When I was a boy, in the '50s, I lived during what I called "the coal age". Oil, that black gunky stuff known as petroleum or "rock oil" had been in common use for a hundred years, but coal was still king in Brooklyn. Everyone on our block heated their homes with coal. The end product of coal burning--ash and little sharp nuggets called cinders were everywhere. My grandparents big back yard on 56th Street was surfaced with coal ash and cinders. Piles of cinders were commonly used for fill. I fell into a pile as a child and still carry a bit of cinder in my chin. The cinders in grandma's yard made a good hard surface, though a little crunchy to walk on. After a while a few hardy plants grew up through the cinders, and I recall grandma grew the best and most fragrant lillies of the valley right in the cinders. Tough, metal-ringed ash-barrels, not flimsy garbage cans, were a common sight on the sidewalks, or tucked away in a corner of the back yard or in an alleyway. In those days, there was more ash and less "garbage" since lots of waste was simply burned on the coal fire. The coal age had its advantages for our house pets too. When our dog Queenie was given a bone too big for her present appetite she would simply take it in her teeth and quickly head down the cellar stairs to the coal bin to hide it. Soon we could hear her digging in the coal bin and the coal slide and slump downward as she dug into the base of the pile. I guess few of her buried dog bones were ever recovered. They were often shoveled up with the coal and went right into the boiler. I do wonder though how mom let her walk around the house with those coal dusted feet.
Some kids (me) even got coal in their Christmas stockings!
Our public elementary school was heated with coal and each morning tens of barrels of dusty ash were hauled out of the building's basement as the students lined up to go into class. Mom's kitchen stove was indirectly powered by coal too. The local Brooklyn Union Gas Company (BUGCo) generated coal gas for our stoves (and some house-heating too) by converting a form of coal (coke) into gas and piping it underground throughout the borough. On cold mornings when the air was still the sulfury smell of "coal gas" from their Greenpoint plant seeped through the neighborhood. Mostly it just smelled bad, but some people reacted with headaches and fatigue too. By 1952 the gas company had completed a nearly 2000 mile pipeline from Texas to Brooklyn to carry "natural" gas. That stuff had no smell at all. It represented a danger from explosion if you left a gas jet on or your pilot light went out. So the gas company added a garlic odor to the gas for safety. That old cold gas aroma on still winter nights was just a memory after that.
Most men on our block worked in "the City" and traveled back and forth to work on the BMT train. The electricity to run that train and the other lines in the City was generated by coal. My Dad's transportation was an exception, he used gasoline. He drove a 1949 Plymouth sedan to work. Because of coal and the cheap electricity for transport there were few cars on our block and on any work day, I could look up and down the street and see the curb from 14th Avenue all the way down to 16th....not one parked car.
Late in the summer of the year or early fall, my father would order our year's supply of coal for heating our house in Brooklyn--and making hot water too. The coal we used was the shiny, hard stuff known as hard coal or anthracite. It was delivered to us by the barrel--so many barrels to the ton--and it came crushed into pieces about the size of a walnut. We had no telephone so Dad had to stop in at to Ice and Coal company on Bath Avenue to put the order in. A few days later, a big black truck with hard-rubber tires and a chain drive, its body all sprinkled and dusted with coal dust would roll up to our alleyway. Several big burly black men, wearing coal-stained leather aprons and huge leather gauntlets would exit the truck and pull from the undercarriage a long metal chute, its inner surface polished to a mirror-like gloss by the abrasion of the hard coal. On that day, Dad would open the basement window from within, and the delivery men would slide the chute down into the nearly empty wood-slat coal bins. Then, they would begin the noisy delivery by filling their great wood barrels on the street at the side of the truck and rolling them noisily, with sounds like distant thunder, through the alley to the top of the open chute. The coal, which had been sprayed with water --to cut down on dust-crashed down onto the slick metal chute and slid to a grumbling stop in the gray, coal bin where every now and again some pieces would rattle down the slope and roll across the floor to the base of the boiler where all of it would eventually end up. These great rumblings could be heard throughout the house. Coal dust, notwithstanding the coal being water sprayed, seeped out of the bins and settled everywhere in the house. When you blew your nose in the "coal age" you could always find little black specks in your white handkerchief. It was just normal. Until I was a grown man, I thought those black specks was just a natural human exudate--not the results of the dirt and dust of coal age.
p
Dad burned that coal all year in the great steam boiler in the cellar, right across from the wood framed and wood slatted coal bins. Near-by, he kept neat piles of old newspapers and a stack of "starting wood". Starting wood could be anything that burned, cardboard, old furniture, tree trimmings, used dimension lumber, painted wood, furring strips, or old plaster-wall laths. Anything that was wood-like and burnable could be used to start the coal fire. In Brooklyn, wood was scarce, so Dad was constantly on the look-out for good "starting wood". When he brought a pile home in the back seat of our 1949 Plymouth sedan, I often got the job of carring it down to the basement and cutting it up with the hand saw then splitting it with a hatchet into pieces that would fit into the boiler. With some starter wood, Dad would make sure I removed any useful nails, screws, and other hardware that could be salvaged. The salvaged hardware from this wood would go into old mason jars or wood boxes. A favorite box for this purpose was the four by twelve inch "Philly" boxes in which squares of foil-covered Philadelphia Cream Cheese were delivered to local stores. They were neat and strong and Dad eventually made a cabinet in which these boxes served as drawers.
Coal burns hot, but it does not start up too easily. A good hot wood fire is needed to get coal going. Then, near-constant attention was required to keep the fire actually burning. If it went out, there would be no steam heat upstairs, and no hot water for the baths. So my Dad, when passing through a room, would out of habit pause to touch the corner steam pipes or tap the radiator under the window just to be certain their temperature (and the fire in the boiler) were up to snuff. At intervals during a cold day he (or some designee like me) had to add shovels of coal to the top of the glowing bed, adjust the damper to let in more air, and after that, shake the grates violently so that the coal ash at the bottom would settle down into the base of the fire pit--where, of course these gray dusty ashes mixed with unburned coal and stony, vesicular pieces called "cinders"which had to be removed by shovel and dumped into an ash barrel. Now that was a very dusty job!
Coal ash and cinders were a burden on our trash-man's back. Ash was heavy and dusty but it had to be removed and dumped by the City. We didn't know where it wound up, but it was carried off. Some people made use of the ash and cinders around their homes by spreading the stuff around, as we would spread gravel or rock chips today. Cinders would make a good solid road-bed and ash and cinders were found everywhere. As a young child, while playing on an ash and cinder dump in our back yard, I slipped off my tricycle and fell headlong into a pile of sharp-edged cinders. One small sharp piece was driven deep into my soft childhood chin. So even many decades later, I can still see the little scar and feel that little lump of cinder ash under my chin...a memento from a boyhood accident in the coal age.
Each night, from my warm bed, I would hear Dad, go down the creaky cellar stairs, then hear the big iron boiler door squeal open. I would listen as he attached the big metal shaker-handle and rhythmically rattle the grates so the ash would fall through the grate. it was that troublesome ash which would block the air. Dad was very methodical and thorough. Whatever he did he did right. And he took a good long time on that grate. Then I would hear the scrape of the big wide coal shovel as he scooped several loads through the opened boiler door. After that the chain on the damper control would rattle as Dad closed off the amount of air reaching the fire (so it would keep burning through the night) and finally, he would climb back up the creaky cellar stairs and shut the door.
The fire would keep burning at a slow rate all night long. But don't oversleep in the coal age because quite early in the morning the whole process had to be completed again--or the fire would go out! . More shaking, more ashes removed, a thin layer of coal applied to the small bed of burning embers, then the damper opened and more coal added. Finally, upstairs we would hear the nice hot steam rising in the pipes, the heat would expand the metal and strange regular tapping noises would be heard as the pipes complained like ghosts tripping about in the basement of the old house. Soon, I could smell the hot radiator and hear the low whistle of the the steam vent in the big radiator in the living room. That was how it was in the coal age.
If for some reason, perhaps during a particularly cold or windy night the fire might burn too fast and by morning...it was out. Cold! No coal embers. No heat and no hot water. Dad would be furious. Then he had to start a wood fire. Get that wood fire going hot and slowly add the coal until a good bed of embers were formed then more coal could be added and...the fire could be damped again for the day. But that would take some time...and cause a very hectic, chilly morning and a long wait for hot tap water and perhaps no breakfast.
Of course you couldn't leave your house in the winter...for the coal fire would go out and very soon on a cold day the pipes would freeze. A disaster! There was much fear and anxiety in the coal age...and no long winter vacations. So near the end of the fifties, slowly, but surely...the coal trucks were replaced with oil trucks on our block. But our neighbor old Mr and Mrs. Strand....they held on to coal well into the sixties.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
WHEN ENCOUNTERING AN AGGRESSIVE DOG
Thou callest me a dog before thou hast cause. But since I am a dog, beware my fangs.
William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
In the merry Old England of the Bard's day citizens had to "beware" of a dog's fangs. Even so today. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) data (of 2007) there were more than 72 million dogs in the USA. See: (http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp.) For some reason dog bites appear to have risen faster than the dog population. For example, dog ownership rose only 2% over the period 1986-1994 while the rate of reported dog bites rose 36% over the same period.
That trend seems to have continued into the present time. Though most dog bites take place on the dog-owner’s property and most victims are either friends or family of the owner…the rising level of dog ownership and increasing incidence of dog attacks may generate an appropriate wariness of some-- as they walk or jog in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
This author is a known dog lover and owner from a very young age. I have slept with, run-away from home with, walked with, hunted with, trained, duck-hunted with, sailed and fished with, retrieved with and just enjoyed the company over the decades of: Queenie, Smarty, Mollie and Martha, Snuffy, Whitey, Blackie, Kim, Geant, Tim, Masset, Missey, Jeeves, Scrubby, Smurf and most recently-- Milo, a Jack Russel Terrier. I have owned mixed breeds, beagles, a wire-haired terrier, shepherds, pointers, setters, various terriers, a mastiff, and even one one lap dog. I loved them all and learned something about dog behavior from each one of them. I have never owned an aggressive dog, but have encountered them in my travels, during field work, while hunting, walking, or while jogging.
Over the years, I developed a set of general “rules of encounter” which may help reduce a walker or a jogger’s exposure to dog bite and help relieve simple "dog related anxiety" when, as is increasingly possible, one encounters an aggressive dog on one's route.
1. Know your breeds. Remember that dogs have been bred for thousands of years for one purpose or another, so (counter to American ideals and notions of equality) dog-breeding does count! All breeds can bite, and any breed can be trained purposely (or inadvertently) to be aggressive. But recognizing dog breeds and knowing their general psychological characteristics can help avoid an unpleasant encounter. Earlier on this very day, I encountered a lady walking a giant Newfoundland female..she was more a puppy than a full-grown bitch. But she couldn't pass a stranger without wagging her great flag of a tail or offering her great head to you for a petting. She was a dog lover's heaven. Newfoundlands or "Newfies" are big and lovable. They would almost never be expected to act aggressively--or bite. That is the case with most working dog breeds. Aggression would not be a character appropriate for a working dog which must come in contact with many different people, and work alongside other dogs. Aggressive traits were bred-out of these breeds early in their history of development. Owners would simply not breed a dog or bitch which showed these traits. As a consequence work dogs (as noted above) such as Newfoundlands, collies, border collies, sheep dogs, Eskimo dogs, sled dogs and similar breeds are for this reason least likely to be aggressive. For the same reason, most hunting breeds are generally non-aggressive. Beagles, retrievers, pointers, spaniels, setters, hounds, poodles and other similar dogs are generally friendly and not likely to bite.
On the other hand, guard dogs, such as the German Shepherd, Doberman, Rottweiler, Bull Mastiff and American Bulldog and dogs bred for the fight ring, particularly the Pit Bull are predisposed to attack, may have been trained as a guard or attack dogs, or are easily provoked into an attack. If I can, I generally avoid unnecessary contact with these breeds. Observing one of these breeds ahead of me on my walking route, may cause me to cross the street or simply go another way.
2. A Bad Dog Ahead! But some situations arise unforeseen. When you turn a corner and there is a large unleashed dog ahead. Perhaps it begins to act aggressively by approaching you in a threatening way, perhaps it barks and bares its fangs---the first and simplest response may be what I call the “Ellen Nelson Bend”. Ellen was an elderly lady who lived across our Brooklyn, New York alleyway during most of my childhood. She was an avid dog lover who walked her little Pomeranian named “Mitsey”, every morning and evening on our busy, Brooklyn streets. She often encountered dogs larger and more aggressive than her Mitsey. In those days, a few doors away, lived “Fido”, a big noisy shepherd whose owner often carelessly let him out loose onto the street. He pestered neighbors up and down our street.
"Mrs. Nelson," I asked one day chilly fall day as she strolled up our alleyway, with Mitsey in tow, "Did you pass by Mrs. Franza's house?"
"Yes I did," came her reply. As I approached Mitsey seeing me, lolled her tongue and wagged her tail.
"What about her big Shepherd, Fido, he was loose again, I saw him. He scares me every time I pass by."
She stopped and wound up Mitsey's worn leather lead around her fine-leather gloved hand. “Honey, all you have to do is bend over and pretend to pick up a stick or stone. 'Course there isn't anything there on the ground. But they don't know that. Most dogs, they see me reach down that way-- and they just scat.”
She pulled Mitsey along toward her back door, then turned back to me and smiled. "You remember that little trick...honey! Jest you reach for a stone."
I tried it. It was true! Even though there was not a pebble or a stick on the sidewalk, all I had to do was bend over and reach down--and it was always a sure-fire way to get a dog to back down and slink away. I tried it on big old Fido. He backed away every time. I figure there must be some hard-wired reflex in a dog's brain. Perhaps, it derives from its prehistoric encounters with humans. Every ancient canid that saw a human bend down and reach for the ground expected to get pelted with a big rock. Those who raced away escaped to live and breed again, while those who stood there dumbly or came too close were perhaps less likely to survive. That gene must have gotten passed down with time into all our dog breeds.
Of course if you can pick up a nice big throwing pebble, a chunk of concrete or a hefty hunk of wood and skip it down their way...that makes the "Ellen Bend" even that much more effective. But remember, just the act of bending down will do the trick.
3. You Bite Dog (or You Attack Them)! Finally , when you (this is for healthy vigorous adults only) have no other option, as you face an aggressive dog, you may try to turn the tables and change into an aggressor yourself. Remember that most adult humans are quite a bit bigger than the average dog. Dogs are really, more afraid of us than most of us realize. I recall an incident some years ago which illustrates this principle.
At the time, I was jogging regularly through a suburban neighborhood early each morning. My route took me through a development and into a cul-de-sac. Usually I used this court as the halfway point on my route, slowly jogging around the cul-de-sac then turning homeward from there. As I ran into the court this particular morning (I recall it was a holiday weekend), I saw five dogs of several breeds milling around over a tipped-over garbage pail in the driveway near the front of the first house on the court. Apparently, their respective owners had, carelessly let their pets out onto the street to relieve themselves, permitting said pet-owners the luxury of a longer holiday sleep in. As I approached, I evaluated the dog-situation and concluded that since these canids were occupied with the tipped over pail, (their angry barks and yips echoed hollowly out of the garbage container as they fought over choice holiday repast waste morsels) and I had not been bothered by them in the past, it was probably safe to continue on to the end of the court were I normally turned around and began my route back. So ignoring the dog pack, I continued on to the end where I made my turn turned into the last lap of my route.
As I approached the exit, one of the larger dogs, a mix breed, heard my approaching footsteps. He pulled his head out of the tipped over black-plastic container and looked up to see me jogging slowly and steadily toward him. Perhaps he was being protective of the empty tin of sardines he gripped firmly in his teeth. But for whatever reason, as I approached, he dropped the oily tin and growled threateningly. His action raised the alarm with the others, who now pulled themselves out of the pail and away from their feed and looked my way. At this point the dogs seemed to alter from a group of friendly house pets into a dangerous pack of predators. The other dogs looked toward the mixed breed as if to see what he did. He laid his ears back and held his tail straight and low. A line of fur rose up along his spine. He lowered his head and moved toward me as he growled. The angry sound seemed to enrage the others and as they looked toward each other their behavior became more aggressive and their barking louder and more aggressive.
At that point, I was about one hundred feet away from them, with no other good option but to continue past the five dogs to get out of the court. The other dogs, a beagle, a shepherd mix, and a collie among them all turned their attention to me. The Beagle bayed loudly, shaking his head and flopping his long ears. They turned their attention to me--I was the unexpected intruder into "their court"and perhaps they felt they were guarding their garbage hoard--as they began their concerted move in my direction. All I could think of was, that I should not turn and run, even if I did and was fast enough, there were few good places to go, and they would surely catch up with me before long, perhaps on some front porch or in a back yard. Where one or more of them would have more reason to attack an intruder than out here in the open court. So I had no other option.
I unzipped my windbreaker and holding it open with my hands to make myself appear bigger and wider, I lowered my head, flapped my arms like a giant bird and raced toward the dogs screaming and yelling wildly. The pack slowed their advance toward me. They stopped barking. But, I did not relent. Now jumping and howling, like a banshee, I raced directly toward them, pumping my knees up and down and racing up onto the nearest sloping manicured lawn. I had some pleasure thinking that my bizarre vocalizations were loud enough to wake up the sleeping dog-owners in the near-by homes. By the time I was fifty feet away, the dogs had stopped dead in their tracks and appeared as puzzled as dogs could look. When I flapped my arms and jumped up and down again, they lost their nerve, and splitting up, they scattered, this way and that, retreating in haste. The big mix breed that seemed to be acting like the alpha male of the pack paused once when he was a safe distance away to take a quick glance over his shoulder before he disappeared into some thick foliage.
I quickly made the entrance road and was soon on the main road and on my way home. I don't recommend this for method for everyone. But as a last resort it is worth a try.
Get the picture?
rjk
William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
In the merry Old England of the Bard's day citizens had to "beware" of a dog's fangs. Even so today. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) data (of 2007) there were more than 72 million dogs in the USA. See: (http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp.) For some reason dog bites appear to have risen faster than the dog population. For example, dog ownership rose only 2% over the period 1986-1994 while the rate of reported dog bites rose 36% over the same period.
That trend seems to have continued into the present time. Though most dog bites take place on the dog-owner’s property and most victims are either friends or family of the owner…the rising level of dog ownership and increasing incidence of dog attacks may generate an appropriate wariness of some-- as they walk or jog in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
This author is a known dog lover and owner from a very young age. I have slept with, run-away from home with, walked with, hunted with, trained, duck-hunted with, sailed and fished with, retrieved with and just enjoyed the company over the decades of: Queenie, Smarty, Mollie and Martha, Snuffy, Whitey, Blackie, Kim, Geant, Tim, Masset, Missey, Jeeves, Scrubby, Smurf and most recently-- Milo, a Jack Russel Terrier. I have owned mixed breeds, beagles, a wire-haired terrier, shepherds, pointers, setters, various terriers, a mastiff, and even one one lap dog. I loved them all and learned something about dog behavior from each one of them. I have never owned an aggressive dog, but have encountered them in my travels, during field work, while hunting, walking, or while jogging.
Over the years, I developed a set of general “rules of encounter” which may help reduce a walker or a jogger’s exposure to dog bite and help relieve simple "dog related anxiety" when, as is increasingly possible, one encounters an aggressive dog on one's route.
1. Know your breeds. Remember that dogs have been bred for thousands of years for one purpose or another, so (counter to American ideals and notions of equality) dog-breeding does count! All breeds can bite, and any breed can be trained purposely (or inadvertently) to be aggressive. But recognizing dog breeds and knowing their general psychological characteristics can help avoid an unpleasant encounter. Earlier on this very day, I encountered a lady walking a giant Newfoundland female..she was more a puppy than a full-grown bitch. But she couldn't pass a stranger without wagging her great flag of a tail or offering her great head to you for a petting. She was a dog lover's heaven. Newfoundlands or "Newfies" are big and lovable. They would almost never be expected to act aggressively--or bite. That is the case with most working dog breeds. Aggression would not be a character appropriate for a working dog which must come in contact with many different people, and work alongside other dogs. Aggressive traits were bred-out of these breeds early in their history of development. Owners would simply not breed a dog or bitch which showed these traits. As a consequence work dogs (as noted above) such as Newfoundlands, collies, border collies, sheep dogs, Eskimo dogs, sled dogs and similar breeds are for this reason least likely to be aggressive. For the same reason, most hunting breeds are generally non-aggressive. Beagles, retrievers, pointers, spaniels, setters, hounds, poodles and other similar dogs are generally friendly and not likely to bite.
On the other hand, guard dogs, such as the German Shepherd, Doberman, Rottweiler, Bull Mastiff and American Bulldog and dogs bred for the fight ring, particularly the Pit Bull are predisposed to attack, may have been trained as a guard or attack dogs, or are easily provoked into an attack. If I can, I generally avoid unnecessary contact with these breeds. Observing one of these breeds ahead of me on my walking route, may cause me to cross the street or simply go another way.
2. A Bad Dog Ahead! But some situations arise unforeseen. When you turn a corner and there is a large unleashed dog ahead. Perhaps it begins to act aggressively by approaching you in a threatening way, perhaps it barks and bares its fangs---the first and simplest response may be what I call the “Ellen Nelson Bend”. Ellen was an elderly lady who lived across our Brooklyn, New York alleyway during most of my childhood. She was an avid dog lover who walked her little Pomeranian named “Mitsey”, every morning and evening on our busy, Brooklyn streets. She often encountered dogs larger and more aggressive than her Mitsey. In those days, a few doors away, lived “Fido”, a big noisy shepherd whose owner often carelessly let him out loose onto the street. He pestered neighbors up and down our street.
"Mrs. Nelson," I asked one day chilly fall day as she strolled up our alleyway, with Mitsey in tow, "Did you pass by Mrs. Franza's house?"
"Yes I did," came her reply. As I approached Mitsey seeing me, lolled her tongue and wagged her tail.
"What about her big Shepherd, Fido, he was loose again, I saw him. He scares me every time I pass by."
She stopped and wound up Mitsey's worn leather lead around her fine-leather gloved hand. “Honey, all you have to do is bend over and pretend to pick up a stick or stone. 'Course there isn't anything there on the ground. But they don't know that. Most dogs, they see me reach down that way-- and they just scat.”
She pulled Mitsey along toward her back door, then turned back to me and smiled. "You remember that little trick...honey! Jest you reach for a stone."
I tried it. It was true! Even though there was not a pebble or a stick on the sidewalk, all I had to do was bend over and reach down--and it was always a sure-fire way to get a dog to back down and slink away. I tried it on big old Fido. He backed away every time. I figure there must be some hard-wired reflex in a dog's brain. Perhaps, it derives from its prehistoric encounters with humans. Every ancient canid that saw a human bend down and reach for the ground expected to get pelted with a big rock. Those who raced away escaped to live and breed again, while those who stood there dumbly or came too close were perhaps less likely to survive. That gene must have gotten passed down with time into all our dog breeds.
Of course if you can pick up a nice big throwing pebble, a chunk of concrete or a hefty hunk of wood and skip it down their way...that makes the "Ellen Bend" even that much more effective. But remember, just the act of bending down will do the trick.
3. You Bite Dog (or You Attack Them)! Finally , when you (this is for healthy vigorous adults only) have no other option, as you face an aggressive dog, you may try to turn the tables and change into an aggressor yourself. Remember that most adult humans are quite a bit bigger than the average dog. Dogs are really, more afraid of us than most of us realize. I recall an incident some years ago which illustrates this principle.
At the time, I was jogging regularly through a suburban neighborhood early each morning. My route took me through a development and into a cul-de-sac. Usually I used this court as the halfway point on my route, slowly jogging around the cul-de-sac then turning homeward from there. As I ran into the court this particular morning (I recall it was a holiday weekend), I saw five dogs of several breeds milling around over a tipped-over garbage pail in the driveway near the front of the first house on the court. Apparently, their respective owners had, carelessly let their pets out onto the street to relieve themselves, permitting said pet-owners the luxury of a longer holiday sleep in. As I approached, I evaluated the dog-situation and concluded that since these canids were occupied with the tipped over pail, (their angry barks and yips echoed hollowly out of the garbage container as they fought over choice holiday repast waste morsels) and I had not been bothered by them in the past, it was probably safe to continue on to the end of the court were I normally turned around and began my route back. So ignoring the dog pack, I continued on to the end where I made my turn turned into the last lap of my route.
As I approached the exit, one of the larger dogs, a mix breed, heard my approaching footsteps. He pulled his head out of the tipped over black-plastic container and looked up to see me jogging slowly and steadily toward him. Perhaps he was being protective of the empty tin of sardines he gripped firmly in his teeth. But for whatever reason, as I approached, he dropped the oily tin and growled threateningly. His action raised the alarm with the others, who now pulled themselves out of the pail and away from their feed and looked my way. At this point the dogs seemed to alter from a group of friendly house pets into a dangerous pack of predators. The other dogs looked toward the mixed breed as if to see what he did. He laid his ears back and held his tail straight and low. A line of fur rose up along his spine. He lowered his head and moved toward me as he growled. The angry sound seemed to enrage the others and as they looked toward each other their behavior became more aggressive and their barking louder and more aggressive.
At that point, I was about one hundred feet away from them, with no other good option but to continue past the five dogs to get out of the court. The other dogs, a beagle, a shepherd mix, and a collie among them all turned their attention to me. The Beagle bayed loudly, shaking his head and flopping his long ears. They turned their attention to me--I was the unexpected intruder into "their court"and perhaps they felt they were guarding their garbage hoard--as they began their concerted move in my direction. All I could think of was, that I should not turn and run, even if I did and was fast enough, there were few good places to go, and they would surely catch up with me before long, perhaps on some front porch or in a back yard. Where one or more of them would have more reason to attack an intruder than out here in the open court. So I had no other option.
I unzipped my windbreaker and holding it open with my hands to make myself appear bigger and wider, I lowered my head, flapped my arms like a giant bird and raced toward the dogs screaming and yelling wildly. The pack slowed their advance toward me. They stopped barking. But, I did not relent. Now jumping and howling, like a banshee, I raced directly toward them, pumping my knees up and down and racing up onto the nearest sloping manicured lawn. I had some pleasure thinking that my bizarre vocalizations were loud enough to wake up the sleeping dog-owners in the near-by homes. By the time I was fifty feet away, the dogs had stopped dead in their tracks and appeared as puzzled as dogs could look. When I flapped my arms and jumped up and down again, they lost their nerve, and splitting up, they scattered, this way and that, retreating in haste. The big mix breed that seemed to be acting like the alpha male of the pack paused once when he was a safe distance away to take a quick glance over his shoulder before he disappeared into some thick foliage.
I quickly made the entrance road and was soon on the main road and on my way home. I don't recommend this for method for everyone. But as a last resort it is worth a try.
Get the picture?
rjk
Saturday, May 8, 2010
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt.~ H. L. Mencken
These days one hears so much about "critical thinking". Educators claim that they intend to engender critical thinking in their charges. Colleges and universities assure us that students will graduate from their institutions as “critical thinkers”. Even General David Petraeus has recently indicated one of his goals is to encourage more “critical thinking” in his staff and the troopers in his command. One wonders does he really know what critical thinking is? Military thought processes are by definition the antithesis of critical thinking. The military, properly, strives for control and conformity of thought. All thinking is under control of an authority structure which can not be questioned. Though I wish him well, were the General's plan to succeed, who would follow orders?
So what is this critical thinking which appears to be outwardly desirable to so many? Why is the term so bandied about, but so little is written about what critical thinking actually is?
Socrates, who lived in Athens in the latter part of the 5th century BC (469BC -399 BC) is often credited as the primary founder of western philosophy, and an early advocate (perhaps the first) of critical thinking. Recall Plato's accounts of how Socrates challenged the premises and assumptions of his contemporaries during his philosophizing walks through the Athenian agora. His systematic use of probing questions, termed, “elenchus” in Greek, was his method of encouraging fundamental insight into the discussion, engendering helalthful doubt, and challenging his opponent's premises--as well as Athenian social and policy conventions in general. As is so often the case when one attempts to change deeply-held ideas, Socrates' challenges became too great a threat to the politicaly powerful elite of Athens. Very soon trumped up charges were drafted to bring the philosopher to trial, a sham trial which ended in the philosopher's death.
Socrates may have defined "critical thinking" as a clear analysis of the question coupled with rigorous analysis of the basic premises and assumption upon which conclusions are based. A more modern definition of critical thinking, sees the process as “ a careful, deliberate determination of whether one should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim and the degree of confidence with which one accepts or rejects it.” (See Moore and Parker, Critical Thinking, McGraw Hill, 2007)
Another brief definition states: "Critical thinking is thinking that assesses itself" (Center for Critical Thinking, 1996).
But Mencken’s statement (above), that a civilized man is measured not by how willing he is to believe but "in his (or her) readiness to doubt”, is in my view, one of the most succinct statements relating to critical thinking, at least which I have found.
Expanding on Mencken, in my personal view, critical thinking requires one to doubt. And to be critical. That is to “criticize” both your thoughts and those of others, in light of the available evidence which supports it (or does not). It requires the ability to recognize the existence of unstated and untried assumptions and values and to expose those assumptions to the light of reason, and finally to test the resulting conclusions one arrives at. It always requires one to question authority, to search out and expose their faults, biases, assumptions and means of arriving at their stated conclusions, and finally to critically assess the potential end-result(s) of their claims.
“Critical” thinking means self-criticism too. One must be aware of human weaknesses such as our natural tendency toward egocentrism and sociocentrism which clearly limit and obfuscate logical thinking. One must be alert to one’s own and others inherent prejudice, bias, propaganda, self-deception, distoriention, lies, and misinformation all of which are much too common and widespread in public discourse.
In short, Doubt..doubt doubt...
Even to:
These days one hears so much about "critical thinking". Educators claim that they intend to engender critical thinking in their charges. Colleges and universities assure us that students will graduate from their institutions as “critical thinkers”. Even General David Petraeus has recently indicated one of his goals is to encourage more “critical thinking” in his staff and the troopers in his command. One wonders does he really know what critical thinking is? Military thought processes are by definition the antithesis of critical thinking. The military, properly, strives for control and conformity of thought. All thinking is under control of an authority structure which can not be questioned. Though I wish him well, were the General's plan to succeed, who would follow orders?
So what is this critical thinking which appears to be outwardly desirable to so many? Why is the term so bandied about, but so little is written about what critical thinking actually is?
Socrates, who lived in Athens in the latter part of the 5th century BC (469BC -399 BC) is often credited as the primary founder of western philosophy, and an early advocate (perhaps the first) of critical thinking. Recall Plato's accounts of how Socrates challenged the premises and assumptions of his contemporaries during his philosophizing walks through the Athenian agora. His systematic use of probing questions, termed, “elenchus” in Greek, was his method of encouraging fundamental insight into the discussion, engendering helalthful doubt, and challenging his opponent's premises--as well as Athenian social and policy conventions in general. As is so often the case when one attempts to change deeply-held ideas, Socrates' challenges became too great a threat to the politicaly powerful elite of Athens. Very soon trumped up charges were drafted to bring the philosopher to trial, a sham trial which ended in the philosopher's death.
Socrates may have defined "critical thinking" as a clear analysis of the question coupled with rigorous analysis of the basic premises and assumption upon which conclusions are based. A more modern definition of critical thinking, sees the process as “ a careful, deliberate determination of whether one should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim and the degree of confidence with which one accepts or rejects it.” (See Moore and Parker, Critical Thinking, McGraw Hill, 2007)
Another brief definition states: "Critical thinking is thinking that assesses itself" (Center for Critical Thinking, 1996).
But Mencken’s statement (above), that a civilized man is measured not by how willing he is to believe but "in his (or her) readiness to doubt”, is in my view, one of the most succinct statements relating to critical thinking, at least which I have found.
Expanding on Mencken, in my personal view, critical thinking requires one to doubt. And to be critical. That is to “criticize” both your thoughts and those of others, in light of the available evidence which supports it (or does not). It requires the ability to recognize the existence of unstated and untried assumptions and values and to expose those assumptions to the light of reason, and finally to test the resulting conclusions one arrives at. It always requires one to question authority, to search out and expose their faults, biases, assumptions and means of arriving at their stated conclusions, and finally to critically assess the potential end-result(s) of their claims.
“Critical” thinking means self-criticism too. One must be aware of human weaknesses such as our natural tendency toward egocentrism and sociocentrism which clearly limit and obfuscate logical thinking. One must be alert to one’s own and others inherent prejudice, bias, propaganda, self-deception, distoriention, lies, and misinformation all of which are much too common and widespread in public discourse.
In short, Doubt..doubt doubt...
Even to:
"Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;..."
W. Shakespear, Hamlet
Of course being human, we can not always think critically. We all descend into the tirade, the emotional outburst, the illogical, besotted, ill conceived discourse…and rage, but be sure to be aware of these as exceptions. Be aware that we do not think critically by nature…but also remember that practice makes perfect.
Some interesting quotes concerning critical thinking and related thoughts:
But if thought is to become the possession of many, not the privilege of the few, we must have done with fear. It is fear that holds men back — fear lest their cherished beliefs should prove delusions, fear lest the institutions by which they live should prove harmful, fear lest they themselves should prove less worthy of respect than they have supposed themselves to be.~ Bertrand Russell (Principles of Social Reconstruction)
Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession – their ignorance.~ Hendrik Van Loon
While others who would limit critical thought state:
Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.
~ General William Westmoreland
Get the picture?
rjk
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;..."
W. Shakespear, Hamlet
Of course being human, we can not always think critically. We all descend into the tirade, the emotional outburst, the illogical, besotted, ill conceived discourse…and rage, but be sure to be aware of these as exceptions. Be aware that we do not think critically by nature…but also remember that practice makes perfect.
Some interesting quotes concerning critical thinking and related thoughts:
But if thought is to become the possession of many, not the privilege of the few, we must have done with fear. It is fear that holds men back — fear lest their cherished beliefs should prove delusions, fear lest the institutions by which they live should prove harmful, fear lest they themselves should prove less worthy of respect than they have supposed themselves to be.~ Bertrand Russell (Principles of Social Reconstruction)
Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession – their ignorance.~ Hendrik Van Loon
While others who would limit critical thought state:
Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.
~ General William Westmoreland
Get the picture?
rjk
Sunday, May 2, 2010
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEES?
It was not so long ago, on a woodland walk in Riverhead’s Wildwood State Park a day after a Spring windstorm that we discovered a bee hive in a fallen oak. The wind had snapped off a major limb to expose a deep hollow where wild bees had made their home. Raccoons must have found the hive before us, since only fragments of the comb, still dripping with honey were left adhering to the hollow wall in the deep inner recesses of the tree. Someone among us had a plastic bag and we collected a few pounds of comb, which we ate greedily on our way home. As I recall, none of the sweet sticky stuff was left at the end of the trail. We sucked the wax dry and rolled the gray stuff into balls which we continued to chew like gum as a reminder of our sweet, forest repast.
In those years, honey bees were daily visitors to our garden, and to our orchard buzzing actively and unconcernedly in and out of the apple blossoms, and squirming their long way into the big yellow squash flowers. But beginning about two years ago, at least here on Long Island, or about the summer of 2008, honey bees seemed to disappear (but some say '06 was the beginning year). Instead big black and yellow bumble bees had mostly taken their place in the garden and orchard. Last year, I actually counted only eight honey bees in the flower garden all season. Only eight ! Where in years before they were as common as ants. What happened to the bees?
According to a piece in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/02/food-fear-mystery-beehives-collapse the disturbing evidence of a decline in honey bee populations began in 2006 when “a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then, more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.” In CCD affected hives the bees seem to leave the hive, but do not return to die there, and the hive slowly decreases in size and finally reaching a critical point, collapses totally. In the US, where there are an estimated 2.4 million commercial beehives, more than a third of them have failed to survive this 2009-2010 winter. Furthermore“the number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).” Another third lost this year appears to signify that there is a major bee die off taking place before our eyes.
The Guardian states that “The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26 billion (or nearly $40 billion dollars) to the global economy. “(op cit}
Some of the likely causes of CCD are parasites ( such as the verroa mite), viral and bacterial infections, and pesticides . Some experts cite poor nutrition as a probable cause. Lack of proper nutrition may arise from the way commercial hives are used and transported. The hives are typically trucked form one area of the country to the other and set out in vast agricultural areas often devoted to monoculture. That is huge fields where only one crop, such as rape seed, blueberries, peach farms or apple orchards are planted to the exclusion of other crops. Pesticides are often cited as a sinister cause. In the US, scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that agricultural pesticides (many of which are insidious insecticides) are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide-exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory” (See Gurdian op cit).
On that score the Guardian piece states: “A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the "irresponsible use" of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE's director-general, warned: "Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster."
It is important to remember that “flowering plants require insects for pollination. The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide. As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape. Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfalfa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.”
In the UK alone, honeybee pollination is valued at £200m. Mankind has been managing and transporting bees for centuries to pollinate food and produce honey, nature's natural sweetener and antiseptic. Their extinction would mean not only a colourless, meatless diet of cereals and rice, and cottonless clothes, but a landscape without orchards, allotments and meadows of wildflowers – and the collapse of the food chain that sustains wild birds and animals.” (op cit)
More on this as it develops......
rjk
Thursday, April 29, 2010
YOUR CHOICE: THE CAPE COD WIND FARM OR GULF LEAKY OIL RIGS
Yesterday (April 28, 2010) we read in the NY Times that after a long delay, and much opposition, the Cape Cod Wind Farm proposal was finally passed (See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36825232/ns/us_news-environment/). Concurrently,(NYT April 29, 2010), we learn about an explosion and fire which consumed a Gulf of Mexico drilling rig. This exploratory oil rig, the very kind which we heard so much about in the last Presidential election, when someone in Ms. Palin's entourage offended us all with the phrase: “Drill Baby Drill”. The oil rig explosion, located about 50 miles off the Louisiana, occurred on April 20 and resulted in the rig sinking two days later taking the lives eleven workers. At the Cape, nothing much has happened, the "clean and green" project is still in the planning stages. The developers are hoping to begin construction this year and start generating power by late 2012 — provided the venture isn't stopped by further lawsuits.
But back in the Gulf of Mexico, the connector pipe to the sunken drilling platform, called a “riser”, which formerly conducted oil from the sea bottom to the floating platform continues to gusher crude as it snakes over the ocean bottom like a spouting garden hose. My wife questioned how a rigid steel pipe could "snake" around down there. But recall this pipe is close to a mile long! The explosion and subsequent disturbances have caused several kinks and tears to form from which oil is leaking in these several places over its 5000 foot length. The oil lighter than water rises to the surface and has continued to spread like the proverbial molasses on grandma’s white table cloth. The Times article also reveals today new information---the rate of flow from the pipe is five times greater than first reported!
According to the Times Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry of the Coast Guard revealed yesterday that scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have concluded that oil is gushing out at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, not the 1,000 that had been estimated earlier. That volume is equal to 210,000 gallons a day (based on a 42 gal barrel) or almost 9,000 gallons a minute (or in metric terms 160 liters per barrel x 5000 = 80,000 liters/day). That amount is only a tiny fraction of the 21,000,000 barrels a day we use here in the USA, so the spill will cause no shortage for us. But at about $80 dollars a barrel (today’s prices) it represents a waste of $400,000 bucks a day for the BP oil company. However the real concern is not its cost or the wasted oil (though considerable) but the tragedy of lost lives, and the specter of the grave pollution effects. Where will the black pudding-like, stuff so toxic to fish, shellfish and marine mammals end up? Will it smear the white-sand beaches of Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida Gulf coasts, clog the fish and shellfish-producing marshes of Louisiana, and of Texas?
On April 26, 2010 Sky Truth (See http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-covers-817-square-miles.html.) using NASA imagery estimated that the spill covered an area of about 817 square miles. They report that the spill has an irregular serpentine shape and is surrounded by an "oil sheen" where oil and water are in intimate contact. An April 27th update of the image shows, according to Sky Truth that the spill has approximately doubled in area over the two days it was observed.
The NY Times reports that wind patterns may push the spill into the coast of Louisiana as soon as Friday night, prompting consideration of more urgent measures to protect coastal wildlife. Among them were using cannons to scare off birds, and employing local shrimpers’ boats as makeshift oil skimmers in the shallows. All this seems quite ineffective,in response to the massive spill.
The Times author's add that part of the oil slick was only 16 miles offshore and appears to be drifting toward the Mississippi River Delta, marshlands at the southeastern tip of Louisiana where the river empties into the ocean.
The column notes that on Wednesday evening, cleanup crews began conducting what is called an in-situ burn, a process consisting of corralling concentrated parts of the spill in a 500-foot-long fireproof boom, moving it to another location and burning it. It has been tested effectively on other spills, but weather and ecological concerns can complicate the procedure.
Such a process will simply convert sea-surface pollution into air pollution and other types of water pollution. But some think it better than the oil drifting ashore. If it were really possible to prevent the spill reaching shore...but by the way the oil is spreading...not much of it will be able to be burned. Burning works only when oil is corralled and remains at a certain thickness on the surface. Burns may not be effective for most of this spill, of which, 97 percent is estimated to be an oil-water mixture. And not to mention the added burden of more particulates and more CO2 in the atmosphere. Of course that’s where it would have all ended up anyway…so what?
It is well to note that the Gulf of Mexico is the site of nearly 4000 such oil rigs and platforms scattered across the coast from Texas to Florida and as we increase such activity (exploitation of oil) the potential for accidents like this will rise exponentially. This event presents us with something to think about with great circumspection after President Obama, (I thought) carelessly tossed a bone to his political opponents, when he proposed recently that we expand off shore oil drilling over all of the east coast of the US--where even oil impresario Bush kept it banned! Perhaps his proposal was in response to the “nipple heads” on the right who clamor “Drill Baby Drill” But this event presents us with a clear example of why such exploration was banned and presents us with a clear view of what the consequences of expanded drilling in the coastal zone may generate. Thus it may be a good time to remind our President, with a letter or FAX stating your objections and reminder of what such a spill could do along our eastern seaboard.
It may also bring those who oppose the installation of clean, renewable energy in the form of silent, clean, wind farms along our east coast a chance, to rethink their opposition. Thankfully, the Cape Cod Wind Farm proposal got its final approval. The juxtaposition of these two events is fortuitous in one way. Let’s use it to underscore the dangers of the silly "drill drill drill" crowd!
May 1, 2010 Update.
The gusher has continued unabated. There appears to be little hope the light sweet crude flowing at five thousand barrels a day into the Gulf could be stopped very soon. The volume of the spilled oil (so far) and the response brings to mind the Exxon Valdez disaster--thought to be the worst human caused disaster in history-- in Prince William Sound, Alaska. That spill, occurred when the Exxon Valdez tanker hit Bligh Reef and spilled nearly 250,000 barrels (fifty million liters or about 11 million gallons) of thick Prudhoe Bay crude. The oil covered nearly 1,300 square miles of of ocean surface.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_1)
Could the BP Oil Rig Disaster ever reach the level of the Exxon Valdez? It certainly appears possible from here. At this point (May 1, 2010) we now know that the well has been gushing 5000 barrels per day since April 20th. Thus, to date over an eleven day period (11) it has dumped 11 X 5000 or 55,000 barrels so far. To reach the level of the Valdez event it would have to continue gushing oil (5000 bbl/day x 50days = 250,000) for a period of fifty days at its present rate. It has continued unabated so far for eleven days---thus in 39 days (50-11=39) from this date..with no change in the rate of spill--it will have reached the Exxon Valdez in amount of oil spilled.
Today: According to the Associated Press as reprinted by Newser (http://www.newser.com/article/d9fe6gg80/expert-surface-area-of-gulf-oil-spill-has-tripled-rough-seas-again-thwart-containment.html)
How big could it get?
This event has the potential to become one of the greatest environmental disasters ever...
Can it even be contained in the Gulf?
Some are concerned that natural ocean currents in the Gulf may wash the gooey stuff out through the Straits of Florida...sliming the the Keys and the only living coral reefs in the Northern Hemisphere.
Rjk
But back in the Gulf of Mexico, the connector pipe to the sunken drilling platform, called a “riser”, which formerly conducted oil from the sea bottom to the floating platform continues to gusher crude as it snakes over the ocean bottom like a spouting garden hose. My wife questioned how a rigid steel pipe could "snake" around down there. But recall this pipe is close to a mile long! The explosion and subsequent disturbances have caused several kinks and tears to form from which oil is leaking in these several places over its 5000 foot length. The oil lighter than water rises to the surface and has continued to spread like the proverbial molasses on grandma’s white table cloth. The Times article also reveals today new information---the rate of flow from the pipe is five times greater than first reported!
According to the Times Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry of the Coast Guard revealed yesterday that scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have concluded that oil is gushing out at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, not the 1,000 that had been estimated earlier. That volume is equal to 210,000 gallons a day (based on a 42 gal barrel) or almost 9,000 gallons a minute (or in metric terms 160 liters per barrel x 5000 = 80,000 liters/day). That amount is only a tiny fraction of the 21,000,000 barrels a day we use here in the USA, so the spill will cause no shortage for us. But at about $80 dollars a barrel (today’s prices) it represents a waste of $400,000 bucks a day for the BP oil company. However the real concern is not its cost or the wasted oil (though considerable) but the tragedy of lost lives, and the specter of the grave pollution effects. Where will the black pudding-like, stuff so toxic to fish, shellfish and marine mammals end up? Will it smear the white-sand beaches of Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida Gulf coasts, clog the fish and shellfish-producing marshes of Louisiana, and of Texas?
On April 26, 2010 Sky Truth (See http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-covers-817-square-miles.html.) using NASA imagery estimated that the spill covered an area of about 817 square miles. They report that the spill has an irregular serpentine shape and is surrounded by an "oil sheen" where oil and water are in intimate contact. An April 27th update of the image shows, according to Sky Truth that the spill has approximately doubled in area over the two days it was observed.
The NY Times reports that wind patterns may push the spill into the coast of Louisiana as soon as Friday night, prompting consideration of more urgent measures to protect coastal wildlife. Among them were using cannons to scare off birds, and employing local shrimpers’ boats as makeshift oil skimmers in the shallows. All this seems quite ineffective,in response to the massive spill.
The Times author's add that part of the oil slick was only 16 miles offshore and appears to be drifting toward the Mississippi River Delta, marshlands at the southeastern tip of Louisiana where the river empties into the ocean.
The column notes that on Wednesday evening, cleanup crews began conducting what is called an in-situ burn, a process consisting of corralling concentrated parts of the spill in a 500-foot-long fireproof boom, moving it to another location and burning it. It has been tested effectively on other spills, but weather and ecological concerns can complicate the procedure.
Such a process will simply convert sea-surface pollution into air pollution and other types of water pollution. But some think it better than the oil drifting ashore. If it were really possible to prevent the spill reaching shore...but by the way the oil is spreading...not much of it will be able to be burned. Burning works only when oil is corralled and remains at a certain thickness on the surface. Burns may not be effective for most of this spill, of which, 97 percent is estimated to be an oil-water mixture. And not to mention the added burden of more particulates and more CO2 in the atmosphere. Of course that’s where it would have all ended up anyway…so what?
It is well to note that the Gulf of Mexico is the site of nearly 4000 such oil rigs and platforms scattered across the coast from Texas to Florida and as we increase such activity (exploitation of oil) the potential for accidents like this will rise exponentially. This event presents us with something to think about with great circumspection after President Obama, (I thought) carelessly tossed a bone to his political opponents, when he proposed recently that we expand off shore oil drilling over all of the east coast of the US--where even oil impresario Bush kept it banned! Perhaps his proposal was in response to the “nipple heads” on the right who clamor “Drill Baby Drill” But this event presents us with a clear example of why such exploration was banned and presents us with a clear view of what the consequences of expanded drilling in the coastal zone may generate. Thus it may be a good time to remind our President, with a letter or FAX stating your objections and reminder of what such a spill could do along our eastern seaboard.
It may also bring those who oppose the installation of clean, renewable energy in the form of silent, clean, wind farms along our east coast a chance, to rethink their opposition. Thankfully, the Cape Cod Wind Farm proposal got its final approval. The juxtaposition of these two events is fortuitous in one way. Let’s use it to underscore the dangers of the silly "drill drill drill" crowd!
May 1, 2010 Update.
The gusher has continued unabated. There appears to be little hope the light sweet crude flowing at five thousand barrels a day into the Gulf could be stopped very soon. The volume of the spilled oil (so far) and the response brings to mind the Exxon Valdez disaster--thought to be the worst human caused disaster in history-- in Prince William Sound, Alaska. That spill, occurred when the Exxon Valdez tanker hit Bligh Reef and spilled nearly 250,000 barrels (fifty million liters or about 11 million gallons) of thick Prudhoe Bay crude. The oil covered nearly 1,300 square miles of of ocean surface.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_1)
Thousands of animals died immediately; the best estimates include 100,000 to as many as 250,000seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, as well as the destruction of billions of salmon and herring eggs.[4][12] The effects of the spill continue to be felt today. Overall reductions in population have been seen in various ocean animals, including stunted growth in pink salmon populations.[14] Sea otters and ducks also showed higher death rates in following years, partially because they ingested prey from contaminated soil and from ingestion of oil residues on hair due to grooming.[15]
Could the BP Oil Rig Disaster ever reach the level of the Exxon Valdez? It certainly appears possible from here. At this point (May 1, 2010) we now know that the well has been gushing 5000 barrels per day since April 20th. Thus, to date over an eleven day period (11) it has dumped 11 X 5000 or 55,000 barrels so far. To reach the level of the Valdez event it would have to continue gushing oil (5000 bbl/day x 50days = 250,000) for a period of fifty days at its present rate. It has continued unabated so far for eleven days---thus in 39 days (50-11=39) from this date..with no change in the rate of spill--it will have reached the Exxon Valdez in amount of oil spilled.
Today: According to the Associated Press as reprinted by Newser (http://www.newser.com/article/d9fe6gg80/expert-surface-area-of-gulf-oil-spill-has-tripled-rough-seas-again-thwart-containment.html)
The surface area of a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill quickly tripled in size amid growing fears among experts that the slick could become vastly more devastating than it seemed just two days ago.
The slick nearly tripled in just a day or so, growing from a spill the size of Rhode Island to something closer to the size of Puerto Rico, according to images collected from mostly European satellites and analyzed by the University of Miami.
On Thursday, the size of the slick was about 1,150 square miles, but by Friday's end it was in the range of 3,850 square miles, said Hans Graber, executive director of the university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing. That suggests the oil has started spilling from the well more quickly, Graber said.
How big could it get?
This event has the potential to become one of the greatest environmental disasters ever...
Can it even be contained in the Gulf?
Some are concerned that natural ocean currents in the Gulf may wash the gooey stuff out through the Straits of Florida...sliming the the Keys and the only living coral reefs in the Northern Hemisphere.
Rjk
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Afghanistan and Ancient Rome Study in Corruption
When a nation ceases to simply use its forces for defense and initiates wars of expansion..it sinks into depravity and corruption.
From the Washington Post
"Afghan corruption: How to follow the money?"
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 29, 2010
The case of Gaius Verres. Roman governor of first century BC Sicily comes to mind as a case of notorious corruption. Gaius Verres was Roman governor of Sicily 73–71 BC. Gaius the son of a Roman Senator, used his family's contacts and position as well as bribery to become quaestor of Asia in 80 BC which permitted him to join the staff of Gnaeus Dolabella who had been appointed governor of Cilicia a Roman province. Verres avidly joined Dolabella in plundering the province. When Dolabella was recalled to Rome in 78 BC to face charges of embezzlement and mismanagement Verres turned against his former associate to gain a pardon for himself. With the aid of lavish bribes he secured the praetorship of Rome in 74 BC and used his position to advance the aims of his party and party leaders. As a reward he was offered the position of governor or Sicily where, recalling the methods he had practiced under Dolabella, he proceeded to plunder Sicily for his personal enrichment, in a way that was well beyond the typical self serving practices of many Roman governors of the time. His penchant for stealing art treasures from prominent Sicilians and Temples throughout the province led to a legal prosecution once his term was up. Back in Rome, Verres, faced with a contingent of angry Sicilians, used more chicanery and to attempt to avoid prosecution (charging his main accuosor as a fratricide) but in the he had to use some of his-ill gotten Sicilian assets to hire the top defense attorney of the day, one Quintus Hortensius, to defend him. The Sicilian victims of his brutal and corrupt practices turned to a youthful but brilliant Marcus Tullius Cicero to prosecute. Cicero’s first move was to suspend the case for over one-hundred days so as to offer opportunity to collect evidence on a trip to Sicily. After a successful trip and return voyage, Cicero, whose Verrine Orations have made Verres' crimes notorious, successfully prosecuted the tyrant. At the completion of Cicero’s early deposition Verres realized his lawyer would be unable to effectively counter the charges and fled before the end of the trail. He retired to Massilia where he kept much of his plundered treasures. These later attracted the greed of Mark Antony, and Verres was proscribed and murdered in 43)
Which brings to mind our sorry involment in Afghanistan. More than two-thousand years later we find that as the great Greek historian Thucydides who begins his history of the Peloponnesian War by stating that human nature is the basic cause of historical events and its study will be useful to those who wish to understand the way things happen, since events similar to those of the past will certainly recur in the future because human nature is unchanging. (Not that history repeats itself but that humans in similar circumstances will react in similar ways, even if separated over long periods of time.) Men and their behavior and thus history do not change.
All this to introduce a sorry tale. As our President prepares a massive buildup of military forces in Afghanistan..(January 2010) the a House Committee has launched an investigation into charges that the Defense Department (funded to the tune of nearly one trillion dollars annually) is paying off the Taliban (yes our stated enemy in Afghanistan) to protect American supply lines (See The Nation, January 11-18, 2010, pg 8). Did you read that right? Yes, US taxpayer dollars are going directly to the insurgents. The Defense Department pays out $2.2 billion dollars to trucking contractors who then use those funds to pay Taliban to protect out supply lines into and within Afghanistan. But worse than that, these contractors have hired Washington lobbyists—using those same DD funds to lobby the Congress to continue the war in Afghanistan. Hard to believe? Read it. See the Nation http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100111/roston.
From Politics Daily,David Wood, 12 21 09, (downloaded 4-28-10)
From the Washington Post
"Afghan corruption: How to follow the money?"
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 29, 2010
Hamed Wardak, the soft-spoken Georgetown University-educated son of an Afghan cabinet minister, has a Defense Department contract worth up to $360 million to transport U.S. military goods through some of the most insecure territory in Afghanistan. But his company has no trucks.
Instead, Wardak sits atop a murky pyramid of Afghan subcontractors who provide the vehicles and safeguard their passage. U.S. military officials say they are satisfied with the results, but they concede that they have little knowledge or control over where the money ends up.
According to senior Obama administration officials, some of it may be going to the Taliban, as part of a protection racket in which insurgents and local warlords are paid to allow the trucks unimpeded passage, often sending their own vehicles to accompany the convoys through their areas of control.
The essential question, said an American executive whose company does significant work in Afghanistan, is "whether you'd rather pay $1,000" for Afghans to safely deliver a truck, even if part of the money goes to the insurgents, or pay 10 times that much for security provided by the U.S. military or contractors.
The case of Gaius Verres. Roman governor of first century BC Sicily comes to mind as a case of notorious corruption. Gaius Verres was Roman governor of Sicily 73–71 BC. Gaius the son of a Roman Senator, used his family's contacts and position as well as bribery to become quaestor of Asia in 80 BC which permitted him to join the staff of Gnaeus Dolabella who had been appointed governor of Cilicia a Roman province. Verres avidly joined Dolabella in plundering the province. When Dolabella was recalled to Rome in 78 BC to face charges of embezzlement and mismanagement Verres turned against his former associate to gain a pardon for himself. With the aid of lavish bribes he secured the praetorship of Rome in 74 BC and used his position to advance the aims of his party and party leaders. As a reward he was offered the position of governor or Sicily where, recalling the methods he had practiced under Dolabella, he proceeded to plunder Sicily for his personal enrichment, in a way that was well beyond the typical self serving practices of many Roman governors of the time. His penchant for stealing art treasures from prominent Sicilians and Temples throughout the province led to a legal prosecution once his term was up. Back in Rome, Verres, faced with a contingent of angry Sicilians, used more chicanery and to attempt to avoid prosecution (charging his main accuosor as a fratricide) but in the he had to use some of his-ill gotten Sicilian assets to hire the top defense attorney of the day, one Quintus Hortensius, to defend him. The Sicilian victims of his brutal and corrupt practices turned to a youthful but brilliant Marcus Tullius Cicero to prosecute. Cicero’s first move was to suspend the case for over one-hundred days so as to offer opportunity to collect evidence on a trip to Sicily. After a successful trip and return voyage, Cicero, whose Verrine Orations have made Verres' crimes notorious, successfully prosecuted the tyrant. At the completion of Cicero’s early deposition Verres realized his lawyer would be unable to effectively counter the charges and fled before the end of the trail. He retired to Massilia where he kept much of his plundered treasures. These later attracted the greed of Mark Antony, and Verres was proscribed and murdered in 43)
Which brings to mind our sorry involment in Afghanistan. More than two-thousand years later we find that as the great Greek historian Thucydides who begins his history of the Peloponnesian War by stating that human nature is the basic cause of historical events and its study will be useful to those who wish to understand the way things happen, since events similar to those of the past will certainly recur in the future because human nature is unchanging. (Not that history repeats itself but that humans in similar circumstances will react in similar ways, even if separated over long periods of time.) Men and their behavior and thus history do not change.
All this to introduce a sorry tale. As our President prepares a massive buildup of military forces in Afghanistan..(January 2010) the a House Committee has launched an investigation into charges that the Defense Department (funded to the tune of nearly one trillion dollars annually) is paying off the Taliban (yes our stated enemy in Afghanistan) to protect American supply lines (See The Nation, January 11-18, 2010, pg 8). Did you read that right? Yes, US taxpayer dollars are going directly to the insurgents. The Defense Department pays out $2.2 billion dollars to trucking contractors who then use those funds to pay Taliban to protect out supply lines into and within Afghanistan. But worse than that, these contractors have hired Washington lobbyists—using those same DD funds to lobby the Congress to continue the war in Afghanistan. Hard to believe? Read it. See the Nation http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100111/roston.
From Politics Daily,David Wood, 12 21 09, (downloaded 4-28-10)
Separate from allegations about the Taliban and construction security, a House panel last week broadened its investigation into charges that private contractors paid off Taliban insurgents not to attack truck convoys carrying war materiel through Pakistan and into Afghanistan.
"Serious allegations have been brought to the subcommittee's attention that private security providers for U.S. transportation contractors in Afghanistan are regularly paying local warlords and the Taliban for security,'' said Rep. John F. Tierney, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee.
"If shown to be true, it would mean that the United States is unintentionally engaged in a vast protection racket and, as such, may be indirectly funding the very insurgents we are trying to fight,'' Tierney said.
Tierney's investigators have asked for Pentagon documents relating to a $2.2 billion contract with several trucking companies to carry goods into Afghanistan.
The Taliban-related allegation in eastern Afghanistan involves construction on a strategic road between Gardez and Khost, a route that runs over high mountains and directly through territory dominated by the Haqqani Taliban, one of the most ruthless of several Taliban subgroups.
The security contractor alleged that the Haqqani network, which provides foreign fighters from Pakistan for the security work on the roads, is paid tens of thousands of dollars in what amounts to a protection racket.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hedge Garlic in the UK a Noxious Weed Here
It is April 2010 and our local roadsides, waste places and some untended gardens are sprouting with an prolific early-bloomer. It is an herbaceous plant of about a foot high (now) and has heart-shaped, deeply ridged, serrated-eddged leaves as well asa terminal rounded-cluster of four-petaled, white-flowers. Its crushed leaves give off a faint garlic aroma. Its flowers, seeds (in a long pod) indicate it is apparently a member of the mustard family.
Allaria petiolata is a native of Europe and in the UK it grows wild along the oh so common hegerows where is known a "Hedge Garlic" or "Garlic Mustard" or "Jack-in-the-Hedge". Sprouting in early spring, it is often picked as a salad green and used as a substitute for garlic. Its leaves are a component of a well known sauce for roast lamb, a pesto and other delicacies. See:http://www.wildyorkshire.co.uk/naturediary/docs/guest/garlic.html, and http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html (dl 4-24-10)
Alas here in the US it is viewed very differently.
Alliaria petiolata is seen here as a class A noxious weed which grows in places it is not wanted whether sunny or shaded. It can self or cross polinate and like other mustards produces copious seeds which spread and sprout easily. Like other mustards it produces chemicals which act to inhibit the growth of rival plants or even beneficail soil fungi. Thus it can take over wide swaths of the forest floor where it gets established. (see photo at: http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html.)
In the state of Washington it faces eradication where it shows its delicate white blooms.
"History and Impacts.
Garlic mustard is an invasive non-native biennial herb that spreads by seed. It is difficult to control once it has reached a site; it can cross-pollinate or self-pollinate, it has a high seed production rate, it out competes native vegetation and it can establish in a relatively stable forest understory. It can grow in dense shade or sunny sites. The fact that it is self fertile means that one plant can occupy a site and produce a seed bank. Plant stands can produce more than 62,000 seeds per square meter to quickly out compete local flora, changing the structure of plant communities on the forest floor. Garlic mustard is also allelopathic, producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants and mychorrizal fungi needed for healthy tree growth and tree seedling survival." (dl 4-24-10: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsandplants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/garlic-mustard.aspx)
From the same site, also learn that: "Garlic mustard is a biennial herb that grows to about 3 feet tall. The small, white 4-petaled flowers appear in early spring and seed production soon follows. Seedlings develop into basal rosettes by mid summer. The plants overwinter as a basal rosette with kidney-shaped leaves. When the plants bolt in early spring, the mature leaves are triangular, becoming smaller toward the top of the plant. In early spring the roots and new leaves smell like garlic. Each plant usually produces one flowering stem. If a plant is cut or stepped on, many stems will form. Roots typically have a characteristic s-shaped bend that helps the plant hold on to the soil even on steep slopes with loose soil. Garlic mustard is competitive in a wide range of soils, sun, shade and moisture. It grows in wet soil near creeks and on dry, steep slopes. It can grow under the shade of other plants like nettles or in bright sunny spots. Flowering plants range in size from several feet tall to tiny plants with just a few seed pods. Seeds can last in the soil for at least 10 years."
Allaria petiolata is a native of Europe and in the UK it grows wild along the oh so common hegerows where is known a "Hedge Garlic" or "Garlic Mustard" or "Jack-in-the-Hedge". Sprouting in early spring, it is often picked as a salad green and used as a substitute for garlic. Its leaves are a component of a well known sauce for roast lamb, a pesto and other delicacies. See:http://www.wildyorkshire.co.uk/naturediary/docs/guest/garlic.html, and http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html (dl 4-24-10)
Alas here in the US it is viewed very differently.
Alliaria petiolata is seen here as a class A noxious weed which grows in places it is not wanted whether sunny or shaded. It can self or cross polinate and like other mustards produces copious seeds which spread and sprout easily. Like other mustards it produces chemicals which act to inhibit the growth of rival plants or even beneficail soil fungi. Thus it can take over wide swaths of the forest floor where it gets established. (see photo at: http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html.)
In the state of Washington it faces eradication where it shows its delicate white blooms.
"History and Impacts.
Garlic mustard is an invasive non-native biennial herb that spreads by seed. It is difficult to control once it has reached a site; it can cross-pollinate or self-pollinate, it has a high seed production rate, it out competes native vegetation and it can establish in a relatively stable forest understory. It can grow in dense shade or sunny sites. The fact that it is self fertile means that one plant can occupy a site and produce a seed bank. Plant stands can produce more than 62,000 seeds per square meter to quickly out compete local flora, changing the structure of plant communities on the forest floor. Garlic mustard is also allelopathic, producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants and mychorrizal fungi needed for healthy tree growth and tree seedling survival." (dl 4-24-10: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsandplants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/garlic-mustard.aspx)
From the same site, also learn that: "Garlic mustard is a biennial herb that grows to about 3 feet tall. The small, white 4-petaled flowers appear in early spring and seed production soon follows. Seedlings develop into basal rosettes by mid summer. The plants overwinter as a basal rosette with kidney-shaped leaves. When the plants bolt in early spring, the mature leaves are triangular, becoming smaller toward the top of the plant. In early spring the roots and new leaves smell like garlic. Each plant usually produces one flowering stem. If a plant is cut or stepped on, many stems will form. Roots typically have a characteristic s-shaped bend that helps the plant hold on to the soil even on steep slopes with loose soil. Garlic mustard is competitive in a wide range of soils, sun, shade and moisture. It grows in wet soil near creeks and on dry, steep slopes. It can grow under the shade of other plants like nettles or in bright sunny spots. Flowering plants range in size from several feet tall to tiny plants with just a few seed pods. Seeds can last in the soil for at least 10 years."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)