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Monday afternoon odds and ends: Aerial shots of the rivers, it’s really fish vs. wine, psychotic shower curtains, Moss Beach stroll, new Delta website, is gold dredging good for the salmon? and more!

Posted by: Maven on June 8, 2009 at 1:32 pm

The latest in an occasional series on what’s going on around the internet…

Aerial shots of some of the rivers in the west, including the Colorado River and Idaho’s Snake River, ending with a multitude of shots of the Delta, whose highly altered landscape makes incredible designs on the earth when viewed from above. Check it out from Environmental Graffiti: America’s Rivers from Above

It’s not fish vs. people, it’s really fish vs. wine, says the Irregular Times blog: The Green Man writes: In California, people aligned with Big Agriculture are complaining that the issue is one of fish vs. people, and the National Marine Fisheries has chosen to side with fish, against people. Is that how it really is? Well, people aren’t drinking that irrigation water. Plants are. Some of those plants provide food crops, and some provide a harvest that’s a bit more recreational. The area is part of the top wine-producing regions in the United States. People drink wine. I like to drink wine myself. But, people like to eat fish too, especially the endangered Chinook salmon populations of which have become so decimated as a result of California’s irrigation projects, the salmon fishing season has been canceled for two years in a row. The salmon contribute strongly to the local economy too. So, this conflict isn’t really about fish vs. people. To be more accurate, it’s about fish vs. wine. Read more from the Irregular Times blog: It’s Fish Vs. Wine, Not Fish Vs. People

Psychotic shower curtains makes sure you don’t waste time in the shower: French designer Elisabeth Buecher has found a way to help remind us that long showers waste water as well as energy used by the water heater. Her concepts for a green shower curtain might seem a little pushy, but the result is a better world for all of us. This represents what Elisabeth describes as “Design for pain and for our own good.” Check it out from Divine Caroline: Pushy shower curtain forces you to be green

Moss Beach Stroll – Highway 1′s best kept secret, says the SF Examiner: A breathtaking beach walk; a scenic cliff-top hike; a chance to see harbor seals up-close-and-personal; and if you keep your eyes peeled, perhaps a whale to two breaching and blowing or, at this time of year, flocks of pelicans heading north. Then there are the rock pools to explore; sand for the kids to dig in if you take them along; and an incidental visit to one of the world’s most famous surfing spots, which just happens to be a marker on the trail. If you’re making the trip this summer, check out this article: California Highway 1 best kept secret: The Moss Beach coastal stroll

New website about the Delta: I have to admit this one mystifies me a little bit. It’s called Delta National Park, although apparently it’s mission is not to advocate for a Delta National Park; instead: The site is intended to be a forum for critical exchange, and is open to others who would like to contribute content, including especially speculative design projects and mapping analysis at any scale. Visitors are encouraged to contribute links to relevant sites, stories, photographs, documents and other material. It’s put together by John Bass, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. There’s already YouTube videos and a photo gallery. Check it out: Delta National Park website

Does gold dredging actually help the salmon? Sure does, says the Gold Rush University in this YouTube clip:

And it cleans mercury from the waterways and is good for the environment, they also say. Disclosure: this group aims to teach you how to dredge for gold yourself.

More pictures: Check out this picture gallery of art made from trash from the Fake Plastic Fish blog, the TreeHugger blog has a gallery of interesting water shots, and photographer Adrian Mendoza goes windsurfing on the Delta.

June 8, 2009 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives

Comments

One Response to “Monday afternoon odds and ends: Aerial shots of the rivers, it’s really fish vs. wine, psychotic shower curtains, Moss Beach stroll, new Delta website, is gold dredging good for the salmon? and more!”

  1. John Bass on October 26th, 2009 1:49 pm

    I just discovered that you had a little piece about the Delta National Park website on June 8th. The site has since been substantially reorganized and has a great deal more content than it did in June. Hope you will look at it again, and as always, like to get feedback. I will, for example, make more explicit my advocacy for a “new kind of National Park.”

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