It’s litter-ally the law!

In his incomparable A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold introduces us to the concept of a land ethic. He writes:

“I have purposely presented the land ethic as a product of social evolution because nothing so important as an ethic is ever ‘written.’ Only the most superficial student of history will suppose that Moses ‘wrote’ the Decalogue; it evolved in the minds of a thinking community, and Moses wrote a tentative summary of it for a ‘seminar.” I say tentative because evolution never stops. The evolution of a land ethic is an intellectual as well as an emotional process.” 

Yesterday, we alluded to the idea that laws alone are insufficient to get US where we want and need to go. Here’s an example. Minnesota has a law against littering.

169.42 LITTERING; DROPPING OBJECT ON VEHICLE; MISDEMEANOR.

Subdivision 1. Objects on highway.

No person shall throw, deposit, place, or dump, or cause to be thrown, deposited, placed, or dumped upon any street or highway or upon any public or privately owned land adjacent thereto without the owner's consent any snow, ice, glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, garbage, swill, papers, ashes, cigarette filters, debris from fireworks, refuse, carcass of any dead animal, offal, trash or rubbish or any other form of offensive matter, or any other substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon any such street or highway. 

recycling and trash cans awaiting pickup

Photo by J. Harrington

On our township road, littering occurs regularly. From a few observations, it appears to me one of the most frequent offenders are the open top trash trucks that use hydraulic(?) arms to lift the trash can and dump it into the collection box. Since we don’t have organized collection, there are several trash days each week and on any given collection day the amount of roadside litter is noticeably increased because the trucks drive along with the open top open and litter blows out. I doubt the drivers ever even look in their mirrors and have yet to see one stop and collect their litter.

So, we have one example of a poorly enforced law that accomplishes little more than to convince folks to be scofflaws. Identifying additional examples isn’t all that hard. Alternatively, as we mentioned yesterday, there’s Elinor Ostrum’s principles for managing commons and the Leopold Foundation’s explanation:

Ethics direct all members of a community to treat one another with respect for the mutual benefit of all. A land ethic expands the definition of “community” to include not only humans, but all of the other parts of the Earth, as well: soils, waters, plants, and animals, or what Leopold called “the land.”

Thoughtlessness is but one form of disrespect for an area and those who live in it. Trash truck drivers may not be evil, but they certainly appear thoughtless. Littering may not be among the more critical problems we’re facing, but it does offer an example of how laws can be of little use in framing behavior, particularly the actions of those who remain unknown and unseen. Have any of you seen reference to ethics in our Common Core Curricula? All I see are standards for English and Math. No standards for how to be a good person or proper citizen? Think about that. In fact, as far as I can see, we have more requirements for getting a driver’s license or buying a firearm than for running for school board or local government.

the trash men

By Charles Bukowski

here they come

these guys

grey truck

radio playing

they are in a hurry

it’s quite exciting:

shirt open

bellies hanging out

they run out the trash bins

roll them out to the fork lift

and then the truck grinds it upward

with far too much sound . . .

they had to fill out application forms

to get these jobs

they are paying for homes and

drive late model cars

they get drunk on Saturday night

now in the Los Angeles sunshine

they run back and forth with their trash bins

all that trash goes somewhere

and they shout to each other

then they are all up in the truck

driving west toward the sea

none of them know

that I am alive

REX DISPOSAL CO.

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Yakking about monarchs

I know that monarch butterflies don't overwinter in Minnesota, or at least so I've read. We've got a field with lots of common milkweed and no eggs or caterpillars this Summer, at least none that I noticed, although I have noticed that the neighbor's yaks don't eat the milkweed in their pasture. It's getting to be time for monarchs to head south again, but I still don't know where the yaks overwinter. I'm still seeing a few monarchs, and the yaks, around the area from time to time, but I have no idea if the butterflies are migrating through or locals. The yaks I consider locals although definitely not indigenous. If a saw large flocks(?) of monarchs, I'd suspect migration but ones and twos make it impossible for me to judge. I'm pretty sure the yaks would have to be transported by truck. Time for some more research to see if I can find some clues about the monarchs. I might just break down and ask the neighbor about the yaks.

monarch on day lily

Photo by J. Harrington

As long as we're talking about butterflies, I'll share a suspicion that I'm starting to develop. I think some of the folks that get great close-up picture of butterflies and bees may be drugging their subjects. I've spent an unreasonable amount of time this Summer trying for some nice "macro" photos and, whether I'm using autofocus or manually focusing, each time I get one of the little critters in really good focus, it moves. Sometimes, I admit, it's probably because I've moved in too close and spooked whatever it is I'm trying to photograph. Other times, though, I think it's just because of a general level of twitchyness in insects. I started out thinking that the "Stalking" skills, such as they are, that I'd acquired over years of hunting and fishing would be good enough. I was wrong. Of course, I was never trying to get within macro photography range of a trout or a duck or a grouse or deer. Plus, once an animal has been "reduced to possession" as the hunter-gatherer crowd says, it's much easier to get a close-up.

milkweed close-up

Photo by J. Harrington

Milkweed

Charles O. Hartman

for Howard Nemerov

Milkweed is pertinent now, so in the air
That everyone is thinking in its terms.
The housewife doesn't dare hang out the wash
Without considering milkweed; engineers
Decide today to redesign the air
Filters they thought perfected. It's a fact:
Milkweed has come to live and be lived with.

Reprieved, the birds have ceased to pluck their breasts
To line their nests -- though few enough are still
Fixing for eggs when milkweed begins to hatch
Exploding from the brown sun-brittled pods.
Occasional nestlings get mistaken meals,
Beakfuls of milkweed someone took for bugs:
Like anything in the air, it seems all things

Eventually: a faery's shuttlecock
As soon as seeds blown from the plainest plant.
Step in a cataract of light on a day
Like this, look up and see another race
Cast from its place and looking for its place;
Riding the wind toward distant, solid ground,
They scatter golden light on their scattered way. 

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That going to the dogs smell

We live on a gravel township road. You can tell by the constant accumulation of dust in the house that we get more traffic than I'd like. Every several weeks the grader comes by to smooth out the surface ripples. Despite all of this, plus the recent rains, our dogs find more fascinating smells in the road's surface than I can begin to understand. I can neither begin to envision what they're smelling nor how the scents are holding long enough to attract the intensity of attention they get. But then, I'm not a dog, nor do I speak doggish well enough to discuss the situation with Franco or SiSi.

a gravel country road, full of smells?

Photo by J. Harrington

Because it has an "other" side to get to, our road is often crossed by whitetail deer, wild turkeys, cottontails and squirrels, less often by turtles and snakes and an occasional black bear. Based on the tracks I see from time to time, the deer and turkeys enjoy a periodic stroll along the road in addition to crossing it. Not being a canid, I have assumed that these smells are common enough that they wouldn't create the ecstasy of sniffing, snuffing and huffing I sometimes get to watch after our walk has been brought up short by whatever scent, smell, aroma or fume has attracted a dog's attention. Clearly my assumption is wrong, plus I failed to remember how I behave when confronted by the aromas of some of my favorite foods. The other point I don't understand is if or whether dogs have a mental image of what they're smelling. The Sunday smell of someone frying chicken immediately brings to my mind the crispy, crunchy perfectly brown color of fried chicken skin. If I smell a skunk, I picture a black and white striped pussy cat creature. What do you suppose is going through what passes for a dog's mind while he or she is running around, nose down, in very tight but unconcentric circles? Do you think he or she nose what's going on?

Dogs Are Shakespearean, Children Are Strangers

By Delmore Schwartz 

Dogs are Shakespearean, children are strangers.

Let Freud and Wordsworth discuss the child,

Angels and Platonists shall judge the dog,

The running dog, who paused, distending nostrils,

Then barked and wailed; the boy who pinched his sister,   

The little girl who sang the song from Twelfth Night,   

As if she understood the wind and rain,

The dog who moaned, hearing the violins in concert.   

—O I am sad when I see dogs or children!

For they are strangers, they are Shakespearean.

Tell us, Freud, can it be that lovely children   

Have merely ugly dreams of natural functions?   

And you, too, Wordsworth, are children truly   

Clouded with glory, learned in dark Nature?   

The dog in humble inquiry along the ground,   

The child who credits dreams and fears the dark,   

Know more and less than you: they know full well   

Nor dream nor childhood answer questions well:   

You too are strangers, children are Shakespearean.

Regard the child, regard the animal,   

Welcome strangers, but study daily things,   

Knowing that heaven and hell surround us,   

But this, this which we say before we’re sorry,   

This which we live behind our unseen faces,   

Is neither dream, nor childhood, neither   

Myth, nor landscape, final, nor finished,   

For we are incomplete and know no future,   

And we are howling or dancing out our souls   

In beating syllables before the curtain:   

We are Shakespearean, we are strangers.

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Earth Day Milestones to celebrate?

Happy Earth Day. By now you've probably heard that President Obama has been reported to claim that Senator Warren is just plain wrong about the facts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Of course, as Huffington Post and others note, it's hard to be sure since the Obama administration has classified the the negotiations and related documents. As one who believes that the strategy to "Trust, but verify" was one of the few worthwhile things to come from the Reagan administration, I can only reply to President Obama "say what?"

prairie flowers at Wild River State Park

Photo by J. Harrington

I'm still disappointed that the Clinton administration brought us the North American Free Trade Agreement, which I continue to believe did major disservice to two of the democrat's longest-standing constituencies, environmentalists and labor unions. The "side agreements" on protecting the environment and labor rights seem to have substantially less effectiveness than the jurisdiction exercised by the World Trade Organization. Minnesota's Iron Range claims to be suffering from unfair trade practices in the international steel industry, compounded by claims that it takes too long and is too difficult to get redress from the damage of "steel dumping." I haven't yet seen an analysis that would support those assertions either, but Public Citizen has published a 20 years of NAFTA report, with data, that states

"The data show that NAFTA proponents’ projections of broad economic benefits from the deal have failed to materialize. Instead, millions have suffered job loss, wage stagnation, and economic instability from NAFTA. Scores of environmental, health and other public interest policies have been challenged. Consumer safeguards, including key food safety protections, have been rolled back...."

The Economics Policy Institute also has criticized NAFTA's "benefits." It's a contentious issue and one of my biggest critiques is that the basis on which the anticipated wins and losses for these kinds of agreements are rarely (never?) documented. To paraphrase Jerry Maguire, "show me the jobs." I don't expect any projections to be absolutely correct, but at least we could judge future realities against well-defined expectations and, perhaps, limit the debate to more productive lines. All of which brings us to one of my wishes for future Earth Days in Minnesota.

great blue heron at Carlos Avery WMA

Photo by J. Harrington

Once upon a time, Minnesota had a set of broadly agreed upon and formally adopted goals called "Minnesota Milestones." They were goals and indicators of progress, or lack thereof, toward attaining those goals. For this Earth Day and future ones, I'd like to see Minnesota bring back Milestones and measure how we're doing against them. Maybe it might help bring some modicum of civility to our political discourse. I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with bickering along the lines of "she said, he said" that are focused on scoring points, not progress. These are the Environmental goals (in bold) and indicators (numbered) in the last (1998) version of Milestones I could find:

Minnesotans will conserve natural resources to give future generations a healthy environment and a strong economy.
     55 Energy use per person
     56 Renewable energy sources
     57 Vehicle miles
     58 Air pollutants
     59 Water use
     60 Timber harvest
     61 Solid waste and recycling
     62 Toxic chemicals

Minnesotans will improve the quality of the air, water and earth.
     63 Urban air pollution
     64 Water quality in lakes and rivers
     65 Nitrate in ground water
     66 Erosion of cropland

Minnesotans will restore and maintain healthy ecosystems that support diverse plants and wildlife.
     67 Wildlife habitat
     68 Changes in land use

Minnesotans will have opportunities to enjoy the state’s natural resources.
     69 Parkland and open space
     70 Recreational trails

cottontail under bird feeder

Photo by J. Harrington

I think most of the goals and indicators would still be worth measuring today and into the future. I find it much easier to trust when it's also easier to verify. Don't you? Maybe next Earth Day we can celebrate the return of Minnesota's Milestones and some progress toward attaining them.

UPDATE: A major step in the right correct direction:
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's DashBoard

Shall earth no more inspire thee

By Emily Brontë 

Shall earth no more inspire thee,

Thou lonely dreamer now?

Since passion may not fire thee

Shall Nature cease to bow?

Thy mind is ever moving

In regions dark to thee;

Recall its useless roving—

Come back and dwell with me.

I know my mountain breezes

Enchant and soothe thee still—

I know my sunshine pleases

Despite thy wayward will.

When day with evening blending

Sinks from the summer sky,

I’ve seen thy spirit bending

In fond idolatry.

I’ve watched thee every hour;

I know my mighty sway,

I know my magic power

To drive thy griefs away.

Few hearts to mortals given

On earth so wildly pine;

Yet none would ask a heaven

More like this earth than thine.

Then let my winds caress thee;

Thy comrade let me be—

Since nought beside can bless thee,

Return and dwell with me.

Tracking Spring

Yesterday, for the first time in many weeks, My-Minnesota took a walk up the road to the nearby pond. From the looks of it, we're still deeply embedded in Winter. We're planning on adding weekly updates of this scene to our tracking the emergence of Spring around here.

no open water here yet (March 9, 2014)    © harrington

Today, it smelled like Spring (a little bit) when I stepped outside to measure the snow bank's distance to the bottom of the feeder. The above freezing overnight temperatures left a pleasant damp smell in the air this morning. Last week the gap was about 9 1/2 inches. This week it's grown to about 11 1/2 inches. Whether through melting, compaction, or both, the snow bank has shrunk by about 2 inches. Progress! Over the weekend, something, or someone, broke the pine cone bell that had been buried in the snow bank.

March 10, 2014: 11 1/2 inch gap under the feeder   © harrington

We'll wire the missing piece onto the top after the snow's melted / compacted enough for it to swing freely. Meanwhile, let the thaw continue!

"To the Thawing Wind"

Robert Frost

Come with rain, O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;
Give the buried flower a dream;
Make the settled snowbank steam;
Find the brown beneath the white;
But whate'er you do tonight,
Bathe my window, make it flow,
Melt it as the ice will go;
Melt the glass and leave the sticks
Like a hermit's crucifix;
Burst into my narrow stall;
Swing the picture on the wall;
Run the rattling pages o'er;
Scatter poems on the floor;
Turn the poet out of door. 

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The scents of seasons

© harrington

Old tracks and daily dustings of snow create snow dimples. The tracks lose all definition and become simple depressions in fresh snow cover. Unless, that is, you're a dog or have a sense of smell that works as well as a dog's. Taking Franco the Rescue Dog (we needn't go into who rescued whom) for his afternoon walk, I noticed he was determined to explore what used to be there -- in those tracks -- and left behind those wonderful smells. I wonder -- if I could sniff the way he does if it would be useful, enjoyable, or just sensory overload? When there are fresh deer tracks, he is ever so eager to follow them. Other times he uses the same pattern I was taught to follow if I lost a blood trail, mark the sport where you're starting and make wider circles until you cut it again. I remember reading, over the years, that some scenting conditions are better than others, as I recall, warm and damp were better than most others. Winter's cold and, sometimes, damp, so I suppose that benefits Franco explorations ("But it's a dry cold" he says).  Would that I had his enthusiasm for most things in my life. Having a pet like Franco makes me aware of how much pleasure I can miss just because I'm not in the mood. That, in turn, reminds me to work on my Zen acceptance of what is and enjoyment of the pleasures that are mine if I'm just open to them. I don't recall ever seeing anything about Buddha's reincarnating in rescue dogs, but neither have I read everything there may be on this subject. Stop by again some time soon and see what other wonderful aromas are arising in My Minnesota. (Hint, imagine Spring coming soon full of fresh, damp earth smells. What about the aroma of mucking out and spreading the manure from the barn across the road? Can you tell if its a cattle or a horse barn?)