midwest love: isle royale

Michigan has one National Park. I have not been to it – yet. Who’s to blame me? I basically grew up on the other side of Michigan, basically the farthest point away from the park. Plus, my parents never took me to those type of things. In addition, the Midwest just does not have a lot of National Parks. It’s probably because of the stereotype that the Midwest is boring and flat. However, that is just a stereotype.

If I was to name one interesting fact about the National Park in Michigan, which is the island, Isle Royale, it would be the National Park’s study on wolves and moose. The study has been going on for the past fifty years. It’s strange to think how the wolves and moose came to be on the island, as neither were originally natives. About 1900 the first moose was recorded as being on the island. Most researches presume the moose swam the fifteen miles from Canada to the island. Wolves did not arrive for another forty to fifty years later. The wolves, a little smarter, traveled across frozen ice.

The study works because the wolves and moose are so closely linked on the island. The moose have no other predator, and the wolves have an endless supply of great food sources such as elk, deer, bear, or mountain lion. The study seems to have produced a lot of data about the two animals and how they interact on the island.

The island is also unique because it doesn’t allow wheels on the island - auto or bicycle. This is an example of how the park service is trying to keep the park natural and uninterrupted from human damage. This can also be seen in their camping and hiking policies.
Although the island does see its fair share of people, it probably does not see the same crowdedness as Yosemite or Yellowstone because of the location of the park, the proximity to people, its popularity, and its accessibility. This in itself should be a good reason to visit.

For more info:
http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/
http://www.wolfmoose.mtu.edu/
http://www.nps.gov/isro

sustainability, bottled water, and a house bill

The Great Lakes basin made the New York Times today. The House is in the process of looking over a bill that would ban diverting water from the great lakes basin to outside regions. The bill which has already been passed by the senate and Bush administration looks good with its candy shell. On the inside though, as the NY Times article points out, there are a few loop holes. The biggest one being that bottled water can be pumped out of the basin and shipped outside of the region.

I’ve never liked the idea of bottled water anyway. Too much plastic. Too much money. Not enough sustainability. And here is where the issue lies: sustainability. As the Times article goes on, it quotes Representative Bart Stupak, Democrat of Michigan, opposing the bill because of the bottled water loop hole. Later, on one of the drafters of the bill, its quoted as saying that the bottled water is not an issue because more bottled water will actually be shipped into the basin area than shipped out. Why? Why can’t the Great Lakes bottled water stay in the basin region if it needs so much bottled water and ship the other water else where? Where?

The second big complaint according to the Times article is that people outside the basin, but live in a state where the basin resides such as Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York (Michigan is the only state completely within the Great Lakes basin) now wonder why they can’t have the water that clearly belongs to them. Remember the blog a few weeks ago on the Great Lakes basin? The issue is brought up again. How can I see the Great Lakes, but not be able to take water from it? Hence the boundaries of the basin and how it effects each ecology. Where will they get their water now - how about the outside shipped bottled water they brought into the basin?

Obviously the bill is not foolproof, as shown with the bottled water. I think at least it is a good sign of defining the basin in political circumstances that could be beneficial to future bills for the Great Lakes and the basin. Hopefully it will create awareness of our environment as they come to understand what the bill is about and who it affects. Although not perfect, the idea of the bill, I feel, is a step forward to the sustainability of the basin and the lakes.

NY Times article

guest lecture today

I read an interesting article in the Christian Century yesterday. Instead of writing about it I thought I would just link a “guest” article today by Bill McKibben. I know that’s lame, but it is a good article. The article is on an alternative way to live environmentally. The part on a small town in Sweden is especially interesting. With further adieu: link.

on the fringes in the fast lane

For the life of me I can’t remember if I have written about this.

Hi. My name is Justin, and I commute. For all of those commuters out there: I feel ya. Commuting sucks! There is no way around it: the thousands of people on the road, rush hour, road rage, bad drivers, fast drivers, slow drivers, accidents, construction, tolls, lane closures, flat tires, cut-offs, merging, detours, early mornings, rain, snow, etcetera. You get the point. If you have never commuted, consider yourself lucky. If you might in the future – avoid it at all costs.

There is something about being on the highway for two hours that just isn’t fun. And it pisses the heck out of me. Something about the wasted time on the road, the stopped traffic, and the bad, over-aggressive drivers just raises my blood-pressure to unhealthy levels. Is there something more than the bad drivers and traffic jams? As my spiritual director tells me, my frustration with traffic hints at part of the fringes of what is really going on in my life. Every time he says it to me I am thinking, “What the heck does that mean?” I still have not figured out what my fringes are. I have my ideas, but no conclusions.

But, what does this mean for the wider community? In the context of road rage, maybe there are a lot of people out there with issues unresolved. Stresses that cannot be controlled and a life that is not quite where they want it end up reflected on the road. In Chicago, where there are so many people it is easy to have road rage. Not just because of the mere immensity of traffic. But because of the mere immensity of traffic people know that when they cut someone off and drive illegally that whoever is on the receiving end of their stupidity is not someone they will ever have to see again. They also know car to police ratio is low enough and less important traffic incidents are less likely to invoke a ticket. So, it is easy to have road rage, because there are no repercussions for it. Also, the individualization of the car keeps people from real interaction with others. No one would act the same on the bus or train. The same rage on the road is not present there.

The road lets people act, unconsciously, how they are feeling. They can freely act out how they are feeling on the road. People now will forget the simple unwritten rules of the road. For example, the system of a “first in line goes first”. Safety for some reason is compromised on the road as well. People pass unsafely, cut-off, turn, and speed down the road. Some of the reasons for this are more simple. People are busy, busy, busy and as a society we just do more than what was done in the past. Whether it is bussing the kids around, parties, church meetings, or a sports game there is a lot going on. But at what cost? Many days I see car crashes on the side of the road, ambulances driving off, and lives lost.

On the fringes is meant to figure out the bigger picture, the picture of struggling people in life. As I look to the road I get less mad at aggressive and bad drivers. Where I was mad, I am stepping back now and thinking about it more and what it means in the bigger scope of my life and my relationship with God and neighbor. I have other fringes in life. What are your fringes?

example number Christ

What are we doing as Christians? As Christians we adopt certain standards of: loving our enemies, loving the poor, seeking justice, giving grace, giving mercy, being hopeful, and in general, sticking to moral standards on the basis of loving our God and our neighbor.

I’m not talking about such things as murder, robbing a bank, or insurance fraud. Everyone agrees that those are bad things. Plus, you get a whole lot of jail time for them. I’m not even talking about swearing when you hit your thumb with a hammer, or giving someone the bird when they cut you off. No, I’m talking about these middle-of-the-road, gray subjects. These subjects may on the surface seem okay, right, or “not bad”, but when you get right down to it are just awful.

Example number one. In college I went on a missions trip to Detroit. On the Sunday morning of the trip, like good Christians, we had planned a church visit to a local church. The church was selected because it was multi-ethnic. Another reason we went – it was a prosperity gospel church. The church was indeed multi-ethnic and the people seemed to have had a good time. After the service our group walked to our cars to go back to where we were staying. We were some of the first people out of the church. As we were walking to our cars the pastor of the church that just spoke five minutes ago drives past us - in his Mercedes-Benz. First, why has he left before the visitors have even left? Secondly, his church is supposed to be reaching out to the poor in Detroit and yet he is basking in his own wealth.

Example number two. After talking with one of my coworkers about this subject, he went on to tell me another example. A Christian retirement community was forking over millions of extra dollars every year because people in the retirement community were living longer than projected and their funds did not support them. People in the community began to say, “I don’t need to put money in my retirement plan because the retirement community will take care of me.” Doing all this as they jump into their expensive car and drive off…

Example number three. The welfare system in the States just isn’t good. It is a good idea, but in practice it just hasn’t met the standards. For instance I once heard someone say they had a friend on welfare that did not need welfare, but were on it anyway and that they were eating steaks every night. Welfare is not the only system that is being taken advantage of. And it isn’t just non-Christians who are taking advantage of these systems when they do not really need them.

In these examples the Christians are not following the same standards to which they adhere. As Christians take advantage of systems and programs they are taking money away from people that really need it. What does it mean to take advantage of a system to meet your needs? Just because laws and polices may dictate that something is okay does not mean that it is still just, or by the standards as we live as children of God. And just because money, time, etc is available to us does not mean we should take advantage of it. God calls us to be just, love abundantly, and live graciously.

august round up

I realized in the middle of September that I never wrote an August round up. The month began and ended with me out of the state of Illinois. This lately has been a good thing, because the 2.8 million people here have been getting a little annoying. At the beginning of the month I was in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. At the end of the month I was in Michigan.

View of the city from the ball field

Tigers and Sox


I also got to see the Tigers play the Sox. The Tigers lost, but it was still fun. In the middle of the month, my life changed yet again in a very exciting way!

Camping in Lake Geneva, WI

In Michigan catching turtles

A closer view

An early morning fog on the lake

seven years to the day +1

It’s hard to reflect on 9/11. Not because there is not a lot to say about it, but because it is still one of those moments that is stuck in my head as if it happened today or yesterday. I still remember the look of my Pre-Calc professor when a student came in to tell him the news that seconds later he told us. I still remember the prayer vigil that night. I remember the next spring being in New York City at ground zero and it being silent in a city that does not know how to be silent.

Everything is in an era of post 9/11. There is no going back. The effects from that day are obvious. War for one. In Afghanistan, and in Iraq. Homeland security was boosted, making it one of the top priorities of the government. And of course it has created longer lines at airports. I didn’t fly for a couple years after 9/11. Not because I was afraid, but because I didn’t have any reason to. Therefore, I didn’t notice much of the changes in airports. I did however notice one change - the surge in racism against people of Middle East descent as well as those of Muslim faith. On my college campus I could feel the effects.

Seven years later there is still a huge “get them out” mentality. More stereotypes have been created and discrimination has gotten worse. Tolerance and love need to be expressed on days like this. In a country that idealized freedom more than any other place it doesn’t always allow it for everyone living there.

and they call disneyworld the most magical place on earth?

Over the weekend I went up to Michigan to watch a University of Michigan football game with my awesome fiance. The game started at noon EST so it was an early start from my Chicago apartment. On our way through Indiana I had another Illinois driver pass me. I looked at the back of their car and saw a Michigan Football decal. I couldn?t help but think they were probably going to the game, too.

Not too long after passing into Michigan did I begin to see Michigan decals, car flags, and people in cars with Michigan gear everywhere. I began to point them out one by one. They were all headed in one direction - Ann Arbor.

Big Ten football has been overshadowed over the past few years by the dominance of the SEC and Big 12 in college football. On this Saturday morning, I couldn't tell why. After parking the car and walking to the stadium it was as if everyone in town was going to the game. That's almost possible, too. Ann Arbor's population is about 115,000. Michigan Stadium holds around 107,000. As we got closer to the stadium it was pointed out to me that it looked like a fair. It did kind of look like a fair. There were hundreds of tents set up in blue and maize colors, flags hanging high in the air, and people cheering and throwing footballs around.

The game was awesome and everything I imagined it would be. Michigan beat Miami, OH, 16-6. It is quite possibly the last game I get to see there. It will leave me with lasting memories forever.

reflections on Great Lakes Journey by William Ashworth

I’m not quite done with the book, actually. Though I am close enough to the end to get the basic premise of Ashworth’s book. I would do a review of the book, but I have to say I am not as impressed by the book as its predecessor: The Late Great Lakes, a book I commonly rave about on this blog. In Ashworth’s first book he travels along the great lakes to talk about the environmental history of the lakes. The book really goes into great detail about the history of the region and its impact on the environment. Ashworth’s second book, during which he also travels along the Great Lakes, does not have the same impact. A lot of it is good and I will get into that in the reflection, but unfortunately most of the book gets into the author being irritated by sprawl (for good reason) and him testing out local breakfast places.

The basic reason Ashworth wrote the book was to have a follow-up on how the Great Lakes region has improved environmentally since he last wrote his book. Most of the book is a written conversation with various environmentalists about those changes. Besides the ranting of sprawl, the underlining theme was the public’s knowledge of the ecosystem of which they live in. What does this mean?

I was born in Michigan. Now I live in Chicago, Illinois. They are two different states that do their own business, economy, etc. separately. The problem with this is that Michigan and Illinois are in the same ‘ecosystem’ that is the Great Lakes. So, the people in Chicago live in the same ecological system as people in Detroit, Rochester, Green Bay, and other cities that are spotted along the great lakes. Me, a Chicagoan, has more in common with someone in Rochester, New York, than with someone say in downstate Illinois or Des Moines, Iowa. It is a psychological move from thinking ‘Midwest’ region to ‘Great Lakes’ region. So, why the shift?
In the book, Ashworth describes Chicago’s water centerpiece as…the Grant Park water fountain. The fountain is separated by Lake Michigan by a mere street. Yet, when people are so close to one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes they have their back turned to it and are instead taking pictures in front of the fountain. And apathy has set in.

We don’t know as humans what we are doing to the lakes and its inhabitants. What about the rivers that are so polluted that we are afraid to go in them? What about the bottom-feeding ducks that eat from polluted sediments of the river? Often we destroy wetlands and swamps because as humans they are an unlivable place, but they are vital to a working ecosystem. An imbalance is created in the ecosystem when they are taken out. Wetlands are often places for runoff and floods from local lakes and rivers. When they are taken out, flood then proceed to rush into towns and destroy homes and businesses that have been built over those wetlands. This same idea can also be transferred to the sandy beaches we create and maintain unnaturally, the plains, and the forests. Each has its own use and the land, water, and its residents depend upon it that way.