Orchid delays Rosemont mine near Tucson....

[Ghost]

After 40 years in the desert I've seen quite a few of the former wild places give way to rows of stucco huts. One example is what is now called Honeybee Canyon northwest of Tucson. As a ranch, it was overgrazed a long, long time ago. As teenagers we would drive our cars into the canyon to have "boonie" parties, hunt, shoot our guns or COLLECT pot shards. That was 38 years ago before it became a sin to collect anything. The canyon was littered with stripped cars, cans, bottles and shot up household junk. Up until recently whenever I was near there I would lament the "good" old days.
A couple years ago, after an absence of more than 30 years, I hiked the canyon. Surrounded by a "master planned community" the canyon was almost lost in the stucco and pink roof tile maze. It was absolutely pristine. A clean, clear seasonal creek was running. Flowers draped themselves over seeps in the low walls. Birds flitted everywhere. I hardly recognized it, it was so pretty.
I've relaxed my view on what has happened up there. Yes, it is now almost exclusively used by stucco dwelling retirees from somewhere else but it is a treasure again, a jewel we can all still enjoy.

[reptilist]

That is a similar observation to me....kinda.... I love to tromp the deserts, and I grew up with all the trash out there... It was almost as a part of the environment to me then...of course now I hate the sight of trash and trashers...Then I discovered the beauty of a manicured 'desert' park as in the Boyce Thompson Arboretum...And I'm coming around to the idea that maybe this is what it's come down to for me as I move on past middle age. Are we going to exploit everything in our world and just leave some little parks behind to enjoy?

[Ghost]

Someday there may be only nice, orderly, sterilized "DIsneyland" style parks of natural desert ecosystems. But that's doubtful. When the tailings heaps in Green Valley get invisible, blend in, then I'll have faith in the mining companies to be good stewards of our lands.
We need copper and jobs. I haven't read up on all the particulars of Rosemont's proposals. But I am reminded of the old (here it comes) bumper sticker slogan:
If it isn't grown, it has to be mined

[rppp01a]

That is a similar observation to me....kinda.... I love to tromp the deserts, and I grew up with all the trash out there... It was almost as a part of the environment to me then...of course now I hate the sight of trash and trashers...Then I discovered the beauty of a manicured 'desert' park as in the Boyce Thompson Arboretum...And I'm coming around to the idea that maybe this is what it's come down to for me as I move on past middle age. Are we going to exploit everything in our world and just leave some little parks behind to enjoy?

A very insightful post. We love that attitude of 'more more more', don't we? Long lost is the idea of balance- whether it is work/life, family, or with our environment. The people of Arizona should be as hardy as those in central and northern Alaska and other arduous areas. But they aren't, and don't have to be.

I can recall places like the Superstitions and the Mogollon rim not being trashed back when I was a kid. I am younger than you, but there are many places around this state that are still pretty pristine. I was in Sycamore Canyon a few weeks back. There wasn't a soul or a piece of garbage anywhere to be found.

[reptilist]

Here's to NOT ending up like Edward G. Robinson in "Soylent Green"!

[Ghost]

Which Sycamore Canyon were you visiting rpp?

[rppp01a]

Which Sycamore Canyon were you visiting rpp?

North and West of Sedona.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recrea ... wild.shtml

[Apache Devil]

"The real answer is to stop the population growth"

This is the single biggest problem this planet faces and I am puzzled as to why so many people object to the idea of population control. The current population of the U.S. is just over 300 million. We would do just fine with 50 million and would have no shortages of anything. Yet the vast majority of the population seems to have a fit whenever anyone mentions population control. I think many people associate that with abortion, but abortion is not necessary for good family management.

[reptilist]

How about paying people to get sterilized?
Cut the ducts for $100,000 bucks?

THAT'S LIKE BLASPHEMY, REPTILIST!

[lara]

"The real answer is to stop the population growth"

This is the single biggest problem this planet faces and I am puzzled as to why so many people object to the idea of population control. The current population of the U.S. is just over 300 million. We would do just fine with 50 million and would have no shortages of anything. Yet the vast majority of the population seems to have a fit whenever anyone mentions population control. I think many people associate that with abortion, but abortion is not necessary for good family management.

population control is the pink elephant in the room that one one wants to talk about. if you have mega-hit television shows glorifying people having 8 plus kids, the message being sent is not one of planning. if each of those eight kids had 4 kids - in two generations you have a mini-population explosion. never mind if those eight kids and their kids will have jobs or education, because that is down the road a bit, not to be worried about now. but that is the human way.

back in the 70s there was a popular movement called "zero population" - couples ascribed to the notion of two kids, one to replace each parent. what ever happened to that idea?

fewer people means fewer resources needed and less threat to rare species of anything. less oil needed, forget offshore drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

i don't see that happening in my lifetime or my kids' lifetimes, or their kids'. i am a pessimist about the fate of the human race. i foresee a catastrophic social failure in our future, either economic or caused by disease.

but i digress. back to the orchid! a small symptom of a larger disease.