So this morning I was reading the LA Times while visiting relatives this Thanksgiving weekend. To my amazement there was an article about declining visitor traffic to National Parks (Camp? Outside? Um, no thanks). I have to admit I was torn on this. My initial reaction was “good” since I’ve seen so many areas over used and abused as of late, but on the other hand my reaction was of horror knowing th
Last week it was reported that mariners in the south Pacific came across a new island near Tonga. I was extremely fascinated by the brief CNN article I had read and later in the week a friend pointed me to a blog with the photos taken by the sailors (Stone Sea and Volcano) that found the new volcanic island. Very cool and very different. The idea of “pumice rafts” that extend for miles blew my mind. IR
Today it was announced that Richard Pombo has lost his bid for reelection to the US Congress. For those that treasure the preservation of our environment this is a huge victory. Richard Pombo, frequently monitored for his frighteningly unfriendly environmental policies, has been eager to push forward policies to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, open US coasts to off shore oil drilling and
So this morning, as I was turning in my absentee ballot, I thought it might be interesting for my “photo of the day” to capture a tight shot of someone handing in their ballot. Before taking my camera out I asked my neighbor who was running the voting precinct if it would be ok to do so. Interestingly I found out, from her answer, that in California you cannot photograph in a voting precinct with out the
Recently I’ve been reading more of Robert Scoble’s postings and a topic he recently started discussing struck a cord with me. His fairly recent post Getty images: a photo business under pressure was of interest from a work standpoint two fold. In addition to pursuing a profession in photography I’m also a web strategist for a tech company here in northern California. The points made in Robert’
Its not often you hear postiive news coming from the Bush administration in regard to conservation, but last week President Bush signed the Thompson/Boxer/Feinstein Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act (AKA Wilderness Bill, or HR 233/S 128) into law. This newly protected area covers nearly 275,000 acres (see map for details). For those that don’t know, the status of “wilderness”
“A US District Court Judge yesterday issued a ruling in the case, National Audubon Society v. Kempthorne, stopping a proposed oil lease sale opening nine million acres for drilling including near Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake. Interior had scheduled the lease sale for September 27.” If you’re unaware of the plight of this area then please reference the following sites to learn more. It is extremely
I’ve never been into caving, but from the description of this recent discovery in Sequoia National Park I might change my tune. Unfortunately it sounds like they’re going to keep the location of this cave secret for some time to come. None the less the description and photos are incredible.