Crime and Climate- a post from Jess Reilly→

Jessica received a Fulbright Scholarship to study the adaptations and coping choices of coastal communities throughout Latin America.  I was lucky to sail from San Diego down the west coast of Mexico with she and Josh…

http://jessreilly.com/crime-and-climate/

Yessica!

This is your best one yet! Graceful syntax, potent content, curious context and optimism in fair share. As you head north, I hope to have the chance to intersect with you and josh (oct) as I'll be making my way down around the 10th. Tell josh I had a great, tho brief (two day) visit to Pt Townsend (during the blues fest) saw Jacquline from LB, visited the marine reserve and the grounds and entrepreneurship at the fort. Loved it, though talk about climate change, it was 95f!! I experienced unprecedented heat and draught on my slow trip by six wheels (new RV) and two (my KTM) from San Diego to the Olympic peninsula. Few people were as alarmed as I, and disconcertingly, many called it a "great spring/summer with little to no rain". The rivers I've paddled in years past, the Eel and Klamath, along with many others were just gravel beds with narrowing channels, the high water marks of past years barely visible 20' up the banks. British Columbia, or rural parts within more precisely, are on STAGE 4 rationing, which is deeply restrictive and more comprehensive than anything I've heard of in the states. We could be closer to calamity than we know. The veneer of civilization is thin, and disruption of the water supply could tip the balance overnight!

I'm up in Ketchum now, off to see Brother Doug P in the morning. I'm guessing you heard the fate of the Animas River thru Durango ( and on to the San Juan, thence Colorado ). Saddening at least, and extremely distressing to the people and ecosystem of the southwest. On a more regional note, a sow bear and her two cubs are on death row in Yellowstone, just west of here. Seems an 'experienced' hiker got between her and two cubs and resulted in his death. There is a social uproar at the quick and terminal conclusion. Terry T Williams and Doug are leading the protest, so I'll soon be in the midst of that likely hopeless defense of things wild, acting wild. Amid these relentless stories of insult, I still find reason to revel in the possibility of an enlightened future. Call me crazy.

I'm off the grid for two days up to a wilderness yurt on the east fork of the house river. Spent the day with Ed Viesturs and Paula today, he's been a close friend for 21 years and our connection is strong.