Monthly Archives: December 2009

Experience El Dorado and ABC Channel 10 Go Green at MaLode

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Todd Stanley Productions located here in Coloma is very busy making a name for itself as a source of excellent ideas and quality video and editing. After winning an Emmy Award for their work on the Discovery Channel’s series “The Deadliest Catch”, Todd and his wife Janice, Ben Zupo, Corey and their entire production team continue to produce new ideas.

“Experience El Dorado” is one of their latest concepts, a series appearing one Sunday a month on ABC’s Channel 10 featuring the extraordinary variety of quality experiences available in El Dorado County. Their “Green” segment featured businesses that make a point of reducing their ecological impact.

The Mother Lode River Center was a natural choice for this segment and multiple aspects were featured on the program. These included American River whitewater rafting using the ECOBus (our 100% waste vegetable oil powered shuttle vehicle), food from the permaculture garden, solar heated water, solar generated electricity, and finally our Sustainable Practices educational programs for youth and adults which use the Solar Exploratorium.

The full footage is archived on Experience El Dorado’s website. You can view Mother Lode’s segment on our home page. By the way, did you see yourself California whitewater rafting on the South Fork of the American River? If you did, give us call and win a prize!

Health in Nature: The Science

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The following article was recently published in “The Current”, the American River Conservancy’s quarterly newsletter. Enjoy!

In his book, “The Creation”, Dr. E.O. Wilson engages in a dialogue with an imaginary preacher in order to argue persuasively that both science and religion have compelling reasons to support the good stewardship and preservation of Nature. He defines Nature as “the original environment and its life forms before human impact”.

As one of the world’s foremost ecologists, Dr. Wilson shares the concern of many climatologists and other scientists, that the current activities of humankind threaten over half the world’s species with extinction by the end of the century. Not only do these organisms have practical value as natural ecosystems providing us with clean air, water, energy, food, etc., Dr. Wilson argues they are important to preserve for their own sake, as part of God’s Creation.

But what is the evidence that the experience of Nature benefits human health directly? Should we preserve it for that reason as well? Let us explore some recent science.

1. The Experience of Nature Reduces Stress
Medical science has established that stress plays an important role in 80% of all illness. As you de-stress and connect with the sights and sounds of Nature you boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, reduce levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, increase release of pleasure mediators such as endorphins and promote your physical and mental health.

2. Exercise is Great for Health and Exercise in Nature is Even Better!
No doubt you knew that aerobic exercise is good for your health. What is surprising is that the setting in which exercise occurs is an important determinant of the health benefits of exercise. Subjects who exercised in a “green” environment surrounded by the sights and sounds of Nature have greater reductions in blood pressure, higher elevations in HDL (the good cholesterol), and greater improvements in mood and self esteem than those who exercise the same amount in urban, non-green environments. Mitchell and Popham, Lancet, 372: pg. 1655-60.

3. Nature is Good for Your Brain. The City Hurts Your Brain.
Ever felt like your brain was on overload? Chances are you were in a crowded city or caught in traffic. Activities in Nature allow your brain to unwind from urban life and actually improve mental functioning. So says Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Michigan and lead author of a new study that measured cognitive deficits caused by urban environments. Marc says that the brain is a limited machine and “we are beginning to understand the different ways a city can exceed those limitations.” By contrast, even fleeting glimpses of Nature improve brain performance.

4. Children Benefit Greatly from Experiences in Nature, the Longer the Better
Those of us who raft rivers know what a thrill it is to watch our children whoop and holler through a whitewater rapid. Often timid at first, by the time you reach takeout the kids are asking, “where are the really big ones”, and then beg for more. Children these days are often more stressed than adults. In part this is because they are highly empathic and mirror the emotions of their parents and other adults who are dealing with the stresses and strains of modern industrial society.

It is therefore good news that researchers have found children benefit from exposure to Nature with a dose related reduction in their stress levels. The longer the exposure to Nature, the lower the levels of stress in the child. Those of us who have experienced an extended raft trip on the Grand Canyon certainly know the feeling: What day is it anyway? Leaving home your TV, computer and cell phone helps too. (NM Wells and GW Evans, Environment and Behavior, 35(3): 311-330.)

5. Experiences in Nature are Great for ADD and ADHD
Attention disorders have become one of the challenges of the current age. The percentage of children on Ritalin and other drugs used to treat ADD and ADHD (which is generally ADD in males) is truly astounding. Theories abound on the causes and appropriate treatment of these children, but recent evidence has found that one treatment improves the symptoms in virtually all cases. That treatment is exposure to Nature. The data is so compelling that some have suggested that ADD and ADHD are actually “Nature Deficit Disorder” in disguise. If our children were to grow up in an environment more similar to the one in which their nervous system evolved, the problem might disappear. This may be hyperbole. Nevertheless, what is clear is that children diagnosed with attention issues have better functioning after activities in natural or “greener” settings. Furthermore, the greener the setting, the less severe the child’s attention disorder. ( AF Taylor, FE Kuo and WC Sullivan. Environment and Behavior, 33 (1):54-77) Also Taylor and Kuo, Journal of Attention Disorders, August 2008.

These are just a few of the studies that increasingly suggest that John Muir was right, not only is “in God’s wildness .. the hope of the world”; it is a primary condition for the preservation of human health. Both the scientist and the preacher agree. Keep it wild!

Scott Underwood M.D., ABIM, ABEM trained at U.C. Davis before his retirement from a career in Emergency Medicine. As the longest serving member of the ARC Board of Directors, he now volunteers at the Mother Lode River Center in Coloma where the vision is “to promote healthy people, living in equitable and sustainable societies, in balance with the natural world.” Visit www.malode.com or send comments to scott@malode.com.

Disaster Strikes Coloma — Hooray!

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I’ve seen 2012 three times now. I’m one of those people who cheers as L.A. tips skyward and slides into the sea, who upsets my neighbor’s popcorn with wild fist-pumping when Yellowstone blows. Of course, as a rafter, my favorite part is the tsunami — the sublime whitewater experience. Every time, I’ve left the theater wondering how I, and my community, would react to cataclysm. I’ve let my imagination run wild about the kinds of disaster global climate change might bring to Coloma. Floods? Fires? Anarchy? Am I the sort of person who could make a Winnebago soar across a yawning lava-filled abyss? Would our eco-friendly, solar and waste-veggie oil-run camp be an oasis for refugees, or would we have to beat back the mob with Ma Lode paddles and squirt guns?

Well, on Monday, December 7th, we got our very own disaster. A severe winter storm blanketed the Coloma valley in snow — practically unheard of at our elevation. Our foothill oaks are not built to shed snow like pines are, so, interrupting the eerie silence of new snowfall, we heard cracks as loud as gunshots ricocheting through the valley as weak branches and trunks split and fell. The woods were a tangle of broken limbs and downed power lines. The roads were blocked and, along with 36,000 other El Dorado County residents, we had no power.

Neighbors we hadn’t seen in ages came outside in their galoshes and polar fleece to admire the sparkly stuff and survey the damage. Jim Baldini was out pushing downed limbs off the road to make an emergency evacuation route before we even made coffee on our gas stove. Not for the first time, I was grateful to live in a place where people are comfortable using backhoes and chainsaws. For the first time, I really paid attention to my dad’s instructions on getting our generator going, and as never before, I appreciated the golden fossil fuel we poured into its belly. As much as I love renewables, liquid energy is awfully nice in an emergency.

Since there were no phones, no computers, no television, and the roads to Placerville were dicey, the only thing to do was to go sledding. First, I fulfilled my childhood fantasy of sliding down Mountain Murphy, and the next day Scott Scheu, Shawn Dunkely, Chris Covington and I took saucers out to Cool and spent a perfect day racing down the steep graceful foothill saddles. More than once, I caught myself thinking, “If global climate change means more snow days in Coloma, bring it on.”

Although I don’t really think that, and certainly don’t like the projections about declining snowpack in the Sierras due to warming temperatures, there is still something thrilling about living on this earth, with its immense, chaotic fluctuations. When things are predictable, it’s easy to go to sleep, forgetting about the forces that can destroy our power lines and houses and cars and all the other structures we rely on in the course of an ordinary Monday morning. I think that’s part of what I find so exciting and addictive about boating and all the other things I love to do outside — and why I love disaster movies. They give us the physical jolt we need to remember how tiny we are, and what a big fast world we’re riding.

– Emily Underwood

Marshall Gold State Historic Park: Save It!

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Those of us who have enjoyed the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park (MGDSHP) know that there are lots of good reasons to keep the Park open. To name just a few reasons, consider that:

Sutter’s Mill is where gold was discovered in California in 1848, triggering one of the largest migrations in human history. This fact continues to draw visitors from all over California and the world. On any given day foreign visitors speaking dozens of languages are heard in the Park. It is a point of local, state, national and international significance.

As the California State Park System’s most heavily visited “historic” park with over 250,000 visitors per year, Marshall Gold hosts over 70,000 school children per year who enjoy its exhibits and unique living history programs.

The Park serves as a reminder of both the importance and result of proper environmental stewardship. As a direct result of the Gold Rush, by the 1860s the Coloma Valley’s forests were logged out, the riverbed destroyed, and over 20,000 tons of the mercury used to recover gold was left littered in the hills, rivers and streams of the Mother Lode. Yet today, the valley is beautiful and scenic, and the river clean and unpolluted. Due to stewardship by the Park and such organizations as the American River Conservancy, great strides have been taken to protect and restore the watershed of the South Fork of the American River for fish, wildlife, recreation and the supply of clean water.

The Park’s exhibits emphasizing the traditional culture of the Nisenan, one of the over 300 indigenous tribes that once occupied California, are another vital reason to keep the Park open. The Nisenan occupied the Coloma Valley in a low impact, sustainable manner for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the gold miners. Tragically, by the end of the Gold Rush, the Nisenan were essentially extinct. Few Californians know that our State’s treatment of its indigenous peoples was among the worst of any state in the Union. The Park helps us understand all aspects of our history, both good and bad, and hopefully learn from it.

So, with so much to teach us, why was the MGDSHP placed high on the list as a target for closure to help solve the State’s budget woes? One reason was that when the Park was chartered as a “historic” park, it was felt to be so important educationally it was mandated to be visited free of charge. Therefore, it did not have the revenue stream that other “recreational” parks do. Ironically, the boat ramp at Folsom Lake would remain open, yet the MGDSHP would be closed!

It was into this political maelstrom that the MaLode participants ventured at the end of the 2009 season. Once they became aware of the proposed closure of the MGDSHP they were outraged and wrote letters by the hundreds. These were sent to Gov. Schwarzenegger, our local State Senator and Assemblyman, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, the State Park Director and our local District IV Supervisor, Ron Briggs. The local community held meetings and demonstrations of support for the Park.

The bottom line, Marshall Gold is to remain open for now. There will be staffing and other cutbacks. Nevertheless, this was a great victory for a just cause and it is our hope that once the interest in the closure issue wanes, the Park will still remain open. If you are interested in the issue you can get updated information from the Gold Rush Discovery State Park Association’s website or from Penny, Mother Lode’s Reservations Manager.

A huge Thank You to all the hundreds of MaLode participants who wrote letters. If you get a reply, let us know, we are always interested.

Happy Holidays to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park and its employees, docents, volunteers and fellow supporters.

Scott the RiverDoc and the MaLode Crew

Countdown to Copenhagen: Obamas get the message!

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In the Spring of 2009 Mother Lode began its “Countdown to Copenhagen” with letter writing in response to President Barack Obama’s call to the U.S. Congress to provide him a bill to sign that addressed the issue of climate change. This was in preparation for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen that starts December 7th, 2009. The President’s hope was that the United States would go to Copenhagen as a “leader not a laggard” in the effort to address the carbon emissions issue.

As our educational and rafting programs began in April, our letters began to flow to California’s Congressional Representative, Henry Waxman, urging him to carry the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) forward in the House. We were very surprised and pleased that Representative Waxman not only reported out the bill, the Democratic leadership managed to pass it, and the ball was handed off to Senator Boxer to carry forward a similar bill in the admittedly tougher sledding of the Senate.

Then Congressional gridlock set in, and not only did ACES go in the political hole, it essentially disappeared off the radar screen. As recently as three weeks ago President Obama was rumored to have decided not to appear personally at Copenhagen at all, but rather concentrate on the Peace Prize ceremony in Oslow instead. Meanwhile, Congress focused its attention on “reforming” the profitcare system that expends 50% of the world’s healthcare dollars, on 4% of the world’s population, while achieving the worst health indices in the industrialized world.

Admittedly, this is discouraging, since the greatest challenge facing the human species should not only be on the radar screen, it should dominate it! The United States is the world’s largest per capita carbon polluter (337.1 btus/capita). China presently produces 1/5 the carbon per capita (58.9 btus/capita) that each U.S. citizen does, while Japan (176.4 btus/capita) and the United Kingdom ((155.7 btus/capita) maintain affluent lifestyles with a fraction of our per capita carbon footprint. Clearly the U.S. has a practical and moral responsibility to be “a leader rather than a laggard” in the battle against climate change going forward. We are, after all, the single largest source of the greenhouse gases placed in the atmosphere by mankind from 1900 to date (318,432 metric tons), and outstrip by a factor of over 3 times the second most prolific cumulative polluter, China (92,950 metric tons).

Our response to Congressional inaction was to act ourselves. We fired off some of the many letters urging action on climate change which were written this Summer by our participants. These were sent to President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Senator Boxer. The President then left for Japan and China. Upon his return, there have been interesting developments and reason for new hope.

We now understand the President will attend the more crucial policy making portion of the Conference at Copenhagen and has reaffirmed that action on climate change remains a major priority of his administration. Ironically, this week China, whose inaction is often cited as a major reason that U.S. politicians refuse to move on climate change, indicated it is taking to Copenhagen a commitment to reduce the carbon intensity of its economy and therefore each citizen by 40%! This will be achieved by not only maintaining its present world dominance in the production of carbon efficient technologies, but also by implementing them in its own economy, while expanding its role in research, development, design and installation of such technologies worldwide. This will establish them as a world leader in “walking the talk” on climate change. Doing the math, if the U.S. political gridlock continues, by 2020 the average Chinese citizen will produce approximately 1/8 the the carbon of a U.S. citizen while living in the world’s most rapidly growing economy. It would appear China is not only planning on taking the U.S. to school on climate change, it plans to get rich doing it. Perhaps the “laggard” will get the message when China calls in our debt!

So how much influence did Mother Lode’s letter writers have in all this? Probably not much. However, keep in mind that every little bit helps and it isn’t always how big you are, it’s how just your cause is that counts (remember those 13 California Rivers we helped save). Keep the faith, and vote with your actions as well as at the ballot box!

Happy Holidays and looking forward to seeing you again soon,
Scott the River Doc and the MaLode EcoWarrior Clan

P.S. For those who wrote letters and provided return addresses, watch your mailbox. You may receive a reply from your elected officials. If so, let us know.