Monday, July 2, 2012

The Cost of Greed




I live on a plateau seven thousand feet above sea level in North Central New Mexico. This habitat is called the Pinon-Juniper Forest though the dominant tree here, apart from juniper, is Ponderosa Pine
A bit higher up, in the Subalpine Zone, pines mingle with fir and spruce.  Verdant meadows  moistened by melting snow promote diminutive wildflowers harvested by bees and brilliant butterflies. There are chipmonks, squirrels and small black and white woodpeckers. Dragonflies patrol the more sluggish sections of streams and garter snakes glide harmlessly through knee-high grass.


Two years ago, I called this region paradise. I don't know what to call it now.

Not that we weren't warned, and so what has happened should come as no surprise. I'm referring, of course, to human-caused global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. In the Southwest this translates to extended periods of drought which turn the landscape into an open invitation to forest fire.



There have always been fires, of course, but not of the ferocity, frequency and extensiveness of what we have now.

In the year 2000, the Cerro Grande Fire destroyed 400 homes in the city of Los Alamos. Last year the Las Conchas fire destroyed over 100,000 acres, and recently, the Little Bear Fire near Carlsbad Caverns has burned nearly 5,000 acres and is still not completely contained. Each new wildfire is labelled the worst in recorded history.

Among the many examples of human ingenuity is the ability to turn Lothlorien into Mordor in the space of a few weeks.


Zombie sentinels.  Those are the words that came to mind during my latest trip to the Jemez Mountains. The slopes are crowded with the arrow-straight, blackened forms of what once were the soft contours of native conifers. And yet, to me, these trees don't seem entirely dead as if some dark will could still muster them into action. "When Birnam Wood shall come to Dunsinane..."

 Around these solitary trunks new growth flourishes, enough to convince some people that forest fires are really not such a bad thing after all. So long as they're kept away from human habitations.

But the new growth is not the same as what was there before. Locusts,  miniature oaks and various low-growing shrubs but not pines or firs or spruce. Those will not come back for many years, if they come back at all.

Recently a guide from our local environmental center predicted that our once-forested mountains will become a shrub land. And so from the ashes of the inferno comes life -- a new and different life, a competitive tangle of rambling, ground-hugging plants replacing the towering pines, the majestic spruce and fir.

I wish I had not lived long enough to see this. I wish I had protested harder, fought more fiercely on behalf of the natural beauty that I love. For, if I place the lion's share of the blame on corporate profit-seekers, I must also place part of it on myself.

On TV shows such as Law and Order the cops always say to the families of the victims, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Such a feeble, inadequate sentiment yet it comes to mind now because it's all I can think of to say to my grandsons' children who will probably never wander in the shade of the Southwestern forests.

I am sorry for your loss...

19 comments:

  1. I am sorry for the loss to all humanity. It is a very sad situation these fires all around the southwest, the drought throughout much of our country and vicious storms with tornadoes and thunderstorms causing untold damage. Our weather has caused a great deal of loss. Loss of vegetation, crops, homes and human lives as well as animals.
    Greed...heartache.

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    1. Thanks, Jo. Yes, global warming has caused extreme weather patterns throughout the country and the world and -- as you said -- it is heartbreaking.

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  2. This is such a huge loss, a mere sorry is not enough. I agree with Jo, greed ... heartache

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    1. The sense of loss didn't get to me on an emotional level until I actually saw the devastation. Those mountain forests were so incredibly beautiful. Thanks for commenting.

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  3. I like to think there is a greater plan behind this devastation. It may be hard lesson to learn, but perhaps all of this is will trigger the right people, that they will make the right decisions, force change. Perhaps not in our lifetimes, but in that of our children, and their children will, one day in the future, be able to walk in those forests. Perhaps not the same, maybe better. Hope springs eternal and giving it up is not something I plan on doing. Thank you for sharing the pictures with this piece, both lush and stark are beautiful in their own ways.

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    1. I, too, hope that saner minds will eventually prevail.

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks. Here's hoping for plentiful rain in the monsoon season.

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  5. It is awful the devastation these fires cause. We haven't had rain all summer and now city officials have cancelled the fireworks in fear that one spark would start a fire which in this drought is a reasonable fear.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Kathy. Fireworks have been cancelled here, too. My guess is they will never again be part of 4th of July celebrations in those parts of our country that are vulnerable to wildfires. As you said, all it takes is one spark...

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  6. Wild fires are so destructive, but it's still amazing how nature manages to recover.

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    1. Nature is eternally resourceful which is cause for hope. However, some of her greatest creations have (and will continue to) disappear forever.

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  7. Beautifully written. Hopefully Mother Nature will will recover.

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    1. Thank you. Nature mostly responds with new growth of one kind or another and dead tree trunks provide a habitat for all kinds of species. Even so, there will be consequences, ecologically and climatically, due to the loss of trees. The loss, I think, is not nature's but humankind's.

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  8. nice piece, bronwyn. very interesting.

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    1. Thank you for taking time to comment. I'm glad you liked the post.

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  9. I wonder how long long we will plunder and exploit nature. How long the earth , the universe will bear witness to our sins and suffer its burnt . These pictures have left scars in my heart.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  10. Yes, it is heartbreaking and, even now, people are in denial re the human cause of global warming. Thanks for commenting and for understanding.

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