I’m not quite sure what transpired that lead my Dad to focus on immunology. By the early 1970s he was running a clinical immunology laboratory in a hospital in upstate New York. He attended conferences in his fields, both immunology and microbiology and kept up with his journal reading. As such, he read much of the early research in HIV/AIDs, and probably kept up with this reading at least until a couple of years before he passed. As far as I know, he did not do any HIV/AIDs research but several of his friends did.
Over the years my Dad and I had several occasions to talk about HIV/AIDs, both from the perspective of the research being done at that time and other writings from his immunology journals, and from the point of view of seeing so many fine young people die of AIDs.
I recall one of his last visits with us in New Jersey in June of 1990. It was the weekend of the annual gay pride parade in New York City. We took a train into the city to watch the first hour of the parade before going out for lunch. Our perch was somewhere near 23rd street in the boro of Manhattan (NYC). We got there in time to see the beginning of the parade. Among the early marchers was a rather large contingent of HIV/AIDs groups. Dad was very moved by seeing both the AIDs activist groups as well as all those living with HIV/AIDs. Remember that this was before the widespread use of the various drug cocktails used by those living with HIV/AIDs in the U.S. and other developed countries.
A couple of years later, my dear Dad was dead from complications resulting from a neurological disease.
When I first became acquainted with the Global Aids Interfaith Alliance , I knew that Dad would want to be very involved with GAIA if he were alive. If he were able, he would want to go on one of their trips to Malawi to visit various medical facilities working with HIV/AIDs patients and orphanages with children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDs. I’d like to think that my Dad is one of GAIA’s special angels.
CAL FIRE (CDF) S2T Tanker 71 working Sawtooth Complex Fire (2006)
Sawtooth Complex Fire (Sept. 2006), San Bernardino County CA. Photo Credit: U.S. Forest Service
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
My Dad and Africa
I want to pause for a moment and tell you about my Dad, John. You see, in many ways, my Dad is an inspiration for my interest in Malawi. You see my Dad had a Ph.D. in microbiology. I had just turned seven years old when he earned his Ph.D. Around this time; he was offered a post–doctoral fellowship in what was known then as the Congo in Africa. It is possible that my mother mentioned the possibility of living in Africa to my younger sister and I. It seemed so exotic. At the time, the only thing I knew about Africa was that the lions, monkeys and elephants that I saw in cages at the zoo lived wild. I dreamt of seeing African tribesman and wild lions, elephants, and monkeys. A short time later, my mother told us how disappointed she was that Daddy was not going to accept the fellowship. Several years later I recall hearing about some sort of violence and unrest in the Congo. I understood why he didn’t accept the fellowship.
After he earned his Ph.D., he stayed at his university, teaching biochemistry in the med school and doing research. It may have been during this time that he started to shift his research focus to immunology. Later, he ran an immunology lab in a chief medical examiner’s office of another large east coast city before moving to a small city in upstate New York where he ran a clinical immunology lab in one of the local hospitals. My Mom passed in the mid–eighties, my Dad followed a little less than eight year later.
It never occurred to me to ask him about his dissertation research or why he was offered the fellowship in the Congo. After he passed, I found his masters and Ph.D. dissertation in an antique secretary I inherited. I knew that he had left his dissertations in this secretary, when I was ready, I looked to see what he had done his dissertation research on. I don’t know what I never asked him about his dissertation work, perhaps because his life’s work took a very different direction. After he died, I got curious. All I had to do was look in the secretary and read the abstract.
Now, I am not a microbiologist, nor have I taken a microbiology course. But, I knew enough to know that his work was related to Dysentery. The Shigella Flexneri bacterium that was the focus of his research is one of the organisms causing one of the diarrheal diseases sometimes referred to as Dysentery. It wasn’t until over ten years had passed since Dad’s death and I was working on an article on the efforts to supply a safe and clean water supply to a small village in southern Malawi that I made the connection to my Dad’s dissertation work and the fellowship in the Congo that he turned down.
It was when I was reading about water borne diseases that I made the connection about my Dad’s dissertation work. I felt like it was not a coincidence that fate had led me to my interest in southern Malawi. In some ways, I feel like I am finishing the work that my Dad started in the 1950s.
I know that he would be thrilled to know of my interest in working for a safe and clean water supply in Africa and globally. I do believe in angels. he is hovering around me, smilling, as I write this.
After he earned his Ph.D., he stayed at his university, teaching biochemistry in the med school and doing research. It may have been during this time that he started to shift his research focus to immunology. Later, he ran an immunology lab in a chief medical examiner’s office of another large east coast city before moving to a small city in upstate New York where he ran a clinical immunology lab in one of the local hospitals. My Mom passed in the mid–eighties, my Dad followed a little less than eight year later.
It never occurred to me to ask him about his dissertation research or why he was offered the fellowship in the Congo. After he passed, I found his masters and Ph.D. dissertation in an antique secretary I inherited. I knew that he had left his dissertations in this secretary, when I was ready, I looked to see what he had done his dissertation research on. I don’t know what I never asked him about his dissertation work, perhaps because his life’s work took a very different direction. After he died, I got curious. All I had to do was look in the secretary and read the abstract.
Now, I am not a microbiologist, nor have I taken a microbiology course. But, I knew enough to know that his work was related to Dysentery. The Shigella Flexneri bacterium that was the focus of his research is one of the organisms causing one of the diarrheal diseases sometimes referred to as Dysentery. It wasn’t until over ten years had passed since Dad’s death and I was working on an article on the efforts to supply a safe and clean water supply to a small village in southern Malawi that I made the connection to my Dad’s dissertation work and the fellowship in the Congo that he turned down.
It was when I was reading about water borne diseases that I made the connection about my Dad’s dissertation work. I felt like it was not a coincidence that fate had led me to my interest in southern Malawi. In some ways, I feel like I am finishing the work that my Dad started in the 1950s.
I know that he would be thrilled to know of my interest in working for a safe and clean water supply in Africa and globally. I do believe in angels. he is hovering around me, smilling, as I write this.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Reflections on water
It may be ironic that as I write this it is raining. Rain, what some of the arid or semi–arid regions in the world wouldn’t give for the amount of rain we have had this year, about 9 inches above normal. Those of you who have been following my blog will recall the entries that I wrote in June and July about the flooding on the Delaware River in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
I am not here to write about our abundant rainfall, I am here to write about how my passion for Malawi started. It was about seven months ago and I had started to do background reading and research to familiarize myself with life in southern Malawi. I knew that many people living in less developed regions of the world. I knew that many people in these regions do not have easy access to a clean and accessible water supply near their dwelling. I knew of the various diseases transmitted by dirty water. I knew that the people of these regions were very, very poor. Somehow all this seemed so far away. Up until last spring when I started writing about southern Malawi
It would be arrogant of me to sit here on the east coast of the United States to say that a few months of reading and writing about the people of rural southern Malawi translate into really knowing what life is like for these wonderful people. I can not, even if I should get a chance to go and visit with these wonderful people some time in the future.
But I can have compassion. And I can use the gift of my electronic pen to write of the compassion I have for and how writing about southern Malawi has, I hoped, helped me to not take things for granted. Like the well on my property that supplies us with clean water.
It was around the end of April, and I was taking a break from my research on Malawi. I started to think about what I might or might not plant in my garden in the middle of May after the threat of a freeze had passed. Believe it or not, we were then in our third consecutive month of below average rainfall. I was wondering if we were headed for a dry summer. I wondered whether I should set in new plants or not. I decided not to, to wait awhile.
Suddenly, I thought back to the people in the village in rural southern Malawi that I was writing about. The “problems” of a dry spring seemed suddenly so trivial and unimportant. I thought to myself, what is the worse that could happen if we did have a drought that summer, some of my plants and trees might die. Perhaps we would have to dig a deeper well. But we wouldn’t get sick from drinking dirty water. We don’t have to walk for an hour one–way and wait in a long line at the crack of dawn to get a bucket of water to last the day.
I know that these words sound trite and some of you may be shaking your heads, saying, “Give me a break!” You probably have a point, for I am an expert at what I can white liberal guilt. All I can say is that, suddenly, I began to look at my own use of water differently. And perhaps I can use my “white liberal guilt” for some good, through my writing.
And a few weeks later the rains came.
I am not here to write about our abundant rainfall, I am here to write about how my passion for Malawi started. It was about seven months ago and I had started to do background reading and research to familiarize myself with life in southern Malawi. I knew that many people living in less developed regions of the world. I knew that many people in these regions do not have easy access to a clean and accessible water supply near their dwelling. I knew of the various diseases transmitted by dirty water. I knew that the people of these regions were very, very poor. Somehow all this seemed so far away. Up until last spring when I started writing about southern Malawi
It would be arrogant of me to sit here on the east coast of the United States to say that a few months of reading and writing about the people of rural southern Malawi translate into really knowing what life is like for these wonderful people. I can not, even if I should get a chance to go and visit with these wonderful people some time in the future.
But I can have compassion. And I can use the gift of my electronic pen to write of the compassion I have for and how writing about southern Malawi has, I hoped, helped me to not take things for granted. Like the well on my property that supplies us with clean water.
It was around the end of April, and I was taking a break from my research on Malawi. I started to think about what I might or might not plant in my garden in the middle of May after the threat of a freeze had passed. Believe it or not, we were then in our third consecutive month of below average rainfall. I was wondering if we were headed for a dry summer. I wondered whether I should set in new plants or not. I decided not to, to wait awhile.
Suddenly, I thought back to the people in the village in rural southern Malawi that I was writing about. The “problems” of a dry spring seemed suddenly so trivial and unimportant. I thought to myself, what is the worse that could happen if we did have a drought that summer, some of my plants and trees might die. Perhaps we would have to dig a deeper well. But we wouldn’t get sick from drinking dirty water. We don’t have to walk for an hour one–way and wait in a long line at the crack of dawn to get a bucket of water to last the day.
I know that these words sound trite and some of you may be shaking your heads, saying, “Give me a break!” You probably have a point, for I am an expert at what I can white liberal guilt. All I can say is that, suddenly, I began to look at my own use of water differently. And perhaps I can use my “white liberal guilt” for some good, through my writing.
And a few weeks later the rains came.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance
In the course of my writing about Malawi and her people, I happened upon a wonderful organization called the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance . Their mission statement is:
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) partners with religious organizations in resource-poor countries for community-based HIV prevention and care.
We assist communities in developing locally initiated, planned, and led workshops that create detailed action plans for projects specific to community needs. These grass roots, village-level projects educate high risk groups about the disease, modify sexual behavior, promote voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, foster the social and economic empowerment of women, care for AIDS orphans, provide home-based care of ill persons, improve nutrition, and reverse the stigmatization of people with AIDS. Where medications and treatment are available, projects provide aggressive referral for treatment of opportunistic infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV itself. We assist these projects through small grants and through assisting them with applications to other funding sources when appropriate.
One of the countries that they work in is Malawi. I have had the pleasure of corresponding with a retired physician who has been to Malawi for extended visits on several occasions with GAIA. Our discussions haunt me.
GAIA has a fact sheet on Malawi, with some facts that I did not mention in my earlier post that you may find interesting. I urge you to spend some time on the the GAIA website . And I urge you to look at their video.
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) partners with religious organizations in resource-poor countries for community-based HIV prevention and care.
We assist communities in developing locally initiated, planned, and led workshops that create detailed action plans for projects specific to community needs. These grass roots, village-level projects educate high risk groups about the disease, modify sexual behavior, promote voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, foster the social and economic empowerment of women, care for AIDS orphans, provide home-based care of ill persons, improve nutrition, and reverse the stigmatization of people with AIDS. Where medications and treatment are available, projects provide aggressive referral for treatment of opportunistic infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV itself. We assist these projects through small grants and through assisting them with applications to other funding sources when appropriate.
One of the countries that they work in is Malawi. I have had the pleasure of corresponding with a retired physician who has been to Malawi for extended visits on several occasions with GAIA. Our discussions haunt me.
GAIA has a fact sheet on Malawi, with some facts that I did not mention in my earlier post that you may find interesting. I urge you to spend some time on the the GAIA website . And I urge you to look at their video.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
More Facts on Malawi
Electricity (lack of), Sanitation, and Source of Drinking Water in Malawi
Source: 2004 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (Chapter 2 of the Main Report)
Prepared by the National Statistical Office of Malawi
URL: http://www.nso.malawi.net/
93% of all households do not have electricity.
Source of household drinking water:
Piped into dwelling 2.9%
Piped into yard or plot 3.4%
Public tap 13.7%
Open well in yard or plot 2.4%
Open public well 22.6%
Protected well in yard or plot 4.9%
Protected public well 38.6%
Spring 2.6%
River or stream 8.0%
Pond or lake 0.4%
Dam 0.2%
Tanker truck 0.1%
58% of all households are at least a 15–minute walk from the closest water source.
Household sanitation facilities
Flush toilet 3.4%
Traditional pit latrine 79.4%
VIP latrine 1.1%
No facility, use bush or field 16.1%
89% of all households cook with firewood.
Source: 2004 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (Chapter 2 of the Main Report)
Prepared by the National Statistical Office of Malawi
URL: http://www.nso.malawi.net/
93% of all households do not have electricity.
Source of household drinking water:
Piped into dwelling 2.9%
Piped into yard or plot 3.4%
Public tap 13.7%
Open well in yard or plot 2.4%
Open public well 22.6%
Protected well in yard or plot 4.9%
Protected public well 38.6%
Spring 2.6%
River or stream 8.0%
Pond or lake 0.4%
Dam 0.2%
Tanker truck 0.1%
58% of all households are at least a 15–minute walk from the closest water source.
Household sanitation facilities
Flush toilet 3.4%
Traditional pit latrine 79.4%
VIP latrine 1.1%
No facility, use bush or field 16.1%
89% of all households cook with firewood.
Facts on Malawi
These facts on Malawi were forwarded to me by someone that I have cooresponded with about Malawi. I will let these facts speak for themselves.
Current Facts about Malawi
"Pocket World in Figures, 2006 Edition"
published by The Economist. (London: Profile Books.)
Highest population per doctor: Malawi ranks 1st in the world at 88,321.
Most road accidents (# people injured per 100m vehicle-km): Malawi ranks 1st in the world at 2,730. (Rwanda is a distant second at 1,764.)
Lowest purchasing power (US = 100): Malawi ranks 2nd in the world at 1.6
Maternal mortality rates: Malawi ranks 3rd in the world with 1,800 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, behind Sierra Leone and Afghanistan
Lowest GDP per head: Malawi ranks 5th in the world at $140
Lowest median age: Malawi ranks 6th in the world at 16.3
Lowest life expectancy: Malawi ranks 7th at 41.1.
Lowest female life expectancy: Malawi ranks 7th at 40.6 (women live shorter lives than men in this country.)
Highest foreign debt, as % of goods and services: Malawi ranks 8th at 660%
HIV/AIDS prevalence among 15 - 49 year olds: Malawi ranks 8th at 14.2% of population in this age range
AIDS deaths per 100,000 of population: Malawi ranks 8th at 694.
Highest death rates: Malawi ranks 12th at 19.9 per 1,000 population
Crude birth rates, number of live births per 1000 people: Malawi ranks 14th at 44.6
Highest fertility rates in the world: Malawi ranks 16th at 6.1.
Highest infant mortality: Malawi ranks 16th at 102.6 per 1000 live births
Current Facts about Malawi
"Pocket World in Figures, 2006 Edition"
published by The Economist. (London: Profile Books.)
Highest population per doctor: Malawi ranks 1st in the world at 88,321.
Most road accidents (# people injured per 100m vehicle-km): Malawi ranks 1st in the world at 2,730. (Rwanda is a distant second at 1,764.)
Lowest purchasing power (US = 100): Malawi ranks 2nd in the world at 1.6
Maternal mortality rates: Malawi ranks 3rd in the world with 1,800 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, behind Sierra Leone and Afghanistan
Lowest GDP per head: Malawi ranks 5th in the world at $140
Lowest median age: Malawi ranks 6th in the world at 16.3
Lowest life expectancy: Malawi ranks 7th at 41.1.
Lowest female life expectancy: Malawi ranks 7th at 40.6 (women live shorter lives than men in this country.)
Highest foreign debt, as % of goods and services: Malawi ranks 8th at 660%
HIV/AIDS prevalence among 15 - 49 year olds: Malawi ranks 8th at 14.2% of population in this age range
AIDS deaths per 100,000 of population: Malawi ranks 8th at 694.
Highest death rates: Malawi ranks 12th at 19.9 per 1,000 population
Crude birth rates, number of live births per 1000 people: Malawi ranks 14th at 44.6
Highest fertility rates in the world: Malawi ranks 16th at 6.1.
Highest infant mortality: Malawi ranks 16th at 102.6 per 1000 live births
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Malawi geography
Malawi is a landlocked country in what is often referred to as the sub-saharan region of Africa. That is, the region below the Saharan desert. Located not far from the east coast of Africa, it borders Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania. If you are looking at this map of Africa, Malawi is small enough that you may not find it unless you know where to look.. So, I will offer a couple of hints that I hope will be helpful. First, find the equator, running through the middle of Africa. Look below (south) of the equator. Go to the east coast and look for Tanzania. If I have the correct compass points in mind, Tanzania lies northeast of Malawi. Translation, Malawi lies to the left and underneath Tanzania. In terms of its total area, Malawi is slightly smaller in size than the State of Pennsylvania in the U.S.
Natural resources include: limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite.
Current environmental issues include deforestation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, and industrial wastes; and silt buildup in spawning grounds that endanger fish populations.
The climate is subtropical. There are two seasons in Malawi, rainy and dry with the rainy seasons running from November to May. During the rainy season, roads serving the more remote villages may be impassable. Above ground water sources may dry up during the dry season.
A good summary of information on Malawi may be found in the World Factbook entry on Malawi. Most of the information included here including the map reproduced above is from the World Factbook.
Natural resources include: limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite.
Current environmental issues include deforestation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, and industrial wastes; and silt buildup in spawning grounds that endanger fish populations.
The climate is subtropical. There are two seasons in Malawi, rainy and dry with the rainy seasons running from November to May. During the rainy season, roads serving the more remote villages may be impassable. Above ground water sources may dry up during the dry season.
A good summary of information on Malawi may be found in the World Factbook entry on Malawi. Most of the information included here including the map reproduced above is from the World Factbook.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Platelet donor
I am starting to work on my next entry about Malawi, about geography including a map. I hope to post this tomorrow or the next day.
In the meantime, some of you may recall that I wrote about making a blood donation sometime last summer. I think this was in early August. About ten days ago, the New Jersey Blood Services had an apheresis donor appreciation event that I attended. A nice buffet breakfast on a very rainy Friday. Considering that the weather was pretty awful, there it was very well attended. Hearing the people from NJ blood services talk as well as a couple of the recipients got me thinking about why I am an apheresis donor.
As I understand it, an apheresis donor is another word for a platelet donor. Platelets are the component of our blood that, among other things, form clots when we cut ourselves. Patients receiving certain forms of chemotherapy, for example, need lots of platelets as do certain newborn infants.
Many of you have probably donated whole blood at least once, perhaps in an employer or school sponsored blood drive. Whole blood donations take about 20 to 30 minutes. After your intake, you lie on a table and make your donation.
Platelets are one component of whole blood, another being red cells and plasma. Platelet donations take about one hour, not including intake. I donate double platelets, which takes a little longer. On top of donating double platelets, I can make a red cell donation about every 60 days.
Why do I do this? I do it because of people I know who live with cancer, or are in need of some form of transplant, or have received a transplanted organ. A couple of people who fit in one of those categories have touched my lives in special ways. Blood is the gift of life. As long as I continue to meet the various criteria for a blood donor, it is a fairly simple thing that I can do to help out someone who really needs help. A way of giving something back and of giving something to people I love. I can not, for example, give my friend one of my kidneys. But I can make a platelet donation for an anonymous recipient where my platelets mean the difference between life and death.
In the meantime, some of you may recall that I wrote about making a blood donation sometime last summer. I think this was in early August. About ten days ago, the New Jersey Blood Services had an apheresis donor appreciation event that I attended. A nice buffet breakfast on a very rainy Friday. Considering that the weather was pretty awful, there it was very well attended. Hearing the people from NJ blood services talk as well as a couple of the recipients got me thinking about why I am an apheresis donor.
As I understand it, an apheresis donor is another word for a platelet donor. Platelets are the component of our blood that, among other things, form clots when we cut ourselves. Patients receiving certain forms of chemotherapy, for example, need lots of platelets as do certain newborn infants.
Many of you have probably donated whole blood at least once, perhaps in an employer or school sponsored blood drive. Whole blood donations take about 20 to 30 minutes. After your intake, you lie on a table and make your donation.
Platelets are one component of whole blood, another being red cells and plasma. Platelet donations take about one hour, not including intake. I donate double platelets, which takes a little longer. On top of donating double platelets, I can make a red cell donation about every 60 days.
Why do I do this? I do it because of people I know who live with cancer, or are in need of some form of transplant, or have received a transplanted organ. A couple of people who fit in one of those categories have touched my lives in special ways. Blood is the gift of life. As long as I continue to meet the various criteria for a blood donor, it is a fairly simple thing that I can do to help out someone who really needs help. A way of giving something back and of giving something to people I love. I can not, for example, give my friend one of my kidneys. But I can make a platelet donation for an anonymous recipient where my platelets mean the difference between life and death.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Why am I writing about Malawi?
Well, I'll tell you.
Over the last couple of years, I have been doing more reading about issues affecting the global water supply, with a focus on conditions in developing countries. Sometime in the late Spring, I had the opportunity to submit an article to Progressive Planning for their upcoming issue on water and politics. While there are many areas I could have chosen to focus on, for reasons I won't go into here, I decided to focus on Africa. Because I have never been to Africa, I knew that I needed some contacts. So, after several queries, I made contact with people who had been to Malawi.
Like a rock that gathers more and more moss as it rolls down a hill. One contact lead to other contacts, including people in southern Malawi. It is difficult to express in words how all this background research affected me. I can only say that I was and continue to be very moved by what I found out. In addition, I feel almost driven to keep going with research and writing about various issues affecting water quality and supply in southern Malawi.
I readily admit here that one of the things that I can not get past is that I have never been to Africa. Perhaps one day, all the necessary cards will fall into place, and such a trip will be possible. At present, I can only work with what I have, which is my compassion and my call to keep writing about Southern Malawi.
So, for know, I am going to do some writing about Malawi in the blog. As the title, random ramblings suggests, I will probably post other random thoughts on issues unrelated to southern Malawi in particular and global water supply in general. For those of you reading this blog who are interested in Malawi, I will endeavor to remember to mention Malawi in the title so that you can easily find postings about Malawi.
If I get something wrong, or "fail to be correct", I know that someone will tell me either privately or as a public comment. As appropriate, I will respond to these comments in this blog.
Over the last couple of years, I have been doing more reading about issues affecting the global water supply, with a focus on conditions in developing countries. Sometime in the late Spring, I had the opportunity to submit an article to Progressive Planning for their upcoming issue on water and politics. While there are many areas I could have chosen to focus on, for reasons I won't go into here, I decided to focus on Africa. Because I have never been to Africa, I knew that I needed some contacts. So, after several queries, I made contact with people who had been to Malawi.
Like a rock that gathers more and more moss as it rolls down a hill. One contact lead to other contacts, including people in southern Malawi. It is difficult to express in words how all this background research affected me. I can only say that I was and continue to be very moved by what I found out. In addition, I feel almost driven to keep going with research and writing about various issues affecting water quality and supply in southern Malawi.
I readily admit here that one of the things that I can not get past is that I have never been to Africa. Perhaps one day, all the necessary cards will fall into place, and such a trip will be possible. At present, I can only work with what I have, which is my compassion and my call to keep writing about Southern Malawi.
So, for know, I am going to do some writing about Malawi in the blog. As the title, random ramblings suggests, I will probably post other random thoughts on issues unrelated to southern Malawi in particular and global water supply in general. For those of you reading this blog who are interested in Malawi, I will endeavor to remember to mention Malawi in the title so that you can easily find postings about Malawi.
If I get something wrong, or "fail to be correct", I know that someone will tell me either privately or as a public comment. As appropriate, I will respond to these comments in this blog.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Grateful for sitting in the dark with no water
Last Friday afternoon, a line of squalls with high winds went through here in the middle of the afternoon. I didn't think much of it until I decided to take a break from my writing to see what was on the tube. Does this ever happen to you? The remote wouldn't work and I wondered what was wrong. It took me about one minute to realize that the reason the remote didn't work was because the power was off.
When we lived in northeast Jersey, we lived in a town with a municipal water system that, for the most part, kept us in water even during a power failure. Not so here, we have our own water well in our front yard. So, the only water we had was the water in our water tank, some bottled water, and a large trash can with water in it (a reserve for flushing). The power failure wasn't all that long, all things considered. It did run into the dinner hour, and fortunately for us, it was not widespread. So, we were able to go out to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
Then we came home and sat in the dark with no running water. We grumbled and complained about this while listening to the radio and reading by flashlights. We dug up a few candles that provided a small amount of light. Cats and candles don't mix. At least we know that our cat and candles don't mix, so we paid close attention to where we put the candles as well as paying close attention to where the cat was.
A couple of hours after we got back from dinner, the lights came back on. All things considering, not to bad.
Why am I grateful for sitting in the dark with no water?
I spent several weeks working on an article about a remote village in southern Malawi, in sub-Saharan Africa. This article will be published in the upcoming issue of Progressive Planning, the quarterly publication of the Planners Network. The theme of this issue is water and politics. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and like many other countries in sub-Sahara Africa and elsewhere, many people do not have clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, washing, etc. Poor water quality leads to a variety of public health issues including a high incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Many of these same villages can not afford to hook up to the electric power grid, assuming the grid is nearby.
I have thought about the people in this remote village of southern Malawi quite often over the last few months. Writing about these wonderful people has been a life changing experience.
My lights came back on as did my running water.
My friends in Malawi are still waiting for the things that I take for granted, running water free from disease causing organisms and electricity. For some, the wait for clean and safe water may be too long, they may be dead.
When we lived in northeast Jersey, we lived in a town with a municipal water system that, for the most part, kept us in water even during a power failure. Not so here, we have our own water well in our front yard. So, the only water we had was the water in our water tank, some bottled water, and a large trash can with water in it (a reserve for flushing). The power failure wasn't all that long, all things considered. It did run into the dinner hour, and fortunately for us, it was not widespread. So, we were able to go out to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
Then we came home and sat in the dark with no running water. We grumbled and complained about this while listening to the radio and reading by flashlights. We dug up a few candles that provided a small amount of light. Cats and candles don't mix. At least we know that our cat and candles don't mix, so we paid close attention to where we put the candles as well as paying close attention to where the cat was.
A couple of hours after we got back from dinner, the lights came back on. All things considering, not to bad.
Why am I grateful for sitting in the dark with no water?
I spent several weeks working on an article about a remote village in southern Malawi, in sub-Saharan Africa. This article will be published in the upcoming issue of Progressive Planning, the quarterly publication of the Planners Network. The theme of this issue is water and politics. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and like many other countries in sub-Sahara Africa and elsewhere, many people do not have clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, washing, etc. Poor water quality leads to a variety of public health issues including a high incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Many of these same villages can not afford to hook up to the electric power grid, assuming the grid is nearby.
I have thought about the people in this remote village of southern Malawi quite often over the last few months. Writing about these wonderful people has been a life changing experience.
My lights came back on as did my running water.
My friends in Malawi are still waiting for the things that I take for granted, running water free from disease causing organisms and electricity. For some, the wait for clean and safe water may be too long, they may be dead.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Confessions
Ok, I have talked the talk about my intention to make an entry to this blog every day or so. And as you can see by the length of time since my last post that I have not lived up to this. So, This is both a public confession and a kick in the you-know-what to get me started again.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
R.I.P. Cory Lidle and Tyler Stanger
Cory Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, died yesterday when his plane crashed into a high rise on the east side of Manhattan. His flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, was with him and died in the crash.
Both were young men, dead well before their time. Cory was 34 and Tyler was 26. My prayers are with Cory’s and Tyler’s family and friends as they mourn their loved ones.
Their deaths hit me heard because of my relationship with baseball and the New York Yankees. I have been a baseball fan most of my life. I live with baseball and the Yankees for six months a year where games are played virtually every day. Baseball games on TV or the radio, conversations over dinner, newspaper accounts of games we missed, and listening to sports radio are a part of our routine during baseball season. In a sense, the ball players on the Yankees are like a part of our family. In his short time with the Yankees, Cory has already left his mark on many.
He left his mark on me. Perhaps it was because he was a starting pitcher. Perhaps it was because of his love of life. Perhaps it was because those who knew him well spoke of a normal guy who loved his family. Perhaps it was because he spoke his mind and didn’t shy away from the media. Perhaps it was because he died doing something he loved, flying.
I don’t know much about Tyler Stanger. I wish I had a way to give him equal time here. He was a flight instructor, so I suspect that he too was passionate about flying. He too left a mark on people, and he a way that is hard to explain, he has left his mark on me. Tyler, I am sorry that I never got to know you. Dead to soon.
Like many other Yankee fans, I was deeply disappointed by their early exit from the playoffs. Somehow, their loss to the Detroit Tigers seems unimportant, as does the usual post–season intrigue. Two young men are dead.
I don’t have any information on Tyler’s family. Cory and his wife Melanie, have a six–year old son, Christopher.
Rest in peace, Cory and Tyler. You will be missed.
Both were young men, dead well before their time. Cory was 34 and Tyler was 26. My prayers are with Cory’s and Tyler’s family and friends as they mourn their loved ones.
Their deaths hit me heard because of my relationship with baseball and the New York Yankees. I have been a baseball fan most of my life. I live with baseball and the Yankees for six months a year where games are played virtually every day. Baseball games on TV or the radio, conversations over dinner, newspaper accounts of games we missed, and listening to sports radio are a part of our routine during baseball season. In a sense, the ball players on the Yankees are like a part of our family. In his short time with the Yankees, Cory has already left his mark on many.
He left his mark on me. Perhaps it was because he was a starting pitcher. Perhaps it was because of his love of life. Perhaps it was because those who knew him well spoke of a normal guy who loved his family. Perhaps it was because he spoke his mind and didn’t shy away from the media. Perhaps it was because he died doing something he loved, flying.
I don’t know much about Tyler Stanger. I wish I had a way to give him equal time here. He was a flight instructor, so I suspect that he too was passionate about flying. He too left a mark on people, and he a way that is hard to explain, he has left his mark on me. Tyler, I am sorry that I never got to know you. Dead to soon.
Like many other Yankee fans, I was deeply disappointed by their early exit from the playoffs. Somehow, their loss to the Detroit Tigers seems unimportant, as does the usual post–season intrigue. Two young men are dead.
I don’t have any information on Tyler’s family. Cory and his wife Melanie, have a six–year old son, Christopher.
Rest in peace, Cory and Tyler. You will be missed.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
I'm back
No, I didn't go anywhere. My fall allergies lead to a sinus infection and a little bronchitis. I laid low for most of last week, and did very little writing.
I did watch some but not all, of the first round of the baseball playoffs. I am not even going to talk about the Yankees.
For those of you who are not up on baseball, the Detroit Tigers beat the Yankees to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Actually saying the Yankees were beaten by the Tigers is being much to kind to the Yankees. The heavily favored Yankees were embarrassed by the Tigers. The Tigers, who entered the last weekend of the season in first place in the AL central division, who lost all of thier games that final weekend to end up as what is known as the wildcard team (the fourth place team).
So, while the area media is ruminating about the fate of Joe Torre, the Yankees manager, I am trying to pick up where I left off before post season baseball (and my sinus infection) and go on with my life.
In the meantime, we are due to have another warm fall day. I am behind in my fall gardening chores. The weather is glorious, and I intend to enjoy it and get some chores done at the same time.
I did watch some but not all, of the first round of the baseball playoffs. I am not even going to talk about the Yankees.
For those of you who are not up on baseball, the Detroit Tigers beat the Yankees to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Actually saying the Yankees were beaten by the Tigers is being much to kind to the Yankees. The heavily favored Yankees were embarrassed by the Tigers. The Tigers, who entered the last weekend of the season in first place in the AL central division, who lost all of thier games that final weekend to end up as what is known as the wildcard team (the fourth place team).
So, while the area media is ruminating about the fate of Joe Torre, the Yankees manager, I am trying to pick up where I left off before post season baseball (and my sinus infection) and go on with my life.
In the meantime, we are due to have another warm fall day. I am behind in my fall gardening chores. The weather is glorious, and I intend to enjoy it and get some chores done at the same time.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Fall is my favorite time of year except . . .
Fall could be my favorite time of year. The weather in September and October, even into early November can be very pleasant. Like today, temps will be close to 70, nights are cool and crisp. The early morning chill gives way to moderate temps by mid-day. On a day like today, I would, at most, wear a long sleeve shirt as a stand-in for a light jacket.
The one thing that I don't like about Fall are my allergies. What I try to remember as a sometimes moan about the inconvenience of my allergies is that, all things considered, I don't have it so bad. If the worse thing that happens to me is that I suffer from sinsus congestion, I am a lot better off than many people who are in far worse health than I.
And then there are the baseball playoffs which start this week which is always a special time of year for this baseball fan.
Today is the last day of the baseball season, and some the playoff spots are still up in the air.
The one thing that I don't like about Fall are my allergies. What I try to remember as a sometimes moan about the inconvenience of my allergies is that, all things considered, I don't have it so bad. If the worse thing that happens to me is that I suffer from sinsus congestion, I am a lot better off than many people who are in far worse health than I.
And then there are the baseball playoffs which start this week which is always a special time of year for this baseball fan.
Today is the last day of the baseball season, and some the playoff spots are still up in the air.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Final weekend of the baseball season
This is it. The final weekend of the baseball season. The Yankees clinched a few days ago, and are playing for home field advantage through out the playoffs. It still feels a little strange to even think about homefield advantage in the playoffs. I am going to date myself by saying that I remember when there was ONLY the world series. Well, those years are going, and now we have the designated hitter in the American League . . .
This is going to be an interesting final weekend of baseball, especially for the National League. The Mets clinched the east a couple of weeks ago and just lost one of their pitchers, Pedro for the playoffs. The NL central division is up for grabs with Cardinals, the Astros, and the Reds in the hunt. Though the Reds have to get lucky, IMHO to win. The NL west will be represented by the Padres or the Dodgers. And the Philies are still in the hunt for a wildcard berth.
I remember my first post season. 1963. I was recovering from that broken hip that I wrote about in my earlier entry on the solar eclipse. When you spend most of the summer in bed at the age of nine, what do you do? I watched baseball. Dodgers v. Yankees. I remember watching Sandy Kofax pitch and he was my hero. The Dodgers won in 4. I was too young and new to the game to fully appreciate Sandy Koufax. He had a 1.88 era. 1.88. Even in the National League, without the designated hitter, it is an almost unheard of era.
In the meantime, it is time for me to go back to the game.
This is going to be an interesting final weekend of baseball, especially for the National League. The Mets clinched the east a couple of weeks ago and just lost one of their pitchers, Pedro for the playoffs. The NL central division is up for grabs with Cardinals, the Astros, and the Reds in the hunt. Though the Reds have to get lucky, IMHO to win. The NL west will be represented by the Padres or the Dodgers. And the Philies are still in the hunt for a wildcard berth.
I remember my first post season. 1963. I was recovering from that broken hip that I wrote about in my earlier entry on the solar eclipse. When you spend most of the summer in bed at the age of nine, what do you do? I watched baseball. Dodgers v. Yankees. I remember watching Sandy Kofax pitch and he was my hero. The Dodgers won in 4. I was too young and new to the game to fully appreciate Sandy Koufax. He had a 1.88 era. 1.88. Even in the National League, without the designated hitter, it is an almost unheard of era.
In the meantime, it is time for me to go back to the game.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Delaware River Redux
Ok, one last post on the subject of the June 2006 Delaware River Floods. I was talking to a friend a few days ago who was years and years of experience in hydrology and water utilities management, the subject turned to floods so I brought up the Delaware River floods. In case you are wondering, hydrology, according to Websters, is a science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below the earth's surface and in the atmosphere.
For awhile know I have been wondering if, instead of the State coming along and offering to "buy out" certain residential properties in flood prone areas, why couldn't the Government offer direct subsidies to help offset at least some of the costs of rehabbing the property to better with stand flooding. For example, putting a house on piers, raising outlets so that they are a three feet higher, suspending the furnace from the ceiling, and taking appliances including hot water heaters out of the basement or first floor, to name a few.
Well, I'm glad I talked to my friend, because he told me something which seemed very simple. That is, that it is not always possible to rehabs so a house will withstand flooding with minimal problems. I was reminded of all the times that people ask me about my "summer cabin" or camp in Vermont. It was not built to be lived in from mid-October to early-May. People are always asking me, why don't you have the house "winterized"? I reply that it is literally impossible to add insulation and otherwise seal off the house to keep it warm. First it is built on short piers, there is no basement, and no place for insulation. It just can't be done. I would be better off tearing the house down and building a new house.
So, I am back to square one. I have thiis idea in my head that I have to acknowledge may not work. I continue to think about all those people living along the Delaware who love the River and want to keep living there. Some are going to have the money, from various sources, to do the type of rehabbing that I am talking about. Just as important, they have a house that can be rehabbed. What happens to the people who can not afford to rehabb their house so that it can withstand floods. What happens to the people who own a house that can not be rehabbed?
No answers, I'm afraid. Just questions.
For awhile know I have been wondering if, instead of the State coming along and offering to "buy out" certain residential properties in flood prone areas, why couldn't the Government offer direct subsidies to help offset at least some of the costs of rehabbing the property to better with stand flooding. For example, putting a house on piers, raising outlets so that they are a three feet higher, suspending the furnace from the ceiling, and taking appliances including hot water heaters out of the basement or first floor, to name a few.
Well, I'm glad I talked to my friend, because he told me something which seemed very simple. That is, that it is not always possible to rehabs so a house will withstand flooding with minimal problems. I was reminded of all the times that people ask me about my "summer cabin" or camp in Vermont. It was not built to be lived in from mid-October to early-May. People are always asking me, why don't you have the house "winterized"? I reply that it is literally impossible to add insulation and otherwise seal off the house to keep it warm. First it is built on short piers, there is no basement, and no place for insulation. It just can't be done. I would be better off tearing the house down and building a new house.
So, I am back to square one. I have thiis idea in my head that I have to acknowledge may not work. I continue to think about all those people living along the Delaware who love the River and want to keep living there. Some are going to have the money, from various sources, to do the type of rehabbing that I am talking about. Just as important, they have a house that can be rehabbed. What happens to the people who can not afford to rehabb their house so that it can withstand floods. What happens to the people who own a house that can not be rehabbed?
No answers, I'm afraid. Just questions.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Once in a lifetime phenonema
For those of you who read my latest entry (The Summer Triangle, yes I know it is fall), I did spend a little time gazing at the stars last night. The forecast for this weekend calls for rain, so gazing heavenward may have to wait for clearer skies. Speaking of astronomy, I had the privilege of seeing two once–in–a–lifetime events while I was still in grade school.
The first was a total solar eclipse of the sun. To set the stage for this story, the eclipse happened sometime in the summer of 1963 in Massachusetts. I remember the year because I spent several weeks in the hospital, first with a bone infection in my left hip, and later with a broken hip. As a brief sidebar, I was very lucky. I was spared surgery and my hip healed completely.
Anyway, I was in four-bed ward in pediatrics in the town hospital. Much to my delight, the nurses and the rest of the hospital staff took pity on me, making sure I had one of two or three TVs in the hospital, and a remote control. At some point between the baseball games, cartoons, and Dobie Gillis reruns, I heard about the upcoming solar eclipse. I was really excited because I had a bed by the window where I could see the sun at the time the eclipse was to happen.
When I heard that I could damage my eyes if I were to look at the eclipse with out eye protection, I was disappointed. Someone on the hospital staff came up with the idea that I could look at the eclipse through some exposed x–ray film. At the appointed time, someone gave me the x–ray film and I watched the eclipse. I seem to remember that there were one or two nurses watching the eclipse with me. There was something about the eclipse on the TV, so I had commentary while the eclipse was going on. It was very, very cool. I saw the moon gradually “moving” across the sun before blocking out the sun completely. Just as I had heard on TV, the sky grew dark. Then just as quickly, the moon seemed to move away and the sky grew lighter.
I would not recommend that anyone try to use exposed x–ray film to look at an eclipse. I heard somewhere that this is not a good idea. But, even with all the attention lavished on my by the hospital staff that summer of 1963, it was not fun to be in a hospital. The eclipse was one of the high points.
The second was a display of the northern light in August, either in 1965 or 1966. I know the month because I was on vacation with my family, camping on the coast of Maine. During those years, we would take our vacation in the month of August. The campground was on an island on the coast. We had a campsite that fronted on the rocky shore. About once a week, there was a large bonfire on what we called “the rocks.” The campground was fairly small, so many of the campers were sitting around the bonfire when we began to notice some greenish lights in the sky. If my parents were not at the bonfire, they came down to watch. My Dad told me that I was seeing the northern lights and that they rarely occurred this far south for they were a much more common occurrence in the artic.
I don’t quite know how long we sat there looking at these wonderful ribbons of light dancing in the sky. We were all mesmerized. Any one who has seen a northern lights display knows what I mean. All too soon, the ribbons of light began to fade, finally disappearing all together.
I have “seen” a couple of partial solar eclipses since 1963, or at least the shadows on a safe surface. I have not seen a total solar eclipse and doubt that I will have another opportunity in my lifetime unless I travel to some far off location. A few years, there may have been a display of the northern lights visible in New Jersey. At least the media reported that a display had occurred. I remember hearing the media report and kicking myself for not paying attention to the sky the night before. I was “too busy”, at the time to notice the strange lights in the urban sky. My loss.
Will I be too busy the next time?
The first was a total solar eclipse of the sun. To set the stage for this story, the eclipse happened sometime in the summer of 1963 in Massachusetts. I remember the year because I spent several weeks in the hospital, first with a bone infection in my left hip, and later with a broken hip. As a brief sidebar, I was very lucky. I was spared surgery and my hip healed completely.
Anyway, I was in four-bed ward in pediatrics in the town hospital. Much to my delight, the nurses and the rest of the hospital staff took pity on me, making sure I had one of two or three TVs in the hospital, and a remote control. At some point between the baseball games, cartoons, and Dobie Gillis reruns, I heard about the upcoming solar eclipse. I was really excited because I had a bed by the window where I could see the sun at the time the eclipse was to happen.
When I heard that I could damage my eyes if I were to look at the eclipse with out eye protection, I was disappointed. Someone on the hospital staff came up with the idea that I could look at the eclipse through some exposed x–ray film. At the appointed time, someone gave me the x–ray film and I watched the eclipse. I seem to remember that there were one or two nurses watching the eclipse with me. There was something about the eclipse on the TV, so I had commentary while the eclipse was going on. It was very, very cool. I saw the moon gradually “moving” across the sun before blocking out the sun completely. Just as I had heard on TV, the sky grew dark. Then just as quickly, the moon seemed to move away and the sky grew lighter.
I would not recommend that anyone try to use exposed x–ray film to look at an eclipse. I heard somewhere that this is not a good idea. But, even with all the attention lavished on my by the hospital staff that summer of 1963, it was not fun to be in a hospital. The eclipse was one of the high points.
The second was a display of the northern light in August, either in 1965 or 1966. I know the month because I was on vacation with my family, camping on the coast of Maine. During those years, we would take our vacation in the month of August. The campground was on an island on the coast. We had a campsite that fronted on the rocky shore. About once a week, there was a large bonfire on what we called “the rocks.” The campground was fairly small, so many of the campers were sitting around the bonfire when we began to notice some greenish lights in the sky. If my parents were not at the bonfire, they came down to watch. My Dad told me that I was seeing the northern lights and that they rarely occurred this far south for they were a much more common occurrence in the artic.
I don’t quite know how long we sat there looking at these wonderful ribbons of light dancing in the sky. We were all mesmerized. Any one who has seen a northern lights display knows what I mean. All too soon, the ribbons of light began to fade, finally disappearing all together.
I have “seen” a couple of partial solar eclipses since 1963, or at least the shadows on a safe surface. I have not seen a total solar eclipse and doubt that I will have another opportunity in my lifetime unless I travel to some far off location. A few years, there may have been a display of the northern lights visible in New Jersey. At least the media reported that a display had occurred. I remember hearing the media report and kicking myself for not paying attention to the sky the night before. I was “too busy”, at the time to notice the strange lights in the urban sky. My loss.
Will I be too busy the next time?
Friday, September 22, 2006
The Summer Triangle (yes, I know it is fall)
I have a confession to make. I am starting to take my semi–light free night skies for granted. We have been living on the edge of the NYC metro area for over five years, having moved here from a urban town in New Jersey about 45 miles east. A few years ago, I got very interested in learning how to identify the different constellations in the night sky. During our summer visits to the northeast kingdom of Vermont, I had the perfect laboratory because of the light pollution free skies.
I remember the summer when the summer constellations seemed to jump out at me. The stars in the sky became a sanctuary, a sign of hope and comfort in troubled times. Among my favorites are three constellations, Cygnus (aka the Swan and also referred to as the northern cross), Aquila (aka the Eagle), and Lyra (aka the Harp). These three constellations are in the night sky during the summer into the fall. In the northern latitudes in the US, Cygnas is almost overhead in the sky at about 9 PM.
Each constellation has a bright star that is often viewable in urban areas on clear moonless nights: Denab in Cygnus, Altair in Aquila, and Vega in Lyra. These three stars form a triangle that while not a constellation is given the acronym, the summer triangle.
When we first moved out here, we spent many summer evenings sitting outside, listening to the ballgame on the radio, and looking at the night sky. Now the area where I live has less light pollution than the urban area where we used to live, but more than rural Vermont. Still, I can see many more stars than we could in our urban town. Instead of only seeing the summer triangle on clear moonless nights, I could see all major stars of Cygnus, Aquila, and Lyra. Now, I take it for granted, and I don’t revel in the stars and the sky the way I used to.
As I grew more accustomed to my life here, I spent less and less time outside. I have recently begun to feel like I have lost something by not stopping to spend a few moments gazing at the heavens. I am poorer for this. So I write this in this public space to make a commitment to myself. I am going to endeavor to spend a little more time outside on evenings to look at the sky. This is one of my ways of achieving serenity and inner peace.
Image courtesy of sky this week info
I remember the summer when the summer constellations seemed to jump out at me. The stars in the sky became a sanctuary, a sign of hope and comfort in troubled times. Among my favorites are three constellations, Cygnus (aka the Swan and also referred to as the northern cross), Aquila (aka the Eagle), and Lyra (aka the Harp). These three constellations are in the night sky during the summer into the fall. In the northern latitudes in the US, Cygnas is almost overhead in the sky at about 9 PM.
Each constellation has a bright star that is often viewable in urban areas on clear moonless nights: Denab in Cygnus, Altair in Aquila, and Vega in Lyra. These three stars form a triangle that while not a constellation is given the acronym, the summer triangle.
When we first moved out here, we spent many summer evenings sitting outside, listening to the ballgame on the radio, and looking at the night sky. Now the area where I live has less light pollution than the urban area where we used to live, but more than rural Vermont. Still, I can see many more stars than we could in our urban town. Instead of only seeing the summer triangle on clear moonless nights, I could see all major stars of Cygnus, Aquila, and Lyra. Now, I take it for granted, and I don’t revel in the stars and the sky the way I used to.
As I grew more accustomed to my life here, I spent less and less time outside. I have recently begun to feel like I have lost something by not stopping to spend a few moments gazing at the heavens. I am poorer for this. So I write this in this public space to make a commitment to myself. I am going to endeavor to spend a little more time outside on evenings to look at the sky. This is one of my ways of achieving serenity and inner peace.
Image courtesy of sky this week info
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Castleman River Bridge
After Knoxville, we spent a couple of days in Kentucky visiting friends. On our drive back home, we spent the night in Grantsville MD, west of Cumberland and near the old Cumberland Road. After dinner, we happened upon a small park and found the Castleman's River Bridge. Built in 1813, this very fine stone arch bridge has been restored and is a pedestrian bridge. The bridge fascinated me, so I got my camera and took a couple of pictures.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Looking through a different pair of eyes
A recent trip to Knoxville and a factory I encountered there gave me pause to consider two professors from graduate school, and how they forever changed the way I looked at towns, cities, as well as rural areas. From Donald Krueckeberg, with whom I studied the history of planning, I learned about the evolution of urban planning. But perhaps more important, was the intangible thing I learned, to look at a city, for example, with an eye towards what the physical form of the city tells me about its history. By physical form, I am talking about anything that was built by man as well as where it is located, on the Tennessee River in Knoxville’s case.
Bob Beauregard, who had a background in architecture in addition to his degrees in planning, taught me to appreciate architecture with a little bit of history thrown in. The class in question was actually a one-time seminar he taught. One of the more memorable classes were two -- we met for three hours a week – where he showed us slides he had taken around Philadelphia and environs. He showed us the slides and talked about architecture. I never looked at buildings the same way again.
What do these men have to do with a factory in Knoxville? I'll tell you. Shortly after we arrived in Knoxville, we arrived we went for a walk through a section of the city that the magazine in our hotel room referred to as “old town.” A working set of freight rail tracks formed a sort of boundary on the edge of this residential/shopping/restaurant district. As we approached the rail tracks, I saw this working factory, the White Lily Flour Company. A working factory in the middle of Knoxville. I was blown away, because I wasn’t expecting it.
Sometime later, a quick search of the web revealed that the White Lily Flour Co. has been in business since at least 1883, making "light" flour. I believe that we had bisuits made with White Lily flour while we were in Knoxville. A delight, and they did indeed seem "lighter.
The entire factory complex made a distinct impression on me. I’m not sure why. I’ve seen many factories over the years. Perhaps it was because we had just driven 700 miles. Perhaps it was because about one-half to three-quarters of mile away was our hotel just across the street from several office buildings. Perhaps it was because in other smaller to mid-sized cities factories both larger and smaller then the White Lily Flour Co. factory have been demolished to make way for new development. In any case, I am glad that I had my digital camera with a charged battery, so I could take some pictures. And I thought about both Profs Beauregard and Krueckeberg who taught me to look at cities with a different set of eyes.
I would have seen the factory even if I had never encountered Profs. Krueckeberg and Beauregard. But the lessons I learned, including looking at buildings and surrounding infrastructure with a different pair eyes stay with me to this day. I saw this factory and I thought of both of these wonderful men. I was excited because I saw something special with a different set of eyes.
Bob Beauregard, who had a background in architecture in addition to his degrees in planning, taught me to appreciate architecture with a little bit of history thrown in. The class in question was actually a one-time seminar he taught. One of the more memorable classes were two -- we met for three hours a week – where he showed us slides he had taken around Philadelphia and environs. He showed us the slides and talked about architecture. I never looked at buildings the same way again.
What do these men have to do with a factory in Knoxville? I'll tell you. Shortly after we arrived in Knoxville, we arrived we went for a walk through a section of the city that the magazine in our hotel room referred to as “old town.” A working set of freight rail tracks formed a sort of boundary on the edge of this residential/shopping/restaurant district. As we approached the rail tracks, I saw this working factory, the White Lily Flour Company. A working factory in the middle of Knoxville. I was blown away, because I wasn’t expecting it.
Sometime later, a quick search of the web revealed that the White Lily Flour Co. has been in business since at least 1883, making "light" flour. I believe that we had bisuits made with White Lily flour while we were in Knoxville. A delight, and they did indeed seem "lighter.
The entire factory complex made a distinct impression on me. I’m not sure why. I’ve seen many factories over the years. Perhaps it was because we had just driven 700 miles. Perhaps it was because about one-half to three-quarters of mile away was our hotel just across the street from several office buildings. Perhaps it was because in other smaller to mid-sized cities factories both larger and smaller then the White Lily Flour Co. factory have been demolished to make way for new development. In any case, I am glad that I had my digital camera with a charged battery, so I could take some pictures. And I thought about both Profs Beauregard and Krueckeberg who taught me to look at cities with a different set of eyes.
I would have seen the factory even if I had never encountered Profs. Krueckeberg and Beauregard. But the lessons I learned, including looking at buildings and surrounding infrastructure with a different pair eyes stay with me to this day. I saw this factory and I thought of both of these wonderful men. I was excited because I saw something special with a different set of eyes.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Some ecological implications on clearing streams
In my blog entry of Aug, 22, More on debris in creeks, I reported on a recent conversation that I had on the issue with a friend of mine who is an environmental scientist. She read my blog and sent me a reply where she offered some further insights on the issue debris in streams including the effect clearing streams has on the larger ecosystem surrounding the stream. I learned a lot from her e-mail, which helped to fill some "holes" in my thinking. She gave me her permission to reproduce her response in my blog. I hope that the title of this entry, some ecological implications on clearing streams, correctly summarizes her response.
She says:
I took a look at your "ramblings" - interesting comments. I think I should clarify something we talked about that I didn't state well, about the debris that holds water. You have to think about the entire stream, even to what it flows into, when you think about debris. You also have to think about local conditions vs. what's happening farther away.
Let's start with local conditions. Say you have a stream in your backyard. Any rain that comes down too fast for the ground and vegetation and debris around the stream to absorb will run off into the stream. If you take out the "debris", it will run off faster. If there's enough water, it may even run off fast enough to remove vegetation. Certainly if you have bare soil, some of the bare soil will run off with the water. Vegetation and debris help hold the soil in place (vegetation is more effective at that), but some soil is likely to wash away in any case when there's a lot of water. If your house is right next to the stream, you may consider that faster runoff a good thing, but too much of it can take the soil away from your foundation. It's not considered very smart to build a house right next to a stream (in the stream's floodplain), and most places require buffer zones between construction and streams now. If your house is not right next to the stream, then, as the stream rises, the buffer zone with all the vegetation and debris will help hold the water away from your house. Debris also provides essential habitat for some wildlife: think of chipmunks living in fallen tree trunks near streams, and crayfish and other aquatic invertebrates (some that trout like to eat) finding shelter among debris in the streams.
OK, what about not-so-local conditions? Say you're pretty far upstream and you clear out your debris to get faster runoff or maybe just to make your lawn "prettier", and all your neighbors do the same. Then, when it rains more than the ground can absorb, all that water goes downstream, with its inevitable load of soil and whatever pollutants also ran off. So there is lots more water downstream, and those downstream neighbors get more flooded than they would have if you hadn't cleared out the upstream. (For example, Route 17 in Hackensack and Lyndhurst floods when it rains a lot in Mahwah in northern NJ.) In the meantime, because there's more water coming into the river, it's inevitably getting more soil, pollutants, and other stuff washing into the river. That means that the river in general is getting shallower and more prone to flooding. It's also getting more polluted (and so is the bay that the river goes into). Buffer zones of wetlands along a river provide conditions that break down pollutants and keep surface waters cleaner.
Debris is such a pejorative word. It sounds like "garbage" or "trash". Our society favors flat green monocultures, often of species that aren't native to the area. People remove trees and shrubs because of the "untidyness" of dropped leaves and limbs and seeds. We remove water and spray poisons to get rid of mosquitoes and other insects, even though those insects serves as food for other species. It's no wonder we're having a biodiversity crisis.
She says:
I took a look at your "ramblings" - interesting comments. I think I should clarify something we talked about that I didn't state well, about the debris that holds water. You have to think about the entire stream, even to what it flows into, when you think about debris. You also have to think about local conditions vs. what's happening farther away.
Let's start with local conditions. Say you have a stream in your backyard. Any rain that comes down too fast for the ground and vegetation and debris around the stream to absorb will run off into the stream. If you take out the "debris", it will run off faster. If there's enough water, it may even run off fast enough to remove vegetation. Certainly if you have bare soil, some of the bare soil will run off with the water. Vegetation and debris help hold the soil in place (vegetation is more effective at that), but some soil is likely to wash away in any case when there's a lot of water. If your house is right next to the stream, you may consider that faster runoff a good thing, but too much of it can take the soil away from your foundation. It's not considered very smart to build a house right next to a stream (in the stream's floodplain), and most places require buffer zones between construction and streams now. If your house is not right next to the stream, then, as the stream rises, the buffer zone with all the vegetation and debris will help hold the water away from your house. Debris also provides essential habitat for some wildlife: think of chipmunks living in fallen tree trunks near streams, and crayfish and other aquatic invertebrates (some that trout like to eat) finding shelter among debris in the streams.
OK, what about not-so-local conditions? Say you're pretty far upstream and you clear out your debris to get faster runoff or maybe just to make your lawn "prettier", and all your neighbors do the same. Then, when it rains more than the ground can absorb, all that water goes downstream, with its inevitable load of soil and whatever pollutants also ran off. So there is lots more water downstream, and those downstream neighbors get more flooded than they would have if you hadn't cleared out the upstream. (For example, Route 17 in Hackensack and Lyndhurst floods when it rains a lot in Mahwah in northern NJ.) In the meantime, because there's more water coming into the river, it's inevitably getting more soil, pollutants, and other stuff washing into the river. That means that the river in general is getting shallower and more prone to flooding. It's also getting more polluted (and so is the bay that the river goes into). Buffer zones of wetlands along a river provide conditions that break down pollutants and keep surface waters cleaner.
Debris is such a pejorative word. It sounds like "garbage" or "trash". Our society favors flat green monocultures, often of species that aren't native to the area. People remove trees and shrubs because of the "untidyness" of dropped leaves and limbs and seeds. We remove water and spray poisons to get rid of mosquitoes and other insects, even though those insects serves as food for other species. It's no wonder we're having a biodiversity crisis.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Never say never
Interesting how things work out. Earlier this week, I thought that I had nothing more to say about the aftermath of the June floods of the Delaware River. I was ready to move this blog in a different direction. The very next day after I posted this, I read about Gov. Corzine's announcement of his flood mitigation recommendations. As a result, I did have more to say about the floods. Or more correctly, more things to report.
I found myself thinking to never say never. So to speak. As I write this, I do have a couple of things that I want to write about that have nothing to do with the floods. And I am in the process of putting some of my own thoughts together about the floods. I am not ready to write about these thoughts yet.
In the meantime, I'm not exactly sure what my next entry will be about.
I found myself thinking to never say never. So to speak. As I write this, I do have a couple of things that I want to write about that have nothing to do with the floods. And I am in the process of putting some of my own thoughts together about the floods. I am not ready to write about these thoughts yet.
In the meantime, I'm not exactly sure what my next entry will be about.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thoughts on flood mitigation
I should be clear that while I have been following the aftermath of the recent floods in local media and various websites, and live not all that far from the Delaware River, I am not a resident of one of the river towns. Nor have I attended any meetings where residents of river towns may express their views on either Corzine's flood mitigation strategies or the final draft of the Delaware River Flood Mitigation Task Force.
The question that I have been thinking about is what do the residents of the river towns (those towns on the Delaware River) think of these two sets of strategies? I don't have an answer for this. If there happens to be anyone reading this blog who lives in any river town affected by the floods who would care to comment, I'd love to hear from you. Of course, I don't want to leave anyone out, I'd like to hear from you, no matter where you live, regarding any thoughts you might have on these flood mitigation strategies or the strategies of adjoining states.
The question that I have been thinking about is what do the residents of the river towns (those towns on the Delaware River) think of these two sets of strategies? I don't have an answer for this. If there happens to be anyone reading this blog who lives in any river town affected by the floods who would care to comment, I'd love to hear from you. Of course, I don't want to leave anyone out, I'd like to hear from you, no matter where you live, regarding any thoughts you might have on these flood mitigation strategies or the strategies of adjoining states.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Governor Corzine Announces New Flood Control Rules
I found this press release from NJ Governor Corzine on the on the NJ State website Governor's press release page on the NJ State Government site.
In today's Star Ledger, Steve Chambers and Jeff Whelan (Wed. Aug. 22 2006, Hunterdon and Somerset edition, section 2, pp. 13, 17) report that:
"Regulations to implement the proposal could be introduced as early as today and could be enacted after a public comment period without legislative approval."
The article may be found here for the next fourteen days (through Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006).
Aug-22-06 Governor Corzine Announces New Flood Control Rules
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Anthony Coley
Brendan Gilfillan
609-777-2600
GOVERNOR CORZINE ANNOUNCES NEW FLOOD CONTROL RULES
TRENTON- Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced significant changes to the rules of the Flood Hazard Area Control Act, as recommended by New Jersey’s Flood Mitigation Task Force report. He also announced that the state will pay the local communities’ share of FEMA’s costs associated with the July 2006 floods.
“We won’t ever stop floods from happening but we can mitigate their impact,” Governor Corzine said. “By implementing a number of new regulations, preventing development in flood-prone areas and improving drainage all along the Delaware Valley, we’re taking steps that provide both immediate and long-term impact.”
The new rules will clarify and reorganize New Jersey’s regulations to limit new development in flood plains. Current buffer zones of 25 to 50 feet will increase to 50, 150 or 300 feet depending on the category of the waterway. To provide additional buffer protection the administration will support the inclusion of funding within the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) for the purchase of low-lying properties, known as Blue Acres, which are prone to flooding.
“We believe these are substantive recommendations for averting destruction of property and for protecting lives in communities repeatedly ravaged by flooding,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson. “The regulations being proposed today are among the nation's strongest for providing stream-corridor protections and for imposing limitations on development in a flood plain.”
Environmentally responsible stream cleanings and the relocation and reconstruction of damaged buildings will be streamlined through increased access to general permits. Additionally, new permits-by-rule will give property owners authorization to undertake specific regulated activities without the need to obtain prior written approval from the DEP. This will streamline activities as complicated as using machinery to remove major obstructions from waterways or elevating buildings above flood hazard areas, as well as activities as simple as building a fence or a patio.
Adding fill, which includes construction material, buildings and roads, to a flood plain can make a river more prone to flooding. Current development rules require that if any fill is added to a flood plain, an 80% equivalent of that fill must also be removed from the same plain.
New rules will increase the requirement to 100% resulting in what is called 0% net fill.
Additionally, New Jersey is working with FEMA to modernize and digitize flood plain maps. This will result in more accurate maps that can be easily updated and used to more reliably predict future flooding.
Finally, steps are being taken to address several immediate local problem spots. The Department of Transportation (DOT) will evaluate possible drainage improvements along the Route 29 corridor. The DEP and the Natural Resource Conservation Service are currently exploring preventative measures to keep Swan Creek from backing up into Lambertville. The New Jersey Water Supply Authority has also hired an engineering firm to address breach concerns in the Stockton Canal, and is also clearing debris to improve drainage and make repairs all along the Delaware Canal.
In today's Star Ledger, Steve Chambers and Jeff Whelan (Wed. Aug. 22 2006, Hunterdon and Somerset edition, section 2, pp. 13, 17) report that:
"Regulations to implement the proposal could be introduced as early as today and could be enacted after a public comment period without legislative approval."
The article may be found here for the next fourteen days (through Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006).
Aug-22-06 Governor Corzine Announces New Flood Control Rules
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Anthony Coley
Brendan Gilfillan
609-777-2600
GOVERNOR CORZINE ANNOUNCES NEW FLOOD CONTROL RULES
TRENTON- Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced significant changes to the rules of the Flood Hazard Area Control Act, as recommended by New Jersey’s Flood Mitigation Task Force report. He also announced that the state will pay the local communities’ share of FEMA’s costs associated with the July 2006 floods.
“We won’t ever stop floods from happening but we can mitigate their impact,” Governor Corzine said. “By implementing a number of new regulations, preventing development in flood-prone areas and improving drainage all along the Delaware Valley, we’re taking steps that provide both immediate and long-term impact.”
The new rules will clarify and reorganize New Jersey’s regulations to limit new development in flood plains. Current buffer zones of 25 to 50 feet will increase to 50, 150 or 300 feet depending on the category of the waterway. To provide additional buffer protection the administration will support the inclusion of funding within the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) for the purchase of low-lying properties, known as Blue Acres, which are prone to flooding.
“We believe these are substantive recommendations for averting destruction of property and for protecting lives in communities repeatedly ravaged by flooding,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson. “The regulations being proposed today are among the nation's strongest for providing stream-corridor protections and for imposing limitations on development in a flood plain.”
Environmentally responsible stream cleanings and the relocation and reconstruction of damaged buildings will be streamlined through increased access to general permits. Additionally, new permits-by-rule will give property owners authorization to undertake specific regulated activities without the need to obtain prior written approval from the DEP. This will streamline activities as complicated as using machinery to remove major obstructions from waterways or elevating buildings above flood hazard areas, as well as activities as simple as building a fence or a patio.
Adding fill, which includes construction material, buildings and roads, to a flood plain can make a river more prone to flooding. Current development rules require that if any fill is added to a flood plain, an 80% equivalent of that fill must also be removed from the same plain.
New rules will increase the requirement to 100% resulting in what is called 0% net fill.
Additionally, New Jersey is working with FEMA to modernize and digitize flood plain maps. This will result in more accurate maps that can be easily updated and used to more reliably predict future flooding.
Finally, steps are being taken to address several immediate local problem spots. The Department of Transportation (DOT) will evaluate possible drainage improvements along the Route 29 corridor. The DEP and the Natural Resource Conservation Service are currently exploring preventative measures to keep Swan Creek from backing up into Lambertville. The New Jersey Water Supply Authority has also hired an engineering firm to address breach concerns in the Stockton Canal, and is also clearing debris to improve drainage and make repairs all along the Delaware Canal.
NJ Flood Mitigation Task Force Report
After I wrote last night, that I nothing more to say about the recent floods, I read about the final report of the Delaware River Flood Mitigation Task Force in this morning's Star Ledger. After the September 2004 and April 2005 floods, Acting Governor Codey created the Delaware River Flood Mitigation Task Force (DRFMTF). Their final report was released on Tuesday, August 22 and is available in its entirety here. Note that you will need Adobe Reader to read the file.
I did found this paragraph from the report's executive summary (New Jersey Flood Mitigation Task Force 2006, p. 2) to be a concise summary of the issues of concern:
"The Task Force has found that damage during these events was disproportionately attributable to patterns of development that are insensitive to flooding and the lack of adequate hazard mitigation planning. The Task Force further found that recovery in the aftermath of the floods was hampered by inconsistent approaches by government agencies, uncertainty and gaps in relevant rules and regulations; and regulatory and bureaucratic barriers to appropriate reconstruction. In view of continued development pressures and expected continued increases in hurricane activity over the next several decades, significant changes in policy, management, planning, and development will be needed to limit New Jersey's risk of loss from future flood events in the Delaware basin. New Jersey is the state with the fourth largest number of repetitive loss properties and fourth largest in the total amount of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) payouts."
The NJFMTF then makes a series of recommendations (I counted 23) that are summarized after the executive summary in about three pages. These recommendations are grouped into the following categories (each with a number of recommendations):
1. Regulatory protection of flood plains and homes must be strengthened.
2. Mitigation and Control Measures should be pursued.
3. Planning and additional resources are needed to reduce flood risk.
4. Homeowners need focused assistance before and after flooding.
It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how many of these recommendations are implemented and/or modified over the coming months as they wend there way through New Jersey's legislative or gubernatorial processes over the coming months.
I did found this paragraph from the report's executive summary (New Jersey Flood Mitigation Task Force 2006, p. 2) to be a concise summary of the issues of concern:
"The Task Force has found that damage during these events was disproportionately attributable to patterns of development that are insensitive to flooding and the lack of adequate hazard mitigation planning. The Task Force further found that recovery in the aftermath of the floods was hampered by inconsistent approaches by government agencies, uncertainty and gaps in relevant rules and regulations; and regulatory and bureaucratic barriers to appropriate reconstruction. In view of continued development pressures and expected continued increases in hurricane activity over the next several decades, significant changes in policy, management, planning, and development will be needed to limit New Jersey's risk of loss from future flood events in the Delaware basin. New Jersey is the state with the fourth largest number of repetitive loss properties and fourth largest in the total amount of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) payouts."
The NJFMTF then makes a series of recommendations (I counted 23) that are summarized after the executive summary in about three pages. These recommendations are grouped into the following categories (each with a number of recommendations):
1. Regulatory protection of flood plains and homes must be strengthened.
2. Mitigation and Control Measures should be pursued.
3. Planning and additional resources are needed to reduce flood risk.
4. Homeowners need focused assistance before and after flooding.
It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how many of these recommendations are implemented and/or modified over the coming months as they wend there way through New Jersey's legislative or gubernatorial processes over the coming months.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
side bar
I do not think that I can say anymore about the late June 2006 flooding of the Delaware River, at least for the time being. I am also back home from my most recent hiatus. I am still not quite caught up with myself. Nonetheless, I hope to be writing in the blog on a more regular basis then I have been.
I will take this opportunity to take this blog in a slightly different direction and offer some reflections and observations from my summer journeys. Unfortunately, my time runs short today, so the first of these observations will have to wait for tomorrow.
I will take this opportunity to take this blog in a slightly different direction and offer some reflections and observations from my summer journeys. Unfortunately, my time runs short today, so the first of these observations will have to wait for tomorrow.
More on debris in creeks
While we were on our most recent hiatus I had the chance to talk about the most recent flooding on the Delaware River with an environmental scientist. I learned some thing about debris in stream and creek tributaries of rivers. Since I wondered about local media reports of the flooding of creek–tributaries of the Delaware River and the River itself in late June and the concern that debris in these creeks may have contributed to the flooding, I am writing about what I learned from my friend.
I took an opportunity to steer our conversation to the issue of debris in the creek–tributaries of the Delaware because I was curious about what she would say. She told me that leaf litter absorbs water. Thinking about the sometimes pain in the you know what that wet leaves can be, this made a lot of sense. Who among us hasn’t slipped on wet leaves at one time or the other?
I recall that a fair amount of the debris that I spotted a few weeks ago and wrote about in earlier entries was leaf litter. Much of the rest was tree branches and or tree trunks of varying sizes. My friend pointed out that trees as well as leaves absorb water. The stated implications of our conversation being that leaf litter and tree branches and/or trunks in creeks may actually help reduce the flooding problem as opposed to contributing to flooding of these creeks and tributaries.
Of course, all this is academic when you consider that neither of us had seen the affected creeks in the days leading up to the most recent floods or in the days immediately after the flood receded. Perhaps the debris in the creeks did create enough of a “damming effect” to force the creek waters to rise and flood earlier then they would have other wise. I also recall that in July 6, 2006 article, the Hunterdon Democrat reported that pipe leading to the Delaware in the vicinity of the Swan Creek –– one of the tributaries of the Delaware –– was clogged with debris, leading to flooding in the area of the Swan Creek. The article did not report on the nature of the debris.
I did learn something from my friend. However, I find myself left with a lot of unanswered questions. At this point, I don’t think that I have any easy answers. When and if I come upon information that may shed light on the issues that I have raised, I will offer them here. Or, if any of you have any experiences or insights, please share them in the comments section
In the meantime, my curiosity is now sufficiently aroused that I may want to take the time to walk along some of the creek–tributaries in Lambertville and the other River towns to see how much debris is still left in these tributaries and the nature of the debris.
I took an opportunity to steer our conversation to the issue of debris in the creek–tributaries of the Delaware because I was curious about what she would say. She told me that leaf litter absorbs water. Thinking about the sometimes pain in the you know what that wet leaves can be, this made a lot of sense. Who among us hasn’t slipped on wet leaves at one time or the other?
I recall that a fair amount of the debris that I spotted a few weeks ago and wrote about in earlier entries was leaf litter. Much of the rest was tree branches and or tree trunks of varying sizes. My friend pointed out that trees as well as leaves absorb water. The stated implications of our conversation being that leaf litter and tree branches and/or trunks in creeks may actually help reduce the flooding problem as opposed to contributing to flooding of these creeks and tributaries.
Of course, all this is academic when you consider that neither of us had seen the affected creeks in the days leading up to the most recent floods or in the days immediately after the flood receded. Perhaps the debris in the creeks did create enough of a “damming effect” to force the creek waters to rise and flood earlier then they would have other wise. I also recall that in July 6, 2006 article, the Hunterdon Democrat reported that pipe leading to the Delaware in the vicinity of the Swan Creek –– one of the tributaries of the Delaware –– was clogged with debris, leading to flooding in the area of the Swan Creek. The article did not report on the nature of the debris.
I did learn something from my friend. However, I find myself left with a lot of unanswered questions. At this point, I don’t think that I have any easy answers. When and if I come upon information that may shed light on the issues that I have raised, I will offer them here. Or, if any of you have any experiences or insights, please share them in the comments section
In the meantime, my curiosity is now sufficiently aroused that I may want to take the time to walk along some of the creek–tributaries in Lambertville and the other River towns to see how much debris is still left in these tributaries and the nature of the debris.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Update on Lambertville-New Hope Bridge
On July 6, 2006, The Hunterdon Democrat reported on an engineer’s inspection of the Lambertville–New Hope bridge. The lowest visible portion of the bridge deck of the Lambertville–New Hope Bridge suffered some minor damage in the form of “slight denting.” None of the piers were damaged. The bridge passed weight–bearing load tests. Repairs will be necessary, and the Hunterdon Democrat is reporting that the engineers are saying that bridge is safe for vehicular traffic.
The assumption being that this was the result of damage from floating debris. This bridge, like the other crossings, were inspected prior to reopening to be sure that both the bridge and the roads were safe to reopen. The Hunterdon Democrat did make two interesting points in regards to the Lambertville–New Hope Bridge. One is that Emergency responders are encouraged to use the toll bridge (a couple of miles north) when possible. The second point is that guards are on duty 24 hours a day to enforce weight limits.
This bridge is known by locals as “the free bridge” when compared to the toll bridge where U.S. Highway 202 crosses the Delaware River about two miles north of the free bridge. For those of you who are not familiar with these two rivertowns, the free bridge connects the shopping/restaurant districts of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA. Any longer–term closing of the free bridge has the potential to severely impact businesses in both towns.
I was interested in the fact the Hunterdon Democrat made a point of saying that guards are on duty 24 hours to enforce weight limits. Is this the normal course of operations for the bridge? I can only hope so. Weight limits should be enforced at all times, not just after a flood when the bridge sustained some minor damage.
I am sure that the Hunterdon Democrat will report on the status of these repairs if they are deemed newsworthy. This should be easy for me to do because I get the Hunterdon Democrat delivered to my home. I will monitor the local press over the coming weeks and months and report back here if anything interesting happens.
The assumption being that this was the result of damage from floating debris. This bridge, like the other crossings, were inspected prior to reopening to be sure that both the bridge and the roads were safe to reopen. The Hunterdon Democrat did make two interesting points in regards to the Lambertville–New Hope Bridge. One is that Emergency responders are encouraged to use the toll bridge (a couple of miles north) when possible. The second point is that guards are on duty 24 hours a day to enforce weight limits.
This bridge is known by locals as “the free bridge” when compared to the toll bridge where U.S. Highway 202 crosses the Delaware River about two miles north of the free bridge. For those of you who are not familiar with these two rivertowns, the free bridge connects the shopping/restaurant districts of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA. Any longer–term closing of the free bridge has the potential to severely impact businesses in both towns.
I was interested in the fact the Hunterdon Democrat made a point of saying that guards are on duty 24 hours to enforce weight limits. Is this the normal course of operations for the bridge? I can only hope so. Weight limits should be enforced at all times, not just after a flood when the bridge sustained some minor damage.
I am sure that the Hunterdon Democrat will report on the status of these repairs if they are deemed newsworthy. This should be easy for me to do because I get the Hunterdon Democrat delivered to my home. I will monitor the local press over the coming weeks and months and report back here if anything interesting happens.
A walk with no batteries and hot air ballons
As I write this I am on another hiatus. I am hoping that I will have an Internet connection in our hotel where I can upload this and other entries to this blog. If you are like me, you have a list of things that you want to get done, both for work and around your house, before you go on hiatus. Well, one of the things on my list was to get my digital camera, avail myself of slightly cooler temperatures, and take a walk on the section of the canal north of Lambertville where I reported seeing debris in a recent blog entry.
I thought I was so smart. I dragged my friend with me for company, and we drove to Lambertville, finding a place to park not all that far from the first place where I saw the debris. After about a ten-minute walk, I saw a larger piece of debris just before the canal crosses under a railroad bridge. I got out my camera. And nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. Then I looked down at my camera and say the words that I feared, “recharge your battery.”
I was not happy, but I knew immediately what had happened. The week before, I went to a balloon festival not far from my house to watch an early morning balloon launch. I took my camera, and because the balloons were launching and flying over where we seated, I took a lot of pictures (75). Because I kept zooming in and out, I used up my battery. And I didn’t recharge. Dumb.
So, I still have to go back and take pictures of debris for you. And I will. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Lambertville, NJ at the moment. Since I did promise you some pictures, I have uploaded a couple of pictures from the ballon festival.
I thought I was so smart. I dragged my friend with me for company, and we drove to Lambertville, finding a place to park not all that far from the first place where I saw the debris. After about a ten-minute walk, I saw a larger piece of debris just before the canal crosses under a railroad bridge. I got out my camera. And nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. Then I looked down at my camera and say the words that I feared, “recharge your battery.”
I was not happy, but I knew immediately what had happened. The week before, I went to a balloon festival not far from my house to watch an early morning balloon launch. I took my camera, and because the balloons were launching and flying over where we seated, I took a lot of pictures (75). Because I kept zooming in and out, I used up my battery. And I didn’t recharge. Dumb.
So, I still have to go back and take pictures of debris for you. And I will. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Lambertville, NJ at the moment. Since I did promise you some pictures, I have uploaded a couple of pictures from the ballon festival.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
awesome videos of floods in Frenchtown NJ
Frenchtown is about ten miles north of Lambertville NJ on the Delaware. In one of my earlier posts, I posted a link to some photos posted on the website of Emergency Management Services of Hunterdon County. For those of you who haven't visited this site in the past couple of weeks, I urge you to go back to the Hunterdon County EMS site to see some really awesome videos taken by Donna and Bill Knispel of Frenchtown NJ.
Speaking of debris, this video clip taken by the Knispels shows a rather large tree floating down the River.
I was able to view these video clips on my Mac with Quicktime. I don't know what you PC folk use to see videos on the web. I'd imagine that one of your windows programs will do fine.
Speaking of debris, this video clip taken by the Knispels shows a rather large tree floating down the River.
I was able to view these video clips on my Mac with Quicktime. I don't know what you PC folk use to see videos on the web. I'd imagine that one of your windows programs will do fine.
Another picture of floods in Lambertville NJ
At the time that I made my entry, floods part 3 on July 7, on the Delaware River floods of June 29, I was not able to find a picture of the parking lot at the Lambertville Station in Lambertville where I took my photographs. I thought that it might be interesting to post a link to a picture. Well, I finally was able to spend some time on the website of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) . They have a webpage with links to variety of information on the June 2006 floods . I have downloaded some documents from that website that I am in the process of reading. When I am finished reading these documents, I will post my thoughts and impressions here.
When I got to the DRBC June 2006 flood page, I scrolled down to the link for photographs and found this photograph . Note that the floodwaters go almost up to the top of the arches on the “first floor” of the inn at Lambertville Station. Pretty impressive. The place where I was standing to take the photographs of the Lambertville-New Hope Bridge was probably in about eight feet of water. At least this is my guesstimate.
Speaking of the bridge, I read in one of the local papers recently that there was a possibility that there was some damage from debris to the bridge in the River. I have to say that having seen the river a day after both the June 2006 floods and the April 2005 floods, that I saw some pretty impressive trees floating in the River. Really big trees. So, I am not surprised about the possibility of damage to the bridge. This to is something that I want to follow-up on and will write about here. Speaking of debris, apparently one of the issues that the folk in the towns along the River (and others) is the issue of debris in the creeks that flow into the River. There is a creek a couple of blocks south of the Lambertville Station called the Swan Creek. The Swan Creek flooded, and if there is any debris in the creek from either the Sept. 2004 or the April 2005 floods, then I can only imagine that this could of made the Swan Creek flooding worse.
We went for a walk this past Sunday, about 2 miles north on the canal that is about one city block in from the River. We passed two places where there were bridge abutments, sorry no pictures yet (to be honest, I was so hot, I couldn’t deal with standing in the sun to take pictures). The first was when an old railroad crossed the canal on elevated track. The second was another bridge where some sort of creek with a small waterfall met the canal. At both bridges, I saw a large amount of what I call tree litter, branches of various sizes. When it cools down a little, I am going to go back and take some pictures. Again, stay tuned.
In closing, one picture I did take last Sunday was a picture of the Lambertville-New Hope Bridge. This picture shows the River at more or less “normal” level. If you look closely, you will see a little bit of dirt around the bridge abutments. If you go back to my July 7 entry, you won't see any dirt around the bridge abutments.
When I got to the DRBC June 2006 flood page, I scrolled down to the link for photographs and found this photograph . Note that the floodwaters go almost up to the top of the arches on the “first floor” of the inn at Lambertville Station. Pretty impressive. The place where I was standing to take the photographs of the Lambertville-New Hope Bridge was probably in about eight feet of water. At least this is my guesstimate.
Speaking of the bridge, I read in one of the local papers recently that there was a possibility that there was some damage from debris to the bridge in the River. I have to say that having seen the river a day after both the June 2006 floods and the April 2005 floods, that I saw some pretty impressive trees floating in the River. Really big trees. So, I am not surprised about the possibility of damage to the bridge. This to is something that I want to follow-up on and will write about here. Speaking of debris, apparently one of the issues that the folk in the towns along the River (and others) is the issue of debris in the creeks that flow into the River. There is a creek a couple of blocks south of the Lambertville Station called the Swan Creek. The Swan Creek flooded, and if there is any debris in the creek from either the Sept. 2004 or the April 2005 floods, then I can only imagine that this could of made the Swan Creek flooding worse.
We went for a walk this past Sunday, about 2 miles north on the canal that is about one city block in from the River. We passed two places where there were bridge abutments, sorry no pictures yet (to be honest, I was so hot, I couldn’t deal with standing in the sun to take pictures). The first was when an old railroad crossed the canal on elevated track. The second was another bridge where some sort of creek with a small waterfall met the canal. At both bridges, I saw a large amount of what I call tree litter, branches of various sizes. When it cools down a little, I am going to go back and take some pictures. Again, stay tuned.
In closing, one picture I did take last Sunday was a picture of the Lambertville-New Hope Bridge. This picture shows the River at more or less “normal” level. If you look closely, you will see a little bit of dirt around the bridge abutments. If you go back to my July 7 entry, you won't see any dirt around the bridge abutments.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
universal blood donor
A few years ago, I worked almost next door to one of the main offices of the New York Blood Services. I kept thinking that I should take the time to give someone the gift of life by donating my blood. For a few years I couldn’t donate blood because I was slightly anemic. That problem was later solved, but I kept avoiding the very easy opportunity to donate blood by walking two blocks down the street.
After the annual blood drive at my former place of employment, I decided to walk down the street to donate another pint of blood. They asked me if I would consider donating platelets and red cells. If memory serves, platelets help an open wound to stop bleeding. Cancer patients, among others, may need several pints of platelets a day. Red cells carry oxygen and are often transfused during surgery or in the emergency room after an accident.
Donating platelets requires about two hours. I didn’t have time to donate that day, but I scheduled an appointment to donate platelets after enough had passed after the whole blood donation I made that day. Like many blood donors, I too had the feeling that I was making a difference to someone. I went back on a semi–regular basis for a couple of years to donate double platelets. The last I checked, you can donate platelets every 72 hours up to something like 24 donations per year. However, the folk at the blood center that I have gone to say that a more typical pattern is to donate every couple of weeks. We can donate red cells every 56 days. So, I would donate red cells and double platelets if the requisite 56 days had passed since my last donation. When I left the job that was down the street from the main office of the NY blood services, I found another center a few miles from my house. Sometime last summer, I got my “gallon card”, meaning that I had donated one gallon of blood.
I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t donated blood in ten months. With the exception of the times I had colds and the other times when I was talking aspirin products, I had no good excuse for not donating blood. The blood services kept after me, and with each reminder, I felt suitably guilty and promised to do something tomorrow. Only tomorrow came and I would have some reason why I did not make the appointment.
A few days ago, I got a card from the blood services, reminding me I have type O blood, making me a universal donor. I put it on my desk where I would see it every time I sat down. This went on for a couple of days. My current excuse of “I can’t afford to take two hours out of my day plus drive time to the nearest blood center” didn’t hold water any more. What is two hours out of my life every two to four weeks to give someone life saving blood products? In addition, it is the middle of the summer in a major heat wave. The supply of blood at the blood banks will be short, and I have heard that blood drives have been cancelled because of the heat. The kicker was knowing yet another person who is living with cancer. So, I knew that it was time to get off my you know what and make an appointment.
There are many of you who can not give blood for good reasons. If you can, won’t you consider doing so? It doesn’t have to be platelets. Donating whole blood takes only about 20 to 30 minutes. For the location of a blood drive close to where you live and/or work, contact your local blood services.
After the annual blood drive at my former place of employment, I decided to walk down the street to donate another pint of blood. They asked me if I would consider donating platelets and red cells. If memory serves, platelets help an open wound to stop bleeding. Cancer patients, among others, may need several pints of platelets a day. Red cells carry oxygen and are often transfused during surgery or in the emergency room after an accident.
Donating platelets requires about two hours. I didn’t have time to donate that day, but I scheduled an appointment to donate platelets after enough had passed after the whole blood donation I made that day. Like many blood donors, I too had the feeling that I was making a difference to someone. I went back on a semi–regular basis for a couple of years to donate double platelets. The last I checked, you can donate platelets every 72 hours up to something like 24 donations per year. However, the folk at the blood center that I have gone to say that a more typical pattern is to donate every couple of weeks. We can donate red cells every 56 days. So, I would donate red cells and double platelets if the requisite 56 days had passed since my last donation. When I left the job that was down the street from the main office of the NY blood services, I found another center a few miles from my house. Sometime last summer, I got my “gallon card”, meaning that I had donated one gallon of blood.
I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t donated blood in ten months. With the exception of the times I had colds and the other times when I was talking aspirin products, I had no good excuse for not donating blood. The blood services kept after me, and with each reminder, I felt suitably guilty and promised to do something tomorrow. Only tomorrow came and I would have some reason why I did not make the appointment.
A few days ago, I got a card from the blood services, reminding me I have type O blood, making me a universal donor. I put it on my desk where I would see it every time I sat down. This went on for a couple of days. My current excuse of “I can’t afford to take two hours out of my day plus drive time to the nearest blood center” didn’t hold water any more. What is two hours out of my life every two to four weeks to give someone life saving blood products? In addition, it is the middle of the summer in a major heat wave. The supply of blood at the blood banks will be short, and I have heard that blood drives have been cancelled because of the heat. The kicker was knowing yet another person who is living with cancer. So, I knew that it was time to get off my you know what and make an appointment.
There are many of you who can not give blood for good reasons. If you can, won’t you consider doing so? It doesn’t have to be platelets. Donating whole blood takes only about 20 to 30 minutes. For the location of a blood drive close to where you live and/or work, contact your local blood services.
back from hiatus #1
I returned from my hiatus in rural northern New England ten days ago, rejoining the land of high–speed Internet access. Actually, this time it was a little better. Instead of the 33K connection of one year ago, I had about 50K. I really did need the internet access for the first week of my hiatus because I was in the midst of doing final revisions on an article that I hope will be published later this year.
I have been back over one week and it has been difficult for me to get back to my writing. Perhaps this was because I spent some time during my first week of vacation on e–mail getting some information that I needed for my revisions and then writing the final draft. Somehow writing in this blog is the necessary first step in getting back to my writing.
I have been back over one week and it has been difficult for me to get back to my writing. Perhaps this was because I spent some time during my first week of vacation on e–mail getting some information that I needed for my revisions and then writing the final draft. Somehow writing in this blog is the necessary first step in getting back to my writing.
Friday, July 07, 2006
hiatus
I am going on haitus for a while. Into the land of dial-up internet access, so I may not post to this blog for a couple of weeks.
Floods part 3
The pictures that I am posting here were talking last Saturday (July 1) from Lambertville NJ. The river was well below flood stage by this time, but was still running a little high. I could tell because some of the trees on the banks were partially submerged. These are trees that are normally completely out of the water.
The Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management has information on flood levels. You may need to scroll down a little to see the chart. To put this in context, flood stage of the Delaware River at New Hope, PA is 13 feet. New Hope is across the River from Lambertville. I got the information from the weather service, in case you want to check it out. According to Hunterdon County EMS, the River crested at 19.5 feet, the same level as the 2005 floods and below the 24.7 feet recorded from the 1955 floods. I may have said in an earlier post that the 1955 floods, from two back to back hurricanes, seem to be the one that all others are compared to.
In Lambertville, there is an Inn, and a restaurant next to the River, Lambertville Station. The parking lot is next to the river.
Note the arches on the building in the Inn in the photo. According to some footage I saw on the local news a good bit of those arches were under water during the flood. The rooms on the "first floor" are above the arches and, were not flooded (as far as I know). By the way, the restaurant is in a separate building a short distance from the Inn, fronting on Bridge St. Bridge St, as its name implies leads to what the locals refer to as the "free bridge" to New Hope. The picture of the bridge was taken a couple of days after the April 2005 floods, so the River was still high. This was the only photo taken after the April 2005 floods, all the others were taken on July 1. 2006.
The picture of the River is taken from this same parking lot, looking south, towards Trenton. If you stand and watch the River long enough after a flood, you will see all kinds of debris in the river. It is very awesome to think that the spot where I was standing was probably under a few feet of water. I got a small taste of the power of the River.
The street, is Lambert La, if memory serves, and is across the street from the Lambertville Station. It is a mix of commercial and residential. The afternoon we were there, some haz mat vehicles were still on site. Lambert Lane borders the River. This street was still blocked off the day we were there, and the free bridge was still closed, barricaded by the police. I took the liberty of quickly stepping over the yellow tape to take this picture.
Other river towns along the both sides of the Delaware were flooded, we went to Lambertville because the road was open. For the geographically inclined, here is a map. I hope this works, it is supposed to be a google map showing both the roads and the satellite view.
The Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management has information on flood levels. You may need to scroll down a little to see the chart. To put this in context, flood stage of the Delaware River at New Hope, PA is 13 feet. New Hope is across the River from Lambertville. I got the information from the weather service, in case you want to check it out. According to Hunterdon County EMS, the River crested at 19.5 feet, the same level as the 2005 floods and below the 24.7 feet recorded from the 1955 floods. I may have said in an earlier post that the 1955 floods, from two back to back hurricanes, seem to be the one that all others are compared to.
In Lambertville, there is an Inn, and a restaurant next to the River, Lambertville Station. The parking lot is next to the river.
Note the arches on the building in the Inn in the photo. According to some footage I saw on the local news a good bit of those arches were under water during the flood. The rooms on the "first floor" are above the arches and, were not flooded (as far as I know). By the way, the restaurant is in a separate building a short distance from the Inn, fronting on Bridge St. Bridge St, as its name implies leads to what the locals refer to as the "free bridge" to New Hope. The picture of the bridge was taken a couple of days after the April 2005 floods, so the River was still high. This was the only photo taken after the April 2005 floods, all the others were taken on July 1. 2006.
The picture of the River is taken from this same parking lot, looking south, towards Trenton. If you stand and watch the River long enough after a flood, you will see all kinds of debris in the river. It is very awesome to think that the spot where I was standing was probably under a few feet of water. I got a small taste of the power of the River.
The street, is Lambert La, if memory serves, and is across the street from the Lambertville Station. It is a mix of commercial and residential. The afternoon we were there, some haz mat vehicles were still on site. Lambert Lane borders the River. This street was still blocked off the day we were there, and the free bridge was still closed, barricaded by the police. I took the liberty of quickly stepping over the yellow tape to take this picture.
Other river towns along the both sides of the Delaware were flooded, we went to Lambertville because the road was open. For the geographically inclined, here is a map. I hope this works, it is supposed to be a google map showing both the roads and the satellite view.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Floods part 2
The flood waters on the Delaware River have receded. I went to one of the river towns over the weekend and took some pictures. I need to spend a little time learning how to post pictures here. So, be patient, and I'll try to do this in a day or so. In the meantime, you may go here to see some pictures.
I ran into someone earlier this evening who lives in one of the towns along the Delaware. Her side of the street was dry, the other side was flooded. We talked about the River and what might be done about the flooding. We didn't come up with any answers.
More later.
I ran into someone earlier this evening who lives in one of the towns along the Delaware. Her side of the street was dry, the other side was flooded. We talked about the River and what might be done about the flooding. We didn't come up with any answers.
More later.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Global Warming and Poison Ivy
I did something a little dumb last week. I can be a little single minded at times, so while I was researching and then writing an article that I have since completed, I was neglecting both my weeding and my planting. About one week ago in a break from the rains, I went out and planted a small coleus sprout that we had rooted in one of my flower beds. This is where we plant coleus each year and the weeds were almost overtaking the coleus. So, I pulled out all the weeds and threw them in a pile on my lawn.
The pile of weeds was to large to scatter on the lawn to be cut up the next time the grass was cut, so with out thinking, I gathered up the weeds and disposed of them. A day latter, I noticed the telltale signs of Poison Ivy on my arms. Fortunately only small patches. I quickly applied some Caladryl lotion and the rash has not spread. Now I know what poison ivy looks like. And i could swear I didn't see any. There must of been a small amount of poison ivy in that bundle of weeds that I so blithly picked up and disposed of.
Yesterday, I was greeting a friend of mine, being very careful to not expose her to my Poison Ivy.
I told her that "I hadn't seen any."
She replied, "it can be very insidious."
Then she told me that she had read that global warming was making for more virulent Poison Ivy. I sighed and told her that I had seen the article, and commented that I was in fact writing about global warming earlier.
So now, not only do we have to worry about an increase in storms, melting polar caps, and changing coastlines; those of us who are gardeners or spend any time outside have to worry about an even more virulent form of poison ivy.
I still have more weeding to do. Anyone who gardens has weeding. And all the rains we have had recently, all 8+ inches has done wonders for my weeds.
The pile of weeds was to large to scatter on the lawn to be cut up the next time the grass was cut, so with out thinking, I gathered up the weeds and disposed of them. A day latter, I noticed the telltale signs of Poison Ivy on my arms. Fortunately only small patches. I quickly applied some Caladryl lotion and the rash has not spread. Now I know what poison ivy looks like. And i could swear I didn't see any. There must of been a small amount of poison ivy in that bundle of weeds that I so blithly picked up and disposed of.
Yesterday, I was greeting a friend of mine, being very careful to not expose her to my Poison Ivy.
I told her that "I hadn't seen any."
She replied, "it can be very insidious."
Then she told me that she had read that global warming was making for more virulent Poison Ivy. I sighed and told her that I had seen the article, and commented that I was in fact writing about global warming earlier.
So now, not only do we have to worry about an increase in storms, melting polar caps, and changing coastlines; those of us who are gardeners or spend any time outside have to worry about an even more virulent form of poison ivy.
I still have more weeding to do. Anyone who gardens has weeding. And all the rains we have had recently, all 8+ inches has done wonders for my weeds.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Floods Part 1
As I sit here, about fifteen miles east of the Delaware River in central New Jersey, the Delaware River is cresting. The third time in less than two years. Around here, the flood that every other flood is compared to is the 1955 flood. It doesn't look like the flooding will be as bad as 1955. And perhaps it won't be as bad as the floods of April 2005. And New Jersey is not alone. Other areas have been hit hard by flooding from the rains of the last few days - Maryland, New York, Pennsylvannia to name a few. Earler this year there was Massachusetts. And then there was New Hampshire last fall.
As I was reflecting on the floods and following news reports and flood reports, I found myself thinking about the latest round of floods and wondering about the reprecussions of these floods.
No, I don't mean the financial and emotional reprecussions of the areas impacted and the people who are impacted. I do want to say that I by no means diminish what they are going through. I can't even imagine it. Here in the NYC and Philadelphia media market, the floods are the leading story, as they probably are elsewhere. There are the arguments that we are all so familiar with about global warming leading to more frequent storms.
As a planner, and no I am not a "town planner", I find myself wondering if there is a better way to plan and prepare for floods and other natural disasters. Yes, we can have workable evacuation plans, shelters, good communications, financial help for cleaning up, etc. etc. But all the best plans and preparations won't make the floods go somewhere else. And people will die.
But I found myself thinking about the larger picture. And I come back to global warming. I don't have any answers. Just these incomplete thoughts that I am sharing here.
Of course, the people living along the Delaware probably don't give squat about global warming right now. And what I write isn't going to help them. But it helps me to express these thoughts here.
As I was reflecting on the floods and following news reports and flood reports, I found myself thinking about the latest round of floods and wondering about the reprecussions of these floods.
No, I don't mean the financial and emotional reprecussions of the areas impacted and the people who are impacted. I do want to say that I by no means diminish what they are going through. I can't even imagine it. Here in the NYC and Philadelphia media market, the floods are the leading story, as they probably are elsewhere. There are the arguments that we are all so familiar with about global warming leading to more frequent storms.
As a planner, and no I am not a "town planner", I find myself wondering if there is a better way to plan and prepare for floods and other natural disasters. Yes, we can have workable evacuation plans, shelters, good communications, financial help for cleaning up, etc. etc. But all the best plans and preparations won't make the floods go somewhere else. And people will die.
But I found myself thinking about the larger picture. And I come back to global warming. I don't have any answers. Just these incomplete thoughts that I am sharing here.
Of course, the people living along the Delaware probably don't give squat about global warming right now. And what I write isn't going to help them. But it helps me to express these thoughts here.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Trees
I have been thinking of sticking my toe into the world of blogging for some time now. I am not quite sure where I am going to go with this particular blog.
When I started this blog, I gave it the temporary name of treehugger in honor of my special relationship with trees. This special relationship goes back to when I was a small child seeking sanctuary in the higher reaches of the Norway Spruce trees next to our house. What seemed like a forest to a six-year old was probably only two or three trees. But they were my friends. And others have joined the ranks of my friends as the years rolled on.
I drove by that house several years ago and noted that the trees were gone. But they live on in my heart.
Today I live in another house in another state and a few decades have passed since I was six. I have a couple of Norway Spruces along with several other trees in my yard. I no longer climb trees. Being somewhat heavier than I was at six, I think that my friends appreciate that I love them from the ground.
I have since changed the name of this blog to random ramblings. Somehow this name seemed more fitting
When I started this blog, I gave it the temporary name of treehugger in honor of my special relationship with trees. This special relationship goes back to when I was a small child seeking sanctuary in the higher reaches of the Norway Spruce trees next to our house. What seemed like a forest to a six-year old was probably only two or three trees. But they were my friends. And others have joined the ranks of my friends as the years rolled on.
I drove by that house several years ago and noted that the trees were gone. But they live on in my heart.
Today I live in another house in another state and a few decades have passed since I was six. I have a couple of Norway Spruces along with several other trees in my yard. I no longer climb trees. Being somewhat heavier than I was at six, I think that my friends appreciate that I love them from the ground.
I have since changed the name of this blog to random ramblings. Somehow this name seemed more fitting
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