It's spring in the northern hemisphere, as good a time as any for tales of hope and renewal - especially after the winter too many of us have had. Here are three stories of humans doing something to make partial amends for damage to the natural world, attempting to renew the built world into a more livable form, and doing good things for other humans to aid them in finding a place in the world.
More below the Orange Omnilepticon.
Water In The Delta
It's been not quite a month since the floodgates were opened at the Morelos Dam and water began flowing down the dry bed of the Colorado River towards the delta and the Gulf of California for the first time in years. I posted about it here. So what's been happening since then?
It should be noted that this is nothing close to the historic flow rates that used to support vast wetlands and a thriving fishery in the Gulf; at least one commenter on my previous diary was extremely exercised about that. Still, it's a change for the better. While the amount of water being released may not quite be enough to reach the sea, it is advancing down the old watercourse. Here's a map of progress to date.
It's a great opportunity to get some real science on the changes that will occur; this is not the kind of thing that someone can just say - let's see what happens. It took years of diplomacy and planning to make the arrangements for this possible.
The University of Arizona, the United States Geological Survey, the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC for short), the Sonoran Institute, the Nature Conservancy and the Mexican conservation group ProNatura will have monitoring teams in the delta running south from the U.S. Mexican border. They’ll have five years to see how the water affects the water table, the river’s hydrology, trees, shrubs, birds and seedlings.
There is a growing trend of late to advance the notion that it's too late or simply not practical to attempt to preserve wild regions of the earth as though the impact of mankind can be ignored or erased. Instead, this thinking goes, we should be looking at ways to
modify the environment we have to adapt to the inevitable and strike the best balance we can. That's not exactly the happiest prospect, but we may have left ourselves with no better choices at this point. In this particular case, the reactions downstream as the pulse heads towards the delta have been enthusiastic. Reactions
here,
here, and
here.
http://youtu.be/...
Return of the Rails
More and more people are moving to cities. Finding ways to strengthen their economic base, make them more livable, and make use of resources in more efficient ways is an ongoing challenge. The New York Times reported on such an effort in Washington, DC recently.
WASHINGTON — The streetcars stopped running in 1949, replaced by buses. In the wake of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the 1968 riots devastated the commercial corridor. Only in recent years has revitalization occurred and gentrification taken hold.
This summer, if all goes as planned, the return of streetcars after 65 years will be another step forward for the former H Street NE shopping district in the nation’s capital.
The return of the trolleys is being hailed by city officials, businesses and developers as a new generator of economic wealth that will more than pay for the first of eight planned and heavily subsidized streetcar lines, eventually extending for 37 miles throughout the District of Columbia. District planners are projecting as much as $8 billion in new investment within 10 years of the lines’ completion.
It should be noted that Washington, DC already has
the Metro, other
commuter rail lines,
Amtrak, and bus service. The streetcars will be one more element in an overall transportation network, making DC that much more livable. (
Bruce McF had a great recent post on how different elements of an integrated transport system can leverage each other for a greater combined impact.) Cities don't have to be "urban hellholes" - and here at least is one place where things are happening for the better if all goes as hoped.
http://youtu.be/...
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
One of the crueler aspects of an economy deliberately being crippled in a way that is holding down employment is that returning veterans have a hard time finding a place in the civilian economy. (It's only going to get worse as the Army and the rest of the military downsizes.) The skills that make a good soldier don't always translate well into skills desired by the private sector - especially if they were injured on duty.
Chef David James Robinson had an inspiration several years ago. He saw parallels between the challenges of running a professional cooking operation, with a hierarchy of responsibilities, resource management, working in uniform, etc. and the environment veterans of the military are accustomed to. He came up with Culinary Command - Culinary Cooking Program for Veterans. Chef Robinson was recognized with a Liberty Award April 12, 2014 by the Capital Region NY2 chapter of the Blue Star Mothers for the good work he's done.
http://vimeo.com/...
Culinary Command helps Veteran's find new opportunities in the Hospitality Industry. from Culinary Command on Vimeo.
The 45 day program is supported by donations; participants who are accepted get rigorous training in all aspects of food service in the Hospitality Industry. The (soon to be updated) link here has more information about where the training takes place. As Chef Robinson jokes, "We invite strangers into our homes, and give them knives." It's a far cry from Iraq or Afghanistan, for sure.
Well, there you have it: three tales of hope and renewal. No one is ever going to mistake us humans for gods - but that doesn't mean we don't have to power to work miracles of a sort if we choose.