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| skunk cabbage emergence: mid to late March in our neck of the woods
Photo by J. Harrington
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MinnPost has done something unusual and, for those of us who enjoy the outdoors, delightful. Today they've published An illustrated guide to the signs of Minnesota spring, By Greta Kaul. The unusual aspect is that Ms. Kaul is the data reporter for MinnPost. Phenology is about data, no argument there. But, if you look at the drawings that accompany the text, you'll see why we argue that STEM must become STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). Plus, Minnesota is large enough that listing the earliest and latest dates, without specifying where they occur, diminishes the usefulness of the data. And, we're heartbroken that Ms. Kaul left out skunk cabbage as one of the earliest signs of spring, although we commend her for her illustrations.
MinnPost also has an in-depth background piece on the new Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, Sarah Strommen. We find ourselves in agreement with just about everything in her approach with one exception. "When asked if copper-nickel mining is too risky for Minnesota forests and waterways, Strommen said DNR must judge each project “on its merits.” We could readily agree with this approach if Minnesota had world class processes and procedures for judging each project. In our opinion, Minnesota doesn't and won't until its mining permitting process is embedded in a standard for responsible mining. And although we have great respect for the Izaak Walton League, we don't concur with that organization's Minnesota division that “Mining is a complete commitment of that land forever to that industry because it wreaks devastation on the natural environment.” Although we believe it's too little, too late for the most effective environmental outcomes, Trout Unlimited has worked on the clean up of abandoned mines. The Northern Plains Resource Council has crafted a "good neighbor agreement" "to diminish the effects a long-term mine can have on water quality and rural communities."
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| is fish stocking really mine reclamation?
Photo by J. Harrington
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We believe, based on our career in environmental management and regional and urban development, that the addition of either of the tools mentioned above would substantially improve Minnesota's framework for judging each project on its merits. If miners and environmentalists continue to do little more than lob legal and legislative grenades at each other, the prospects of #OneMinnesota are diminished. The battles become a variation on the current tension between deer hunters and deer farmers in the control of CWD. We're continuing with a standard of pennies for prevention and millions for cures. That's neither wise nor likely to be successful. There are better examples out there. Why aren't we using them?
Let America Be America Again
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That’s made America the land it has become. O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.” The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again!
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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.
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