Friday, March 10, 2006
We Could All Become Buddhists
It is the knowledge of Anicca, impermanence, that heals Dukkha, suffering
What other response is there to Bob Marshall's column in today's Picayune?
What many coastal scientists know, but are afraid to say publicly, is that we are almost out of options. The Gulf has moved so much closer to our back doors that there now remains only one real hope for a long-term future on the delta of the Mississippi River: Let the river go.
The federal government must claim eminent domain on everything south of U.S. 90, then begin managing it as an ecosystem with one priority: Rebuilding land faster than it's being lost to the Gulf.
That ain't gonna happen. On why why freshwater diversion projects may be too little, too late:
Perhaps the most graphic example is the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion project. When it opened a few years ago wetland proponents touted its ability to build as much as two square miles of marsh a year in the battered Barataria Basin. What they didn't talk about was that the basin is losing 11 square miles per year. Do the math.
Of course, Bob Marshall isn't the final authority on the subject, but he is about as knowledgeable a reporter as you'll find, and he clearly cares about the subject. Read the column. For an idea of the amount of area involved, just click. Though not clearly marked, highway 90 more or less parallels I-10 from the Texas border to Lafayette, then circles down through New Iberia and Houma, before starting to follow the interstate again just before N.O. That's a lot of eminent domain.
Hope I didn't seem too self-indulgent with that opening; certainly hope that I didn't seem to trivialize the matter. Normally when I hear people talk about eastern philosophy, I'm reminded of a former colleague who often said, without the slightest trace of irony, "I'm really into Zen." It just sounds dilettantish. By pure coincidence (first book that I'd read on the subject in years, I was attracted by the title), I happened to read a book about Buddhism (among other things) shortly before the storm. Like a lot of people that I've talked to, I couldn't concentrate well enough to do any involved reading for some time after Katrina, so I had a lot of time to think about the subject.
Almost every blogger in town has linked to it, but if you haven't seen it yet, you should watch this video.
In the previous post, I should have included this link to Lusher. The whole broader subject needs a lot more attention, or a lot of little subjects need a lot more attention.
What other response is there to Bob Marshall's column in today's Picayune?
What many coastal scientists know, but are afraid to say publicly, is that we are almost out of options. The Gulf has moved so much closer to our back doors that there now remains only one real hope for a long-term future on the delta of the Mississippi River: Let the river go.
The federal government must claim eminent domain on everything south of U.S. 90, then begin managing it as an ecosystem with one priority: Rebuilding land faster than it's being lost to the Gulf.
That ain't gonna happen. On why why freshwater diversion projects may be too little, too late:
Perhaps the most graphic example is the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion project. When it opened a few years ago wetland proponents touted its ability to build as much as two square miles of marsh a year in the battered Barataria Basin. What they didn't talk about was that the basin is losing 11 square miles per year. Do the math.
Of course, Bob Marshall isn't the final authority on the subject, but he is about as knowledgeable a reporter as you'll find, and he clearly cares about the subject. Read the column. For an idea of the amount of area involved, just click. Though not clearly marked, highway 90 more or less parallels I-10 from the Texas border to Lafayette, then circles down through New Iberia and Houma, before starting to follow the interstate again just before N.O. That's a lot of eminent domain.
Hope I didn't seem too self-indulgent with that opening; certainly hope that I didn't seem to trivialize the matter. Normally when I hear people talk about eastern philosophy, I'm reminded of a former colleague who often said, without the slightest trace of irony, "I'm really into Zen." It just sounds dilettantish. By pure coincidence (first book that I'd read on the subject in years, I was attracted by the title), I happened to read a book about Buddhism (among other things) shortly before the storm. Like a lot of people that I've talked to, I couldn't concentrate well enough to do any involved reading for some time after Katrina, so I had a lot of time to think about the subject.
Almost every blogger in town has linked to it, but if you haven't seen it yet, you should watch this video.
In the previous post, I should have included this link to Lusher. The whole broader subject needs a lot more attention, or a lot of little subjects need a lot more attention.
