wonder how many years is lopped of a lifespan of the average Chilango breathing that really foul air? stay tuned for a new study, for sure | |
so if particulate reduction extends lifespan, by reverse logic particulate increases must do the opposite...no? | |
Mexico Cilty urbanites or "Chilangos" used to make fun of us who lived out in the country or "la provincia"...guess who's making fun now? | |
and all is covered with a gray soot or what must be particulates...it's sort of depressing...there are hardly ever any clear days anymore | |
we were only there one day but I got my usual bloody nose, itchy eyes and beginning signs of a sore throat | |
you might shake your head but my my figures there may be 40 million Mexicans living within 100 miles of Mexico City...or close to it | |
we came in from Pachuca and the air was really bad there too...Mexico City...world's first 50 million person urban zone? Maybe | |
they also said it was dangerous for adults to run or work outside in the Distrito Federal...now that's depression | |
just back from Mexico City Distrito Federal this week and they had a warning on the news to not let your kids go outside...dangerous air | |
once upon a time they used to say that the body could adapt to it...adapt? yup...that was the line of thought | |
just ask all the goodfolk in Mexico City how they feel...or don't feel...ha | |
breathing dirty air is depressing...could the cleaner air have just been a placebo effect? depression causes premature death as well...ha | |
supposedly this is the first 'real study' that shows cleaner air extends lifespans...something most of us intuitively knew all along | |
of course a lot of things have changed since 1970 but the scientists claim they could accurately guage those factors and factor cleaner air | |
the particulates fell about one-third since the Clean Air Act was revised in 1970...good news for those of that breathe...or still breathe.. | |
good to see the improved air quality of the US has increased our collective lifespans 5 months, mainly due to particulate reduction |
 | jackddeal these Greenfolk can be very good customers so why not give them what they want or at least in the manner they want it? Good business? |  |
| | jackddeal others want both a paper and digital receipt; if you are in business you know the type...ha! | |
| | jackddeal they stop all unsolicited mail and plan their trips to save gas. These kinds of customers will absolutely love your paperless company | |
| | jackddeal these 'Greens' ask their grocery store to have a 'recycle receipt' box at the checkout counter | |
| | jackddeal Greenfolk also know paper kills trees and the paper industry is one of the dirtiest industries on the planet. | |
| | jackddeal These Greenfolk live what they feel and they get upset if they see you throwing a can or piece of cardboard in the regular trash... | |
| | jackddeal Many customers and clients also prefer paperless. Ecology and 'going green' has become an obsession in many areas of the world. | |
| | jackddeal paperless payroll is actually an employee benefit as employees don't have to wait for their checks or drive to a bank or ATM to deposit it | |
| | jackddeal your company can almost eliminate payroll related paper by doing direct deposits and allowing employees private online access | |
| | jackddeal anywhere your company is not legally required to have paper might be a good area to eliminate paper | |
| | jackddeal Paper such as authorizations, invoices, receipts, bids, contracts, etc. are often required by law... | |
| | jackddeal By eliminating paper one can reduce different types of fixed expenses that take up both time and money. |
What no paper? You have got to be kidding...
No, not really. Paperless started in a place called Silicon Valley where a few tech companies decided that paper was a relic just like the tape cassette and Corvair. Paper? We don't need any stinkin' paper...
And then there are those of us that have fought with paper all our lives. We lose it, misfile it, spill coffee on it, loan it, rip it, tear it and wrinkle it. We actually do a lot more things with it and that is the problem.
A computer, if you know how to use one, is a much more efficient way to track and store data than a filing cabinet. What the techies really like about computer storage is they can determine how to organize the data and information and even how to search and retrieve it.
Not so with filing cabinets and reams of paper. Paper has to go in a certain file or it cannot be found...no cross indexing in a filing cabinet. Or if you are like me, you end up with piles of papers that need to be filed meaning that many of my paper files are incomplete at best.
And how about those really thick paper files? Ever spent ten minutes going through a thick paper file to find out it was misplaced or in the very back of the file?
And how about those poor dyslexic souls that space out on their A, B, and C's and always misfile?
There is no Google search function for a filing cabinet that can compensate for human error.
And of course it is always true that the really urgent and critical piece of paper is the only one that cannot be found...the Murphy's Law of Paper.
In Silicon Valley the office rent is so high it makes storing tons of paper a very expensive proposition. The paper itself is expensive and then there are filing costs, storing costs, retrieval costs, etc. By eliminating paper one can reduce different types of fixed expenses that take up both time and money.
So if going paperless is more efficient and effective, what is to stop any company from going paperless?
Some paper is required by law and unless your company is in a Mafia-related business it is in your best interest to abide by the law. Paper such as authorizations, invoices, receipts, bids, contracts, etc. are often required by law and should be included in your company's best practices. Sorry.
But anywhere your company is not legally required to have paper might be a good area to eliminate paper. For example, your company can almost eliminate payroll related paper by doing direct deposits and allowing employees private access to their online 'paycheck stubs.'
Paperless payroll is actually an employee benefit as employees don't have to wait for their checks or drive to a bank or ATM to deposit it. Saves paper, gas and time...
Many customers and clients also prefer paperless. Ecology and 'going green' has become an obsession in many areas of the world. These Greenfolk live what they feel and they get upset if they see you throwing a can or piece of cardboard in the regular trash and not the appropriate recycling bin.
They also know paper kills trees and the paper industry is one of the dirtiest industries on the planet.
These 'Greens' ask their grocery store to have a 'recycle receipt' box at the checkout counter; they bring their own bags so it's never "paper or plastic."
They stop all unsolicited mail and plan their trips to save gas. These kinds of customers will absolutely love your company for going paperless. And tell all their Greenfolk friends.
Obviously it's good business to give the customer what they want. Some, like me on a small purchase, don't want a receipt at all. Others want an email or digital receipt so they can store and file it on their computer.
Still others want both a paper and digital receipt; if you are in business you know the type...ha! But despite being picky these Greenfolk can be very good customers so why not give them what they want or at least in the manner they want it? Good business, no?
As computer memory costs continue to approach zero, massive data storage is now relatively inexpensive or almost free. And with improved security, in many instances digital files are also more secure than paper files; one big advantage is that digital files never need shredding.
Even if your company cannot go paperless there is a strong likelihood that a good percentage of your company's paperwork could be reduced. It's cheaper, more efficient, greener and in many instances more secure. Most importantly customers love it.
Go ahead; throw your printer into the trash or rather the recycling bin. What's not to like about that?
Looking out across the dark Caribbean night from Punta Allen one sees three equally sized glowing areas on the distant horizon to the north. The furthest out is Cancun, the next Playa del Carmen and the last Tulum.
Cancun has a bit less than a million people; Playa has 300,000 and Tulum now over 30,000. Playa Del Carmen is the fastest growing municipality in Mexico.
But from Punta Allen each lighted area appears to be the same size since Cancun is farther away than Playa and Playa is farther away than Tulum. The three groups of lights are a reminder of the environmental impact of civilization, including light pollution.
In the next 20 years these three lights will merge.
Biologists report the coral reefs are dead out from Cancun, dying off the coast of Playa Del Carmen and starting to die off Tulum. Progress, people and pollution are taking their toll.
If the reefs die, scuba diving will go soon thereafter and that is a major source of tourist dollars. Scuba diving, unlike snorkeling, is not cheap.
The turtles are also moving south. Cancun has too much activity so the turtles are moving down the Riviera Maya coast and eventually will all move into the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve.
The turtles are of course protected and the cute critters even have a radical environmental group just to make sure they stay around.
But many other creatures, like the pink conch and the jaguar, are slowly dying off as well. Such is progress.
The beaches too are dying.
Hurricane Wilma devastated the beaches on the Cancun strip and the replaced sand was not white and had broken shells in it and was not pleasing to the tourists.
Playacar Resort in Playa del Carmen is now being overtaken by water as the beach has totally washed away. Que pasa?
Hurricanes and storms seasonally move through the coast causing widespread damage and beach erosion. At our favorite beach south of Akumal we could see a good 15 meters of beach erosion had occurred not far from Oscar and Lalo's.
Speaking of Oscar and Lalo's they are no longer at the beach after Hurricane Dean of August 2008. They are on the highway now. Somehow the ambience is not the same.
And in case you were wondering, it's all taken now. The beaches from Cancun to Tulum are resorted out. There are no free beaches left. That's it. That's why in the not too distant future the lights from Cancun, Playa and Tulum will merge.
Ah Cancun. Time to go sunbathe on the rocks.
Below Tulum the Sian Ka'an reserve is nature's last stand and it is getting hit as well. Entering the national park one is surprised at the number of luxury weekend homes with private access.
And big fences. Some like Yvette Mimeux' Casa Palancar, have guards and barbed wire fences. Some national park.
The Hotel Strip in Cancun is not the only place where beach access is limited...despite Mexican federal law.
The technicality is that one is allowed on the beach but access to the beach is considered trespassing and access denied. Unless Yvette gives you the password.
If you don't believe it, go out to the Cancun hotel strip and see how far you have to drive to find a public access beach. Go out on the strip and see how far you have to drive to find a place to park.
The big political concern is that the degraded beaches and environment in general will scare away the tourists. Duh. At some point, it certainly will have an impact.
Less than 20 years ago one could snorkel off the beach in Playa del Carmen and see coral and fish. No more. Now that same beach is a boat launch.
It's true the snow birds will still come to the Riviera Maya because it's just too cold back in Chicago in the winter. And the Germans will come to sunburn their posteriors.
But wise up developers. At some point even the insane Germans will begin to look at other, less spoiled areas. Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua would love the business.
And they still have beaches.
The jaguar or panthera onca has to be one of the most magnificent animals on Earth. Maybe the most magnificent. Only the tiger and lion are larger cats. Our Maya friend Aniceto says we have a jaguar den on our ranch; probably some shallow limestone cave covered by dense growth. Part of our ranch is virgin rainforest.
We've never seen our jaguar but he has. One evening coming back from his "milpa" he saw it in the middle of the road. Usually they don't come out at all when it is light, but this one did. The jaguar or "el tigre" as he is called by the Maya, probably was hungry and looking for a tepe, tejon or javalina. Humans eat the same food, though we barbecue tepe and the jaguar chomps it down raw.
The jaguar kills its prey by biting the neck and skull of its victim. As the keystone predator in the jungle, the jaguar serves a great function by eating the predators that kill smaller prey. Except for man, the jaguar has no enemies. Not many friends either, but that comes with being at the top of the food chain and having a very nasty bite.
My Mayan friends say they can never remember an incident where a jaguar attacked a human. That certainly doesn't mean a jaguar wouldn't attack a human; but in the wild they really don't. Even so, when most Maya go deep into the jungle, they carry a shotgun.
Clearly man is more afraid of the jaguar than the jaguar of man. Maya men tell of times when they would be startled to look to the side of the path and find a jaguar sleeping peacefully; in the deep jungle "el tigre" takes his siesta wherever he pleases.
The jaguar cannot be domesticated and has little fear of man. It is also considered to have the most unpredictable behavior of any animal in captivity. Jaguars aren't meant to be in captivity. It's not what they do. Jaguars are wired for one thing and it has nothing to do with cages.
A Maya familiar with the jungle can spot jaguar tracks, dung and the plant life the jaguar disturbs while traveling through the jungle. To an untrained eye such signs go unnoticed. Rule number one is when in the deep jungle take a jungle man along as a guide.
Unfortunately the jaguar can climb trees and have been seen jumping from tree to tree. Hence the tree house I plan to build on my ranch will provide no protection from the jaguar...ha. I can imagine sleeping one night and waking up to a pair of large eyes staring me in the face; maybe a giant boa or maybe a jaguar.
My one concern is one day we will be out walking around on the ranch and come across the den with little jaguars in it...oh, boy. Well, no one said the jungle was without some risk. The jaguars, however, readily eat cattle, sheep, turkeys and dogs.
Several weeks back, Aniceto took me back into the jungle and we saw dog hairs in jaguar dung. Aniceto said that his friend had two dogs eaten by the jaguar one night...and his friend could hear his dogs yelping as the jaguar dragged them off into the jungle. Since dog is man's best friend, that sound had to be unnerving.
Several months before, his friend's cousin shot a jaguar trying to make off with a sheep. It took four men to carry the jaguar out of the jungle. Jaguars can grow up to 200 pounds and eight feet long including the tail. That makes them king and keystone of the jungle ecosystem.
The Maya see them as predators and not endangered. One's perceptions change if one has little children playing around the jungle palapa; "el tigre" certainly might be considered much more of a predatory threat. But fortunately one does not hear of jaguars foraging for small humans outside villages way back in the jungle. The jaguar is smart enough to leave children alone...common jaguar sense probably passed down from generation to generation.
The jaguar is a representative of the truly wild and that which cannot be tamed. For most of us, the jaguar is a symbol of the magnificence of the wild and what nature has created over the eons including a very nasty bite.
Let's hope we both keep our respect and distance and don't find ourselves peering at each other in the pitch black jungle night. And that's very okay by us because in the deep jungle it's always big advantage jaguar...
The day trippers going up and down California Highway 1 often miss the fun of a side trip to Moss Landing Harbor. It's a good stretch, a quick walk on the beach and maybe some seafood if you aren't paranoid about the mercury or whatever else may be inside those ocean critters.
Actually Moss Landing is no longer just a speed zone by the big power plant and the Little Baja trinket shop. The town is still surrounded by strawberry and artichoke fields but it is changing. In a couple of hours one can see almost all of Moss Landing and then be on your way.
But these days if you strike up a conversation with a local the odds are it will be with an oceanographer and not a commercial fisherman.
With Watsonville and Santa Cruz to the north and Salinas and Monterrey to the south, one would be hard pressed to find a better coastal California location than Moss Landing. It is also hard to believe that the same water that slowly winds out of the Elkhorn Slough eventually mixes in the Monterey Canyon a mile deep just off the coast from Moss Landing. And it's hard to believe that most of Moss Landing is just a sand bar.
Ever wonder what happens to a sand bar in an earthquake? In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Moss Landing found out. Seawater began to filter up through the sand as if the sand bar itself were coming apart. What would happen in the really Big One?
But earthquakes didn't kill the fishing industry. Moss Landing is a rusting relic of a once powerful industry; there aren't as many fishing boats in the harbor anymore. Say it ain't so Joe but with all the science and technology that goes into the Monterey Bay, none yet has been able to figure out how to quickly save the fish.
As a consequence the shortened seasons and restricted fishing areas have all but eliminated the fishing industry. How many thousand tons of fish a year did Cannery Row once produce?
Just as the fishing jobs went the way of Davy Jones locker, research and more research has rapidly taken its place. What was once quaint and salted fish talk now is eco-tech speak, whatever that is. Rusty pick ups have been replaced by Audis and Volvos with eco bumper stickers. Salty fishermen have been replaced by oceanographers.
It used to be fun to walk around to the fishing and boating related stores and businesses although like the fish many are gone now too. The employees of Long Marine Lab or the Monterey Bay Marine Labs at Cal State don't buy bait, ice or tackle.
In fact, they might eat but they probably bring their own bean sprouts and tofu burritos. No deep fried fish and chips and Coronitas for this bunch...besides; they know too well what's in that fish as well as the grease it's fried in...
Seen as a tourist pit stop, Moss Landing ten years ago got in on the tail end of the antiques boom which brought a string of antiques stores to downtown Moss landing. Some are still limping along today. Business is down but the rents are better than Monterey or Carmel. The yearly Moss Landing Antiques Fair helps but weekdays are especially slow in the antiques and collectibles trade. Sort of like the fishing boats...pretty quiet.
Phil's Fish Market and Eatery is still cooking though like anything it has lost something as it got bigger. In the old days everything on the menu was good. Now it's hit or miss, even with old favorites like the seafood platter.
Somehow Phil couldn't scale from six tables to 50 and keep his quality. The fish just isn't as fresh but quality always proportionately diminishes with growth, no? Still, Phil's is one of the few restaurants left standing.
Clearly the biggest landmark and eyesore is the Moss Landing Power Plant, a couple of monster smokestacks designed to generate 560 Megawatts of electricity built right on the Elkhorn Slough Estuary.
There has been a fledgling movement by eco extremes to replace the eyesore with another power source; but unfortunately no one has been able to figure out just what that power source would be. The plant emits about one million tons of carbon dioxide annually and puts about a billion gallons of heated water into the cold Pacific Ocean daily.
Solar and wind power won't cut it here, though the winds on the Moss Landing section of the Monterey Bay are steady and strong. The fact is no one on the Central Coast is willing to give up electricity just yet. Fish maybe, but not electricity.
Let's just hope the really Big One doesn't come anytime soon our dear Moss Landing will still stay on the California map.
The first few days after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, Santa Cruz was landlocked. Highway 1 was closed in both directions as were Highways 17 and 9. Highway 9 was the first to open and that's what I used to get to San Jose and the Bay Area. It took several extra hours so I also spent the night in hotels. But the phones eventually worked and the power was fine and business continued if not somewhat altered. Altered is an understatement; after a major earthquake, nothing is the same.
The Loma Prieta quake was limited in scope even though it measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. Many of the hardest hit areas were in the unpopulated mountains. But who can forget the scenes of the collapsed 880 freeway at Oakland?
The Hayward Fault is a different fault and runs directly under Highway 880 in the East San Francisco Bay. What is important to remember is Highway 880 runs along the Bay and Highway 680 runs along the foothills. 880 and 680 are the only north south freeways in the East Bay. That's it, folks. Although all communities are now planned, none seemed to plan for the Big One on the Hayward Fault.
If a major quake hits the Hayward fault, it will most certainly disable Highway 880, the main artery of the east bay. If in fact damage occurs also on Highway 680, there will be no north-south traffic. Millions of people will be stranded in their own shaking neighborhoods.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has showed that the economic loss from a 6.9 Hayward Fault shaker would be greater than that of Hurricane Katrina. An estimated 87,000 employers and one and a half million jobs will be directly at risk. Something around $100 billion dollars in wages. That's almost a fifth more than the total damages of Hurricane Katrina. Hard to believe such a small area carries such a major economic clout.
The economics are there because the East Bay is filled with technology and related companies. Many of the jobs are highly skilled and well paying. There are many bigger companies that could withstand some damage but many smaller companies running on tight budgets would simply go bankrupt. The bigger picture problem is many of these smaller companies are the most innovative in the U.S. although they often run on a day to day cash flow.
The actual figures on the fault are alarming. Since 1315 it has had a major quake every 140 years and it's been 139 years since the last big one. Statistically, it's due. With each passing year the odds increase. It's not a matter of if, but when.
The economic multiplier and waves of negative economic impact will spread afterward just as we locals saw after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Many regional service and small manufacturing companies will see their revenues drop drastically as wave after wave of economic impact hit in the post-earthquake region. In the after effects of the Loma Prieta quake, we could see three month interval negative economic waves hit, usually with a string of corresponding failures and bankruptcies.
Today's managers know the fault will one day slip and the ground will turn liquid and violent. But it doesn't appear that there is an exodus out or alternative planning. Yet. That will of course change with a significant shift on the Hayward fault.
Let's hope for the best and pull for the home team on this one because even if you don't live in California this one will affect you. We can hope that maybe instead of the Big One it will be a series of smaller ones that will gradually relieve the pressure on the Earth's continental plates.
But don't count on it. The only certainty is that the ground will eventually move...
It had to happen sooner or later on what is considered the most beautiful campus in the United States. With a population of over 20,000 and more coming, the University of California at Santa Cruz has to build some additional parking. That's because many of the streets on Westside Santa Cruz now require residential permits. UCSC has more students than parking spaces so freshmen cannot park on campus. Hence the new parking lot.
Unfortunately the new parking lot will require downing some redwood trees and this is something UCSC has consistently taught its students is a big naughty. The protesters are only being good students and incorporating into their behaviors what they have learned in their studies. Recently the University gassed and clubbed them in an effort to dislodge them from the trees area but they refused to go. Again, simply reflecting what they have been taught.
The savvy University strategists gassed and clubbed them using the old 'rile up the natives' strategy from the Old School Procedures Manual. However, the same sharpies that ordered the 1) gassing and 2) clubbing forgot to read in the Procedures Manual the next step which is 3) haul their butts away. Granted hauling someone down from a hundred foot high platform on a redwood tree is problematic. At a hundred feet up it is important that the University be sensitive with the gassing and clubbing. The University isn't totally stupid even if their people forgot to read Step Three in the manual.
Getting clubbed and gassed is a rite of passage that many of us baby boomers can remember. We protested against Vietnam and Kent State and racism but I never remember tree protests. I am also not real clear about redwoods having their own spirituality even though ex Santa Cruz Mayor Scott claimed she regularly talked with redwoods when she had a city problem. I can even in some bizarre mental contortion understand that; always available, never interrupts, listens attentively, recycles� What I have trouble with is the doom and gloom. Where did that come from?
Take recent UCSC grad Cindy. I spoke with Cindy this week and she said she has to move out of Santa Cruz because the density is bad. I asked her what was density and she said she wasn't sure because she missed that lecture. But Santa Cruz and Cupertino have it. Mt. Shasta doesn't. She had a bad dream and went to her spiritual adviser who advised her to leave town ASAP. And she is. My God, now she and her spiritual advisor have me worried about the Big One here in earthquake country...
She's going to Mt. Shasta where the gentle and spiritual folks go. A sacred Native American natural holy place. I asked her could Mt. Shasta become Mt. St. Helens II and she said she did not know, probably missed that lecture too. I was just curious since moving from an earthquake to a volcano did not seem like my idea of lessening density; again, whatever that density may in fact be.
She seemed to think that living in a spiritual place near Indians would solve all her problems. She learned this gem of wisdom in her advanced studies at UC Santa Cruz. I explained to her that my wife and I have a palapa hut in a Maya village in the jungle and I've never had any sense at all that my Maya pals could solve any of my problems and they all claim to be indigenous Indians. They all speak Maya. Besides, even if I go to my ranch deep in the jungle to get away from it all I've still got problems. Bugs, heat, humidity, boas, crocodiles, jaguars...Indians or no Indians.
Cindy said my jungle ranch was truly undense and this led us right into the treesitters which presents a real dilemma for her. Should she do like her guru says and split or stay and support the treesitters? She asked me could I envision something for her and I replied the only thing I could envision was the Big One knocking down those trees. With that comment she gave me one of those 'you're just like my parents' looks. Actually someone like me that protested Kent State is more likely her grandpa now...
So I put on my thinking cap, alerted my network of international intellectuals and saw what we could collectively whiteboard to ease the stress on people, trees and densities whatever they may be.
So here are some possible solutions: 1) Transplant the redwoods with treesitters still attached. Big downer: requires NASA's space shuttle ground transport carrier 2) get affluent UCSC students and affluent UCSC staff to give up their Audis. Big downer: less likely than a NASA chauffeured redwood transplant. 3) Chant, meditate, teach-in, tele-communicate, fairy dance, bong, bop, bing and align everyone's chakras. Big Plus: it's cheap, stylish and requires no additional training or 4) chop those suckers down treesitters and all. Big Minus: the densities get all out of whack.
And just how would you feel if your kid was up in that tree? Would you truly be non-judgmental? At a hundred feet up unless he grew up in a lumberjack camp you would have to be worried and wished as a concerned parent he had gone to Texas A&M. Oh to be an Aggie right now...
We should do a little fairy dance so one of those nasty winter storms doesn't hit this week and knock the treesitters out of their tree. And maybe another fairy dance so the Big One doesn't come and shake them out before the University figures out what to do or somebody on staff actually reads the Procedures Manual. But remember when the density patterns start to shift strange things happen...just ask Cindy.
Could this be the convergence of intelligent design and natural intelligence? I'd ask Cindy but she probably missed the lecture. Maybe I should ask the redwoods...
Peace.
California is headed for the Really Big One and it's not an earthquake. All the earthquakes in California's history will not equal the damage this Big One causes because this disaster will also shake the United States and the world.
California, world economic powerhouse that it is, will be brought to its knees by an ecological disaster of previously unknown proportions.
The simple fact is California is going dry. Everybody knows this. We use more water than we have, if that's possible. The purpose of this article is to establish the parameters for the official closing of the State of California and the opening of California National Park.
To set the stage, let's look at a little background.
If there is one thing we Californians have it is taste. We always have. The rest of the country may be stuck in chicken fried steaksville but we have organic bean curd.
California has always set the style scene; just look at Beverly Hills and East LA. Let's face it, we in California are just hot stuff and everybody everywhere knows it.
The Good Folks in Omaha or Birmingham that aren't so hip plant puny little flower gardens with stuff like roses and petunias. We affluent and not so affluent Californianos plant the whole damn jungle. We call it the whole damn jungle because it is. Look at Eddie Murphy's house. You don't see puny petunias at Eddie's house. It's all green; just like the jungle.
"Jungle landscape is not native", says Ken Foster of Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping http://www.terranovalandscaping.com .
Uh-oh Eddie. When mandatory water rationing hits his barrio Eddie will have to decide which plants or lawns he can water and which he can't. Of course he could truck in water or maybe not take showers anymore. Or not do laundry. But with Eddie's bucks he could use Perrier.
I'm not sure how funny Eddie would find that joke; Perrier is not cheap. Is it all doom and gloom?
"We're hearing the buzz from home buyers," says Foster, "they don't want a landscape they will have to turn around and replace. Landscapes can run into the tens of thousands of dollars."
Now the eco guy is talking. What we Californians understand most is dollars. Dollars is us. So reading between the lines what it means is an eco landscape is worth more than a dead traditional lawn and dead garden landscape. Uh-oh. Eddie just lost Five Big Ones off his pad's assessed value.
Now a few heads are turning. Show me the money. If there is one thing we really do understand in California it's money. And dollars. We understand dollars too.
We understand that a lot of those dollars are in Sacramento where special interests are sparring for a piece of California's water pie. A lot is at stake. Actually everything is at stake. With no water California turns into a bad Mel Gibson movie and a great National Park.
A big piece in this poker pot is agriculture. A farm is like a car wash in that neither works very well without water. Farmers and Ag interests will continue to fight with suburbs and cities for dwindling water supplies. And water bills keep going up. Is Ag them or us? Somewhere something has got to give.
Unfortunately for us the first thing to give is Government. Government here is laying a big egg all around. Greedy Gridlock is clearly not the answer. Our two political (not people) parties have opposing solutions that involve different scenarios for carving up the water supply pie.
What about us? We meekly inquire.
They've even stopped denying they are manipulated by special interests. It doesn't matter. Nobody wants to stand up. Nobody wants the hot potato. Nobody except folks like Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping crying out in the suburban jungle wilderness.
So most likely we will end up doing nothing of substance to prepare for this approaching Armageddon. Government will wait until we run out of water and then form a committee.
Some of us will welcome the opportunity to catch rain in buckets and not use toilets or shower anymore. Maybe do like the birds and flop around in the dust. There's a few of those types already camped out in the mountains outside Santa Cruz.
Others like Eddie will have to sacrifice and cut down the size of their front lawns to 125 acres or less. Families in Turlock and Hollister will become skilled in the finer art of the sponge bath. Farmers from Watsonville and Delano will load up their tractors and head for Oklahoma and Georgia in search of land with water.
California will be declared a new national park and school kids can see the remnants of Disneyland on their field trips. Children, don't forget your water bottles.
You laugh and think the joke about Eddie Murphy feeding his lawn Perrier during an extended drought is funny. I think it's funny too. But the very next time you turn on the faucet just think of what it would be like if nothing came out. A Perrier with that shave, monsieur?
Think of the price of a head of lettuce at $9.00, a one day school week and zero golf. Nada. Water, water where hast thou gone? What kind of twilight zone is this?
Welcome to California National Park! And please, don't forget to bring your water bottles, kiddies.
You just know how those places charge so much for everything once you get inside...
Long gone, he laughed, and for a while we had the copycats that would wear those masks and commit robberies so it would get blamed on the Zapatistas. But they eventually got caught and they are gone too…now no one around here wears ski masks, he laughs, we don’t have much snow anyway.
Angel is one of those guys that should be an ambassador. Or at least the head of the regional tourism department. He loves his town and region and he speaks about with a passion. He makes you want to stay another six months and do and see everything he says. Maybe it’s because he went to school in Mexico City and speaks flawless Spanish…and because he left for the big city he developed a zeal for his hometown.
They say Chiapas has many zonas encantadas or enchanted places, he continues during breakfast, and I would say that is true. You may not believe it, but many strange things happen here that are true and I know they are true. You know what I mean? Like the new highway, he says taking a drink of coffee, the workers that built it reported seeing duendes or small men all during the construction. They would play tricks on the workers and the road took twice as long to build as projected; in fact, they are still building it, he laughs, the recent flood took down the bridge again.
It’s been ten years fixing that bridge, he continues, the story goes that the workers had to cut down a huge ceiba that was right in the middle of where the road was to go on this side of San Cristobal. One day an old man in a beard walked out of the jungle and told them to not cut down the tree – he said he lived in the tree. The worker’s told the head engineer the story and he just laughed and told them to cut it down anyway. They did and the next day the engineer died…what do you make of that? A similar incident occurred when they tried to cut down the 600 year old ceiba in the plaza.
I’m not sure about the cause and effect, I replied, but I did read the sign on the Ceiba that they had tried to burn in down in the 1940’s but only were able to burn part of it and it still survives today…and looks like it could live another 600 years.
That’s right, he replied, that’s what I mean by this whole region has these enchanted zones. The same thing happened when they damned the river and made the Canon del Sumidero or Sumidero Canyon park. And those things are still happening…are you planning to go to the Sumidero – do you know what it is?
I hadn’t planned on going, I answered, but it might be worth seeing.
What are your plans today? he asked.
Maybe walking around town and seeing some of the sights, I replied.
The Sumidero is like your Grand Canyon, he said, let me make a call.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed several numbers. It seems everyone has a cell phone in Mexico.
My friend is head of the Proteccion Civil here and they are doing some ecology clean-up work with some volunteers, he said, you have to get permission to go but they are leaving around 9:00 for a clean up trip and you should go.
Sure, I replied, that sounds more interesting than seeing the church.
I have to go to Tuxtla today or I would go with you, he said, but let me get you a taxi to his office – it’s on the outskirts of town. I’ll meet you for breakfast again tomorrow and see how it went.
We shook hands and in ten minutes were in front of the Director.
We have to be careful because the area is remote, said the Director, and we do not give permits for individuals to go without tour guides. There are no roads and you know how odd some of the tourists can be, he laughed, I trust Angel’s judgment but I just wanted to make sure myself. My men are going with a private citizen, Roberto Garcia. Sr. Garcia has been working with us for three months now and takes his boat each time we go out to clean up the trash. Let me call him…
The Director got on the phone and spoke for a minute.
It’s all arranged, he said, they will wait for you at the malecon or dock. Take some water and food and be sure to wear your hats, the sun can be strong and not long ago we had some German tourists that got sunburned so badly they had to go to the clinic.
That’s fun for them, I laughed, that way they can show off back home.
I’ll have one of my men drop you back in town, he said, and have a safe trip.
We shook hands and off we went. The nice thing about being an adventurer and not being on a tour is sometimes the unexpected often turns up and if you look for it, almost always turns up.
Twenty minutes later we were on the dock getting into Roberto Garcia’s boat. Roberto was a big, strong man and I liked him instantly. I sat with him in the back of the boat so we could talk on the ride back into the canyon. The river was beautiful outside of Choapa but it was nothing like it would be back in the canyon.
I grew up not far from here and remember the river as a kid, he said, that’s why I do this. This river means something in here, he said patting his chest, and I want to make sure it stays the way I remember it. I’ve been successful and worked in the US and Canada and I want to return a bit of my success to my town…I grew up on a ranch not far from here, he said pointing beyond a large bridge as we went under it.
I know that things cannot remain the same forever, he continued, and everything will change but I want some of this incredible beauty to remain for my children and their children. It may sound sentimental for a grown man like me but that’s how I feel…that’s why I go with the government workers to help keep it clean…and I use my boat and don’t ask for anything in return. My reward is knowing that each time I come I leave the river in better shape than I found it. That must sound silly to an American like yourself.
Not at all, I answered, where I live in California people are very much interested in ecology and a clean environment…come to think of it, I don’t really know anyone that thinks that is silly…
We need more of the attitude you have in the States and Canada, he said, that’s the hard part. It is hard to get people to change their habits. A lot of this trash comes from Tuxtla – there’s a river that flows through town and that’s where most of this trash comes from. It’s the plastic that bothers me the most…nature cannot get rid of plastic very easily…I’ve read where it takes hundreds of years and yet we keep making plastic…why do we humans do these things?
I didn’t say anything to another question to which I had no answer. We were entering the canyon area and the scenery was turning spectacular with cliffs hundreds of feet high. We noticed some Indian ruins near the river’s edge and I thought this must be one of Angel’s enchanted zones.
We came to a spot with drifting logs and debris and loaded up the government boat. We drove several kilometers upstream to the drop site. We unloaded the boat and Roberto suggested we stay and take a look around while they made another run.
I estimated the site to contain 400 or 500 tons of debris; mostly logs but also plastic and other trash. Every ten minutes a boat with 20 plus tourists comes speedboating up the river…hitting a submerged log would not be a good thing. The tourists are busy watching nature and would find a dip in the cold river distasteful.
I conclude that the Zapatistas hate ecotourism because it makes them irrelevant in the natural, preserved parks such as Sumidero. The hundreds of tourists each day bring their dollars and euros and pesos and create hundreds of jobs. And where the tourism is controlled and managed, there is little or no damage to the environment.
I watch as Roberto and the government boat arrives with another load of debris. As I help then unload I think of changes that are happening to my Mexico. Roberto and the government are two of them.
Jack D. Deal
Don’t worry, amigo, he laughs, the AFI won’t be waiting for us.
The AFI is the Agencia Federal de Investigaciones or the Mexican equivalent to the FBI. We stop at a small, dimly lit house and he honks the horn. He takes the box out of his pick up and walks to the front door. A young woman opens the door and he puts the box down in front of her.
Gracias, she says, clasping his hand, que Dios le bendiga. May God bless you.
We get back in his pick up and head back to town.
Actually God has very little to do with it, he laughs.
We stop at BK and it’s a brand new one. We order Whoppers and sit down for a chat.
There are a few things I do that are not above board, he admits, but that is true of anyone that does business here in Mexico. If I report everything and have paperwork for everything I don’t make any money and I can’t give computers to the poor kids. So I do what businessmen do here in Mexico to make it happen, no? It’s not something I’m proud of but then again, I’m not ashamed of it either…it’s just a fact of life and if you do business here, well it’s just part of the business process.
Several times a month I bring shipments of parts and peripherals and units down from the border…a type of smuggling as you would say, he laughs, and I do it for several reasons. Of course the quality is better and it’s cheaper but that’s only part of it…even in the big cities we can’t get certain memory boards and infrared parts…you know what I’m talking about. We do networks and systems but also supply distributors like Genaro and without computer geeks like us the hospitals wouldn’t work and the oil rigs would shut down…I’m serious. As you know in the modern technology world everything is driven by the chips and circuits and they have to be functioning for everything to work.
I nodded in agreement. When my cell says ‘no service’ or I’ve got no Internet access, I’m shut down too.
I’ve got all the licenses and paperwork and such, he continues, and fortunately I’m in a field almost no one understands…it’s not like I’m selling Chinese clothes, he laughs, the investigators don’t know a router from a modem. My permits and paperwork receipts are always in order but I’ve always got a box in the backroom with parts and drives and so forth…they won’t know what it is even if they find it, he laughs, and the only software I pirate is for close friends and the poor schools…all my clients are bigger companies that wouldn’t buy pirated stuff anyway.
The hamburgers are delicious and much better than any in the States – renewing my faith in BK Mexico.
Ok, you arrive in Campeche with no money and a wife and baby…what happened then? I ask.
We drive back into the night and he turns on the light to check his cell messages.
I had a brother that worked in the bank and he got me a job as a teller, he continues, actually I swept the floors for several months before the position opened. Our family was poor and lived in a rancheria outside of Orizaba. I only finished elementary school and two years of secondaria but I had a desire to work and succeed and had a little baby that I had to feed as well…it wasn’t important for me to eat regularly, but it was important that my family ate, he laughed, now you can see how things have changed, he added patting his stomach.
From being a teller, I worked myself up as fast as I could. Part of that job was seeing all the computers and systems in the bank…not only the big systems but all the PCs that the managers and accountants used as well. I was fascinated by the tech and what it could do…so I saved my pesos and took classes and even private instruction until I could do many things with computers, including fixing them. But there was a limit…I could only go so far in the bank with my education…or rather lack of it. I was as far up as I could go…
One day they said the bank changed hands and I was working for a new employer. They let some of the employees go but not me because I could get the computers back up when they crashed. But the new bank also gave us the chance to leave with severance pay and to their surprise, I took it. I was scared; maybe the most scared I have ever been with the possible exception of asking my wife to marry me, he laughs, it wasn’t much money but I knew it was an opportunity.
Maybe that’s it, I mused looking out into the pitch black jungle night.
What’s it? He asked.
Well, all through the trip I’ve talked to successful folks that had no better backgrounds or educational opportunities than many others around them…or brothers and sisters growing up in exactly the same conditions. Yet somehow they step up and do what others consider the impossible, such as my friend Armando in Vera Cruz. He not only had the ambition but also the guts to take a risk when he saw an opportunity…and as he rose up he was not content with the mediocrity of security living a gray twilight…
Ah amigo, laughed Cuatehmoc, you Gringos are a funny bunch. I have no idea what you are talking about…but I have seen poor kids in school that get interested in computers and technology and end up going to the University…somehow that doesn’t seem so mysterious to me. All they need is a chance because they are poor…
We drive on into the night talking about business, politics and such…all seemingly less important than his rags to riches story and his concern for the poor kids that have no chance to better themselves. We arrive back into the modern lights of Carmen and Angelica is still holding the baby.
Let me see your laptop, asks Cuatehmoc. I show it to him and he turns it on. One minute later he has me hooked wirelessly up to his T1 line.
Stay as long as you like, he laughs, my office is your office and my T1 is your T1.
I’ve only known the guy for a few hours and already like him…
Jack D. Deal
I don’t know why I do this but then again that’s what it’s all about. I did it in Batopilas and outside Molango and am doing it here. Those German adventurers have nothing on us gringos, ha! I keep waiting for that next curve or mudhole where it stops; but the road keeps going on forever. I keep wondering where the point of no return is but there is no such thing…we each have our destiny and mine is to keep going. The risks in the metaphorical road are insignificant compared to not going…not going would be much worse.
We finally make it to the coast and I have a headache after four hours of battling the mud, rocks and holes. I look at my detailed atlas and see another road out and ask a local about that road. He says it’s worse than the one I came in on…great. Something to look forward to the way back. But we won’t be in such a hurry since we won’t have to catch a lancha or boat…most likely it will take longer but we will stop and rest along the way. I remember doing this type of travel years ago and wonder how much longer I will be able to do it…hopefully as long as I live. Without adventure, I’m nothing…it’s been my life.
We finally arrive in Cucharas and I can see an immediate difference. The people speak very differently, though in Spanish of course. The women are taller, wear long skirts and are beautiful. And marry ugly men, ha! The folks are more timid and look at me curiously…I haven’t seen a gringo for weeks and it might have been months or even years since a gringo passed through here.
We find a boat that will take us Los Cocos and load it up. We have an ice chest for the shrimp and I make a beer run not knowing if there would be beer on the island. Later I was surprised to find beer in many places on the island…no longer are the Jesuits first in to a remote area…it’s Corona, Tecate and Sol! Ha! The bleeding edge of civilization or rather the brewing edge of civilization. And we those Germans to thank for bringing their brewing skills to Mexico…
It’s hot and humid and off we go after finding a spot to leave the car. I immediately feel like Alexander Van Humboldt except our boat has a powerful Evinrude to carry us away from the coast. I can’t remember ever seeing white pelicans but there they are…I look in awe at what is still unspoiled…unspoiled perhaps because it has little commercial value….
We finally get to the island but it is too shallow to land…another boat comes out to pick us up. It makes two trips because we have so much stuff…we know there is not much that can be bought on the island and we are visiting my old friend Timoteo and he has always been alegre but poor. Dirt poor as Angelica says, because he lives on a dirt floor. His wife Juana greets us with her grandkids; Timo is still out in his ‘milpa’ and at nearly 80 years of age I can’t believe he still works so hard. Juana looks great; at 75 she has no grey hair. I wonder what is her secret....I’m 20 years younger and look like a bald Santa Claus.
We carry our stuff to their hut or rather half a hut. It’s usually warm and the breeze keeps things cool… no radon problems here, ha! She invites us in and shows us the addition she made to the ‘house’ for our visit…they don’t get many visitors here. I tell her thanks so much but we brought our dome tent and our relatives can sleep there instead…she understands and shows them where to put their things.
A couple of scraggly dogs come into the yard and Juana says Timo is coming…he rides a donkey to his piece of land – about a two hour ride each way. He is so happy to see us and gives us all a bear hug and I can’t believe how strong he still is…
I first met Timo when he was a member of another ejido or communal farm. I remember going to his hut and eating armadillo, the first and only time I have eaten it. I have seen him numerous times since but had not seen Juana for maybe 25 years. She fixed us fresh fried fish and it had to be the best fish I have in decades …we eat our fill until we can’t eat anymore…I have arrived at seafood heaven. After eating she brings coffee and we sit down to have a good chat…
Timo tells me at his old place three drunks jumped him one night and he stuck his knife in one. He had to leave and took his family to the island where he joined another ejido. He came with nothing and built up his animals and farm over the years.
But sadly he tells me, whenever he sold his crop or cattle he would take his pesos to the cantina and spend it all on beer, women and song. Mexican style. Destiny he calls it. He would come back with nothing but Juana didn’t leave him. He kept drinking until he got sick and faced impending death…that fog creeping up to visit those that don’t have enough respect for life. He got sick and asked Juana to take him to the doctor. She laughs when telling me she told him ‘you don’t need me to help you die’…
He reformed but too late to build a better house and life. Yet they both seem happy.
Later alone we had a man chat… He asked my how many wives I have had and I reply one, the same one. He said he has had twelve. He didn’t marry each one legally and in fact married none legally…and there were a string of kids he never saw after they were born. He would not know them if he saw them. At 80 he says he is through with women, except for Juana.
It’s Saturday and the women are going to church. He asks me if I want to go drinking and dance with girls. Where is the dance hall? I ask. Right next to the park. But he is joking of course. There are no dancing girls on the island. And the whole island is a park.
Sometimes I have to think twice when a Veracruzano jokes with me…I have been gone so long I cannot tell the difference. Too long…
He says the ejido is having a meeting tomorrow and I say ‘voy contigo’. The meeting is much more interesting than church. Having gone to Mass once with Dr. G and to a Jehovah’s meeting with my mother-in-law I have had enough church for the next 10 years. Maybe 20. That should be enough to fend off the evil spirits for a while.
I have followed the agrarian reform movement and the ejido system for over 30 years and would like to see the latest. There is ample time to pray but little time for getting caught up on important issues…
Jack D. Deal
