Tuesday, February 24, 2009
CFWEP Restoration & Education Newsletter - Feb 09 Edition
The latest edition of CFWEP's Restoration & Education Newsletter is now available online (pdf format). Go to cfwep.org to download it and hear all the latest and greatest from up and down the Clark Fork Basin.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
"A Missoula County Almanac" in the making?
University of Montana Environmental Studies graduate student Bethany Taylor is back with a new blog. In fulfillment of her Campus Corps volunteer position and supplementing the CFWEP's work in the Missoula schools with Milltown Dam and Clark Fork curriculum and activities, Bethany is assisting classes in learning about nature and environmental writing...read on! I recently worked with some Missoula area 8th grade students in their Language Arts class. While this may not seem like the traditional venue for environmental science, it was a great chance to remind students that even if you aren’t a genius in Chemistry, there are still ways you can use your talents towards environmental preservation.
Here is a sampling of the students’ work:
The assignment “What do you think Nature and Environmental Writing are?” elicited a variety of responses.
From Elizabeth—“Flowing streams and gentle winds live silently and continue their varied paths as everything grows around them. A new obstacle is simply overcome by going over it or around it. A fallen tree in a creek creates a barrier and the water eventually finds its way around it and continues its way.
We, as humans, cannot go around our problems without paying them a visit later, but like the water we find a way to deal with it.
Similarities can be found with humans and nature and are easily conveyed through environmental writing. Take for example, our Earth, it goes through natural warming and cooling periods, almost as if it were sick. I am well aware that I do the same things. When ill, the body is overheated and sweats. The persperation then cools down and the body shivers, trying to warm itself? Could it be possible the Earth is the same?
I feel little through most environmental writing and can hardly bear to sit through while my eyes skim and re-skim the meaningless words.
However, if the writing was taken to a more creative level instead of the usual extremely seriousness, I’m sure it would be more interesting not only to me, but to many others.
Environmental writing is usually very opinionated and hardly even shows the other side of the story. It speaks the truth of things and tells you many things that you have no previous knowledge of.
I hardly find that this kind of writing affects me but I’m aware that my surroundings do. As winter approaches, a bear prepares itself for hibernation by filling up its fat supply. I prepare for winter by getting out my warm coat.
However, if there wasn’t a cold winter here I would prepare differently. Our environment affects how we dress, what we eat, and more.
Our animal friends face a much more harsh change than we do. Some travel long distances, others grow more hair and eat less.
There are many similarities between nature and our own life if only we look closer. Environmental writing looks very deeply into these and many more subjects, and I believe we could learn much from it.”
From Lauren—“I think that nature writing is any sort of writing that shows any connection to nature. Whether you are making comparisons between humans and nature, animals and nature, or nature and nature. So, you might read nature writing and not even know it because it doesn’t have to be direct. There is a large range of nature writing, and it doesn’t all have to be boring. Yes, it is possible for nature writing to be interesting and even enjoyable to read. But many people and teens wonder, ‘ok, so someone took the time to write a nature journal. What’s it to me?’ Let me explain the importance of nature writing.
First, it makes you more aware of your climate. Whether it’s your neighborhood or the world, nature writing gives you an insight to the issues of the natural world around us. What we need to change, what we need to stop, and what we need to fix. This kind of writing brings a level of awareness to us. It is possible to watch a movie or look up a website about global warming (or global climate change); a book better describes the situation to the reader. Or so that’s what my opinion is.
Next nature writing allows you to have more insight into other ecosystems. Although we all live in different locations and climates, the competition between humans and nature is ever going, just more prominent in some places. I think that it is comforting, subconsciously, to read about other people’s problems, just to be reassured that you aren’t the only one. Even if your issue isn’t nature related. It also makes me feel closer to the people who’s home you are reading about. That, despite the foreign ethnic backgrounds, you are both humans and both defy nature to live every day.
Finally, it is an experience nothing else can bring. Reading about something that is so different yet so similar to the ecosystem that you live in is something for everyone to experience because only when we make the connections will we be connected.
So, even though people might wave off nature writing, read it. It will be an experience unlike any other.”
From Braeden—“To me, nature writing it someone writing about their thoughts with nature. Like someone saying ‘I saw a cow’ isn’t nature writing, but someone saying ‘The great tree is a symbol of all that is harmony in the environments’ is nature writing. But to me, nature writing is a very dry subject. From the few chapters we read from “The Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold who dies in 1948 and was inducted into the Conservation Hall of Fame in 1965. I didn’t even know that they had a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. I mean, I’ve heard of sports Hall of Fame, but I’ve never heard of a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So this whole National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame topic is pretty new to me. I don’t know how many people are in National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame but it can’t be that many. Anyway, back to nature writing. I still believe it will always be a dry subject to me. Maybe if there is a book about nature that is really interesting and has a plot then maybe it would change my mind and I might vote to induct the author to the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. But until that happens, I will always think it is a dry subject. It doesn’t have a plot which I can’t stand in a book. It doesn’t have any action, or adventure, or comedy, which, again, I can’t stand a book not to have. I never complained about “The Westing Game” or the other book we read. But nature writing is pretty awful. I really wish we would switch to a book with more of a plot instead of reading “Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold, who was inducted into the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame in 1969.
Still Nature Writing is a very dry subject, I don’t know how people can fill up whole books with ‘the rabbit was running across the field being chased by a dog. All of nature is going like clockwork right now.’ How someone could fill up 250 pages like that is beyond me. How someone could fill up a whole book with ‘nature is all in harmony, how beautiful.’ How someone could get published with a book without a plot and is so very dry frustrates me. I now have a new least favorite type of book: the plotless ones. This type of book infuriates me. This is what I think of your nature writing.
So now you know, next time let’s read a book with a plot or some action or adventure. Or we can read a book with comedy. Or maybe a book like “The Red Kayak” or maybe another book like “The Westing Game.” Instead of learning about National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So there, that’s what I think of your “Nature Writing.” Take that society.”
Their next assignment was to write about a place that they would cry if it were destroyed, and what they would do about it.
From Malia—“There are many places in the world that I would cry if they got ruined. The most important place is though is my house. It is the most important place to be because it is where I have lived my whole life. Also, I have so many memories and I have all my possessions in it I would be so sad if my house burned down in a fire.
My house right now is the only place I have ever lived in. if I had to live in a new house, none of the rest of my life would be the same. I love my house so much, I would hate to have it burned down, because I have so many memories.
My memories in my house have been so abundant. Everyday at school, I have a new story to tell my friends. Some stories about my brother, my pets, my room. There is never an alike day in my life. Every day when I go home and relax, I just think about how much I love my house. I can still remember when I was five and my neighbor and I would play. We would go run outside, play on swingsets, do cartwheels, and play tag. There is so much in store for you when you have a house to live in that you love, and have your past in.
My whole life is in my house. I have my most valuable possessions, such as my iPod, phone, computers. But also I have more valuable things. I have a tree where my dog was buried. Also, there is my birth certificate, things from my younger childhood, and so much more that I don’t know how I could ever let those things go.
Everyday is a new day with new moments and memories. Every memory stacks up through the days, years, decades. If you appreciate your home, and life, you will be a great person. I love my life and everything that is important in it. I would cry if I lost my house.”
Malia wasn’t the only student who wrote about her house being the most important, which got into an interesting discussion about how the root of ecology is oikos, the Greek word for house, and what that means in terms of ecology and seeing the world as connected.
The final assignment was to write poems about where the students feel that they are from:
From Aaron—
“I am from a tennis court where I learned the game
I am from the black top where champions live
I am from Spokane where friendships lie
I am from Bozeman where sportsmanship lives
I am from Wimbledon where upsets roar
I am from the diamond where dreams remain
I am from the backyard and driveway basketball
I am from Great Falls where the biggest match becomes the funnest”
From Stacia—
“I am from the woods outside of my grandparent’s back door
I am from listening to the little birds and watching the squirrels when I was little
I am from little secret picnics that my grandma made me when I was young
I am from always being surrounded by protective mountains.
I am from playing on the swingset for hours in the hot summer sun.
I am from building teepees out of sticks and blankets
I am from making mud slides on the side of a hill
I am from climbing the oak tree and eating rhubarb out of the garden.
I am from just loving to be outdoors.”
From Braeden, (the same one who finds nature writing dry and plotless)—
“I am from standing on cold rocks in a creek
and running through meadows, sneezing with hay fever
from sprinting and tripping
and sliding and slipping
I am from running after what I thought was an ice cream truck
and then crying because I didn’t get any ice cream
from eating a large popcorn and puking at the movie theater
and thinking “shut up” was a bad word.
I am from watching “Dumbo” six times a day.
I am from Montana, and I always will be.”
They were a bright, cooperative, well-spoken and well-written class; my thanks to them and to their teacher for giving me the opportunity to work with them.
Here is a sampling of the students’ work:
The assignment “What do you think Nature and Environmental Writing are?” elicited a variety of responses.
From Elizabeth—“Flowing streams and gentle winds live silently and continue their varied paths as everything grows around them. A new obstacle is simply overcome by going over it or around it. A fallen tree in a creek creates a barrier and the water eventually finds its way around it and continues its way.
We, as humans, cannot go around our problems without paying them a visit later, but like the water we find a way to deal with it.
Similarities can be found with humans and nature and are easily conveyed through environmental writing. Take for example, our Earth, it goes through natural warming and cooling periods, almost as if it were sick. I am well aware that I do the same things. When ill, the body is overheated and sweats. The persperation then cools down and the body shivers, trying to warm itself? Could it be possible the Earth is the same?
I feel little through most environmental writing and can hardly bear to sit through while my eyes skim and re-skim the meaningless words.
However, if the writing was taken to a more creative level instead of the usual extremely seriousness, I’m sure it would be more interesting not only to me, but to many others.
Environmental writing is usually very opinionated and hardly even shows the other side of the story. It speaks the truth of things and tells you many things that you have no previous knowledge of.
I hardly find that this kind of writing affects me but I’m aware that my surroundings do. As winter approaches, a bear prepares itself for hibernation by filling up its fat supply. I prepare for winter by getting out my warm coat.
However, if there wasn’t a cold winter here I would prepare differently. Our environment affects how we dress, what we eat, and more.
Our animal friends face a much more harsh change than we do. Some travel long distances, others grow more hair and eat less.
There are many similarities between nature and our own life if only we look closer. Environmental writing looks very deeply into these and many more subjects, and I believe we could learn much from it.”
From Lauren—“I think that nature writing is any sort of writing that shows any connection to nature. Whether you are making comparisons between humans and nature, animals and nature, or nature and nature. So, you might read nature writing and not even know it because it doesn’t have to be direct. There is a large range of nature writing, and it doesn’t all have to be boring. Yes, it is possible for nature writing to be interesting and even enjoyable to read. But many people and teens wonder, ‘ok, so someone took the time to write a nature journal. What’s it to me?’ Let me explain the importance of nature writing.
First, it makes you more aware of your climate. Whether it’s your neighborhood or the world, nature writing gives you an insight to the issues of the natural world around us. What we need to change, what we need to stop, and what we need to fix. This kind of writing brings a level of awareness to us. It is possible to watch a movie or look up a website about global warming (or global climate change); a book better describes the situation to the reader. Or so that’s what my opinion is.
Next nature writing allows you to have more insight into other ecosystems. Although we all live in different locations and climates, the competition between humans and nature is ever going, just more prominent in some places. I think that it is comforting, subconsciously, to read about other people’s problems, just to be reassured that you aren’t the only one. Even if your issue isn’t nature related. It also makes me feel closer to the people who’s home you are reading about. That, despite the foreign ethnic backgrounds, you are both humans and both defy nature to live every day.
Finally, it is an experience nothing else can bring. Reading about something that is so different yet so similar to the ecosystem that you live in is something for everyone to experience because only when we make the connections will we be connected.
So, even though people might wave off nature writing, read it. It will be an experience unlike any other.”
From Braeden—“To me, nature writing it someone writing about their thoughts with nature. Like someone saying ‘I saw a cow’ isn’t nature writing, but someone saying ‘The great tree is a symbol of all that is harmony in the environments’ is nature writing. But to me, nature writing is a very dry subject. From the few chapters we read from “The Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold who dies in 1948 and was inducted into the Conservation Hall of Fame in 1965. I didn’t even know that they had a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. I mean, I’ve heard of sports Hall of Fame, but I’ve never heard of a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So this whole National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame topic is pretty new to me. I don’t know how many people are in National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame but it can’t be that many. Anyway, back to nature writing. I still believe it will always be a dry subject to me. Maybe if there is a book about nature that is really interesting and has a plot then maybe it would change my mind and I might vote to induct the author to the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. But until that happens, I will always think it is a dry subject. It doesn’t have a plot which I can’t stand in a book. It doesn’t have any action, or adventure, or comedy, which, again, I can’t stand a book not to have. I never complained about “The Westing Game” or the other book we read. But nature writing is pretty awful. I really wish we would switch to a book with more of a plot instead of reading “Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold, who was inducted into the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame in 1969.
Still Nature Writing is a very dry subject, I don’t know how people can fill up whole books with ‘the rabbit was running across the field being chased by a dog. All of nature is going like clockwork right now.’ How someone could fill up 250 pages like that is beyond me. How someone could fill up a whole book with ‘nature is all in harmony, how beautiful.’ How someone could get published with a book without a plot and is so very dry frustrates me. I now have a new least favorite type of book: the plotless ones. This type of book infuriates me. This is what I think of your nature writing.
So now you know, next time let’s read a book with a plot or some action or adventure. Or we can read a book with comedy. Or maybe a book like “The Red Kayak” or maybe another book like “The Westing Game.” Instead of learning about National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So there, that’s what I think of your “Nature Writing.” Take that society.”
Their next assignment was to write about a place that they would cry if it were destroyed, and what they would do about it.
From Malia—“There are many places in the world that I would cry if they got ruined. The most important place is though is my house. It is the most important place to be because it is where I have lived my whole life. Also, I have so many memories and I have all my possessions in it I would be so sad if my house burned down in a fire.
My house right now is the only place I have ever lived in. if I had to live in a new house, none of the rest of my life would be the same. I love my house so much, I would hate to have it burned down, because I have so many memories.
My memories in my house have been so abundant. Everyday at school, I have a new story to tell my friends. Some stories about my brother, my pets, my room. There is never an alike day in my life. Every day when I go home and relax, I just think about how much I love my house. I can still remember when I was five and my neighbor and I would play. We would go run outside, play on swingsets, do cartwheels, and play tag. There is so much in store for you when you have a house to live in that you love, and have your past in.
My whole life is in my house. I have my most valuable possessions, such as my iPod, phone, computers. But also I have more valuable things. I have a tree where my dog was buried. Also, there is my birth certificate, things from my younger childhood, and so much more that I don’t know how I could ever let those things go.
Everyday is a new day with new moments and memories. Every memory stacks up through the days, years, decades. If you appreciate your home, and life, you will be a great person. I love my life and everything that is important in it. I would cry if I lost my house.”
Malia wasn’t the only student who wrote about her house being the most important, which got into an interesting discussion about how the root of ecology is oikos, the Greek word for house, and what that means in terms of ecology and seeing the world as connected.
The final assignment was to write poems about where the students feel that they are from:
From Aaron—
“I am from a tennis court where I learned the game
I am from the black top where champions live
I am from Spokane where friendships lie
I am from Bozeman where sportsmanship lives
I am from Wimbledon where upsets roar
I am from the diamond where dreams remain
I am from the backyard and driveway basketball
I am from Great Falls where the biggest match becomes the funnest”
From Stacia—
“I am from the woods outside of my grandparent’s back door
I am from listening to the little birds and watching the squirrels when I was little
I am from little secret picnics that my grandma made me when I was young
I am from always being surrounded by protective mountains.
I am from playing on the swingset for hours in the hot summer sun.
I am from building teepees out of sticks and blankets
I am from making mud slides on the side of a hill
I am from climbing the oak tree and eating rhubarb out of the garden.
I am from just loving to be outdoors.”
From Braeden, (the same one who finds nature writing dry and plotless)—
“I am from standing on cold rocks in a creek
and running through meadows, sneezing with hay fever
from sprinting and tripping
and sliding and slipping
I am from running after what I thought was an ice cream truck
and then crying because I didn’t get any ice cream
from eating a large popcorn and puking at the movie theater
and thinking “shut up” was a bad word.
I am from watching “Dumbo” six times a day.
I am from Montana, and I always will be.”
They were a bright, cooperative, well-spoken and well-written class; my thanks to them and to their teacher for giving me the opportunity to work with them.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Underground Tale of the Pasty
The CFWEP hosted a teachers workshop for its Milltown Dam and Clark Fork Virtual Education Portal (formerly "the trunks") this weekend at the Bonner School in Bonner.
We were treated with 27 teachers, eager to learn and very interested in hearing the science, stories and lessons of the Upper Clark Fork.
Upon a few individuals request, below is the recount of the story behind the Cornish pasty: staple food of underground miners for centuries and one of the trademark tastes of The Mining City....enjoy the story, and your next pasty!
When trying to teach kids about subjects that might seem complicated, like science, it always helps to use anecdotes that relate to things they can easily understand. In working with the students of the Upper Clark Fork basin, helping them to learn the health affects of some of the toxic substances found in mining wastes, like arsenic, lead and mercury, I’ve made it a point to use Butte’s hallmark entrée, the pasty.
Of course, we all like to think of the pasty being as Butte as Butte can be. However, just like the mining that made our town famous, the pasty too hails from some place else. Cornwall, England. The rich tin and copper mines in this southwestern-most region of the Old Country can be traced to 2000 B.C. Mention of the Cornish pasty can be found as far back as the 1200s. Mining’s importance in their culture can be summed up with a common Cornish definition: “A mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it.”
When mining began to peter out in Cornwall in the late 1800s, the “Cousin Jacks,” as they were known, emigrated to the mining meccas abroad, like Michigan’s Copper Country and of course, Butte, to carry on their historic skills. They also brought with them the pasty.
So how do you explain the human health affects from heavy metals and arsenic through a hand-held meat and potato pie? It turns out that the Cousin Jacks didn’t eat pasties just because they tasted great and were more filling than most other lunches you could take underground.
Talk to anyone who’s worked below, or take a peak at a historic photo of the working folk from Butte’s heyday: Underground mining is a dirty business, perhaps the dirtiest of them all. A shift underground would cover you from head to toe and then some in the mine’s dirt, dust, muck and mire. And although they were mining copper, silver, tin, whatever the moneymaker happened to be in the rock, there came with it all the other geologic tagalongs not so desirable, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, toxins that will eventually wreak havoc on a man’s health.
The two major pathways for these poisons to make it into our bodies is either breathing it in (inhalation) or eating it (consumption). Once a man went underground to work, there wasn’t any coming back up to the surface until the end of his day, unless he came up dead or maimed. In the days before respirators and dust masks, there wasn’t much a miner could do to keep from inhaling the metals-laden dusts, save for holding his breath – an impossibility over an entire shift. Many figured that inhaling the dust through the filter of a cigarette was better than nothing – even though there were “NO SMOKING” signs posted in the Butte mines in 16 different languages. And there certainly weren’t any faucets or trusted methods of washing away the grime from your face or hands before lunchtime.
Prior to the pasty, miners in Cornwall probably ingested an equal amount of poison for every bite of nourishment he ate. Chronic diseases from arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals poisoning like cancer, ulcers and Mad Hatter’s disease were traced to the ingestion of these ubiquitous mining toxins early on. That didn’t mean a miner was going to stop eating underground. Hats off to the wives of Cornwall for fashioning a tasty solution to the problem.
The traditional Cornish pasty had a pinched crust much thicker than the ones on the pasties we eat today. The large, thick crust on the side of the original pasties was put on to serve as a handle, something the miners could hold on to with their filthy hands, while they ate the rest of the pie untouched and therefore, untainted with whatever might be clinging to his fingers.
Another note of difference between today’s pasty and the original is that the first pasties usually had rutabagas or turnips in them along with the standard meat and potatoes. Some wives added an extra treat: a compartment that held a fruit filling at one end to serve as “dessert.” When the miners were finished eating the filling, all they had to do was chuck the crusty handle and go back to work. It was also said that the throwing of the crust into the mines was a token of bribery or maybe even respect to the underground spirits or “knockers.” The knockers were blamed for knocking down big rocks, the “Duggans,” from above, under which many an underground toiler perished. The miners figured the ruthless spirits would be less likely to do so if their presence was acknowledged by the tossing of a tasty scrap of crust and perhaps a quick Hail Mary. There were well over 2,000 men who died in Butte’s underground mines over their operation. Only the knockers know how many pasty crusts were left behind and eaten.
So the next time you don’t have the time or facilities to wash your dirty hands before eating lunch, grab on to a pasty and don’t forget to leave the crust behind. Your body will thank you and so will the knockers.
We were treated with 27 teachers, eager to learn and very interested in hearing the science, stories and lessons of the Upper Clark Fork.
Upon a few individuals request, below is the recount of the story behind the Cornish pasty: staple food of underground miners for centuries and one of the trademark tastes of The Mining City....enjoy the story, and your next pasty!
When trying to teach kids about subjects that might seem complicated, like science, it always helps to use anecdotes that relate to things they can easily understand. In working with the students of the Upper Clark Fork basin, helping them to learn the health affects of some of the toxic substances found in mining wastes, like arsenic, lead and mercury, I’ve made it a point to use Butte’s hallmark entrée, the pasty.
Of course, we all like to think of the pasty being as Butte as Butte can be. However, just like the mining that made our town famous, the pasty too hails from some place else. Cornwall, England. The rich tin and copper mines in this southwestern-most region of the Old Country can be traced to 2000 B.C. Mention of the Cornish pasty can be found as far back as the 1200s. Mining’s importance in their culture can be summed up with a common Cornish definition: “A mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it.”
When mining began to peter out in Cornwall in the late 1800s, the “Cousin Jacks,” as they were known, emigrated to the mining meccas abroad, like Michigan’s Copper Country and of course, Butte, to carry on their historic skills. They also brought with them the pasty.
So how do you explain the human health affects from heavy metals and arsenic through a hand-held meat and potato pie? It turns out that the Cousin Jacks didn’t eat pasties just because they tasted great and were more filling than most other lunches you could take underground.
Talk to anyone who’s worked below, or take a peak at a historic photo of the working folk from Butte’s heyday: Underground mining is a dirty business, perhaps the dirtiest of them all. A shift underground would cover you from head to toe and then some in the mine’s dirt, dust, muck and mire. And although they were mining copper, silver, tin, whatever the moneymaker happened to be in the rock, there came with it all the other geologic tagalongs not so desirable, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, toxins that will eventually wreak havoc on a man’s health.
The two major pathways for these poisons to make it into our bodies is either breathing it in (inhalation) or eating it (consumption). Once a man went underground to work, there wasn’t any coming back up to the surface until the end of his day, unless he came up dead or maimed. In the days before respirators and dust masks, there wasn’t much a miner could do to keep from inhaling the metals-laden dusts, save for holding his breath – an impossibility over an entire shift. Many figured that inhaling the dust through the filter of a cigarette was better than nothing – even though there were “NO SMOKING” signs posted in the Butte mines in 16 different languages. And there certainly weren’t any faucets or trusted methods of washing away the grime from your face or hands before lunchtime.
Prior to the pasty, miners in Cornwall probably ingested an equal amount of poison for every bite of nourishment he ate. Chronic diseases from arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals poisoning like cancer, ulcers and Mad Hatter’s disease were traced to the ingestion of these ubiquitous mining toxins early on. That didn’t mean a miner was going to stop eating underground. Hats off to the wives of Cornwall for fashioning a tasty solution to the problem.
The traditional Cornish pasty had a pinched crust much thicker than the ones on the pasties we eat today. The large, thick crust on the side of the original pasties was put on to serve as a handle, something the miners could hold on to with their filthy hands, while they ate the rest of the pie untouched and therefore, untainted with whatever might be clinging to his fingers.
Another note of difference between today’s pasty and the original is that the first pasties usually had rutabagas or turnips in them along with the standard meat and potatoes. Some wives added an extra treat: a compartment that held a fruit filling at one end to serve as “dessert.” When the miners were finished eating the filling, all they had to do was chuck the crusty handle and go back to work. It was also said that the throwing of the crust into the mines was a token of bribery or maybe even respect to the underground spirits or “knockers.” The knockers were blamed for knocking down big rocks, the “Duggans,” from above, under which many an underground toiler perished. The miners figured the ruthless spirits would be less likely to do so if their presence was acknowledged by the tossing of a tasty scrap of crust and perhaps a quick Hail Mary. There were well over 2,000 men who died in Butte’s underground mines over their operation. Only the knockers know how many pasty crusts were left behind and eaten.
So the next time you don’t have the time or facilities to wash your dirty hands before eating lunch, grab on to a pasty and don’t forget to leave the crust behind. Your body will thank you and so will the knockers.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Guest Blog: Science vs "Science"
You may have heard that Yellowstone National Park is experiencing an unusual number of earthquakes. If you have been following the news, you will know that Yellowstone is a dormant, but not dead, volcano, and that it is a zone of relatively high earthquake activity even at the best of times. In late December, seismic activity ramped up, causing fears of cataclysm in the form of giant volcanic eruptions, poison gas, and/or boiling lava.
Some of the misinformation circulating the internet about the significance of that activity is downright laughable, but some of it is downright dangerous. The facts are readily available at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/, but what I want to address here is the difference between information posted by legitimate researchers in legitimate articles, and the un-scrutinized ramblings of bloggers [like me??? Never!].
Here are my main points:
- There IS a difference between the ideas presented by someone in their own blog or on their own website, and those presented in legitimate scientific journals. Any blogger can have a thought, write it down, and send it out to the World Wide Web for anyone to view. Even the most informed and reasoned thoughts sent out this way do not have the reliability of ideas that are published in a scientific journal and supported by data and analysis. Articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals present data and conclusions that have survived careful scrutiny and even attack by any number of other scientists. That is what “peer review” means.
- Real science is gladiatorial. Every research scientist out there has two main goals in life: 1. prove that her/his ideas are sound, and 2. prove that competing ideas are not. Scientists learn early in their careers that there is little to be gained by going along with what has been done in the past. They must carve out their own niche by being right where others have been wrong. This means being intensely critical of others’ data and conclusions. It also means trying to produce data and conclusions that withstand the criticisms of the other gladiators. By the time a researcher publishes a study in a peer-reviewed journal it has been scrutinized many times by other scientists, not the least during the peer review process. And the scientists who review the articles (typically at least 3 for each paper) are not thinking “What can I do to make this scientist and her study look good?”, they are thinking “What are the flaws in this study and how can I prove it wrong?”
- Even the nicest reviewer will reject a flawed paper. And even the best paper will receive negative comments from reviewers. I have not published as much as many scientists, but I have gone through the peer-review process more than a dozen times, so I know how it works. Run this by your scientist friends if they don’t tell you the same thing: no paper comes back from the reviewers without red marks all over it. Most scientists I know have a routine for dealing with reviews, which involves scanning them quickly once, putting them down, and then going for a long walk (or a workout or a stiff drink) to get past the invariable pissed-off-must-control-fist-of-death fury elicited by the reviewers’ comments. It may take as long as a week to calm down enough to go back and take the reviews seriously. And it may take many months to address all the concerns about the study that have been raised.
- It may be hard to convince a scientist that they have been wrong, but most will face up to new data and better reasoning and alter their conclusions accordingly.
This is not true of those who fill their own web pages with long, windy, and often very detailed exposés of evolutionary science or of the USGS reports on the non-life-threatening activities in Yellowstone Park. A theory that cannot be proven wrong is not a scientific theory. A scientific theory cannot be PROVEN right – at best it can be supported by data and observations. Evolution is a theory that is supported by all available data. Plate tectonics is another. Gravity is another. This brings me to my final point. - The PhD granting institutions of this world are not cranking out scientists who are trying to bolster the theories of evolution or plate tectonics or gravity.
There is not a legitimate scientist in this world who doesn’t dream of being the one who shoots down the biggest and best theories out there. And believe me, if they had the evidence to disprove one of these theories, they wouldn’t publish it in a blog or in a letter to the editor. It would be front page in “Nature” or “Science” (two of the leading peer-reviewed journals on the planet).
Bottom line: Think twice about casually dismissing studies that have undergone scientific review. And think three times about casually accepting those that have not.
-Colleen Elliott, PhD
Dr. Elliott is a geologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology and a founder and former Director of the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program. She is an experienced teacher and scientist, and, even though she lives in Butte, MT, she isn't worried about Yellowstone blowing up.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Milltown Dam Education Program field trip
Meet Bethany Taylor, a University of Montana graduate student in Environmental Studies. Bethany, who is pursuing the writing option within the EVST program, is one of seven U of M students working with CFWEP to lead its Milltown Dam Education Program in the Missoula area and Anaconda schools this year. Bethany and the other UM students are guided by CFWEP and also under the skillful eye of Dr. Vicki Watson.
Ms. Taylor, a New Hampshire native, will be a guest Waterblogger over the next several months. We hope you enjoy her account of Carlton Nelson's class field trip from earlier this winter. Mr. Nelson's class came to the Milltown site after being the first class group to visit the BP-ARCO waste repository, or commonly known as the Opportunity Ponds.
Ms. Taylor, a New Hampshire native, will be a guest Waterblogger over the next several months. We hope you enjoy her account of Carlton Nelson's class field trip from earlier this winter. Mr. Nelson's class came to the Milltown site after being the first class group to visit the BP-ARCO waste repository, or commonly known as the Opportunity Ponds.
“I wonder if this is what aliens would do to us…” was one comment overheard as Mr. Carlton Nelson’s seventh graders from Anaconda’s Fred Moodry Middle School poked and prodded at macroinvertebrates on a recent CFWEP field trip to the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers near Milltown Dam.
The Anaconda field trip was the last one facilitated by CFWEP this fall, and it seemed to the facilitators as if the best had been saved for last—these students were across the board engaged, informed, and did a great deal to counteract the “bad rap” that middle-school students often unfairly receive. Despite chilly temperatures, the students all maintained good attitudes and demonstrated a clear understanding of the various ways one can assess river health, and why in particular, Montanans should know about the status of these two rivers. In fact, the Anaconda students have better reason to know about the health of the rivers and the clean-up than most—the Opportunity Ponds where the contaminated sediment is consolidated is pretty close to their backyards.
Not that their proximity to toxic waste seemed to dampen the Anaconda students enthusiasm for studying the rivers in any way. The day before the field trip to the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers in Bonner and Missoula, the students had been taken to Opportunity to see the former tailings ponds, now referred to as the BP-ARCO repository. That was deemed “pretty cool” by most of the students—with the exception of one kid who was wearing shorts that day and wasn’t allowed off the bus. “We’re the only kids who’ve gotten to see those ponds,” several students said.
Active involvement seems to be the key to getting students to retain interest and absorb scientific concepts and data. The site CFWEP uses on the Blackfoot River is on a big gravel bar. Due to recent rains and snow, then snowmelt from the mountains, the river had changed its course and come right through the gravel bar with a 15-foot wide channel. While this created some interesting logistical challenges, including a longer trek than usual from the bus to the site in the chilly morning, what was more interesting was having an active example of recent geomorphology.
We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about how rivers are active ecosystems, but even comparing data collected two weeks before the Anaconda trip showed a different river. The underscored the importance of record keeping, which made perhaps a few more cold fingers wiggle out of their mittens to record data on the water chemistry, the geomorphology, the macroinvertebrates, and the riparian vegetation. The combination of these studies amounted to giving the two rivers a full physical exam, and then comparing the data to determine the health of the rivers.
In general, the Anaconda students found that the two rivers were in good shape. Perhaps more importantly, the students had fun, and learned how to apply lessons from their science classes and CFWEP lectures to reality. They also got to learn new things.
“The coolest thing I learned is that plants that grow along the river steal oxygen from the river at night,” said an enthusiastic Aly Bisch. She and her friends were at the water chemistry station, possibly the favorite station of the Anaconda students, although they were interested, involved, and informed at all four. If these are the entomologists, water chemists, geomorphologists and riparian ecologists of the future, the health of these rivers are in good, if heavily-mittened, hands.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Data from Anaconda - 7th Grade Fieldtrip (May 15, 2008)
On May 15, 2008, the students from Bob Orrino's class in Anaconda went on a CFWEP Fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: an less-impacted site (Warm Springs Creek at Washoe Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Fairmont Crackerville Road). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.
Warm Springs Creek at Washoe Park (Less-Impacted)
Warm Spring Creek at Washoe Park is located behind the fish hatchery.
Water Chemistry - During the visit to Warm Springs Creek, the air temperature was about 14 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was about 9.10 degrees Celsius according to the data gathered at the site. The temperatures were measured using GLX Probes. The pH readings of the creek showed that the creek was slightly basic on the day of the fieldtrip. The dissolved oxygen was about 16 mg/l. Concentrations of Iron and Nitrates were measured using test strips. The Iron concentration was about 0.05 ppm and the Nitrate concentration was about 0.63 ppm.
Vegetation - The vegetation in the riparian area consisted of mostly grasses with some small trees located about 20 feet of the river.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance score for this area was 30, which means the water quality is excellent. The top three most popular macro-invertebrates were Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies.
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Farimont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.
Water Chemistry - During the site visit the air temperature was 22 degrees Celsius and the water was approximately 12 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was measured at 20 mg/l and the turbidity was measured at 300 NTU. The iron and nitrates concentrations were 0.10 ppm and 1.63 ppm respectively.
Vegetation - The main vegetation in the area consisted of grasses, forbs, and trees.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index score calculated during the fieldtrip was 25. This suggests that the water quality of the creek is excellent. The top three macro-invertebrates seen were Snipeflies, Caddisflies, and Midges.
Warm Springs Creek at Washoe Park (Less-Impacted)
Warm Spring Creek at Washoe Park is located behind the fish hatchery.
Water Chemistry - During the visit to Warm Springs Creek, the air temperature was about 14 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was about 9.10 degrees Celsius according to the data gathered at the site. The temperatures were measured using GLX Probes. The pH readings of the creek showed that the creek was slightly basic on the day of the fieldtrip. The dissolved oxygen was about 16 mg/l. Concentrations of Iron and Nitrates were measured using test strips. The Iron concentration was about 0.05 ppm and the Nitrate concentration was about 0.63 ppm.
Vegetation - The vegetation in the riparian area consisted of mostly grasses with some small trees located about 20 feet of the river.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance score for this area was 30, which means the water quality is excellent. The top three most popular macro-invertebrates were Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies.
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Farimont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.
Water Chemistry - During the site visit the air temperature was 22 degrees Celsius and the water was approximately 12 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was measured at 20 mg/l and the turbidity was measured at 300 NTU. The iron and nitrates concentrations were 0.10 ppm and 1.63 ppm respectively.
Vegetation - The main vegetation in the area consisted of grasses, forbs, and trees.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index score calculated during the fieldtrip was 25. This suggests that the water quality of the creek is excellent. The top three macro-invertebrates seen were Snipeflies, Caddisflies, and Midges.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Data from East Middle School - 7th Grade Fieldtrip (May 9, 2008)
On May 9th, 2008, the students of East Middle School, Karen Alley's 7th Grade class went on a CFWEP fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: a less-impacted site (Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park (Less-Impacted)
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park is classified as a residential, recreational, and urban area that has been impacted by mining, remediation, illegal dumping, and development.
Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Blacktail Creek site, the weather was cold and wet. The air temperature was approximately 7.85 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was approximately 5.50 degrees Celsius. The pH of the stream indicated that is was neutral. The dissolved oxygen was 7.75 mg/l and the turbidity was 5.40 NTU. The copper concentration of the stream was about 4.81 ppm.
Vegetation - Most of the vegetation consisted of tall and short grasses. The short grasses ranged from right next to the stream to about 40 feet from the stream. The tall grasses ranged from 5 feet from the stream to 50 feet from the stream. The ground was about 5% bare with the rest being covered by vegetation.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 12. This score indicates that the water quality was fair.
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.
Water Chemistry - During the visit the Silver Bow Creek the air temperature was 5.22 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was 5.41 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was 11.8 mg/l and the turbidity was 9.88 NTU. The concentrations of copper, iron, and nitrates were not tested for.
Vegetation - The vegetation near the stream consisted of both short grasses and tall grasses with some shrubs present. The ground cover is mostly bare, with about a 40% cover from vegetation.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 9. This score indicates that the water quality was poor.
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park (Less-Impacted)
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park is classified as a residential, recreational, and urban area that has been impacted by mining, remediation, illegal dumping, and development.
Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Blacktail Creek site, the weather was cold and wet. The air temperature was approximately 7.85 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was approximately 5.50 degrees Celsius. The pH of the stream indicated that is was neutral. The dissolved oxygen was 7.75 mg/l and the turbidity was 5.40 NTU. The copper concentration of the stream was about 4.81 ppm.
Vegetation - Most of the vegetation consisted of tall and short grasses. The short grasses ranged from right next to the stream to about 40 feet from the stream. The tall grasses ranged from 5 feet from the stream to 50 feet from the stream. The ground was about 5% bare with the rest being covered by vegetation.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 12. This score indicates that the water quality was fair.
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.
Water Chemistry - During the visit the Silver Bow Creek the air temperature was 5.22 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was 5.41 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was 11.8 mg/l and the turbidity was 9.88 NTU. The concentrations of copper, iron, and nitrates were not tested for.
Vegetation - The vegetation near the stream consisted of both short grasses and tall grasses with some shrubs present. The ground cover is mostly bare, with about a 40% cover from vegetation.
Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 9. This score indicates that the water quality was poor.
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