It's a Jungle Out There - Stay Safe

Memorial Day weekend fires the opening salvo for summer fun in the outdoors. Millions of people are now blowing up inner tubes and buying new flip flops to mark the occasion. But, based on the emails I get as an environmental writer, it’s also a time to consider outdoor safety and conservation while preparing to toast marshmallows over the campfire. Basically, it's a jungle out there.

 “Most people think of campfires when they think of camping,” said Don Owen, California Firewood Task Force chairman. “Sitting around a campfire with friends and family can be a relaxing way to wind down a day spent outdoors enjoying nature. What people don’t realize though is this: if they transport firewood, they may also unknowingly move harmful insects and diseases, putting the trees and forests they love at risk.”

Owen says hitchhiking pests can establish in new areas and have devastating impacts on trees, our natural resources, and local communities—spreading invasive insects and diseases such as Sudden Oak Death (in northern and central coastal California) and the goldspotted oak borer (in San Diego and Riverside Counties).

Infested firewood is a principle vehicle, he says, for spreading these and other devastating forest pests, such as the emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle. Not moving firewood is one way to protect our forests. “Buy It Where You Burn It.”

For more information on the risks of moving firewood or the California Firewood Task Force, go to http://www.firewood.ca.gov

Ants in Your Pants

Don’t want ants at the picnic? The University of California and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation have teamed up to offer tips for eliminating ants in your home and garden without resorting to toxic chemicals. Online information is available at:  http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.ants.html

Finding Nemo

Lake Tahoe, the country’s highest alpine lake, is no goldfish bowl, but U.S. Forest Service fish biologists with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit say they’re finding big goldfish – some weighing several pounds – living in the large freshwater lake along the border between California and Nevada.

While goldfish may seem innocent and beautiful in a glass fish bowl, they, like other invasive species, can damage Tahoe and other lakes' natural ecosystems. How do these intruders get into our lakes? Experts suggest well-meaning pet owners dump them there—live Nemo, live! But these nonnative intruders can promote algae growth which fouls water and they can prey on native species, reducing populations and natural environmental balance.

Brianne O’Rourke, with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, holds a large goldfish found in the Tahoe Keys of Lake Tahoe. (Photo courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Packing Heat, Flexing Mussels

The California interagency effort fighting the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels urges boaters to remain vigilant over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. People who launch vessels at any body of water are subject to watercraft inspections, and are encouraged to clean, drain and dry their motorized and non-motorized boats, including personal watercraft, and any equipment that comes into contact with the water before and after recreating at a waterway.

“Boaters have taken an active role in preventing the spread of mussels,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham. “These efforts must continue, so that the state’s aquatic resources are protected and available for the enjoyment of all.”

Quagga and zebra mussels, non-native freshwater mussels native to Eurasia, multiply quickly and encrust watercraft and infrastructure, and compete for food with native and sport species. These mussels can be spread from one body of water to another attached to nearly anything that has been in an infested waterbody, or via standing water from an infested waterbody entrapped in boat engines, bilges, live-wells and buckets.

Zebra mussels on boat anchor

To ensure watercraft are clean, drained and dry, many local agencies are conducting boat inspections. CDFW has posted a list of these inspections on its website (www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel) along with additional information about the invasive mussels and what people can do to help prevent their spread in California. Boaters should call ahead to check for restrictions prior to visiting their destination.

CDFW has developed a brief video demonstrating the ease of implementing the clean, drain and dry prevention method, which can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaeAIPLoK-k. In addition, a detailed guide to cleaning vessels of invasive mussels is available on the Department of Boating and Waterways website at www.dbw.ca.gov/PDF/BoatingQuaggaGuide.pdf.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

And finally, as warm weather returns, the CDFW is reminding the public to be rattlesnake safe. All of California is snake country and they play an important role in the ecosystem by keeping rodent populations under control.

 

California has six venomous snakes, all of which are various species of rattlesnake. They are heavy-bodied, blunt-tailed with triangular-shaped heads. A rattle may not always be present, as they are often lost through breakage and not developed on the young. Additional species information can be found here: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/snake.html.

Rattlesnakes are generally not aggressive and usually strike when threatened or provoked. Given room, they will retreat and want to be left alone. They are not confined to rural areas and have been found in urban environments, lakeside parks and golf courses.

Most rattlesnake bites occur between April and October when people are most active outdoors. The California Poison Control Center notes that rattlesnakes account for more than 800 bites each year in the U.S. with one to two deaths.

CDFW recommends the following outdoor safety precautions:
-Wear hiking boots and loose-fitting long pants.
-Never go barefoot or wear sandals when walking through wild areas.
-When hiking, stick to well-used trails.
-Avoid tall grass, weeds and heavy underbrush where snakes may hide during the day.
-Do not step or put your hands where you cannot see, and avoid wandering around in the dark.
-Step ON logs and rocks, never over them, and be especially careful when climbing rocks or gathering firewood.
- Remember, rattlesnakes can swim so never grab “sticks” or “branches” while swimming in lakes and rivers.
-Teach children to respect snakes and to leave them alone.

What to do in the event of a snake bite:

-Stay calm and wash the bite area gently with soap and water.
-Remove watches, rings, etc, which may constrict swelling.
-Immobilize the affected area and go to the nearest medical facility.

What you should NOT do after a rattlesnake bite:

DON’T apply a tourniquet.
DON’T pack the bite area in ice.

DON’T cut the wound with a knife or razor.

DON’T use your mouth to suck out the venom.

DON’T let the victim drink alcohol. 

For more general information on rattlesnakes, visit:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74119.html.

Hope you have a safe start to your summer. Get out there. Have Fun!

Send Photos.

Come and visit me in the The Garden.

 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Guns



Campbell Armory at Inveraray Castle

What do ancient struggles of the Scottish clans have to do with today's debate in America about gun control?

To my mind, everything. In the wake of atrocities against innocents at places like Virginia Tech, the cinema at Aurora Colorado, the slaughter of children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the debate about gun control has devolved into Congressional inaction, corporate lobbying and the sniping of special interests, along with bureaucratic and judicial malaise. It's time to take a look at where the idea of the inalienable right to bear arms comes from and how it should be interpreted in America today.

What seems to be lost in the discussion is what the right to "bear arms" actually means and how the concept came to be included in the U.S. Constitution. Reviewing the Federalist Papers, the writings of the Constitution's framers on various aspects of what would become the final document, I find there's reference to the right in English law to bear arms as recognition of the historical rights of Protestants to protect themselves from attackers, particularly Catholic monarchs.

The right to have arms in English history is believed to have been regarded as a long-established natural right to self-protection that supports life. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 emerged from upheaval in a country where tribal grudges and religious violence threatened sovereign rule.



Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquis of Argyll
8th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, with his wife Margaret.
He was the de facto head of government in Scotland during
most of the British Civil War (1642-1651). He was a major figure in the
 Covenanter movement that fought for the Presbyterian religion.

According to the history of the Campbell family, Archibald Campbell, the 8th Earl of Argyll and the 1st Marquess of Argyll, was a devoted Presbyterian. This led into conflict with the monarchy. The Earl led (Protestant) Covenanters opposed to King Charles I and was beheaded for treason against the throne in 1661. Efforts were made after his death to disarm the Highland Clans. The fortunes of the House of Argyll were down until the "Glorious Revolution" in 1688.

Ultimately, the Catholic James II was overthrown in the English Civil War and his successors, the Protestants William III and Mary II, accepted conditions codified in the English Bill of Rights, adopted in 1689. Among issues the Bill resolved were the authority of the monarchy to disarm its subjects, after James II had attempted to disarm Highland Protestants, and his desire to maintain a standing (permanent) army.

The English Bill of Rights states that it restores "ancient rights" trampled upon by James II, though some have argued that it created a new right to have arms, which developed out of the sense that it's a "duty" to have them.

Mentioned as an historic  "Protestant" right in the Federalist Papers during the framing of the U.S. Constitution, the right to bear arms for self-protection and the potential need to form militias in times of national emergency was included in the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The U.S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

When the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787, however, the framers of the document were thinking of the right of persons to protect themselves from attack, historically an attack prompted by a disagreement over personal religious beliefs and fears of insurrection, still a strong concern in a nation founded by religious dissidents. 

Today it's estimated by Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the International Action Network on Small Arms, that there are more than 639 million small arms in circulation and more than 1,135 companies based in more than 98 different countries manufacture small arms, as well as their various components and ammunition. In the U.S., market research counts about 300 gun manufacturing companies with combined annual revenue of more than $5 billion. That's a lot of fire power and a lot of money. 

What I talk about when I talk about guns -- and the right to bear arms -- is this: historically it means a single-shot muzzle loader or a pistol to protect oneself from personal attack. Sticking with the context of history and Constitutional intent, possession by private citizens of high-powered, rapid-fire weaponry capable of indiscriminate mass killing is NOT guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment.

It simply is not and never has been. Just as all speech is not guaranteed by the 1st Amendment, ownership of any and all weapons is not guaranteed by the 2nd.

I can't figure out why nobody gets this. I call it Constitutional Drift or a Constitution of Convenience. We make up the Constitution as we go along to fit the fashion of the moment or to serve corporate or political interests or conform to self-centered intentions of individuals. Taken to extremes, I suppose a case could be made for the 2nd Amendment guaranteeing personal atomic bombs for children.

We need to grasp the genesis of the 2nd Amendment -- what it actually says and what it actually intends -- protection of the individual from surprise attack and establishing ready responders in the event of insurrection or foreign assault.

Those simple rights do not guarantee ownership of an AK 47 or a Glock semi-automatic pistol. I say ownership of a revolver and a hunting rifle stretches the 2nd Amendment as far as it will go. Possessing any of the rest of today's modern assault hardware is NOT guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, is illegal, and, except when this equipment is used by trained professionals for purposes of public safety and military response, is a clear and present danger to modern American life.

No mater what money mongers, political opportunists, or the self-serving adventurer might say, when we talk about guns, let's stick with the basics -- let's talk about history and the law. As has been amply illustrated, the lives of our children depend on it.

I understand the complexities of this issue, the acrimony in the debate. I get that we aren't living with technology available three or four hundred years ago. I'm aware that I'll be dismissed as a crackpot. I also recognize that gun violence in America today is out of control.

I don't believe there is Constitutional footing for allowing gun violence to continue unrestricted in the name of the U.S. Constitution. Instead we need to insist Constitutional law be upheld. This is not an economic or partisan issue. It's about social survival. The 2nd Amendment does not guarantee the right to possess an Uzi, whether its continuous-fire mechanism has been disabled or not. I'm sick of splitting hairs and watching people die.

And, once we finish the discussion and confiscate the illegal weapons, let's get back to gardening.

Gardens at Inveraray Castle, Scotland

Home of Clan Campbell

 

 

Get Down, Get Dirty

To celebrate National Poetry Month -- April -- I've been participating in an online poem-a-day workshop with about 100 poets. Lead by poets Molly Fisk and Lisa Chilar, who provided daily writing prompts, the poems contributed are astonishingly good. My poetic contributions turned out to be more like a poem every other day and weren't nearly as artful and engaging as those from other participants. But, I tell myself, comparison isn't the point. It's the poem that matters.

Ever bookish, it occurred to me that a collection of poetry from the workshop is sitting there waiting to be collected and shared with poetry lovers outside the closed workshop. But, creating a collection would take time and money, both in short supply for the busy poets who participated. I just wish you could read some of them. They're that good.

In the meantime, below is one of my poems from the workshop inspired by the spring planting going on in my garden.

Get Down, Get Dirty

Under fingernails

and among cuticles,

between thumb and forefinger that

rub grit, roll clay.

Hand gripping trowel

to trench the earth, happily

chewing up ground,

coffee cup conversing with potting soil,

shovel cuddling rake, ready.

All together now

turn yourself,

prepare yourself,

show yourself,

grow yourself.

Be the dirt you are

in the yard,

in the hand,

under the plow,

in the wind with the water, sprinkling

rivulets down your back.

If he was here, we’d be dirty as

this garden.

We’d roll in the furrows and mounds.

Have sex.

Hot, gritty sex, sex, while neighbors steal peeks with permission

prurient faces pressed to fence boards

eyeing through the cracks.

Roll on prickly grass.

Hot spring.

Spread seeds.

Spread love.

Get down.

Get dirty.