So much moving on to less regional issues...
The struggle continues over beach access. The Audubon Society drafted a letter with over 80 signatures, addressed to the National Park Service.
http://islandfreepress.org/2010Archives/02.05.2010-AudubonLetterToN0PS.pdf
(link provided from Island Free Press)
The Outer Banks Sentinel exposes a "scandal" over one of the signatures, and characterizes the letter as a request to close all Park Service beaches.
http://www.womacknewspapers.com/obsentinel/
(link to O.B. Sentinel)
In addition to calling one of the signatures into question, the article characterizes the Audubon's position as a demand for complete closure of the beaches. That was not what I gleaned from the letter, but I can see the cause for concern.
Interestingly, the Park service actually owns all of the beaches from Pea Island south through Ocracoke Island. Even areas where ocean-front houses are located, have property pins that delineate the beginning of park service land. So, at the peak of the market, individuals purchased ocean-front homes, that in fact are Park Service front.
The ocean-front homes are sources of intense foot traffic, lighting, and noise. They are also the backbone of the tourist industry. I'm sure the Audubon Society would love to close those beaches. However, it seems if those property owners were notified, in any sort of organized way, they may be the only group capable of raising more money for legal fees than the conservationist.
Let me be clear. I do not think that all ocean-front home owners are rich. I've helped to build some of those houses, and I know that the lion's share of those individuals are hard workers, investing money they can't afford to waste. Therefore, they really can't afford not to resist closure of the beaches in front of their vacation homes. That said, they aren't looking to waste money defending people's right to drive on the beaches out of the town limits.
Beach driving needs to be responsibly managed. Science needs to determine what exactly responsible management looks like. Hatteras Island's economy needs to be preserved, and/or efforts need to be made to mitigate negative effects of Park Service's land management.
It seems to me, that the Audubon society needs to accept that preservation of endangered species does not mean complete closure of recreational areas. At the same time, Hatteras locals, and everyone on the Northern Outer Banks, for that matter, need to focus on the true struggle at hand. The Audubon society is simply the latest adversary. The real issue here is that we need to work to develop a sustainable economy here that takes advantage of without exploiting the unique environment we are fortunate enough to inhabit.
Beach driving is the issue at hand, because that seems to be the one at stake right now. Beach nourishment, affordable housing, water quality, storm water management, fisheries depletion, and a host of other issues are waiting in the wings.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
More corrections
I'm told in regards to Piping Plovers that they are in fact a native species. The denial of this status by Hatteras locals may have something to do with the fact that they have begun breeding here in response to destruction of their traditional breeding ground in New England. So, they've always been around the Outer Banks, just more now than previously.
Also, my spelling has been called into question. Apparently Audubon is different than Autobahn. One being a society named after a naturalist, the second a highway. I'm gonna blame that one on the spell checker.
It looks like this debate is drawing to a close soon anyway. I'll try to report the outcome. And I will also be trying to move on to less regional issues.
Marc
Also, my spelling has been called into question. Apparently Audubon is different than Autobahn. One being a society named after a naturalist, the second a highway. I'm gonna blame that one on the spell checker.
It looks like this debate is drawing to a close soon anyway. I'll try to report the outcome. And I will also be trying to move on to less regional issues.
Marc
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Most Important Things
There is an addition to the family. Quinn Nicole Murray arrived 2/10/2010. Almost seven pounds, 21" long, with a full head of hair.
Deanna labored for seventeen hours without any pain medication, or other medical interventions. Aside from a sterile environment, she got the job done much as it had been getting done 100 years ago. It was the most inspiring and humbling experience of my life. Come to think of it, 100 years ago, the men paced the hall and waited. Now, they are more likely to be in the delivery room. Maybe the pain killers are really for the men. Knowing that you spend every night sleeping next to someone so enduring, powerful, resolved, and generous is pretty humbling. Her inate capability and strength make the presence of a new life so fragile and mysterious a little less daunting.
Quinn is doing well. She is healthy and getting into the swing of babyness, which involves heavy concentration on the basics of existence. She is lovely, with dark baby eyes, a pretty head of hair, and real people skills. I mean it, folks just love her.
And there have been folks. Deanna and I are overwhelmed at our friends willingness to spend time with us and the baby. There is nothing that cushions the blow of a drastic life change like friends acting like it's the most normal thing in the world.
It is the most normal thing in the world. It's just also one of the most important normal things in the world. I'm grateful to be a part of it.
More later and pictures once we get a breather.
Deanna labored for seventeen hours without any pain medication, or other medical interventions. Aside from a sterile environment, she got the job done much as it had been getting done 100 years ago. It was the most inspiring and humbling experience of my life. Come to think of it, 100 years ago, the men paced the hall and waited. Now, they are more likely to be in the delivery room. Maybe the pain killers are really for the men. Knowing that you spend every night sleeping next to someone so enduring, powerful, resolved, and generous is pretty humbling. Her inate capability and strength make the presence of a new life so fragile and mysterious a little less daunting.
Quinn is doing well. She is healthy and getting into the swing of babyness, which involves heavy concentration on the basics of existence. She is lovely, with dark baby eyes, a pretty head of hair, and real people skills. I mean it, folks just love her.
And there have been folks. Deanna and I are overwhelmed at our friends willingness to spend time with us and the baby. There is nothing that cushions the blow of a drastic life change like friends acting like it's the most normal thing in the world.
It is the most normal thing in the world. It's just also one of the most important normal things in the world. I'm grateful to be a part of it.
More later and pictures once we get a breather.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Retraction,or putting a finer point on it. . .
More on Hatteras Island. I read a disturbing article today concerning renewed efforts of the Autobahn Society to increase restrictions on Hatteras Island. They may be taking things a little too far. I need to do some more research. But, to keep the conversation going in the mean time. . .
My gripe with Hatteras locals' protest signs is not that it is wrong to protest when you feel you are getting screwed. I just want to encourage protest that will get you somewhere. Implying that you'd love to make a meal out of the animal a preservation society is trying to protect. Not helpful.
I'm going to do a little research to see what exactly the Autobahn and SELC are up to. But I'll inject my opinion here. National parks are important. They are part of the public trust. However, untrammeled wilderness and regulated land are two different things. I don't hold Hatteras Island and its beaches in some special regard, just because lots of people love to use them. The fact is there is a huge highway bisecting them. This is not irreplaceable Siberian Tundra. This is a special and delicate environment, but a changing environment. The plovers are just as likely to have their habitat destroyed by weather as humans. Perhaps, why they are not truly a native species. So give them a fighting chance take away the trucks. I get it.
What I don't get is complete disregard for one half of the Park Service's mission. If you want to develop respect for nature, allow the public to experience it. Also, on a socially scientific note: Users of park service land are self-selecting. Someone willing to walk several hundred yards over hot sand to enjoy a pristine beach is not your run-of-the-mill trash leaver. SUV users,who throw their beer cans out their windows have been eliminated when you eliminate the trucks. No one is going to walk half a mile to litter. It's just not in the litterers nature. Littering is lazy. You've taken the lazy out of the beach when you make me walk.
Now, if I walk to the beach, and it's just little old me and my special lady friend out there, and no one is around. I might have the urge to run around naked for a little while. But that's what solitude is all about. And that's what National Parks are all about. Solitude, not nudism. But you get my drift.
So, a little research, and I'll be back to you with more info.
Marc
My gripe with Hatteras locals' protest signs is not that it is wrong to protest when you feel you are getting screwed. I just want to encourage protest that will get you somewhere. Implying that you'd love to make a meal out of the animal a preservation society is trying to protect. Not helpful.
I'm going to do a little research to see what exactly the Autobahn and SELC are up to. But I'll inject my opinion here. National parks are important. They are part of the public trust. However, untrammeled wilderness and regulated land are two different things. I don't hold Hatteras Island and its beaches in some special regard, just because lots of people love to use them. The fact is there is a huge highway bisecting them. This is not irreplaceable Siberian Tundra. This is a special and delicate environment, but a changing environment. The plovers are just as likely to have their habitat destroyed by weather as humans. Perhaps, why they are not truly a native species. So give them a fighting chance take away the trucks. I get it.
What I don't get is complete disregard for one half of the Park Service's mission. If you want to develop respect for nature, allow the public to experience it. Also, on a socially scientific note: Users of park service land are self-selecting. Someone willing to walk several hundred yards over hot sand to enjoy a pristine beach is not your run-of-the-mill trash leaver. SUV users,who throw their beer cans out their windows have been eliminated when you eliminate the trucks. No one is going to walk half a mile to litter. It's just not in the litterers nature. Littering is lazy. You've taken the lazy out of the beach when you make me walk.
Now, if I walk to the beach, and it's just little old me and my special lady friend out there, and no one is around. I might have the urge to run around naked for a little while. But that's what solitude is all about. And that's what National Parks are all about. Solitude, not nudism. But you get my drift.
So, a little research, and I'll be back to you with more info.
Marc
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
This One's Gonna Be A Rambler . . .
Today's addition of The Story, with Dick Gordon, on WUNC our local NPR station www.wunc.org , got me to thinking. He did a spot about a kid that was going to grad-school at Duke, living in a van to try to avoid debt. Now, the kid is getting a masters in Liberal Studies. So, I question his value of the dollars he's not trying to owe. Don't get me wrong, a Liberal Arts Education adds value to your life. But that implies that you already have some value. Matt Damon put it pretty well in Good Will Hunting, about the late fees at the library and all. Anyway, gotta stay away from that. The real issue I got to thinking about is debt.
An acquaintance of mine, that I'm pretty sure is a total jackass, says that "Debt makes the world go round." Actually he's an idiot, for other reasons. But, I think he's wrong on the debt thing too. Credit makes the world go round, debt just makes you go to work whether you want to or not.
That's the real issue for me. I love to work. Love it. Do it all weekend long. Haulin' my Sanford and Son load to the recyclers, planting and working the garden, fixin' the car, motorctcle, boat, adding on to all three when nothing is wrong with them. Then there's the writing which I wish payed even .00000000001 cents a word. I could probably even stand my day job for about three days a week. Fact is I miss it when I'm on vacation. But. I go every day!! because I have a mortgage. As much as I would love gardening, recycling, and various other sundry activities to pay the bills, they don't. So, I diligently and efficiently build, and or remodel gigantic vacation homes, for a great living. The work is interesting, the pay is great. But, it loses something, because I have to do it.
Does credit, and the resultant debt make the world go round? I live pretty simply, by American standards anyway. Once the baby gets here, I believe I will even be going vegetarian. But I dream, and I dream big. The Outer Banks is on sale right now, big time, and it is everything I can do to keep myself from mortgaging the rest of my soul to buy whatever of it I can. Not because I want to sell it for a ton of money later either. I love it here, and I want to be a part of it and preserve it, but that takes money-someone else's money-for the promise that I will keep going to work. Doing something that is interesting, but that I really cannot get into with all of my heart.
So, I'm torn. Borrow and realize one dream: The family spot with a place for my parents to retire, and for me to grow all kinds of stuff. Build the dream sustainable shack etc etc. Or dream two: Admit that housing, in the Western sense, cannot be greened, no matter how hard you try. Sell the house, buy the boat, and check out. What do you think?
An acquaintance of mine, that I'm pretty sure is a total jackass, says that "Debt makes the world go round." Actually he's an idiot, for other reasons. But, I think he's wrong on the debt thing too. Credit makes the world go round, debt just makes you go to work whether you want to or not.
That's the real issue for me. I love to work. Love it. Do it all weekend long. Haulin' my Sanford and Son load to the recyclers, planting and working the garden, fixin' the car, motorctcle, boat, adding on to all three when nothing is wrong with them. Then there's the writing which I wish payed even .00000000001 cents a word. I could probably even stand my day job for about three days a week. Fact is I miss it when I'm on vacation. But. I go every day!! because I have a mortgage. As much as I would love gardening, recycling, and various other sundry activities to pay the bills, they don't. So, I diligently and efficiently build, and or remodel gigantic vacation homes, for a great living. The work is interesting, the pay is great. But, it loses something, because I have to do it.
Does credit, and the resultant debt make the world go round? I live pretty simply, by American standards anyway. Once the baby gets here, I believe I will even be going vegetarian. But I dream, and I dream big. The Outer Banks is on sale right now, big time, and it is everything I can do to keep myself from mortgaging the rest of my soul to buy whatever of it I can. Not because I want to sell it for a ton of money later either. I love it here, and I want to be a part of it and preserve it, but that takes money-someone else's money-for the promise that I will keep going to work. Doing something that is interesting, but that I really cannot get into with all of my heart.
So, I'm torn. Borrow and realize one dream: The family spot with a place for my parents to retire, and for me to grow all kinds of stuff. Build the dream sustainable shack etc etc. Or dream two: Admit that housing, in the Western sense, cannot be greened, no matter how hard you try. Sell the house, buy the boat, and check out. What do you think?
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