M.L. Rowland's Blog, page 10
December 11, 2014
Global Internet Access? Huh?
Wow! Really, Mark Z? Internet connection for every person in the world? I know that’s your field, BUT… How about using that astonishing brain of yours to figure out how to provide every person on the planet with some of the more basic human needs first…like sufficient FOOD and clean WATER? Or maybe ELECTRICITY, BASIC HEALTHCARE and GOOD SANITATION?
December 4, 2014
A Call to Action from Robert Redford
There is already a major oil well at one entrance to Canyonlands National Park, and other energy-related encroachments pose a growing threat. Photo: John Fowler/Flickr
OUTSIDE ONLINE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014
Let’s Finish the Job: Designate a Canyonlands National Monument
It’s been a national park for 50 years. One more step will ensure that it’s safe forever.
By: ROBERT REDFORD
Fifty years ago, Congress passed a law creating Canyonlands National Park. It was a great bipartisan endeavor that preserved beautiful red rock landscapes for all Americans to enjoy. Yet it was a job left undone. Congress had whittled down the size of the park from the original Interior Department proposal.
Now some of those unprotected places are threatened by the surge in U.S. energy development. One park entrance is already marred by a major oil well, and formerly wide-open vistas are littered with pump jacks and drill rigs.
It’s time to protect these special places—and honor the original vision for the park—once and for all. President Obama can create the Greater Canyonlands National Monument using the same Antiquities Act that Republican and Democratic presidents used to establish four out of five of Utah’s national parks.
With this monument, we can finish what was started 50 years ago.
Just two years after Canyonlands National Park was created, I spent months traveling around red rock country filming Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There is a reason the film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography: Much of it benefited from the spectacular vermilion sandstone of southern Utah as a backdrop.
A rugged territory of canyons and river gorges, Greater Canyonlands is an expanse of wilderness like no other. This is one of the largest roadless areas left in the lower 48 states—somewhere you can wander for days without a glimpse of pavement or telephone poles, a place of outlaws and visionaries. Butch Cassidy himself is said to have hidden in its canyon mazes. Edward Abbey called it “the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere.”
Standing at Dead Horse Point high above the Colorado River and looking out over the panorama of high mesas, deep canyon walls, and orange and pink rock formations sculpted by wind and water, it’s easy to see that the park boundaries failed to capture all the region’s natural treasures. Straight lines arbitrarily cutting across meandering rivers and ridgelines encompass only a portion of the living heart of red rock country.
That leaves the land around the park increasingly under siege from rampant oil and gas development, potash mining, and potential strip mines for tar sands oil—the dirtiest fuel on earth. Drilling activity has increased so much outside the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park that Moab residents have dubbed it “Oil Land in the Sky.”
The idea of drill pads, gas flares, and pipelines crisscrossing this glorious landscape is obscene. Wild places are an essential part of our American spirit. They belong to all of us, and we must protect them from reckless and polluting industries.
The time is now. As Canyonlands National Park celebrates its 50th anniversary and the Centennial of the National Park Service approaches in 2016, President Obama can fulfill the original vision for the park by preserving the entirety of this landscape for good.
This will not only safeguard a place of stunning beauty but also build on a distinctly American tradition—one carried on by both political parties and both state and national leaders—of conserving the wild places that sustain our nation’s rugged and independent character. Greater Canyonlands is one of them. Let’s protect it now.
December 3, 2014
Land Grab!
The “land grab” attempt by local and state governments FROM land we ALL own (Federal) is real, in progress, and a serious threat to some of my favorite areas of the country (and I’ve seen a LOT of it!). This is NOT hyperbole.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s new television commercial airs throughout Utah beginning December 1, 2014. Please share with friends and support the ad campaign through a tax-deductible contribution here: http://bit.ly/StopUTLandGrab
December 2, 2014
Book Award Nominations
I’m very pleased to announce that both of my books, “Zero-Degree Murder” and “Murder Off the Beaten Path,” have been nominated for an Edgar Award presented each year by the Mystery Writers of America and for an Agatha award.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
December 1, 2014
Utah Thanksgiving
For over fifteen years, my husband, Mark, and I have been traveling to Utah with friends for Thanksgiving. What better way to celebrate and give thanks for this most fabulous world in which we live!
This year’s trip included hikes in Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge inside Capitol Reef National Park and the outstanding canyon country around Bluff in southeastern Utah.
Enjoy!
Click to view slideshow.
November 13, 2014
Joy for the Day
This post has nothing whatsoever to do with writing or reading or Search and Rescue. It has to do with our humanity.
In a world that seems filled with only killing and hatred and evil and greed, we need to be reminded, more and more often it seems, that the world still has good people everywhere, in all countries, millions of them, people who love each other, respect each other, who help each other, give one another hope and joy, people who are smiling, laughing, singing, and, yes, even dancing.
Enjoy! And if you’re as touched as I was, please share the joy!
November 12, 2014
It’s C-c-c-cold Out There!
I considered re-posting this blog this winter, but certainly didn’t expect it to be in November! But since most of the country is experiencing the frigid fall-out from the polar vortex now, here it is!
What better time to talk about winter survival than when vast portions of the country are experiencing record low temperatures.
The old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (attributed to Ben Franklin), is so true when it comes to survival. What you do BEFORE you leave home can literally save your life.
Whether you’re going for a hike or short walk, or whether you’re driving over the river and through the woods on the way to Grandma’s house, remember these few easy, very basic tips.
1. “File a flight plan.” This means let someone know where you’re going and when they should expect you back or at your destination. Then, allowing yourself a few hours buffer for mishaps and the unexpected, determine a time when they should call out the troops, i.e., report you missing. This step alone has saved countless lives. You want Search and Rescue to come out looking for you sooner rather than way later.
2. Never go out into the cold unless you’re well-dressed and well-equipped. (No, I’m not talking about Dior or Dolce and Gabbana.) I’m talking about dressing in layers to take off if you begin to get too hot (sweating is NOT a good thing when you’re out in the cold) and to pile on if you get too cold. Wool is a great insulator and very warm, but never wear it or other natural fabrics directly next to your skin. Natural fibers absorb and hold water and can speed up the onset of hypothermia. (Wearing only blue jeans when you’re out in the cold is a big fat no no! There’s a reason they’re called hypothermia pants!) Wear synthetics like nylon or acrylic as an underlayer against your skin, including socks!
Wear gloves (or better still, mittens) and a hat. Opinions vary on the percentage of heat loss, but you can lose as much as 40 or even 50 percent of your body heat through that big head of yours.
And don’t forget a water/wind-proof layer in case the weather turns foul.
Bring water with you. And although food is at the bottom of the list of essentials when you’re in a survival situation, snacking on peanut butter crackers or peanuts or candy can make a world of difference to your state of mind. And a positive mental attitude is THE NUMBER ONE most important thing to have if you find yourself in a survival situation.
Bring a flashlight with extra batteries. If you’re driving stow extra blankets or a sleeping bag or two in your car.
3. Don’t rely solely on your GPS or car’s navigation system to get you where you want to go. They fail. Batteries die. Plus they’re not infallible and might even lead you into danger if you’re not careful. In other words, bring a map along and know how to read it.
4. Also never rely solely on your cell phone. Never think, “I’ve got my phone. I don’t need anything else.” Cell phones die. Believe it or not, there are still places with no reception (such as in deep canyons or in the mountains). Plus, if you get lost and can reach someone on your phone, you still need to be able to tell them where you are. (Duh!)
So go out and have some fun! But stay safe and stay warm!
November 11, 2014
The Poppies – Never Forget
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”
— John McCrae
