Post 3

So I had a friend of mine ask me something today that caused me to think hard about my personal beliefs and reasons for the career path that I have chosen.  After a lengthy discussion/debate/argument about Second Amendment rights, he asked me “Are you opposed to social Darwinism?”  The response to the question only took me a moment, but my reasoning took me to the base of the motivations I have for working in the Forest Service and for MobilizeGreen.

Social Darwinism is a term that has recently become a common ideology being discussed in the political realm.  Essentially, it can be described as a belief that people have different strengths at varying levels that will eventually cause a person to allocate to different social and economic levels according to their inherent value or ability to gather resources.  The resources usually are wealth, education, profitable relationships etc.  Social Darwinism roots from the scientific concept postulated by Charles Darwin that said that in nature, organisms will pass on hereditary information according to their fitness level, or more simply, ability to survive.  I know some biologists would not agree completely with my definition, but that is enough of a description to understand my point. 

So, getting back to the original question that set this in motion: my answer was no.  I do not agree with social Darwinism.  I think that it permeates our society and is the foundation logic for some, if not most, people in the world.  But, I think it is morally wrong. 

Let me explain.  I am becoming more amiable with my supervisor, Joe, which has led to some discussions of how he has risen and achieved the position that he is in.  He is one of the most persistent and almost aggressively friendly people I have met.  This personality type is perfect for the work that he does because much of his time and energy is spent trying to acquire funding or manpower to fuel projects for the Tahoe National Forest.  Specifically, he works to maintain, restore, and develop trails for hikers and backpackers in the National Forest.  Any person who works in the Forest Service will tell you, and it was abundantly clear to me on my first day, that money is always the hindering factor in project development.  Taxpayer money does not fund all of the work done by the Forest Service.  Much of the funding in our department for trail projects comes from grants applied for by my supervisor or other people in the same department.  In order to get projects done Joe must play the bulldog salesman: always on the lookout for a way to convince people to work with him.

Joe told me that the reason he isn’t in sales, or some other line of work where he knows that he could make a lot of money with his skill set, is that he believes in the value of public service.  He believes that the work he does benefits the American citizens.  Joe and I are of the same opinion.  The environment and the natural lands of America have inherent value to people.  The Forest Service was essentially developed and created by one man: Gifford Pinchot.  His enduring legacy is the unofficial mission statement of the Forest Service:  “The greatest good of the greatest number in the long run” (Gifford Pinchot, 1905).  This central ideology is one of the main reasons that I have wanted to work for the Forest Service for years. 

The aim of the Forest Service is to provide natural resources for the public for as long as there is a United States of America.  This assumes that all of the citizens of the United States are a community and are interdependently linked for mutual prosperity.  A culture based solely on individual gains will not lead to a more productive world.  Instead we will be left with the ruins of a biosphere; ravaged for short-term gain and individual greed.  Environmental economists refer to this dynamic as the Tragedy of the Commons. 

The idea that the world is a community linked and interdependent with the ecosystem is a powerful one.  Perhaps in past centuries, nations could exploit and destroy their resources without a thought about bigger impacts, but in this modern world that is not possible.  Global Climate Change, international water issues, and migrating pollution are all distinct examples of how what one nation does affect others.  An ecosystem can be any size, ranging from molecular interactions in the soil to major storm systems over the Pacific Ocean.  Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  This is why the idea of nations or corporations enacting policies that only take into consideration individual effects is folly, shortsighted, and counterproductive to world progress.  The mindset of systems does not just stop at ecology or environmentalism. 

My internship is to be a volunteer coordinator and outreach representative for the recreation department of the Truckee Ranger Station of the Tahoe National Forest.  The recreation department maintains and manages the trails and the Granite Chief Wilderness Area.  Joe explained an interesting cycle about trail maintenance:  If the trails are not maintained, less people use them, which leads to less money being spent on outdoor equipment and food in town, which decreases the overall town quality, which leads to less money for the Ranger District and the Recreation Office.  So it is in the best interests of everyone who lives in the area to maintain and develop quality trails and scenic areas.  I have a feeling that environmental tourism will be a huge industry in the coming century.  This will be due to the fact that the environment will continue to degrade and be used in most areas, which means that people will want to visit beautiful locales like Lake Tahoe.  Also, governments, municipalities, and organizations will see the environmental philanthropy inherent in that eco-tourism.  It will allow for the preservation of natural areas and widespread appreciation for nature. 

My desire to work for the Forest Service and my passion for this internship come from these ideologies and direct my career path towards global service.  Also it doesn’t hurt that my internship is in a gorgeous area that I get paid to explore.  I truly believe that a paradigm shift in the mindset of people is needed to avert global catastrophe that may take many forms.  Until people stop thinking only individually, locally, or even nationally, there will not be positive change in the world.

All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.

-Francois Fenelon

Nationalism is an infantile disease.  It is the measles of mankind.

-Albert Einstein

Post 2

I worked my first week for the Forest Service last week.  Already it all seems a blur and as if I have been here for months, not weeks.  For my first day I stocked up on food and essentials (mostly coffee) in Truckee, which is the main town I will be working in, and headed to the Ranger Station.  The building itself looked fairly new and seemed to be a combination of large rustic wood beams and large windows.  The Ranger Station was built above the town on a bluff that overlooked the railway in the valley and was in sightline of mountains to the south.  I would come to find out that the braided lines of snow on the mountains were the Northstar ski resort, which is apparently fairly famous among skiers. 

The learning curve in my department (Recreation) is just about as steep as the mountains that surround the town.  My department oversees the management of the non-motorized vehicle trails on the East side of the Tahoe National Forest.  On my first day in town I met my supervisor and was introduced to the office.  On first impression, it seemed like everyone was very friendly and happy to have me on the team.  It was immediately obvious to me that I was going to have to hit the ground running by knowing different projects that were on going and the locations that the projects targeted.  The office seemed to be about half full, which was a result of the summer season not yet starting and people being out of the office and working in the field.  After the initial introductions and the blur of faces and names that comes with starting a new job, I followed my supervisor, Joe, and our trail expert, Bob, to Sierraville.  I was going to be staying in the Sierraville barracks, about 25 miles from town, since a water pipe had burst at the barracks closest to Truckee.  The drive down to Sierraville was my first close look at the ecology of the northern Sierra Nevadas.  Being from Washington State, I am used to everything outside being green year round.  But, here the ground is usually barren or covered with brown underbrush since the area is so dry and cold.  There was snowpack still on the ground making the landscape the perfect alpine mix of snow and trees. 

The road dropped into a couple valleys, following the Little Truckee River that appeared to be the idyllic Wild West river that I thought only existed in the movies.  Later, one of my coworkers told me that you can still buy prospecting equipment from the local outdoor equipment stores and pan for gold in the local rivers.  If was able to grow the requisite mountain man beard, I might consider it.  I have a feeling that the venture would be just about as successful now as it was during the Gold Rush.  Although I can see why the myths told of mountains of gold; the lands around me brim with beauty and adventure.

The town of Sierraville consists of the Forest Service Ranger Station, a California Transit office, the gas station, and the Mexican restaurant.  I heard that Sierra County, which is where Sierraville is located, is the only county in California that doesn’t have any stoplights or golf courses.  An interesting claim, to be sure.  What the town lacks in local development, it more than compensates in locale: the town is nestled in a wide snow covered valley.  The valley is blanketed with long grasses, mixing browns and greens with the blues of nearby small creeks.  I have also heard that there is hot springs nearby replete with warm pools and scantily clad old men. 

Most of the trails that I will be coordinating maintenance on still have a large amount of snow on them and so they are still closed to the public.  This also prevents the employees of our department from working on the trails.  For now, most of my time in the office consists of learning the names of places that I haven’t been, which is like hearing the myths and tales of the wondrous beauty of an exotic place.  But, unlike tales of far off places, I will see the mountains and wildflowers and streams foretold. 

The work itself is pretty light so far since most of the trails are closed.  Most days are filled with planning and coordinating future volunteer projects for the variety of trails.  I have met with numerous non-profits and other organizations that our department is partnered with to manage the trails.  Not knowing the area or the trails makes understanding all of the conversations difficult to follow, but I pick up what I can.  Once I get out into the field and start working I am sure to be an expert. 

“The frontiers are not east or west, north or south, but wherever a man ‘fronts’ a fact.”

-Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.

Post 1

I have left home a few times.  I don’t mean going to the grocery store or going on vacation or something like that.  I mean leaving with the intention of not coming back until you have achieved something.  That achievement can be almost anything, but it cannot be nothing.  You must have a purpose and a drive if you are going to leave home successfully.  If you do not set your sights on the horizon, you will constantly be looking in your rearview mirror, so to speak.  Journeys are not about where you came from.  I am moving somewhere that is famously beautiful and filled to the brim with outdoor adventures.  I have opted to live in a firefighters barracks instead of renting a room in town, and which means that I will be living somewhere in the bush with no Internet or television.  This may seem trivial to the reader, but consider that you are reading this blog on the Internet.  I am looking forward to being removed from the electronic society and possibly experiencing my Walden Pond moment. 

I started my journey to Lake Tahoe two days ago when I left my hometown of Issaquah for my fourth great adventure.  Issaquah is near Seattle and I have always felt a deep connection with the landscape and nature of the Pacific Northwest.  The multitude of green shaded hills and dark blue waters were wonderful places to grow up in and explore.  If the whole world were covered in the Douglas firs and Big Leaf Maples of my youth then perhaps I would not feel the pull of further exploration.  But, fortunately for the enemies of monotony and uniformity, the world is mosaic’d with diversity.  The draw of the unknown is ever increasing in pressure like the flow of a river upon a set of locks.  The pressure increases the longer there is no new experience or information to be ingested.  If ignored, the stagnation and building emptiness of familiarity can become intoxicating; lamentable that intoxication is not good for you.  Hark!  Behind the routine, opportunity always hides. 

I guess I should spend some more time describing the actual trip rather than abstract personal musings.  Truckee, California is where I am stationed for my MobilizeGreen internship and is located about 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe, or 100 miles East of Sacramento.  After merging onto I-80 heading East towards Truckee I began to notice a rapid change in scenery.  The areas around Sacramento were mostly composed of flat agricultural fields that seemed drier than the crops would prefer.  I began to climb in altitude and the trees seemed to become closer around the highway.  The ground was a dry brown red covered in needles dropped by the dominant pine trees.  After what seemed like a couple thousand feet of climbing the left side of the road opened to a range of mountains and valleys that stretched far into the distance, as mountain ranges tend to do.  I had reached the northwestern peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  Snow spotted the landscape among the carpet of pine trees.  This was my first introduction to the ecosystem that I was going to work in.

I reached the exit for Truckee and upon driving through the mile or so that makes up town I realized that the town is a mixture of culture.  The underlying architecture is made up of the classic old western US logging or mining town.  The main street is in a line and faces the old rail tracks and is made of old wooden buildings dating back to the 1800’s.  But, that seems to be the only evidence of the old economy since new buildings and restorations have sprouted among the old that suggest the recent boom in vacation attractions.  I can tell that Truckee has grown much bigger in the past decades.  Modern restaurants and boutique shops have replaced liveries and general stores of old.  The people seem perfectly happy with the change, and who can blame them?  Snow farming, or making an economy off of ski vacationers, is much more lucrative than natural resource production.  Unfortunately, the combination of being in a rural area and a vacation spot makes living here expensive.  A gallon of gas in town was $4.50.  Now I know gas prices are most likely going to keep going up, but for reference a gallon of gas in Sacramento was $4.15.  Truckee definitely wins my approval when it comes to the surrounding views, however.  The town is surrounded by snow-covered mountains that seem to encircle the area, almost protecting it from the outside world and any previous hesitancy I had about arriving. 

I have yet to start work with the Truckee Ranger District, but I am excited to see what is in store for me.  Adjusting to a completely new lifestyle definitely does take some time and so I am excited to see where this trip takes me.  Something my father told me before I left has stuck with me and given me strength when I have felt overwhelmed: With any new adventure comes adversity.  It would not be an adventure if there was no challenge or change.  This sentiment matches another pearl of wisdom that a Forest Service employee told all of the interns in DC: If you are completely comfortable with what you are doing, then you are doing something wrong.  Accomplishment comes at the result of overcoming obstacles. 

I try to end all of my writings with a quote that is related to the piece.  Here is one from one of my favourite books, A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold:

“We all strive for safety, prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness.”

Jake Dunton's Adventures in Lake Tahoe

Jake Dunton's Adventures in Lake Tahoe, a set on Flickr.

Photos from Lake Tahoe