 14 day limit.  We abide by the rules even if we never seen anyone checking on us. Our favorite places are well away from towns or large gatherings of people.  If our neighbors are in sight, they are generally no closer than a quarter of a mile away. We park Nitsitapiisinni so its big back window is facing the most interesting geological or natural feature. Right now I'm looking at the Whipple Mountains. 

     If you have been following me for any time you know that I frequently blog about life in the desert. Of course I've always been talking about the wildlife and plant life. But the desert has also been home to people since approximately 5500 BCE.  Despite what most modern people think, these people, sometimes called "archaic", had a good life. There was plenty of food and they could move to higher, cooler elevations in the summer and down to the low desert when there was snow up north.  Actually, we have a lot of evidence that they didn't generally play the snow-bird. If you've ever been in one of their dwellings on a warm day you can understand. 

     In what is now Big Bend National Park there is the remains of a home where a man raised several children and lived until he was well past 100 years old. When we stepped inside the temperature dropped significantly. 

With furs, blankets, a fire and thick insulating walls, they were comfortable in the coldest of weather.  

     You and I probably wouldn't appreciate their diet. I know I wouldn't. I'm a vegetarian. They ate fish, clams, squirrels, rabbits, birds, snakes and lizards, and there were bighorn sheep and mule deer in nearby mountains.  They didn't need to farm.  The plant food in the desert is phenomenal.  Here's just a quick summary. 

     Mesquite was probably the most important plant to desert people and they would try to put their villages near a large stand. One large shrub can provide twenty pounds of pods and seeds used for food.  Agave provided food as well as material for bowstrings, clothing, shoes, baskets and many household items. Of course we can't mention agave without mentioning that they did make a drink called pulque. When distilled that is tequila. Yucca provided soap and fruit to eat. Beavertail and Prickly Pear Cactus were excellent food sources. They would eat the paddles, flowers and fruit. Today we call it Nopalitos and I love to cook with it. To flavor your nopalitos you can use Fourwing Saltbush.  Gourds were used for food and storage. Creosote was the local pharmacy. It is antibacterial and was used as a salve and for pain. We have creosote salve in our medicine cabinet right now.  It does work. Juniper berries - which are actually the plant's cone - were used for salves and foods.  Ocotillo is an excellent for pain and swelling and makes good firewood.  Pinyon pine is still a treasure. Currently Amazon sells them for around $45/pound.  The nut contains 15% protein. That's better than a burger points out the vegetarian writing this. 

     I could go on and on.  There are entire books on this subject.  These people ate well and all they had to do was go and get it. I'm sitting here looking out Nitsitapiisinni's big back window and I can see six out of the eleven plants I just mentioned.  

     I don't want to end on a down note, so I won't talk about the reason we don't find indigenous people living out in the desert since they encountered the whiteman. There is a tribe that holds out in the mountains of north-central Mexico. The literal translation of their word for whiteman is "bearded devil". 

     The desert is a beautiful and fascinating place with an abundance of life.  If I would ever just disappear you can believe that you'd probably find me in the desert, as far from so-called civilization as possible, kicking back in my earthen trench hut with the cottonwood roof, cooking up a mess of nopalitos while sipping on pulque.  Want to join me? 

20190121 - Hunter-Gatherers

 

   As the polar vortex opens up and pours freezing weather into the US and Europe, Pamela and I are hovered against the Whipple Mountains in southern California, just eight miles from Parker, AZ, avoiding as much of the climatic mayhem as possible. Looking at one of the computerized model's projections, we're going to be just outside the extreme cold. That doesn't mean we're enjoying warm weather. We're just not suffering like the rest of the country. 

       We enjoyed an inside day today and I took the plunge into a research project. Today I officially started research into the hunter-gatherer. 

     Many of my follower and friends know that I have long believed that humans got ourselves into the mess we have today when we ceased to be hunter-gatherers. Now I'm going to start working to support that hypothesis. 

     There are actually a number of hunter-gatherer tribe still around today. Sadly people think that they either want or should be like the rest of us.  I've addressed that issue before. They are, in quite a few ways, superior to modern man.  They are not some inferior version of us. In fact, in his book The Reality of Hunter-Gatherers, James Heffernan writes "Hunter-gatherers were not and are not savages living in abject conditions. They are very successful - some would argue, based on the data underlining work time and (ample) leisure, caloric return, freedom from authority, ease of dispute resolution, etc., more successful than your typical domesticated/civilized individual or family."   

     Today more posts and articles than I care to count came across my screen about the damage we are doing to our world and how we are running out of time to take corrective action. I'm sure all of you get the same thing.  At some point we are going to be forced into making some changes. The hunter-gatherers (HGs) were the first conservationist, the first minimalist and knew how to live well with nature without attempting to change or subjugate it. We can learn something from the HG. We need to learn from them instead of try to force them to be like us. 

      I'm not trying to earn another PhD but I am going to try to keep my work at a high academic standard. I have a cousin who is a professor of Anthropology and a couple of friends who are anthropologists, so I know they'll keep me in line.  

     What I have noticed in the southwest is that there are a lot of ancient sites that are either poorly protected or not protected at all. With the current administration's lack of concern to preserve anything, I do feel a bit pressured to gather information and take pictures at these sites incase one or more becomes an oil well or strip mine. Most of the sites I have encountered have been the homes of indigenous people who seem to have been in the transition from HG to farmer. This is an important period for my study, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to these sites even if I weren't doing research. 

     Modern humans are so intent upon reacting to challenges by attempting to control or change nature.  Many times within the past few decades of US history nature has demonstrated that that is not a viable approach. For example, we try to control and manipulate the Mississippi River. At least two times in my life the river has taken down the levees and reclaimed the land. We just don't learn. We try again to control the river and build them again. 

     We can't go back to being HG. The damage is done and we will face the consequences, but we should be intelligent enough to admit what we've done and learn ways to go on in harmony with nature. We can learn a lot from studying the HG.  

     If you're interested in following my progress I have started a Facebook page called Studying the Hunter-Gatherers. You are also welcome to share information. All I ask is that there by no politics. I'm not doing this to be anti-Trump or pro-anything else. I'm not doing it for "civilization".  I'm doing this for all of nature, which happens to include us. 

     The nature of our future is totally dependent upon the future of our nature.  

     Good night. Hope you got a good view of the eclipse last night. Keep safe and warm. 

    

20190120 - The Mighty Colorado

Today we drove to the Parker Dam on a paved road. We gave up trying to get over the mountains on wagon trails.  We did, however, see where the one trail came out by the river. We started to follow it toward home but it soon became too high risk and we turned around. 

     The Parker Dam is a dam. What can I say? Dams fall into the same category for me as cities and military installations.  I definitely do not appreciate them.  The water behind the damn was quite high. Of course they take that water and sell it to Los Angeles. A short distance downstream I'm pretty sure I could wade across the Colorado River it is so low. 

     Further downstream the Imperial Dam will collect what little gets past Parker and Moovalya Lake where water is diverted from the river into the Main Canal. At Imperial they will pump that water into the desert to grow crops and allow the toxic run off to run into Mexico. Aren't we good neighbors?

     I remember when we first began wintering in this part of the country. I posted that I had a hard time knowing whether I was in Arizona or California. My cousin replied it was simply which side of the Colorado River. I sent him a satellite photo and asked him to show me which of the ditches around the Mittry Lake area was the Colorado River. Of course he had no idea. In truth, I don't think the locals remember which was originally the river.   Actually I think that's the only place where the state line between Arizona and California is on dry land. Probably because they've lost the Colorado River.  

     I wonder if the people who came up with the idea of building these dams gave any thought to the future. My knee-jerk reaction is that they gave the future absolutely no consideration.  Did they think that the Colorado was somehow an endless source of water?  The ancient Egyptians knew better than that thousands of years ago. Archeology has discovered that they worked to preserve water for drought.  What year of the California drought is this?  

     Poor California had its driest years in 1,200 years from 2012 to 2015, the lowest snowpack in 500 years in 2015, and the current drought was declared in 2014 - five years ago almost to the day.  They're sitting on giant aquifers but the State let these underground pools of water become privately owned. One of the shameless results is Nestle filling plastic water bottles that they sell around the world from water needed right there in California. Aren't we nice people?  Now that's capitalism with a capital 'C'!  Do they get points for a double hit?  They're legally stealing water from people who need it and should be entitled to draw it from their wells, and putting it in plastic bottles to create continent sized trash piles in the ocean. 

     Now you know why I love dams. Moving on.   

     We had a nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant near the dam.  The fire department is called Buckskin, but according to Google Maps it has a Parker, AZ address. Parker is sixteen miles south.  Oh, well.  It was good and we had fun. 

     On the way back we finally saw some wildlife.  We were becoming convinced that the ATV ramming around the mountains had chased everything away.  There were three species of ducks by the dam and the famous borros a short distance south of the dam on the California side. We stopped and took pictures.  

    The poor river is lined with resorts, RV parks and marina from north of Havasu City to south of Parker.  Anyone want to make any wagers about where much of the waste water goes?  South of Parker to Ehrenberg there are fields.  We know where their toxic run off goes.  By the time you get down to Squaw Lake just north of Imperial dam you are told not to eat the fish. 

  

   We have such magnificent natural resources in this country.  Between over-population and abuse we are destroying our greatest treasures.  Driving through the desert Pamela and I can tell where there has been grazing or mining by the lack of vegetation or absence of species that are prevelent a short distance away where human activity was not as great.  Many, if not all, of you know that you can spot the course of a stream or river at some distance by the presence of trees, especially certain varieties like sycamore and cottonwood.  We have studies and lived in this area long enough that we can tell when there's a town, military base, ranch or other high human impact area ahead by the gradual reduction of common vegetation. There is no doubt that human over-population and excessive impact are two ways we are killing our world.  We may not be 100% responsible for the next mass extinction. Science shows us that they are cyclical. Nevertheless we are probably 90% responsible for bringing about the next mass extinction way before its time by our over-population and behavior. 

     Guess I've probably preached long enough.  If you've read this far, I'm probably preaching to the choir.  People who either want to deny reality or know reality but don't want to do what it takes to correct things have usually turned me off several paragraphs ago. If you are a denier and have been open enough to read this much, I'm proud of you. I hope I've given you food for thought.  This gives you a place to start your own research. 

     Besides, I've got to stop and get ready for the lunar eclipse. I still need to put new batteries in the camera and mount our spotting scope.  We have a lot of cloud cover so I hope we don't miss the show. Hope you get a good look too! 

A society gagged

      The news today about teenage boys being rude, crude, disrespectful and confrontational with a Native American who turns out to be the epitome of peacefulness and gentleness got Pamela and I talking. Pamela noticed how many people whom we thought and hoped  would be expressing outrage were quiet.  

     This seems to have two possible explanations. The first is that we have become so caloused, and this type of behavior has become normalized to the point that if you put on a red hat with MAGA on it you can do any damn thing you want, that we don't even notice any more.  The second is that we are a gagged society.  Even if you express your opinion in a civil and calm manner, you are subject to severe retalliation. 

     Most of you know that I'm far from the world greatest fan of homo sapiens, but, as we got talking, I'd have to put my money on the second.  We're gagged. 

     Shortly after I retired I had made a rather unpopular comment among friends. They expressed feeling that I had changed. I was more radical. What?! I still believed the way I had believed for many years. The only thing that had changed was I'm retired.  I don't have to worry about losing contracts, losing patients, being retalliated against by an administrator or state employee. I don't have to worry about losing my ability to provide for my family. Since we do not yet have a Gestapo, about the worst thing that's going to happen to me is someone is going to get mad and 'unfriend' or not talk to me. But what about all those people who still have such concerns. 

     All of the people in the group which made the observation have employers, customers or clients. They must think about what could happen to their ability to care for their family if they make the wrong statement. As a result  they don't say anything. I think that they noticed that I was no longer gagged. 

     If only 37% of the voters approve of Trump, 59% disapprove and 4% have no opinion per January 2019 polls, why is  there such a silence?  

    Oh, sure, there is a very vocal group who post a lot of Trump cartoons, but when we have something like this hit the news, there is a conspicuous silence. 

    Before I go any further let's get one thing straight; viz.  I'm not demeaning or chastising those who fall into this gagged category. I'm trying to make the point that this is modern US reality. They are its victims.

     Pamela recalled how, when she became a tenured full-professor, she almost felt a responsibility to stand up for those who didn't have her security and didn't dare speak up. If they criticized the college, college administration or state, they could find themselves out of work.  

     Anyone with any sense knows that, if you stick your neck out you risk having your head cut off.  In other words, much of our society is gagged. 

     The teenagers today were in Washington for a church-related school event. They attend a Roman Catholic school.  Even their school took several hours before making any comment.  Despite my views on religion, let's have a little compassion on their school board. These kids put them in a horrible situation. There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that these teenagers were guilty of every accusation. It's on video. Can you imagine being on that church's board trying to do damage control. How many of the teenager's parents had political or financial power that could do significant damage to the church's income which determines the ability to keep their school open? They were like so much of our population . . . . gagged. Their response was very carefully worded and just a bit sterile. 

     All this is really nothing new. The only thing new is the normalization of violent retalliation.  Trump supporters, a diminishing group if you follow the polls, come wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross and the rest of us are expected to fall on our faces pleading for mercy  - mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. 

     I think Pamela is right. Our hearts go out to the many people we know who are still in the work force and exposed to trumpist retalliation.  We will not try to shame them into risking their livelihood to speak up. We've been there. This means that it's left to us old farts who don't have a job to lose or career to destroy.  

       

20190118 - taking out the trash

     I have the feeling that people either love or hate Art Buckwald. He doesn't leave much room for middle ground.
     Today we decided to explore more of the desert around us. Putting our big half-ton heavy in four-wheel drive, we set out along "roads" (often no more than two ruts) to explore the area running parallel to the Whipple Mountains just north of us. We're going to take an old wagon trail up into the mountains next time out. 
     It was a beautiful drive. We did see more cactus closer to the mountains. We spotted cholla, prickley pear and some beautiful big barrel cactus. According to my map the road goes through to Parker Dam but we were stopped by workers on the road several miles east of us. We couldn't see whether or not we would be able to pass, but we decided to go back some other time.  I will be really looking forward to that because the road turns into a very narrow, high walled pass through the mountains. There are some very interesting looking geological features just beyond that pass. The road becomes a 4x4 trail, but we shouldn't have any trouble.
     On the way out I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be trash in the desert. The area around us has been remarkably clean. We decided that, on our way home, we'd check it out and see if it was something we could clean up.  It isn't. We'd need a trailer or an open bed of a pickup truck.
     If one of our fellow Boondockers United members (or anyone else) sees this and has a trailer we can use, I'll pay the dump fee.  What I don't understand is why people who dump trash in the desert don't just take it to a dump or landfill. We'll have to go about 40 miles, but, assuming they came from town, it would have been a lot closer and a lot less gas for them to just take it to the dump. Why poison the desert? To save a couple of bucks?
     Pamela offered the explanation that the perpetrators of this dastardly deed might have been living in the desert. That is a viable option. It doesn't, however, justify the act. Of course giving them an excuse was the farthest thing from Pamela's mind.
     When we got home I was looking through some materials and thinking about today's blog. That's when I came across this Art Buckwald quote. Sorry, I can't give you its origins.
And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: "Look at this Godawful mess."
     Why must humans be such filthy animals? When we are working at Glacier we carry a plastic bag with us whether we are out on trail patrol or just strolling through the forest. Why? Because of  humans litter. We learned to do that because on one of our first hikes up the Avalanche Lake trail near our home Pamela found a dirty diaper that had been thrown into the woods along the trail. She didn't have a bag yet carried it several miles to the nearest trash.  This and the trash in the desert are not just unsightly. This type of behavior is toxic to the environment and risks injury to those who must clean it up as well as the possible spread of disease among all animals, human and others.

     Facebook reminded me today, with one of its "memory" posts, that it was a year ago today that Boondockers United went into the desert by Quartzsite, AZ and removed three large dual-axle trailers full of trash.

     The Whipple Mountains are a low ranger of mountains that are very barren, rugged piles of volcanic material.  Some of them are a grey color while there is a long line of chocolate brown volcanic material.  There is one peak near us which looks like the remains of a vent. (Picture below)  I'd really like to explore it. The peak is called Savahia Peak.  It's only 2600 ft high but looking at the topo it would be a heck of a hard 2600 foot climb.  I'll let you know later.

   

20190116 - Dump, water & propane

 

     It was a soggy morning.  I had awakened several times during the night worrying about the condition of the 1.6 miles of dirt road between where we were camped and the nearest paved road.  I realized that there wasn't anything I could do about it and went back to sleep. 

      This morning I had to face the reality of the road.  All of the information said that it was passable.  I thought about at least four relatively deep washes between us and the pavement. We packed up and headed toward Quartzsite.  The desert was still a bit squishy under my feet and therefore under the five tons of Nitsitapiisinni and Moe (our trailer and truck) but we pulled out without difficulty. The road was in remarkably good condition and the washes weren't too bad if you went really, really slow.  One of them caught my right-rear stabilizers. Dang!  I just replaced that a year or so ago. 

     The first order of business was dump, water and propane. When we arrived at the Pit Stop in Quartzsite we decided that we'd forego the propane. The line was out to the street. Dumping our black water (toilet) and grey water (wash) tanks is one of those jobs that just goes with being a nomad. The Pit Stop has a good system and it was soon our turn to dump. I have a clear plastic elbow that I use so I can see when the tanks are empty. Once you finish dumping you pull forward and load your fresh tank with filtered well water. Total cost. $14 for a trailer under 30 feet long.  

     Every time I dump I can't help but think of how most people don't give a second thought to liquid waste and sewage. They flush a toilet, using at least a couple of liters of water if they have one of the high efficiency toilets, and don't give it a second thought. We step on a lever, a hole in the bottom of the toilet opens up, the waste drops into the black water tank, and we let up on the lever so we don't use too much water. Like a house toilet, water does come down the side to wash off the bowl, but we only use a couple of cups of water and part of that seals the hole so it doesn't smell. The maximum waste our tanks will hold is 80 gallons. The freshwater tank and hot water heater can hold 60 gallons.  That's 1,168 pounds, but, of course, as the freshwater tank get lighter the waste holding tanks get heavier.  The point, however, is that we are very aware of water use. 

     According to government statistics the average water use is 80-100 gallons PER PERSON per day.  Based on a full black and grey water tank, we use 6.85 gallons of water per day for both of us. In the typical American home, the average shower takes 5 gallons per minute. The average toilet flush is 4 gallons and a dishwasher uses 6 gallons per cycle. 

     Granted, it is probably unreasonable to expect the average household to be as frugal with its water as those of us who are nomads, but the fact that we use less water in two weeks than the average person does in a day and we have clean dishes, clean bodies and clean clothes, does indicate that the average American could do a great deal to reduce wasting water.  

     Two quick things would be to get high efficiency toilets and wash dishes by hand using any one of a number of methods a nomad can teach you. I can give both our trailer and our truck a good bath with a 24 ounce spray bottle without dumping toxic chemicals on the ground or into a sewer. It just takes a bit more elbow grease.  A shower is a great way of reducing water waste. Evidently lots of people take 20 minute showers. That's 100 gallons right there. Try putting a couple of inches of water in a bathtub to wash. Another method is (1) turn water on to get wet, then turn the water off; (2) wash with a washcloth; (3) turn water on to rinse and then turn off.  If you need to wash your hair, it will take another cycle of water, but in the end result you will have taken a good shower without running more than 2-5 gallons.  

     Water is a precious commodity. Those living in what, for lack of a better term, I call the Colorado River corridor are learning this. They are running out of water because large corporations are even more wasteful than the average home. Why don't we, as a nation, start using simple water saving practices when we have a chance to adjust and learn, instead of waiting until we are forced? You really do become so accustomed to these ways of living that you don't think of it. When we were in the midwest to spend some time with family, I still washed my body and our dishes in the same way as I do when I'm out boondocking. 

     After dumping and taking on water we had to stop at the county "transfer station". That's a place where you can dump your trash and do recycling.  I spent an entire blog talking about this not that long ago, so I won't go there again. Suffice it to say, we have a long way to go to turn the tide on the destruction we are doing with our trash. 

     Well, we finally made it to a remote area in southern California about ten or twelve miles from Parker, Arizona. It is a lovely desert area where our nearest neighbor is at least a quarter of a mile away.  We aimed the big back window of Nitsitapiisinni at the nearest mountains.  I put out our portable solar panel.  It's just nice to have that extra 80 watts - a total of 400 watts - to be sure that we have our batteries well charged.  Maybe some day I'll do a blog about the benefits of not using big inverters.

     Have a great evening.  We're on Pacific Time, so it's only 7:30, but I'm going to bed and proof reading a couple of novella I'm getting ready for publication. When you decide to turn in, go to the window and tell Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth) goodnight. Why don't you promise her you'll do your best to take care of the marvelous things she has given you.  Good night. 

   

20190115 - Rain in the Desert

     You'd think we had never seen rain before, but you need to know that this is only our third winter in the Sonoran Desert and, while we have seen rain here, we've never witnessed this much rain at one time. It has been an exciting experience. I almost feel like it is a privilege to be here and share in this important cycle of desert life. 

     Everything we intellectually knew about the desert; e.g. why water runs off and floods dry washes; was suddenly taking place before us. The dry wash next to us didn't flood, but it went from being totally dry to a fast moving stream at least calf deep. 

     I'm sure it was my imagination, or a combination of my imagination and the fact that the rain did wash the dust off the plants making them look greener, but I felt that I could almost sense the plants scurrying, as well as plants can scurry, to absorb and store the life giving elixer. 

     There are some credible botonist who argue that there is a plant consciousness that moves, albeit very slowly, to protect the plant and survive.  The creosote bush, Larrea 

Tridentata or Hediondilla in the Sonoran Desert, is a good example. Even though it was the local pharmacy to Native Americans, it does have a toxicity that keeps other plants away. That means it keeps other plants away from its water. In fact the Spanish name for the creosote is Gobernadora, "governness", because of this ability. Water is life. 

     The Ocotilla seem to green with a rain. They appear dead most of the year but with water they become a beautiful green with orange-red flowers.  

     The Palo Verde tree are another plant that must be enjoying this rain.  It is the Saguaro Cactus best friend and is often a nurse tree to young Saguaro.  They live along the washes and can live to be 100 years old.  

     Many of these plants will reduce the number of leaves during the summer to conserve water. In the wet season they put out more leaves. The sage behind us seems to be bushier. There is no doubt that it is putting out leaves to collect the precious water. 

     The cactus can go for years without water. They have extensive root systems which absorb any moisture and stores it in the body of the plant. They must be sucking and storing like crazy today. Many people have watched too many movies and think that you can get drinking water from cactus. Maybe some, but the liquid of many is too alkaline to drink and would make you worse off than going without water. 

     The rain stopped about an hour ago. There is a thin line of clear blue in the distant west. We're still pretty overcase. The streamlets on the ground around us are are gone. Only some displaced sand tells where they were. The dry wash that was a swiftly flowing stream a short while ago is again dry, except for an occasional small puddle of water. By morning I would suspect there will be little sign of almost 20 hours of rain. 

     The day was a magnificent new experience for me. I was witness to a very different desert.  It was a peaceful day and the rain was almost comforting. I wonder whether this type of rain is a respite for life in the desert. Did it give plant and animal life a momentary break from the arduous task of survival?  That's how I imagine it. Whether or not I'm right there is no denying that it is an important part of life in the desert.  I am so happy I was here to see it. 

20190117 - Nomads are not good Consumers

     I bet if it happened once it has happened dozens of times; you are heading home after work and your spouse calls you on your cell phone and says "will you stop and pick up some bread on the way home?"  You don't think much about it and stop at the grocery.  Or late in the evening you are working on one of your "honey-do" items and you realize that you don't have a piece. With the mutter of a few choice words you get in the car and drive to Walmart or Home Depot. Other than recognizing some minor annoyance, when was the last time you gave going to any type of store a thought?  Would you be more likely to think about it if your closest grocery was a half an hour away or the nearest Walmart and Home Depot was almost 100 miles away? That's the case for the nomad. That was us until yesterday.
      Yesterday we moved to a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) dispersed camping area in California west of Parker, AZ so that we would be within 20 miles of a Walmart. It's time to do our bi-weekly shopping and laundry and I have a couple of things I especially need from Walmart. It isn't that we're big Walmart fans, but living on social security means that you're not going to shop at the local organic health food store, assuming that one is available. Even Walmart prices are going up and making money tight. Thankfully, as I've said before, Pamela and I are about as tight and frugal as any two people can be.
     I guess the thing that bothers me most is that capitalism requires copious consumption and encourages a throw-away society.  That just isn't us. How many televisions, cars, computers, or cell phones does one need? And all of these things get thrown away when a new model comes along. Have you ever seen a television, car, computer or cell phone with the label "x% recycled materials"? Where do they go? The rare earth materials used in electronics is not a renewable resource and mining them does significant damage to the environment.  Within a year of purchasing my Galaxy 5 I had cell phone people telling me that I needed a new phone because mine was outdated. The Galaxy 6 came out exactly a year after the Galaxy 5.  My Galaxy 5 still can not be five years old even if I bought it on the first day they went on the market. Actually I bought mine in September which means that it is just now four years and four months old but it is considered obsolete. Sad! Truly sad!!
     I'm wearing one of my favorite shirts. I happened to notice that there's a hole worn in it.  I do have enough money to buy a new shirt, but we got this shirt at a thrift store and I really like it. Pamela said that she would fix it. I'm happy.
     Copious consumption is not sustainable. Being a throw-away society is already coming back to bite us as we witness every time we try to get rid of our trash. Capitalism is not a sustainable economic system, but it makes the rich richer so they do want you to believe that it is the only way.  To be good Americans we must all pitch in, buy copious amounts of everything, and keep them rich.
     Meanwhile, on the road with the nomads, if it doesn't have a place in our rig we don't buy it.  If we don't need it, we don't buy it. If we can't pay cash, we don't buy it. None of this makes the capitalist happy.
     When I lived in Ireland the banks thought that if they closed their doors the entire country's economy would collapse and people would give them what they wanted, which was, of course, more money and power.  It's the capitalistic expectation. Rather like our government shutdown. What happened was people found other ways of carrying on commerce. There was a hiccup as we all adjusted, but soon life was going on without a hitch. The banks were the ones who had to acquiesce.
     Remember Tennessee Ernie Ford's song  "Sixteen Tons"? "Lord don't call me 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."  That's modern America.
     Gotta go do laundry.  Talk to you later.