Post by dT on Aug 19, 2013 13:16:11 GMT -5
I have just returned from a week long personal trip into the forests of California. In the summer I like to go to the very high places, especially some areas where there are great rocks of granite and beautiful forests with pine trees and sequoia trees. These places are inspiring and help me to become refreshed in my own spiritual beliefs. I started this thread because I noticed some changes taking place on the Earth - in part because I have a long memory of these high places over several decades. So I can see the changes taking place.
It was good for me to find that my favorite place is mostly unchanged - when the whole world seems to be constantly altering, it is nice to still see some landmarks and forest that are the way you remember them from 30 years ago! :-)
But ... clearly the Earth is changing. We have a lake in the southern Sierra mountains that is called Lake Isabella. It is popular with many for swimming and boating. I remember this lake for 2-3 decades ago when it was big and full of water - a beautiful lake. I was shocked to see that 50% of this lake is gone now ... dried up. The inflow of waters from the streams and rivers (Kern River) has been dropping over time, and cannot sustain the lake level. It is tragic to see a once-beautiful lake disappearing slowly and steadily. It will be a huge setback if they let this lake disappear, but there seems to be no effort to preserve it.
I was also surprised that the disappearance of this bird from the forests.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_Jay
It is commonly called the Stellars Jay. It is one form of the bluejays that live in the mountains. These birds are quite noisy and bold - they will try to steal the bread from your lunch if you take your eyes away. There were so many of these bluejays in the high pine forests in my area. Now - not even one. Not one!! My guess is that they have not died out, but have moved north where there is more rainfall and temperatures are colder. But it is another sign that the Earth is changing.
One evening I sat high on the granite peaks and ran my eyes across the distant forests. In some places the trees are healthy, but in others they are dying. The deaths of the pine trees are very clear - tall whitened stumps stand where there were once good trees. The dead trees are not scorched black from fires. They are just white. No life. It is very clear what is causing this bad change. Polluted air is blowing on the winds that come from Southern California - where there is much traffic and industry. When the south wind picks up this pollution, the unclean air is strong in some parts of the mountains. It is clearly visible if you sit on the high granite rocks and look at sundown - the dirty haze spreads across the mountains. Where it touches the trees ... they are dying. The process takes a long time, but is happening in an inevitable way. Not all forests are gone. But some are. I remember people from the Forest Service explaining this danger to the trees 15 years ago. But nobody DID anything. Now the impact is starting to be real.
I expect these changes in the Earth to accelerate in the future. I see clear signs that things are getting warmer and drier. More species of plants and animals will be affected. I expect personally that changes in the next 10 years will be a bigger problem. It is NOT good.
For myself, I am acting to do what I can. This time I gathered seeds from the great Sequoia Trees and I will try to grow the seedlings at my home. When they take root and become small trees, I will re-plant them in the high forests near small streams. That way some new trees will be located closer to better water sources. This might help - otherwise we may lose some of our great trees that live to be 2000 years old. Who are we as human beings - to risk the lives of a species that lives so long?
I would be interested in whether you are seeing changes like this in other places across Arizona and New Mexico?
regards,
dT
It was good for me to find that my favorite place is mostly unchanged - when the whole world seems to be constantly altering, it is nice to still see some landmarks and forest that are the way you remember them from 30 years ago! :-)
But ... clearly the Earth is changing. We have a lake in the southern Sierra mountains that is called Lake Isabella. It is popular with many for swimming and boating. I remember this lake for 2-3 decades ago when it was big and full of water - a beautiful lake. I was shocked to see that 50% of this lake is gone now ... dried up. The inflow of waters from the streams and rivers (Kern River) has been dropping over time, and cannot sustain the lake level. It is tragic to see a once-beautiful lake disappearing slowly and steadily. It will be a huge setback if they let this lake disappear, but there seems to be no effort to preserve it.
I was also surprised that the disappearance of this bird from the forests.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_Jay
It is commonly called the Stellars Jay. It is one form of the bluejays that live in the mountains. These birds are quite noisy and bold - they will try to steal the bread from your lunch if you take your eyes away. There were so many of these bluejays in the high pine forests in my area. Now - not even one. Not one!! My guess is that they have not died out, but have moved north where there is more rainfall and temperatures are colder. But it is another sign that the Earth is changing.
One evening I sat high on the granite peaks and ran my eyes across the distant forests. In some places the trees are healthy, but in others they are dying. The deaths of the pine trees are very clear - tall whitened stumps stand where there were once good trees. The dead trees are not scorched black from fires. They are just white. No life. It is very clear what is causing this bad change. Polluted air is blowing on the winds that come from Southern California - where there is much traffic and industry. When the south wind picks up this pollution, the unclean air is strong in some parts of the mountains. It is clearly visible if you sit on the high granite rocks and look at sundown - the dirty haze spreads across the mountains. Where it touches the trees ... they are dying. The process takes a long time, but is happening in an inevitable way. Not all forests are gone. But some are. I remember people from the Forest Service explaining this danger to the trees 15 years ago. But nobody DID anything. Now the impact is starting to be real.
I expect these changes in the Earth to accelerate in the future. I see clear signs that things are getting warmer and drier. More species of plants and animals will be affected. I expect personally that changes in the next 10 years will be a bigger problem. It is NOT good.
For myself, I am acting to do what I can. This time I gathered seeds from the great Sequoia Trees and I will try to grow the seedlings at my home. When they take root and become small trees, I will re-plant them in the high forests near small streams. That way some new trees will be located closer to better water sources. This might help - otherwise we may lose some of our great trees that live to be 2000 years old. Who are we as human beings - to risk the lives of a species that lives so long?
I would be interested in whether you are seeing changes like this in other places across Arizona and New Mexico?
regards,
dT
