MyQuest

How could 'cap and trade' affect Oklahoma?

The Oklahoma Policy Institute admits that it does not know, but presents of list of the questions to be considered,here.

Tar Creek Update

The superfund site relocation effort gets $25 million from the stimulus package.

Walkability gaining as a priority for the city

The city is finally exploring options to make this a more walkable city.  The new downtown boulevard may even be redesigned from its current car-heavy focus.  Read about it here.

Edgemere Park

Trees!

You'll remember my writing (and here) about the holocaust of trees in our park after the December 2007 ice storm. 

Today there are many new young trees planted throughout the park. 

Green Initiatives in the State House

FOUR good green energy bills passed the state house yesterday. Bravo!

The House passed bills Monday to attract alternative energy companies, increase the number of alternative fueling sites and provide tax incentives for using alternative energy.

I didn't know we still had bears

When I lived in Fayetteville the old timers spoke about the bears which used to live in the area.  There was some nostalgia involved.  I didn't realize the Oklahoma still had any left, but apparently we do.  The population has grown enough that the legislature has voted to allow 20 to be hunted every year.  The Sierra Club thinks this is good conservation and isn't opposing it.  The bill passed unanimously.  A reasonable policy from the House.  And exciting to me to know that we still have this little bit of wilderness which I didn't know we had.

America's Most Popular Cities

An interesting column by David Brooks discussing how Americans would like to live, based upon our most popular cities.  An excerpt:

If you jumble together the five most popular American metro areas — Denver, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando and Tampa — you get an image of the American Dream circa 2009. These are places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garage — filled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment. These are places you can imagine yourself leading an active outdoor lifestyle.

These are places (except for Orlando) where spectacular natural scenery is visible from medium-density residential neighborhoods, where the boundary between suburb and city is hard to detect. These are places with loose social structures and relative social equality, without the Ivy League status system of the Northeast or the star structure of L.A. These places are car-dependent and spread out, but they also have strong cultural identities and pedestrian meeting places. They offer at least the promise of friendlier neighborhoods, slower lifestyles and service-sector employment. They are neither traditional urban centers nor atomized suburban sprawl. They are not, except for Seattle, especially ideological, blue or red.

They offer the dream, so characteristic on this continent, of having it all: the machine and the garden. The wide-open space and the casual wardrobes.

I wish Oklahoma City would listen to this.  It would mean striving to create more outdoor activities in and around the metro area.  We have some decent state parks an hour or two away, but we need more things nearby.  We can't change where they located the city (not one of the pretty spots in the state), but I think we could create some more parks and activities within and near the metro.

Earthquakes

So, KGOU just reported about two more minor earthquakes in the area.  Lately there have been many reports of minor earthquakes around here.  Last year we had one that was strong enough to actually rattle some folk, I think it was a 3. 

Years ago I read that Oklahoma has on average 200 earthquakes a year, all of them pretty minor.  The river/lake region in Eastern Oklahoma is a fault and connected to the New Madrid system.  I remember back in middle school when reports came out about the potential for an 8.0 on the New Madrid (like there had been in the 19th century) and how it would devastate the region (which is unprepared for such an earthquake) and probably redirect the flow of the Mississippi (which has been redirected many, many times throughout its history (trying to squeeze it into levies is a futile act of hubris, as is being demonstrated again right now)).

But I've never heard local news report on earthquakes like I have recently.  Maybe they just want something else to talk about.  Maybe tornados are getting boring or something.

Yet, it still raises a little concern for me.  Given all the natural disasters this year and the incompetence of our government to cope with most of them, the thought of a major earthquake in the center of the country is a disquieting thought.

Miami & Picher: The Ecology

Last year Miami experienced its worst flood since 1952.  The 2007 flood did not get as high as the 52 flood, but did more damage because there were more homes and businesses in the flood plain. 

Until the early 80's there had not been a significant flood since 52.  There were three major ones in the 80's and 90's, but nothing as big as '07.  The floods have contributed to the declining economy since our plant closed in '86, though there is much new development supporting the casino industry.

I felt that the entire town looked less kept up than it used to.  Huge areas are overgrown or dirty.  Friends of mine still in town said that many people have just given up.

To me the ecology of the region appears different.  Miami always seemed part of the grasslands of the north and west and less like the hill and forest country that lie directy to the east and south.  But that seems different now.  Miami felt and looked to me more like a river town.  The landscape seemed more river bottom landscape.  It felt more like towns along the Mississippi do to me.  Maybe it was always like that and I just never realized it, but I don't think so.  I think the ecology of the region is changing and the rivers and creeks are asserting (or reasserting) their dominance over the landscape.

Picher has long looked bad.  Population decline and poverty took its toll.  The remains of the mining industry created the odd, alien landscape that we later learned was the worst environmental disaster in US history.  So, take a landscape already suffering and send a major tornado over it.  And what results is one of the most surreal landscapes I've ever seen.  The pictures and videos do not do it justice, you just have to see it. 

Last Night's Storms

Last night's tornados were not near our home, but it was still a little nerve-wracking when the straight line winds and "wall of water" hit the house. Michael and I were sitting together on the couch watching the tv weather reports. More than once we looked out the windows when we heard loud, ominous sounds.

Today, during my walk, I got to see the damage in our neighborhood. Limbs down. A collapsed fence. A few trees uprooted, including one of the old ones in my favourite grove in Edgemere Park (all of the trees in this grove survived the ice storm). I spent some time touching the tree and walking around it, grieving its loss.

A block away from our house a tree uprooted and came down on a house. That must have been one of the noises we heard.

Ever since the ice storm so many trees are weakened and misshapen and each major wind storm does more damage. The sadness continues.