Where have all the great white pines gone? Part 2

I asked this question in http://magree.blogspot.com/2012/05/where-are-great-white-pines-of-northern.html.

All the great white pines have not been lost.  There are those in The Pinery on St. Louis County Rd. 2, several miles north of Two Harbors MN.  They are estimated to have started growing in George Washington's time.  They are beat by The Big White Pine in Itasca State Park; it is over 300 years old.

But they have to be protected by county or state officials.  And how many wind storms will The Big White Pine in Itasca State Park survive.  Although thousands of trees in the park survived the July Second storm, dozens and dozens of many species were snapped like matchsticks or were uprooted.

You can't go a few hundred feet without seeing one or more downed trees, from four inches to two feet in diameter.  Many that blocked roads or paths have been cut up, but there are many more that can be seen.  Will they be left for the woodpeckers and for nutrients for new trees or will they be removed?  Probably the former because of the amount of work to remove them.

Political manipulation - begging the question

Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-MN8, has sent out an email in support of the PolyMet mining project in St. Louis County, Minnesota. The title of the article is "In case you missed it: Environmentally sound mining vital to Minnesota's economy". You can also find it at http://cravaack.congressnewsletter.net/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=2100082997.10586.164&gen=1.

What he does is conflate not very controversial iron and steel projects with a very controversial sulfide copper mining project. Then he phrases a poll question: "Do you support responsible expansion of precious and strategic metal mining operations in MN?" The choices are yes, no, and not sure. My gosh, most people are for responsible operations of any kind, but is the Poly Met project a responsible operation?

Rep. Cravaack implies it is because a panel he assembled says "Mining without harm is the only way to build a sustainable, responsible minerals-exploration industry in northern Minnesota." One, he doesn't say if the panel stated if the PolyMet project would be without harm. Two, he doesn't say in the email or the web page who is on the panel. Did it include town boards who will have to maintain the limited weight roads damaged by heavy equipment? Did it include the Indian tribes who say wild rice yields will be adversely affected? Did it include all the guides and outfitters who will see their business evaporate?

Let's draw the curtain aside and look at who's supporting this project and another sulfide mining project. Tony Hayward, CEO of BP when the Deep Horizon oil rig blew up, was hired as the "executive expert in charge of environment and safety" for Glencoe, one of the backers of the PolyMet project. Twin Metals is proposing a sulfide mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area; it has hired URS Corporation to do an environmental impact study. URS Corporation declared the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis safe six months before it collapsed. URS cut corners because it was too expensive to do a proper job. See "Proposed mining operations get their environmental advice from strange quarters" by C. A. Arneson in MPR News. I recommend that you follow all the links you can, especially to Don Shelby's article at http://www.minnpost.com/donshelby/2011/07/26/30314/remember_bps_tony_hayward_hes_trying_to_get_his_life_back_in_northern_minnesota.

"It is by this superior knowledge of [the merchants and manufacturers] own interest that they have frequently imposed upon [the country gentleman's, often a member of Parliament] generosity, and persuaded him to give up both his own interest and that of the public, from a very simple but honest conviction, that their interest, and not his, was the interest of the public." - Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

Wimping out on my civic duty

Today I received "Official Court Business - Response Required" mail from the Minnesota Court Administration. I didn't think it would be a notice of suit filed against me, so it must be a call for jury duty. I don't want to go to jury duty even I think it is a civic duty. Last time I was called I just sat waiting for a case that was ultimately settled without a jury.

I scanned through the registration form and saw a box for opting out if one is over 70. Hallelujah! I think I'll take that option. I filled the form out checking the box for opting out and returned it.

My rationale is that I'll probably fall asleep, and I know that I won't pay sufficient attention to make an informed decision.

Now I really understand a turkey shoot.

I've often heard the term turkey shoot and thought it meant that something was easy. Today I learned how easy a turkey shoot really is.

We were driving back to Duluth from our cabin in Brimson and I saw a turkey walking in the road. The last time I tried to take a picture of a turkey from the road I never got a clear picture. I pulled over and stopped.

Before I could even get my camera out, the turkey was walking toward me, making strange sounds like a puppy's bark and whimper. As I started taking pictures it turned and went the other way. I was able to get seven pictures from several different angles, most of them reasonably sharp. I wish I had thought to take a movie because of that whimper.

The turkey walked directly towards me one other time but generally walked parallel to me. If I had had a big net, I could have captured the turkey almost anytime. Finally I chased it to the side of the road and we went on our way.



Click on the picture to see it in other sizes.