Lodged in my memory from the debate during then-Gov. Jim Gilmore's no-car-tax proposal is a fellow citizen's litany of levies already assessed on vehicles.
In a fit of pique, she listed all the fees we have to pay to the government on what is most peoples' second-most-expensive purchase in their lives.
There's registration fees and tags, there's sales taxes, there's vehicle inspections, there's locality decals and there's taxes charged on the necessary gasoline to operate each car. After that, she continued, each vehicle owner also has to pay annual personal property taxes on top of everything else.
Of course, at that time, people believed that the governor's proposal would eliminate personal property tax collections.
The illusion was nice while it lasted.
I can well understand the resentment on the wealth of provisions that apply to the automobile — in our society it's well-nigh impossible to do without personal transportation.
Besides a people conveyance, our cars have proven quite an efficient vehicle for generating government revenue.
But this is a case of you-don't-get-something-for-nothing, as the roads we need for our cars to go on, the paved ways that communities depend on so heavily for economic development and growth, the costs mount up and quickly.
Anyone who's been in listening distance of Virginia State Senator Roscoe Reynolds, D-Henry County, knows he's been talking about this shortage of road maintenance funds as a problem that been mounting ever Gilmore was in office.
It can cost millions per mile to create a road. We only need to consider the ongoing installation of the Hillsville bypass at approximately $15 million per.
Events during our nation's economic crises and the advent of new technologies may well lead to a new method of using cars to drive up taxes, much to the displeasure of all citizens who must depend on them for their livelihood.
Desperate for funds to maintain the highways and byways we've got — a reported 47,000 miles in our country's interstate system alone — states may work out a way to tax drivers per mile.
My information comes from a Charlotte Observer article explaining that a "road-use tax" may be collected to replace waning gas tax revenue, as people drive less in the wake of the credit crunch and other uncertainties arising from the slowdown in the economy.
North Carolina might just check the odometer on a car during an annual inspection and charge a tax based on the miles added over last year, the article says.
Simple.
Transportation officials expect to be able to track all vehicles in the future, with the increasing appearance of global positioning systems as a feature on cars and trucks.
Constant monitoring may allow the state to "charge people different rates based on when and where they drive, in an attempt to manage congestion," as The Observer puts it.
The way it might work is a state charging a fraction of a cent per mile driven, after the first 2,000 miles click over on the odometer, the article says. At a quarter-of-a-cent, a driver who puts 12,000 miles on would pay $25 a year, for example
Need for such a tax will only continue to grow, as Americans switch to more fuel efficient vehicles in the future.
Even with just people driving less, North Carolina expects a shortfall of $193 million in just one year.
Transportation officials foresee implementing the driving tax in combination with the gas tax.
But there's one more force that would have to be brought to bear to create a new tax: political will.
When it comes to raising the tax on the people, the will of politicians to do so often is in short supply.
But really what choice will elected officials have?
With a (very) conservative estimate on the value of the interstates at $1 million per mile for a total of $47 billion, can public officials make the decision just to let those degrade?
We've got to maintain what we've got or risk throwing those investments away.
New revenue initiatives are unlikely to stop at a driving tax, if that comes to pass. Look for an increase on gasoline taxes as well as any alternative fuel that may come down the pike to replace it, in my opinion.
But before government officials consider adding more new roads to the system and more maintenance expense, I hope they will seriously think about investing in mass transit instead.
But, in the meantime, I would take with a grain of salt any politician who promises "no new taxes."
Especially on our cars, because on top of our private costs to operate them, there's also a huge public expense to build out and keep up our transportation systems.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Seeds of recovery
A new generation of chestnut trees got a public rollout on New York's Governors Island in a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec, 11 for the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative.
The phrase "a new generation" of chestnuts is literally true, as researchers working with the American Chestnut Foundation have been crossbreeding the domestic species with its Chinese counterpart in hopes of coming up with a blight-resistant tree.
This species would be about 15/16ths American, hopefully with all the attributes that made the chestnut a forest favorite and an economic boon.
These chestnuts will be among the 38 million trees planted to restore lands stripped and mined in the Appalachians. The restoration pledge was made as part of the United Nations' Seven Billion Tree Campaign.
Five chestnuts planted at Governors Island symbolized the hopes of many that the good health of forests may return along the East Coast — the pre-blight natural range of the tree.
Estimates say the disease killed four billion chestnuts, the straight-growing and sturdy tree favored for furniture and construction before it was nearly wiped out in the first half of the past century.
Organizers felt it fitting to reintroduce chestnut trees to New York, as the first realization of the blight problem occurred not far away, near the Bronx Zoo in 1904.
An agreement with the federal Office of Surface Mining has been a catalyst for what some refer to as the chestnut's renaissance.
"The idea of pledging support to the UNEP's Seven Billion Tree Campaign materialized when 12.7 million trees were planted in 2007 on mined land in the Appalachian coal fields" under the Appalachian initiative, said Brent Wahlquist, director of the Office of Surface Mining, at the event.
Trees being planted over the next three years on mined lands are high-value, native hardwoods. The program to restore disturbed land to good health with reforestation will serve as a model for other parts of the world, he said.
Details about the mines reclamation project are available at the chestnut foundation's Web site, acf.org.
"For each American chestnut seed that is planted on a surface mine, up to 600 other native, high-value, hardwood trees, such as red oak, sugar maple, yellow poplar, black walnut, and white oak, may also be planted in the planting mix," it said.
"Because the American chestnut is a cultural icon, its inclusion contributes mightily to the efforts of the Office of Surface Mining to increase reclamation with other high-value hardwood trees, to significantly improve the survival and growth rate of those trees, and to enhance forest habitat ...
"Its inclusion also results in an enhancement of ancillary environmental benefits of properly reclaimed forests, such as increased carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and reduced runoff, erosion, sedimentation, and downstream flooding."
Wahlquist noted that university scientists, mine operators, foundation members and school children planted almost 12,000 chestnuts on old mines during Arbor Day events this year.
"The enthusiasm generated by the planting of those chestnuts was phenomenal. The American chestnut is like a 'magic bean' for surface mine reforestation and OSM anticipates that our partnership with the doundation will play a key role in the reestablishment of healthy and productive forests on mine sites across Appalachia."
While news releases recalled the range of the chestnut tree spread from Maine to Georgia, neither reported a total amount of land intended for the reclamation project.
An Associated Press report estimated 2.7 million mined acres, and around 300,000 acres were suitable for chestnut trees.
The feds solicited volunteers among mine operators to participate in the effort.
While reforesting the stripped lands is the best imaginable use in terms of environmental quality, reaching the lofty goals of restoring good health to the lands and wildlife found there may not be possible without a high amount of acreage becoming part of the program.
Forest fragmentation is considered a culprit in the decline of songbirds, for one through the invasion of their nests by parasitic cowbirds.
Cowbirds lay their own eggs in nests of songbirds and leave it for the victim to raise as its own, according to The Macphail Woods Ecological Forest Project. It is believed that cowbirds can lay 40 eggs in a season.
Research has shown that cowbirds don't practice their subterfuge in nests in the deepest forests that remain, but are most prevalent in the smaller remnants of woods decimated by development.
So, to me, the question is: will the rise of the chestnut tree from the ashes of blight inspire new preservation and conservation efforts?
Will people go out and replant the forests instead of building homes with sweeping lawns, pave parking lots, put up another chain store, on the flattened lands?
Lately, the trend has been to build on every available tract, whether suitable or less-than-suitable. Or so it seems.
Will this reclamation effort foretell the amazing recovery or forest and wildlands? Could billions of chestnuts stand tall over the Twin Counties in a few decades, providing shade, timber, firewood and nuts to roast over an open fire at Christmas?
It's like that old saying about it taking a wise and generous person to plant a tree, under the shade of which he may never sit.
The important thing to remember is the seed has been planted.
The phrase "a new generation" of chestnuts is literally true, as researchers working with the American Chestnut Foundation have been crossbreeding the domestic species with its Chinese counterpart in hopes of coming up with a blight-resistant tree.
This species would be about 15/16ths American, hopefully with all the attributes that made the chestnut a forest favorite and an economic boon.
These chestnuts will be among the 38 million trees planted to restore lands stripped and mined in the Appalachians. The restoration pledge was made as part of the United Nations' Seven Billion Tree Campaign.
Five chestnuts planted at Governors Island symbolized the hopes of many that the good health of forests may return along the East Coast — the pre-blight natural range of the tree.
Estimates say the disease killed four billion chestnuts, the straight-growing and sturdy tree favored for furniture and construction before it was nearly wiped out in the first half of the past century.
Organizers felt it fitting to reintroduce chestnut trees to New York, as the first realization of the blight problem occurred not far away, near the Bronx Zoo in 1904.
An agreement with the federal Office of Surface Mining has been a catalyst for what some refer to as the chestnut's renaissance.
"The idea of pledging support to the UNEP's Seven Billion Tree Campaign materialized when 12.7 million trees were planted in 2007 on mined land in the Appalachian coal fields" under the Appalachian initiative, said Brent Wahlquist, director of the Office of Surface Mining, at the event.
Trees being planted over the next three years on mined lands are high-value, native hardwoods. The program to restore disturbed land to good health with reforestation will serve as a model for other parts of the world, he said.
Details about the mines reclamation project are available at the chestnut foundation's Web site, acf.org.
"For each American chestnut seed that is planted on a surface mine, up to 600 other native, high-value, hardwood trees, such as red oak, sugar maple, yellow poplar, black walnut, and white oak, may also be planted in the planting mix," it said.
"Because the American chestnut is a cultural icon, its inclusion contributes mightily to the efforts of the Office of Surface Mining to increase reclamation with other high-value hardwood trees, to significantly improve the survival and growth rate of those trees, and to enhance forest habitat ...
"Its inclusion also results in an enhancement of ancillary environmental benefits of properly reclaimed forests, such as increased carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and reduced runoff, erosion, sedimentation, and downstream flooding."
Wahlquist noted that university scientists, mine operators, foundation members and school children planted almost 12,000 chestnuts on old mines during Arbor Day events this year.
"The enthusiasm generated by the planting of those chestnuts was phenomenal. The American chestnut is like a 'magic bean' for surface mine reforestation and OSM anticipates that our partnership with the doundation will play a key role in the reestablishment of healthy and productive forests on mine sites across Appalachia."
While news releases recalled the range of the chestnut tree spread from Maine to Georgia, neither reported a total amount of land intended for the reclamation project.
An Associated Press report estimated 2.7 million mined acres, and around 300,000 acres were suitable for chestnut trees.
The feds solicited volunteers among mine operators to participate in the effort.
While reforesting the stripped lands is the best imaginable use in terms of environmental quality, reaching the lofty goals of restoring good health to the lands and wildlife found there may not be possible without a high amount of acreage becoming part of the program.
Forest fragmentation is considered a culprit in the decline of songbirds, for one through the invasion of their nests by parasitic cowbirds.
Cowbirds lay their own eggs in nests of songbirds and leave it for the victim to raise as its own, according to The Macphail Woods Ecological Forest Project. It is believed that cowbirds can lay 40 eggs in a season.
Research has shown that cowbirds don't practice their subterfuge in nests in the deepest forests that remain, but are most prevalent in the smaller remnants of woods decimated by development.
So, to me, the question is: will the rise of the chestnut tree from the ashes of blight inspire new preservation and conservation efforts?
Will people go out and replant the forests instead of building homes with sweeping lawns, pave parking lots, put up another chain store, on the flattened lands?
Lately, the trend has been to build on every available tract, whether suitable or less-than-suitable. Or so it seems.
Will this reclamation effort foretell the amazing recovery or forest and wildlands? Could billions of chestnuts stand tall over the Twin Counties in a few decades, providing shade, timber, firewood and nuts to roast over an open fire at Christmas?
It's like that old saying about it taking a wise and generous person to plant a tree, under the shade of which he may never sit.
The important thing to remember is the seed has been planted.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Interest is sprouting
Practically anywhere you look and see a flat place in the Appalachians, there used to be a mountain there.
The old Blue Ridge used to be a lot taller than they are now — age has stooped the mountains over time, worn them down and washed them away.
Man has stepped in to speed up the process, sending up bulldozers to the top of the hills to send aggregate spilling down the slopes with each processed and scooped for coal or other minerals.
Southwestern Virginia has its share of the pushing-down-a-mountain-type mining. Most of the earth moving that's done around the Twin Counties is to get at the rock itself.
The severe appearance of the cut and bare face of such a mountain comes as quite a visual shock, especially as it usually remains surrounded by lush and verdant hills.
But there's an intriguing idea out there that's seemingly gaining acceptance by scientists and foresters and miners alike, to not only reclaim the mined-out land but to quickly restart whole forests of the East's blighted chestnut tree.
In July, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne planted a blight-resistant American chestnut tree in the nation’s capital to celebrate 30 years of reclaiming mine lands since the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
"The industry has successfully reclaimed more than 2.2 million acres of mined lands,” the otherwise obscure and very low profile Kempthorne said in a news release. “At many mines, the reclamation work has far exceeded all state and federal regulations."
Efforts now include planting both pure and hybrid chestnut trees to reforest stripped areas, as this will provide a great opportunity to repopulate the species that the blight nearly wiped out.
“At breeding orchards in Virginia and at Penn State University, the American Chestnut Foundation’s scientists have taken Chinese chestnut trees, which are resistant to the blight, and bred them with their American cousins over several generations,” said Marshal T. Case, President and CEO of the foundation. “The most recent generations of hybrids have nearly 95 percent of the American chestnut’s genes, combined with the blight resistance of the Chinese chestnut. After 25 years of effort, we are producing seeds and seedlings to replant across the American landscape.”
The sturdy and straight growing chestnut would also supply ample benefits for these local economies, with community-boosting profits from future timbering and credits for carbon sequestration in the trees.
The blight killed 3.5 billion chestnut trees, which once accounted a quarter of all trees on the East Coast and in the Ohio Valley.
The American chestnut tree grew to heights of 100 feet with a five-foot diameter, the news release said. The chestnut also had the advantages of straight grain, light weight and natural resistance to decay and insects, once making it a favorite for construction and furniture making from America’s colonial days.
“In planting this tree, we are planting the hope and making a commitment that this noble hardwood will be restored to the American landscape and its vital ecological role in our nation’s forests,” Kempthorne said. “With our partners from the American Chestnut Foundation and the mining industry, we are working to help return this natural icon to Appalachia by planting it on reclaimed surface mine lands.”
“The coal fields of Appalachia match up almost perfectly with what once was the natural range of the American chestnut,” Kempthorne explained. “And we have discovered that chestnuts grow twice as fast on the loosely packed soils commonly found on reclamation sites.”
Because reclaimed mine sites in Appalachia are surrounded by forests, wildlife will spread the American chestnut seeds from reclaimed areas to neighboring forests, allowing nature to repopulate the mountains with the American chestnut, the news release said.
• Originally published September 2007
The old Blue Ridge used to be a lot taller than they are now — age has stooped the mountains over time, worn them down and washed them away.
Man has stepped in to speed up the process, sending up bulldozers to the top of the hills to send aggregate spilling down the slopes with each processed and scooped for coal or other minerals.
Southwestern Virginia has its share of the pushing-down-a-mountain-type mining. Most of the earth moving that's done around the Twin Counties is to get at the rock itself.
The severe appearance of the cut and bare face of such a mountain comes as quite a visual shock, especially as it usually remains surrounded by lush and verdant hills.
But there's an intriguing idea out there that's seemingly gaining acceptance by scientists and foresters and miners alike, to not only reclaim the mined-out land but to quickly restart whole forests of the East's blighted chestnut tree.
In July, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne planted a blight-resistant American chestnut tree in the nation’s capital to celebrate 30 years of reclaiming mine lands since the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
"The industry has successfully reclaimed more than 2.2 million acres of mined lands,” the otherwise obscure and very low profile Kempthorne said in a news release. “At many mines, the reclamation work has far exceeded all state and federal regulations."
Efforts now include planting both pure and hybrid chestnut trees to reforest stripped areas, as this will provide a great opportunity to repopulate the species that the blight nearly wiped out.
“At breeding orchards in Virginia and at Penn State University, the American Chestnut Foundation’s scientists have taken Chinese chestnut trees, which are resistant to the blight, and bred them with their American cousins over several generations,” said Marshal T. Case, President and CEO of the foundation. “The most recent generations of hybrids have nearly 95 percent of the American chestnut’s genes, combined with the blight resistance of the Chinese chestnut. After 25 years of effort, we are producing seeds and seedlings to replant across the American landscape.”
The sturdy and straight growing chestnut would also supply ample benefits for these local economies, with community-boosting profits from future timbering and credits for carbon sequestration in the trees.
The blight killed 3.5 billion chestnut trees, which once accounted a quarter of all trees on the East Coast and in the Ohio Valley.
The American chestnut tree grew to heights of 100 feet with a five-foot diameter, the news release said. The chestnut also had the advantages of straight grain, light weight and natural resistance to decay and insects, once making it a favorite for construction and furniture making from America’s colonial days.
“In planting this tree, we are planting the hope and making a commitment that this noble hardwood will be restored to the American landscape and its vital ecological role in our nation’s forests,” Kempthorne said. “With our partners from the American Chestnut Foundation and the mining industry, we are working to help return this natural icon to Appalachia by planting it on reclaimed surface mine lands.”
“The coal fields of Appalachia match up almost perfectly with what once was the natural range of the American chestnut,” Kempthorne explained. “And we have discovered that chestnuts grow twice as fast on the loosely packed soils commonly found on reclamation sites.”
Because reclaimed mine sites in Appalachia are surrounded by forests, wildlife will spread the American chestnut seeds from reclaimed areas to neighboring forests, allowing nature to repopulate the mountains with the American chestnut, the news release said.
• Originally published September 2007
An old chestnut
Sometimes it seems like we might have to change the old saying to "you can't see the forest for the disease."
Trees still spread their branches over a large portion of the Twin Counties, but many face a growing number of health-related issues — issues that could considerably impact the economy and the beauty of the region.
The news isn't all bad, however.
Gypsy months continue their swarm of destruction, flying into parts of Carroll County. Gypsy moth caterpillars are said to cause $22 million in damage to trees a year by slowly and inexorably chomping down on the leaves of deciduous hardwoods at night until they're stripped down.
Female moths get too fat to fly and they wait for the males to find them, reproduce and die.
Many scientists, including those at Virginia Tech, are working to slow the spread of the moths to only 6,000 square miles by confusing the males with fake pheromones
The Twin Counties have seen its stout hemlock trees ravaged by the woolly adelgid, a leaf bore.
Whole swaths of forests in the Twin Counties have been turned from healthy green to dull brown as the hemlocks, said to be one of the better trees for use in log cabin construction, get attacked.
Virginia appears to be bearing the brunt of the woolly adelgid invasion on the East Coast, with more counties affected than any other state.
The dogwood — both Virginia's state tree and flower — faces a raft of challenges from fungi, especially anthracnose, which continues to spread along the Appalachian Mountain chain through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Even the might oaks can be felled. The Daily Press of Hampton Roads recently reported that forestry personnel were baffled by widespread deaths among oak stands in eastern Virginia.
Trees died, dried up, apparently overnight, landowners reported to foresters. Others lived.
Researchers had no concrete conclusions about the causes behind these deaths, but could only conjecture that they resulted from stress related to weather over the long term.
Virginia Department of Forestry officials told the newspaper that first the drought, followed by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Isabel and then this year's heatwave were too much for the trees in the end.
Water rotted the roots in the ground and eventually killed many trees.
People out West have to worry about Sudden Oak Death. Scientists believe a fungus-like organism related to the one that caused the Irish potato famine has led to significant die offs in coastal California.
Foresters and others in Virginia and other parts of the country are on high alert to keep this disease from spreading to our area.
Tree diseases left a big scar on the forests of the Twin Counties when a blight decimated the American Chestnut tree.
The stout chestnut covered the mountains, with its white blooms making the Appalachians look snow-capped, according to the American Chestnut Foundation.
A good tree for lumber, the tree was used for telegraph poles, railroad ties, shingles, paneling, fine furniture, musical instruments, even pulp and plywood, and the nuts added to the mountain economy as a cash crop besides.
The foundation set out to make sure the American chestnut flourishes again by genetically crossing it with the disease-resistant Chinese variety.
A research farm is located in Meadowview, but work to revive the chestnuts also takes place in the Twin Counties.
Chestnut trees grow in the Matthews State Forest and on private land around here.
Researchers report success in developing healthy trees that resemble the American chestnut of old. They believe a highly disease resistant variety will be available within five years, but the full breeding project could take as much as 50 more years.
People can help with the research and the restoration of chestnuts by becoming members of the foundation.
For more information, visit the foundation's Web site at http://www.acf.org/.
The health of trees is a quality of life issue for the Twin Counties' residents. We can't afford to lose our trees to another plague.
* Originally published in August 2005.
Trees still spread their branches over a large portion of the Twin Counties, but many face a growing number of health-related issues — issues that could considerably impact the economy and the beauty of the region.
The news isn't all bad, however.
Gypsy months continue their swarm of destruction, flying into parts of Carroll County. Gypsy moth caterpillars are said to cause $22 million in damage to trees a year by slowly and inexorably chomping down on the leaves of deciduous hardwoods at night until they're stripped down.
Female moths get too fat to fly and they wait for the males to find them, reproduce and die.
Many scientists, including those at Virginia Tech, are working to slow the spread of the moths to only 6,000 square miles by confusing the males with fake pheromones
The Twin Counties have seen its stout hemlock trees ravaged by the woolly adelgid, a leaf bore.
Whole swaths of forests in the Twin Counties have been turned from healthy green to dull brown as the hemlocks, said to be one of the better trees for use in log cabin construction, get attacked.
Virginia appears to be bearing the brunt of the woolly adelgid invasion on the East Coast, with more counties affected than any other state.
The dogwood — both Virginia's state tree and flower — faces a raft of challenges from fungi, especially anthracnose, which continues to spread along the Appalachian Mountain chain through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Even the might oaks can be felled. The Daily Press of Hampton Roads recently reported that forestry personnel were baffled by widespread deaths among oak stands in eastern Virginia.
Trees died, dried up, apparently overnight, landowners reported to foresters. Others lived.
Researchers had no concrete conclusions about the causes behind these deaths, but could only conjecture that they resulted from stress related to weather over the long term.
Virginia Department of Forestry officials told the newspaper that first the drought, followed by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Isabel and then this year's heatwave were too much for the trees in the end.
Water rotted the roots in the ground and eventually killed many trees.
People out West have to worry about Sudden Oak Death. Scientists believe a fungus-like organism related to the one that caused the Irish potato famine has led to significant die offs in coastal California.
Foresters and others in Virginia and other parts of the country are on high alert to keep this disease from spreading to our area.
Tree diseases left a big scar on the forests of the Twin Counties when a blight decimated the American Chestnut tree.
The stout chestnut covered the mountains, with its white blooms making the Appalachians look snow-capped, according to the American Chestnut Foundation.
A good tree for lumber, the tree was used for telegraph poles, railroad ties, shingles, paneling, fine furniture, musical instruments, even pulp and plywood, and the nuts added to the mountain economy as a cash crop besides.
The foundation set out to make sure the American chestnut flourishes again by genetically crossing it with the disease-resistant Chinese variety.
A research farm is located in Meadowview, but work to revive the chestnuts also takes place in the Twin Counties.
Chestnut trees grow in the Matthews State Forest and on private land around here.
Researchers report success in developing healthy trees that resemble the American chestnut of old. They believe a highly disease resistant variety will be available within five years, but the full breeding project could take as much as 50 more years.
People can help with the research and the restoration of chestnuts by becoming members of the foundation.
For more information, visit the foundation's Web site at http://www.acf.org/.
The health of trees is a quality of life issue for the Twin Counties' residents. We can't afford to lose our trees to another plague.
* Originally published in August 2005.
Frosty no more
Putting up evergreens indoors, lighting candles, caroling, throwing a Yule log on the fire, sitting on Santa's lap serve as just a few traditions that people of the United States practice as a part of Christmas celebrations.
I can think of a few acts that I don't want to see become commonplace as a part of the winter celebrations — putting on sun block, mowing the lawn, turning up the old air conditioning.
Once, a couple years back, I recall it was only a week before families traditionally get together to exchange gifts and the thermometer had been tipping 70 degrees even in the mountains of Virginia.
That was one of the the lengthiest Indian summer I can remember. (Or is it Native American summer?)
I found myself in short sleeves barbecuing chicken on the back porch for dinner that year.
That doesn't seem seasonally appropriate.
So did I miss something? Like the news that the Earth is plummeting toward the sun?
That would have explain the freakishly warm temperatures, but not even former Veep Al Gore has gone there in my hearing.
After 2005 was named the hottest year in a century, people have to wonder: Is a green Christmas a trend that will continue in the future? In places that were formerly known as winter wonderlands?
If so, the word "anachronism" comes to mind.
All those references to "Frosty the Snowman" and "White Christmases," all those snow globe decorations and all those cards and wrapping papers showing winter scenes will in the future turn out not to reflect the real-world experience we have during the holiday season.
Palm trees will become more of a holiday icon than the whited out winter landscape.
It'll be like the line in the famous Christmas song about roasting chestnuts on an open fire, after the chestnut trees caught a disease and mostly died.
Sledding and skiing could become a thing of the past, too.
While still offered in stores now, sleds may become something we see only in museums.
No more icy forts, no more snow man building, no more frozen projectile fights.
Lots of people abhor winter. I always embraced it.
Some of the most fun I could have as a boy involved shooting down an icy hill at break-neck speeds, crashing and becoming lodged in a snowbank after schools unexpectedly closed due to the weather.
Now I can imagine a future in which children draw a blank whenever the concept of freezing precipitation comes up.
"Kids, when I was your age, rain that fell during the winter used to be called snow," we adults will have to explain. "It looked all small and white and starlike."
I hope not, but there may come a time when white Christmases will only occur in old movies and in our dreams.
I can think of a few acts that I don't want to see become commonplace as a part of the winter celebrations — putting on sun block, mowing the lawn, turning up the old air conditioning.
Once, a couple years back, I recall it was only a week before families traditionally get together to exchange gifts and the thermometer had been tipping 70 degrees even in the mountains of Virginia.
That was one of the the lengthiest Indian summer I can remember. (Or is it Native American summer?)
I found myself in short sleeves barbecuing chicken on the back porch for dinner that year.
That doesn't seem seasonally appropriate.
So did I miss something? Like the news that the Earth is plummeting toward the sun?
That would have explain the freakishly warm temperatures, but not even former Veep Al Gore has gone there in my hearing.
After 2005 was named the hottest year in a century, people have to wonder: Is a green Christmas a trend that will continue in the future? In places that were formerly known as winter wonderlands?
If so, the word "anachronism" comes to mind.
All those references to "Frosty the Snowman" and "White Christmases," all those snow globe decorations and all those cards and wrapping papers showing winter scenes will in the future turn out not to reflect the real-world experience we have during the holiday season.
Palm trees will become more of a holiday icon than the whited out winter landscape.
It'll be like the line in the famous Christmas song about roasting chestnuts on an open fire, after the chestnut trees caught a disease and mostly died.
Sledding and skiing could become a thing of the past, too.
While still offered in stores now, sleds may become something we see only in museums.
No more icy forts, no more snow man building, no more frozen projectile fights.
Lots of people abhor winter. I always embraced it.
Some of the most fun I could have as a boy involved shooting down an icy hill at break-neck speeds, crashing and becoming lodged in a snowbank after schools unexpectedly closed due to the weather.
Now I can imagine a future in which children draw a blank whenever the concept of freezing precipitation comes up.
"Kids, when I was your age, rain that fell during the winter used to be called snow," we adults will have to explain. "It looked all small and white and starlike."
I hope not, but there may come a time when white Christmases will only occur in old movies and in our dreams.
Let it snow
Probably one of the best Christmas gifts we could get this season is several feet of the frozen stuff.
Yes, I said it. We here in the Blue Ridge Mountains need copious amounts of snow this winter — just like we have for the last several very mild winters — so we don't start a new cycle of drought when spring rolls around.
It's pretty common for people a bit longer in the tooth to flat deny that Hillsville or Galax suffers during the cold weather season these days.
Just the other day, a friend said we haven't even had snow, relatively speaking, here since 1993, and that was nothing compared to the blizzards that blanketed the area decades ago.
He recalled the snow that completely submerged his father's pickup and getting around by walking on top of the drifts.
While it wouldn't prove beneficial for all the snow to come at once, some wintry weather could help in surprising ways.
The children's chant that goes "rain, rain, go away/come again some other day," seems to have worked a little too well this summer, as Carroll County challenged deserts for the records for low precipitation.
We went for about 30 days with a "trace" of rain.
Some of the creeks seemed to fall to about six inches in depth.
While we've recovered some with rain since, after what could have been a touch-and-go fall fire season, people continue to talk of dry wells.
Winter's the best time for the water table to recharge.
Trees and plants are dormant, and less evaporation takes place.
Rain mostly runs off and doesn't soak in. In fact, it 99 percent of all rain water will runoff.
The best hydration would come from layers of snow on the ground that slowly melt and seep down into the soil.
And in a time when people are worried about the high cost of heating oil, snow could act as an excellent added insulator to your home.
Why do you think they call it a blanket?
The Web site of the Canadian Weather Network explains, complete with their odd spellings:
"This is because dry fluffy snow is about 95 percent air. With all the air spaces, snow prevents heat loss just like fibreglass insulation."
Snow can trap heat in the ground and ward off freezing from subzero temperatures, the Web site, located at http://www.theweathernetwork.com/inter/help/weatherphysics.htm says.
"Without the protection of snow, the ground would freeze solid and vegetation in some parts of Canada would not survive the winter."
Similarly, mammals who live in colder climates keep their extremities warm by burrowing into the snow. This blanket slows their rate of heat loss, as compared to them remaining in the open air.
"In the same way, a covering of snow provides an insulating blanket on your flowerbeds and on your roof, holding heat in when the air temperature drops well below freezing."
So don't complain when it snows. It's not all bad.
And, we need it.
Yes, I said it. We here in the Blue Ridge Mountains need copious amounts of snow this winter — just like we have for the last several very mild winters — so we don't start a new cycle of drought when spring rolls around.
It's pretty common for people a bit longer in the tooth to flat deny that Hillsville or Galax suffers during the cold weather season these days.
Just the other day, a friend said we haven't even had snow, relatively speaking, here since 1993, and that was nothing compared to the blizzards that blanketed the area decades ago.
He recalled the snow that completely submerged his father's pickup and getting around by walking on top of the drifts.
While it wouldn't prove beneficial for all the snow to come at once, some wintry weather could help in surprising ways.
The children's chant that goes "rain, rain, go away/come again some other day," seems to have worked a little too well this summer, as Carroll County challenged deserts for the records for low precipitation.
We went for about 30 days with a "trace" of rain.
Some of the creeks seemed to fall to about six inches in depth.
While we've recovered some with rain since, after what could have been a touch-and-go fall fire season, people continue to talk of dry wells.
Winter's the best time for the water table to recharge.
Trees and plants are dormant, and less evaporation takes place.
Rain mostly runs off and doesn't soak in. In fact, it 99 percent of all rain water will runoff.
The best hydration would come from layers of snow on the ground that slowly melt and seep down into the soil.
And in a time when people are worried about the high cost of heating oil, snow could act as an excellent added insulator to your home.
Why do you think they call it a blanket?
The Web site of the Canadian Weather Network explains, complete with their odd spellings:
"This is because dry fluffy snow is about 95 percent air. With all the air spaces, snow prevents heat loss just like fibreglass insulation."
Snow can trap heat in the ground and ward off freezing from subzero temperatures, the Web site, located at http://www.theweathernetwork.com/inter/help/weatherphysics.htm says.
"Without the protection of snow, the ground would freeze solid and vegetation in some parts of Canada would not survive the winter."
Similarly, mammals who live in colder climates keep their extremities warm by burrowing into the snow. This blanket slows their rate of heat loss, as compared to them remaining in the open air.
"In the same way, a covering of snow provides an insulating blanket on your flowerbeds and on your roof, holding heat in when the air temperature drops well below freezing."
So don't complain when it snows. It's not all bad.
And, we need it.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Good habitat hunting
As far as preserving wetlands and promoting conservation, few organizations can claim more successes than Ducks Unlimited.
Often drained, tilled up or developed, wetlands serve as critical breeding grounds and habitat for wildlife, as well as incredibly effective sinks for greenhouse gas storage, recently released research has shown.
"Threatened by climate change, development and dehydration, wetlands throughout the world could release a 'carbon bomb' if they are destroyed, scientists reported ..." said an article posted on the Red Orbit website.
"These wetlands contain 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, 20 percent of all the carbon on Earth and about the same amount of carbon as is now in the atmosphere, the ecologists told an international conference."
It stands to reason then that conservation of wetlands — and Ducks Unlimited's work — will help shape the planet's climate future and preserve biological diversity.
"Wetlands are among the most productive systems on the planet," sums up the DU website. "They are invaluable not only to waterfowl and scores of other wildlife species, but to the very quality of life on Earth."
The group has a raft of initiatives across the country to save and protect the wetlands and the grasslands that waterfowl use to breed and raise their young.
In fact, it's "Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign" has undertaken the ambitious goal to raise $1.7 billion for habitat conservation.
Part of the group's goal is to raise enough money to put hundreds of thousands of acres of prairie land in the Midwest and including areas of Canada known as the Duck Factory, for its importance in waterfowls' life cycle.
This follows up on what Ducks Unlimited says is 12 million acres of wetlands conserved and restored by the organization over the last 70 years.
Each acre of wetlands plays an important part in groundwater recharge, water quality and biodiversity, the website states.
"Although freshwater wetlands cover only 1 percent of the Earth's surface, they hold more than 40 percent of the world's species and 12 percent of all animal species."
About a sixth of the 900 species of birds that breed in North America depend on wetlands.
Ducks Unlimited's conservation programs in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic focus on the ailing environment of the Cheasapeake, along with other habitats in Pennsylvania and New York.
"Barrier beaches and dunes, submerged aquatic vegetation, intertidal sand and mudflats, salt marsh islands, fringing tidal marshes and maritime forest characterize these highly productive shallow water and adjacent upland habitats," Ducks Unlimited says on its website. "Maintaining or improving water quality and waterfowl habitat in the Chesapeake Bay and other Mid-Atlantic estuaries will be challenging given the projected regional growth in human populations and climate change impacts."
The coast provides important wintering grounds for 70 percent of black ducks, a species which has declined by as much as 60 percent in population because of loss of habitat.
Continuing challenges to maintaining habitats include expect sea level rise decreasing suitable shallow fresh water areas and increasing salinity as well as major losses due to development.
While Ducks Unlimited gears itself toward hunters, preservation of wetlands has widespread impacts on the world's environmental health.
Ducks Unlimited has a rational, thorough and effective program that more people need to support.
Often drained, tilled up or developed, wetlands serve as critical breeding grounds and habitat for wildlife, as well as incredibly effective sinks for greenhouse gas storage, recently released research has shown.
"Threatened by climate change, development and dehydration, wetlands throughout the world could release a 'carbon bomb' if they are destroyed, scientists reported ..." said an article posted on the Red Orbit website.
"These wetlands contain 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, 20 percent of all the carbon on Earth and about the same amount of carbon as is now in the atmosphere, the ecologists told an international conference."
It stands to reason then that conservation of wetlands — and Ducks Unlimited's work — will help shape the planet's climate future and preserve biological diversity.
"Wetlands are among the most productive systems on the planet," sums up the DU website. "They are invaluable not only to waterfowl and scores of other wildlife species, but to the very quality of life on Earth."
The group has a raft of initiatives across the country to save and protect the wetlands and the grasslands that waterfowl use to breed and raise their young.
In fact, it's "Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign" has undertaken the ambitious goal to raise $1.7 billion for habitat conservation.
Part of the group's goal is to raise enough money to put hundreds of thousands of acres of prairie land in the Midwest and including areas of Canada known as the Duck Factory, for its importance in waterfowls' life cycle.
This follows up on what Ducks Unlimited says is 12 million acres of wetlands conserved and restored by the organization over the last 70 years.
Each acre of wetlands plays an important part in groundwater recharge, water quality and biodiversity, the website states.
"Although freshwater wetlands cover only 1 percent of the Earth's surface, they hold more than 40 percent of the world's species and 12 percent of all animal species."
About a sixth of the 900 species of birds that breed in North America depend on wetlands.
Ducks Unlimited's conservation programs in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic focus on the ailing environment of the Cheasapeake, along with other habitats in Pennsylvania and New York.
"Barrier beaches and dunes, submerged aquatic vegetation, intertidal sand and mudflats, salt marsh islands, fringing tidal marshes and maritime forest characterize these highly productive shallow water and adjacent upland habitats," Ducks Unlimited says on its website. "Maintaining or improving water quality and waterfowl habitat in the Chesapeake Bay and other Mid-Atlantic estuaries will be challenging given the projected regional growth in human populations and climate change impacts."
The coast provides important wintering grounds for 70 percent of black ducks, a species which has declined by as much as 60 percent in population because of loss of habitat.
Continuing challenges to maintaining habitats include expect sea level rise decreasing suitable shallow fresh water areas and increasing salinity as well as major losses due to development.
While Ducks Unlimited gears itself toward hunters, preservation of wetlands has widespread impacts on the world's environmental health.
Ducks Unlimited has a rational, thorough and effective program that more people need to support.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Season of Giving
An editorial in The Gazette in Galax, Virginia
Don’t be a Scrooge this holiday season. Give like you mean it.
Or rather, be like Scrooge, but make that the transformed Scrooge who saw the meaningfulness of helping others and found the true spirit of the season in Charles Dickens’ classic Victorian Christmas tale.
You don’t have to be visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve to do the right thing this year — especially when so many people are out of work and face the grim specter of need as brought on by the poor state of the economy.
People across the country are being impacted by the credit crunch, the stock market’s decline, the housing slump, the failures of financial firms and the just-recently-diagnosed recession.
This might be a new experience in other parts of the nation, but it seems like more of the same for the Twin Counties. Hundreds of hardworking people got their first lump of coal in recent years when manufacturing layoffs idled plants here, much of it furniture.
Residents had already hunkered down when the additional economic crises came along, making matters worse.
The prolonged difficulties here along with the compounding problems in the U.S. mean the agencies the hardest-hit go to for help are feeling a pinch themselves. It’s obvious that assistance programs like Rooftop’s need a boost.
There are understandable reasons for this. Demand is up. Donations are getting harder to come by, and even the seemingly inexhaustible supply of federal funds are off, food bank organizers say.
People have choices to make in this economy. Sometimes unpleasant choices.
But a significant amount of people out there could say “humbug” to letting the tightening economy ruin Christmas. They could choose to, for instance, select more affordable presents than a new video game system or a fancy cell phone for loved ones and that would leave some funds to give something that means so much more.
It could be a donation — food or money — to groups like Rooftop and Willing Partners and other food pantries. Gently-used toys donated to Rooftop for its toy shop could be sold and the proceeds used to support the food bank.
In a similar vein, donation of goods to Willing Partners is turned into food bank assistance for those who need it.
The gifts could considerably brighten the season for many.
Instead of being left in the cold this Christmas, families with less could still feel blessed for the aid.
Don’t be a Scrooge this holiday season. Give like you mean it.
Or rather, be like Scrooge, but make that the transformed Scrooge who saw the meaningfulness of helping others and found the true spirit of the season in Charles Dickens’ classic Victorian Christmas tale.
You don’t have to be visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve to do the right thing this year — especially when so many people are out of work and face the grim specter of need as brought on by the poor state of the economy.
People across the country are being impacted by the credit crunch, the stock market’s decline, the housing slump, the failures of financial firms and the just-recently-diagnosed recession.
This might be a new experience in other parts of the nation, but it seems like more of the same for the Twin Counties. Hundreds of hardworking people got their first lump of coal in recent years when manufacturing layoffs idled plants here, much of it furniture.
Residents had already hunkered down when the additional economic crises came along, making matters worse.
The prolonged difficulties here along with the compounding problems in the U.S. mean the agencies the hardest-hit go to for help are feeling a pinch themselves. It’s obvious that assistance programs like Rooftop’s need a boost.
There are understandable reasons for this. Demand is up. Donations are getting harder to come by, and even the seemingly inexhaustible supply of federal funds are off, food bank organizers say.
People have choices to make in this economy. Sometimes unpleasant choices.
But a significant amount of people out there could say “humbug” to letting the tightening economy ruin Christmas. They could choose to, for instance, select more affordable presents than a new video game system or a fancy cell phone for loved ones and that would leave some funds to give something that means so much more.
It could be a donation — food or money — to groups like Rooftop and Willing Partners and other food pantries. Gently-used toys donated to Rooftop for its toy shop could be sold and the proceeds used to support the food bank.
In a similar vein, donation of goods to Willing Partners is turned into food bank assistance for those who need it.
The gifts could considerably brighten the season for many.
Instead of being left in the cold this Christmas, families with less could still feel blessed for the aid.
What's the plan?
When I've wanted to get the attention of a public official in the past, I've sent that person an open letter.
Federal, state and local officials have all received something in their inboxes — missives that have also appeared in our venerable local paper.
This time, I have found it's the American people that have received an open letter from the new president-elect.
I did go ahead and send a letter naming several concerns about protecting open space and encouraging smart development to Barack Obama, as the new administration has allowed for at its Web site, change.gov.
But looking at the goals listed there, there's already been many ideas generated to address those problems.
Is that "carrying coals to Newcastle" or is it "preaching to the choir?"
Anyway, studying the information published there made me feel pretty positive about where our 44th president may be going. I don't need to be reminded that promising is not the same as doing.
It's already there on Change.gov, one important point after another, showing that the new administration has good priorities in mind.
A few of those points include:
• building livable and sustainable communities
"Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives."
This idea will lead to the new president reevaluating "the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account."
• improving efficiencies in buildings
"Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States today and carbon emissions from buildings are expected to grow faster than emissions from other parts of the economy," Change.gov says. "It is expected that 15 million new buildings well be constructed between today and 2015."
The new administration will work with cities to make those new and even existing buildings more efficient when it comes to electricity.
• Strengthening core infrastructures
Obama recently underlined this commitment to state governors in having the federal government help upgrade and update transportation systems, such as roads and bridges.
"These projects will directly and indirectly create up to two million jobs per year and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.”
• Supporting regional innovation
Change.gov singles out the thriving innovation cluster of Research Triangle Park in North Carolina as one that proves "that local stakeholders can successfully come together and help reshape their local economies."
The federal government will try to encourage communities to mirror that success by providing $200 million in planning and matching grants to businesses, governments and universities to enhance long-term regional growth.
Might that affect projects like the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, based in Galax? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
• Eliminating oil imports from countries hostile to the U.S. within 10 years.
In a multi-pronged attack, the new administration plans to increase fuel economy standards; get one million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015; create a $7,000 tax credit for buying more efficient vehicles; establish a national low-carbon fuel standard and more.
• Creating millions of green jobs
The administration would work to ensure that 10 percent of the nation's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025, weatherize one million homes each year and develop clean coal technology.
The Web site also has a whole section on strengthening rural America, including several points on giving farming a boost.
Goals to aid rural parts of the country are:
• Providing a safety net for family farms
"Fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Implement a $250,000 payment limitation so we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around payment limits."
• Establishing a country of origin labeling system, which seems pretty self-explanatory.
• Encouraging organic and local agriculture by helping organic farmers certify their crops, and promoting regional food networks.
• Partnering with landowners to conserve private lands.
"Increase incentives for farmers and private landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands, grasslands and forests."
I hope that the new administration will not forget about the necessity of fully-funding national parks and preserves and their role in protecting biodiversity and providing recreation.
By and large, I'm looking forward to the new administration getting on with its agenda to create jobs by working on energy efficiency and providing some much-needed attention to the environment.
I'm also glad to have been able to provide input on what's important to me.
No one has put it any better than Woodie Guthrie, in my opinion: This land is my land and this land is your land.
In seeking suggestions from average Americans, it looks like the new administration recognizes that fact, too.
Federal, state and local officials have all received something in their inboxes — missives that have also appeared in our venerable local paper.
This time, I have found it's the American people that have received an open letter from the new president-elect.
I did go ahead and send a letter naming several concerns about protecting open space and encouraging smart development to Barack Obama, as the new administration has allowed for at its Web site, change.gov.
But looking at the goals listed there, there's already been many ideas generated to address those problems.
Is that "carrying coals to Newcastle" or is it "preaching to the choir?"
Anyway, studying the information published there made me feel pretty positive about where our 44th president may be going. I don't need to be reminded that promising is not the same as doing.
It's already there on Change.gov, one important point after another, showing that the new administration has good priorities in mind.
A few of those points include:
• building livable and sustainable communities
"Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives."
This idea will lead to the new president reevaluating "the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account."
• improving efficiencies in buildings
"Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States today and carbon emissions from buildings are expected to grow faster than emissions from other parts of the economy," Change.gov says. "It is expected that 15 million new buildings well be constructed between today and 2015."
The new administration will work with cities to make those new and even existing buildings more efficient when it comes to electricity.
• Strengthening core infrastructures
Obama recently underlined this commitment to state governors in having the federal government help upgrade and update transportation systems, such as roads and bridges.
"These projects will directly and indirectly create up to two million jobs per year and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.”
• Supporting regional innovation
Change.gov singles out the thriving innovation cluster of Research Triangle Park in North Carolina as one that proves "that local stakeholders can successfully come together and help reshape their local economies."
The federal government will try to encourage communities to mirror that success by providing $200 million in planning and matching grants to businesses, governments and universities to enhance long-term regional growth.
Might that affect projects like the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, based in Galax? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
• Eliminating oil imports from countries hostile to the U.S. within 10 years.
In a multi-pronged attack, the new administration plans to increase fuel economy standards; get one million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015; create a $7,000 tax credit for buying more efficient vehicles; establish a national low-carbon fuel standard and more.
• Creating millions of green jobs
The administration would work to ensure that 10 percent of the nation's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025, weatherize one million homes each year and develop clean coal technology.
The Web site also has a whole section on strengthening rural America, including several points on giving farming a boost.
Goals to aid rural parts of the country are:
• Providing a safety net for family farms
"Fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Implement a $250,000 payment limitation so we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around payment limits."
• Establishing a country of origin labeling system, which seems pretty self-explanatory.
• Encouraging organic and local agriculture by helping organic farmers certify their crops, and promoting regional food networks.
• Partnering with landowners to conserve private lands.
"Increase incentives for farmers and private landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands, grasslands and forests."
I hope that the new administration will not forget about the necessity of fully-funding national parks and preserves and their role in protecting biodiversity and providing recreation.
By and large, I'm looking forward to the new administration getting on with its agenda to create jobs by working on energy efficiency and providing some much-needed attention to the environment.
I'm also glad to have been able to provide input on what's important to me.
No one has put it any better than Woodie Guthrie, in my opinion: This land is my land and this land is your land.
In seeking suggestions from average Americans, it looks like the new administration recognizes that fact, too.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Making gifts matter
In feeling financially pressed this holiday season but still wanting to benefit worthy causes and charitable groups, I suggested that loved ones consider making making donations to non-profits that work to conserve wild- and wetlands.
Taking an idea from a gift my wife and I received for our wedding, I suggested that my niece and nephew might want to have a tree planted in a national forest in our name.
I figured that would be easy and affordable for those young'uns, it would help more people than just us, and it could divert some money away from consumer goods to something more worthwhile.
Having just dealt with a very worldly, specific and long Christmas gift list sent late by family members and taking about 12 hours in one marathon shopping trip to fulfill the holiday wishes of little girls and boys, I am hoping more people will internalize the idea of more charitable giving — whether during December or all year round.
So I welcomed learning about the website redefiningchristmas.org, an Internet portal designed to connect people with the non-profits and to encourage donations.
Why is it important to boost charitable giving?
The group provides this as an answer on the Web site: "Consider that the amount of money spent on candy alone during the holiday season is greater than the annual budgets of the American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity combined."
That's both kind of shocking and not surprising at the same time.
Redefining Christmas is not about changing the holiday, but rather reexamining of the spirit of giving.
"It's about changing the way we look at gift giving and receiving," the Web site says. "It's taking money we usually spend on obligatory gifts with little meaning, and creating gifts of charity that give in multiple ways, to the receiver, the giver, and people who truly need."
A lot of information one needs to find good causes and quality organizations — and avoid the worst groups — is available at Redefining Christmas and its partner websites like charitynavigator.org, justgive.org and changingthepresent.org.
With links to 1.5 million organizations, the promoters of Redefining Christmas are confident that most people can find a charitable group that shares their interests.
With a few clicks, potential donors can give to their favorite zoo, projects like studying sustainability of food and fuel farm crops, adopt a snowy owl, protect African ranges for the good of elephants, offset one's carbon footprint, support historic organizations like Colonial Williamsburg and Many others.
But don't go there without first checking out the rating given to the non-profits on Charity Navigator.
I've investigated most of the organizations I've donated to in the past year and have been relieved to see that they've gotten favorable marks, though according to reviewers, some of them need improvement.
It pleased me to see worthy groups like the American Chestnut Foundation getting four out of a possible four stars for its efforts to "restore the American chestnut tree to its native range within the woodlands of the eastern United States using a scientific research and breeding program."
The Web site compares program costs, fundraising costs and use of revenue to rate how efficiently a non-profit will put its donations to use.
Were I to decide to give to outdoor recreation and conservation programs in Cincinnati, for example, I could pull up information about various efforts there.
And Charitable Navigator can show me that the information gathered about the Cincinnati Parks Foundation and the Cincinnati Nature Center.
There I learned that the Cincinnati Parks Foundation works with the city to enhance programs at the 5,000 acres that make up its 150 parks.
"The Foundation: conserves, manages, sustains and enhances parks and public green spaces; helps disseminate information about programs and events in the parks; develops additional private funding for park programs; fosters a greater advocacy for Cincinnati Parks; and provides a forum for community input," the Web site quoted the foundation's own description.
"Cincinnati Parks provide tranquil places where families meet, where children play and where we all relax and breathe easier,"The review gave the parks foundation high marks with four stars and a better score than many similar organizations like the New York Restoration Project and the Central Park Conservancy."
On the other end of the spectrum, Charitable Navigator gave one star to the Cincinnati Nature Center because of its relatively high fundraising and administrative costs and the $100,000-plus salary given to its director.
Redefining Christmas is a gift in itself this busy holiday season.
I'd gladly have family members and friends take advantage of the idea it promotes.
It sure would beat standing in the refunds and exchanges line after opening our presents.
Taking an idea from a gift my wife and I received for our wedding, I suggested that my niece and nephew might want to have a tree planted in a national forest in our name.
I figured that would be easy and affordable for those young'uns, it would help more people than just us, and it could divert some money away from consumer goods to something more worthwhile.
Having just dealt with a very worldly, specific and long Christmas gift list sent late by family members and taking about 12 hours in one marathon shopping trip to fulfill the holiday wishes of little girls and boys, I am hoping more people will internalize the idea of more charitable giving — whether during December or all year round.
So I welcomed learning about the website redefiningchristmas.org, an Internet portal designed to connect people with the non-profits and to encourage donations.
Why is it important to boost charitable giving?
The group provides this as an answer on the Web site: "Consider that the amount of money spent on candy alone during the holiday season is greater than the annual budgets of the American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity combined."
That's both kind of shocking and not surprising at the same time.
Redefining Christmas is not about changing the holiday, but rather reexamining of the spirit of giving.
"It's about changing the way we look at gift giving and receiving," the Web site says. "It's taking money we usually spend on obligatory gifts with little meaning, and creating gifts of charity that give in multiple ways, to the receiver, the giver, and people who truly need."
A lot of information one needs to find good causes and quality organizations — and avoid the worst groups — is available at Redefining Christmas and its partner websites like charitynavigator.org, justgive.org and changingthepresent.org.
With links to 1.5 million organizations, the promoters of Redefining Christmas are confident that most people can find a charitable group that shares their interests.
With a few clicks, potential donors can give to their favorite zoo, projects like studying sustainability of food and fuel farm crops, adopt a snowy owl, protect African ranges for the good of elephants, offset one's carbon footprint, support historic organizations like Colonial Williamsburg and Many others.
But don't go there without first checking out the rating given to the non-profits on Charity Navigator.
I've investigated most of the organizations I've donated to in the past year and have been relieved to see that they've gotten favorable marks, though according to reviewers, some of them need improvement.
It pleased me to see worthy groups like the American Chestnut Foundation getting four out of a possible four stars for its efforts to "restore the American chestnut tree to its native range within the woodlands of the eastern United States using a scientific research and breeding program."
The Web site compares program costs, fundraising costs and use of revenue to rate how efficiently a non-profit will put its donations to use.
Were I to decide to give to outdoor recreation and conservation programs in Cincinnati, for example, I could pull up information about various efforts there.
And Charitable Navigator can show me that the information gathered about the Cincinnati Parks Foundation and the Cincinnati Nature Center.
There I learned that the Cincinnati Parks Foundation works with the city to enhance programs at the 5,000 acres that make up its 150 parks.
"The Foundation: conserves, manages, sustains and enhances parks and public green spaces; helps disseminate information about programs and events in the parks; develops additional private funding for park programs; fosters a greater advocacy for Cincinnati Parks; and provides a forum for community input," the Web site quoted the foundation's own description.
"Cincinnati Parks provide tranquil places where families meet, where children play and where we all relax and breathe easier,"The review gave the parks foundation high marks with four stars and a better score than many similar organizations like the New York Restoration Project and the Central Park Conservancy."
On the other end of the spectrum, Charitable Navigator gave one star to the Cincinnati Nature Center because of its relatively high fundraising and administrative costs and the $100,000-plus salary given to its director.
Redefining Christmas is a gift in itself this busy holiday season.
I'd gladly have family members and friends take advantage of the idea it promotes.
It sure would beat standing in the refunds and exchanges line after opening our presents.
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