Check out this story on the pelican migration through northwest Oklahoma. Birders say there’s an amazing drama unfolding in the bird world — you just have to look up and take notice. A wilderness guide at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge says the American white pelicans are like grumpy old men that you can’t help but love.
Also see an audio-photo slideshow. The photos by Paul Hellstern are great. –John
By John Sutter
When I was up in the Oklahoma Panhandle a couple of weeks ago covering the drought, I decided to drop by Kenton, an out-of-the-way place that sits at the foot of Black Mesa, and is the only place in Oklahoma that goes by Mountain Time.
In Kenton, they call it “slow time.” This has all sorts of quirky implications for an independent-minded place like Kenton. It’s especially interesting, though, that Kenton isn’t technically on Mountain Time. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which keeps track of such things, the town is on Central Time, just like the rest of Oklahoma.
For some reason, long before anyone can remember, Kenton decided to switch. The change has stuck, and even the postmaster in town goes by “slow time.”
I bring this up on the environment blog because there’s much ecotourism to be done in Kenton. It’s supposedly a birder’s paradise — with entirely different species from the rest of Oklahoma. And you can hike local canyons and to the top of Black Mesa, which is the highest point in Oklahoma. The land is volcanic, and so there’s a creek bed where dinosaur tracks are frozen in time.
When you drive west from Boise City to Kenton, the land seems to instantly change — prairie to canyon-land in a snap. It’s little-known, but Oklahoma has some of the greatest ecological diversity of any state in the nation. Depending on how you slice it, there are 8 to 12 distinct ecosystems in the state. They’re worth seeing for yourself.
(PS: I got the idea to drop by Kenton when I stumbled onto a blog at okaycity.com.)
The other day, I was driving (in a 1997 Honda Accord) west on I-40, headed for a friend’s wedding reception near El Reno. That’s a considerable distance from Oklahoma City, so I was already thinking about gas prices and such when I found myself surrounded by a tractor-trailer and about four huge trucks, each easily twice as tall as me on the road.
It got me thinking: will a situation like this soon be a thing of the past? Will such scenes become faded Americana? I’d assume that if these high fuel prices aren’t temporary, and most people say they aren’t, then vehicles will soon start shrinking. But will the SUV — the Ford F-250 that costs $100,000 over five years — be conspiculously absent from Oklahoma roads anytime soon?
According to an article in The Guardian, not just yet.
Here’s an excerpt:
Some argue that if you can afford a $60,000 (£30,000) Hummer, you can afford to fill it up, even if it does only 10 miles to the gallon. But awareness of the oil crisis and green issues means driving one is fast becoming a social outrage.
More than a million Americans a year still buy big, cheaper SUVs with similarly poor fuel economy. But in the same way, their sales are going through the floor, while fuel-efficient cars are gradually gaining business.
But the SUV’s future isn’t entirely bleak. Sure, most people just drive them to the shops, but a sizeable American hardcore do haul boats and drive on unmade tracks. Many will carry on buying them, but demand smaller ones with more fuel-efficient engines.
John
If you’ve traveled lately, you’ve probably noticed how keen hotels are to point out their greenness — and how much they want you to be green during your stay.
There’s always that note in the bathroom asking you to hang your towels up, so the hotel can save water and energy by not washing them every day.
The New York Times has this story about a hotel in Florida that leaves messages for visitors asking them to watch out for breeding turtles on the beach. That can seem environmentally conscious, Joe Sharkey writes in the article, or, it could be seen as a bit self serving. The hotel also offers packages for “lovebirds” who want to see the turtles hatch.
It’s a theme you see a lot as part of the whole “go green” phenomenon: actions can either seem noble or selfish, depending on percieved motives. As fuel prices keep shooting up, it’s going to be a lot more self-serving for people to drive smaller cars and use less energy in their homes. Hotels also seek to boost profits by having customers who are more conscious of energy use.
But, when you get to the bottom line, it seems like most people would see both outcomes as positive: saving money, and polluting less.
John
