Have some leftover pumpkin pie, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and peruse the latest batch from Da Web.
From 123RF
- Author Jon Waterman thinks our National Parks are in trouble. Reduced staffing and budget, increased day use, climate change, and possible privatization of services for the wealthy’s convenience threaten the NPS mission he thinks. And I believe he is right.
Arches National Park. From the Moab Sun-Times.
- China’s growing middle class is mirroring the growth of our middle class in many ways. Meaning more affluence and leisure time available. And, with that growth, no surprise that Chinese national parks are on the horizon.
From the Associated Press
- From the Canyon Zephyr :
Edna Fridley was a good friend of the canyon country of southeast Utah for more than 30 years. Every year she returned to the slickrock from her home, back east, to wander and explore what was then one of the most remote and isolated parts of the United States. In the fall of 1962, Edna set off on her last trip down Glen Canyon. The dam, 150 miles downstream, was almost complete. Within months the Bureau of reclamation would close its diversion tunnel and stop the free flow of the Colorado River.
Glen Canyon pre-dam. From Medium
- “Tribes in the Colorado River basin have been marginalized for more than a century in discussions of western water development. A few recent moments are beginning to change that dynamic. With a big drought agreement inked and a landmark study finished, tribes are increasingly calling for a seat at the table to negotiate the river’s future.”
A canal carries Colorado River water to farmland near Poston, Arizona, owned and operated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes, a key player in Arizona’s Drought Contingency Plan.
LUKE RUNYON / KUNC
- As discussed in an earlier article, low-Earth satellites are poised to make widespread internet easily accessible. But at what cost to the night sky? With only 400 or so satellites in orbit, astronomers are already noticing problems. Elon Muk plans on over 40,000 satellites in the near future.
On November 18, 2019, approximately 19 Starlink satellites passed over Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, disrupting astronomical observations and hindering the science being undertaken in a real, measurable way. CLARAE MARTÍNEZ-VÁZQUEZ / CTIO
- Jack Burton, credited with being one of the pioneers of snowboarding, passed away.
It is with a heavy heart that we share that Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter passed away peacefully last night surrounded by loved ones as a result of complications from recurring cancer. He was the soul of snowboarding, the one who gave us the sport we love. #RideonJake pic.twitter.com/8dChSsm54Y
— Burton Snowboards (@burtonsnowboard) November 21, 2019
Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction
- Cam Honan thinks you might have a UL problem.
Ray Jardine
- And finally, perhaps our simple past time is not so simple afterall?