Author Archives: Scott

Bottled Water to Disappear at MaLode

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Several years ago, when we made the decision to eliminate the use of bottled water at Mother Lode and use coolers and cups instead, we had our reasons. Those reasons, and a lot more, were included in this article on bottled water Emily wrote for The High Country News as an intern there. Although Emily has moved on and is now the Neuroscience Reporter for Science Magazine in Washington, DC  (you can see her articles regularly in the print magazine ($10 per copy) or for free on the online version at ScienceNow), I thought this was an informative article that folks might be interested in. I am now reposting it as a MaLode blog favorite. Scott the RiverDoc

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies…
by Emily Underwood

Bottled water has never made sense. The fact is it has always been an elaborate PR scam, both an invented necessity and a bizarre symbol of luxury. Nevertheless, I buy bottled water sometimes, especially on long car trips. When I do, I often buy “Fiji” water. I don’t know why. I just like its square shape, snazzy palm frond label, and the frosty coolness as I pull it out of the service station refrigerator.
I have always known, vaguely, that I am being seduced by the phrase “natural artesian water,” and by the company’s more shameless greenwashing: “Every drop is green.” I know better than to believe such nonsense, but I enjoy forgetting what I know as I listen to the gurgle of gasoline filling up my tank and eat a frozen Snickers bar. Most of us know that feeling.

Every bottled water company has a special spin: Evian has tried for years now to convince us that drinking its bottled water will make us thin and sophisticated, possibly even French. Dasani, by Coca Cola, goes for mystery with its shapely blue bottle and “mouthwatering” mineral formula. Nestle’s brand name, Pure Life, shares its name with a prominent Christian group whose mission is to deliver believers from sexual sin.

Something all the bottled water companies have in common these days, however, is aggressive greenwashing. It turns out Fiji runs one of the most surreal and manipulative of the campaigns.
“We are proud to offer a fine artesian water that is good for people and good for the environment,” they say. Nonsense. A recent study by the Pacific Institute, Energy Implications of Bottled Water has forever ruined Fiji water for me.

The study, published in the February 2009 peer-reviewed Environmental Research Letters, finds that bottled water takes *up to 2000 times more energy* to produce than drinking water from the tap. The two biggest energy sucks are production of the bottles (it takes the energetic equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil per year to produce the bottles) and transportation of the bottles to their final destination.

“Artesian” means that Fiji water is from an authentic spring– and the spring is indeed on the island of Fiji. The company has promised to reduce its emissions and packaging, use more renewable energy, and use carbon offsets, as well as protect their source’s watershed, the Sovi Basin Rainforest. They have even set the goal of becoming carbon negative…someday.

However, none of those intentions can diminish the fact that Fiji bottled water travels over 5000 miles by air or boat to get to San Francisco. Fiji can’t realistically claim to be any more environmentally responsible than companies who transport water a shorter distance. And they don’t come close to being as green as municipal water, which skips the carbon-heavy bottles altogether.

To say Fiji water is “good” for the environment is quite a stretch. There is also the question of resource allocation–the island of Fiji is historically vulnerable to catastrophic drought. In past decades Fijian farmers have starved because there wasn’t enough water for irrigation, which calls into question the wisdom of shipping Fijian water overseas to be sold as a luxury item. (For a thoughtful discussion of the impact of the bottled water industry on communities in the U.S., see Christina Ammons’ 2007 HCN story, “Watershed Moment” about the controversy surrounding Nestle’s bottling enterprise in McCloud, California.)

Finally, there is little evidence to support the idea that bottled water is any better for you than tap water. Food and Water Watch in their aggressive anti-bottled water and anti-water privatization campaign, point out that quality testing standards are far less stringent for bottled water than for municipal supplies. For example, whereas municipal water must be tested for fecal coliform bacteria 100 times per month, a little over 3 times a day, bottled water plants only have to check once a week. A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found more than the allowed amount of bacteria in more than one fifth of 103 tested brands. And bottled water, unlike constantly moving municipal water, is stagnant, and therefore more conducive to bacterial replication.

I’m not one to get paranoid about bacteria in bottled water, although the leaching phthalates, which are also unregulated, are a bit creepy. But considering the environmental costs of producing bottled water, the fact that there is no proven health benefit to drinking it makes it even crazier to choose bottled water over tap.

Americans spent $11 billion on bottled water in 2006, and drank over 33 billion liters in 2007, which works out to about 30 gallons per person. The rising rate of consumption speaks to the success of bottled water company PR campaigns.

More seriously, however, it reflects Americans’ fundamental distrust of public water systems. Concerns about deteriorating public water infrastructure, and trace contaminants that the EPA doesn’t regulate are harder to dispel than misleading advertisements. $6 billion of the stimulus package was set aside for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements, which have been neglected for far too long. But it will take more than infrastructure improvements to regain America’s trust in the tap.

For one thing, we need better risk assessment. Reverse osmosis, which forces water through a selectively-permeable membrane, is theoretically the best technology for purification, and companies like Aquafina and Dasani use it in their plants. However, it is also the most energy-intensive form of purification, and is no real guarantee of quality since the membranes themselves are susceptible to bacterial colonization.

In the long run, we can’t afford the bottled water solution socially, environmentally, or economically. We need better information about how much purification is actually necessary for health, and then we need to find ways to make that technology efficient and affordable to use in our public systems. Otherwise, we will be increasingly forced to drink water that isn’t significantly safer, but still costs us more than gasoline. And those of us who can’t afford bottled water will be stuck with a broken system– a situation reminiscent of Marie Antoinette’s disastrous pronouncement, “Let them eat cake.” Except this time it will be, “Let them drink Perrier.”

Cheers from Colorado,
Emily

 

River Trails: A New Concept on the American River

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The opening of the American River Trail in Coloma provides exciting new hiking access to over twenty miles of riverside trails along the banks of the South Fork of the American River in Coloma, California. In addition to hiking access, this new trail will also provide mountain bikers and equestrians with a new trailhead.

This spring Mother Lode River Trips will continue to provide a new way to enjoy the Trail and the exciting whitewater rapids of the American River itself. Called “River Trails” the adventure begins at the Mother Lode River Center which is located a short distance from the American River Trial’s easternmost trailhead. You will depart the River Center on a guided hike downstream of approximately 5 miles that will cover some of the Trail’s most beautiful terrain. You will stroll over rolling hills, through forested canopies of oaks, pines and cedars, and never be far from the banks of the river with its refreshing upstream breeze. At the hike’s end you will be treated to a hearty lunch and refreshing drinks delivered by gear boat to the lunch spot.

The excitement now begins to build, as the hikers witness the arrival of a line of state-of-the-art, self-bailing rafts each of which is being solo guided, canoe style, by an expert whitewater professional. Personal Floatation Devices are fitted, a safety briefing is performed, and the whitewater excitement begins as the hikers are transformed into whitewater rafters. Ahead lies the South Fork’s most popular whitewater run, the “Gorge”, which is filled with exciting Class II and III level rapids suitable for beginners and yet thrilling for all.

For those interested in a longer, overnight adventure, camping is available either in the luxurious riverside Mother Lode River Center with its tent cabins, flush toilets and hot showers, or, alternatively, wilderness camping is an option. In both cases delicious home cooked meals are provided that rival grandma’s home cooking and the friendly and knowledgeable Mother Lode guides share natural history interpretation of the flora, fauna, geology and human history of the region. Speaking of history, these trips all include gold panning instruction in the very area that attracted the 49ers and helped make California a State. With any luck you will cry Eureka too!

Remember it as “River Trails.”  This river trip is found exclusively at the Mother Lode River Center, your Geotourism portal to the American River.

Virtual Environmental Education and Teambuilding

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Surfing the Internet I discovered something new the other evening: “virtual environmental education and teambuilding”. Apparently you can catch some pretty wild rides and achieve some serious bonding without leaving your couch!

Unfortunately, my old buddy John McKinstry never got to see it, the Internet that is. He had to settle for the real thing. Forty years ago we used to sit together on our boards at sunrise, waiting for the surf to come up. John was among the first to surf the big waves at Ghost Trees in my hometown of Pacific Grove. He had the courage to charge down the face of those massive forty footers, long before jet ski pull ins, or rather, pull outs. John pushed the limits of the possible and was an astronaut on a surfboard. Like many American pioneers he paid the ultimate price doing what he loved most.

I miss John, and a lot of other things that we enjoyed together, many of which are now paved over, but I particularly miss his questions. Once, as we passed a used car lot with a banner advertising “transportation cars”, John asked me: “What other kind of cars are there?” In this age of human induced climate change, that remains a great question.

So if we could ask John whether the experience of wild nature, or bonding with your fellow human beings, can really be replaced with virtual reality, what would he say? For that matter, let’s ask ourselves that question. But before we answer, perhaps we should ask our kids to tear their attention away from their video games, TV shows, computers and cell phones and ask them too.

Neuroscientists can now offer multiple reasons why the answer would be, at least for now, no. Memories created in the natural world are particularly vivid, long lasting and multi-sensory. Although humans are biased toward sight, memories resulting from sensory input from auditory sources generally last longer, and olfactory sources even longer. When I remember John dropping in on one of those monster waves I don’t just see him, I hear the thunder and feel the vibration, taste the salt air, and smell the rotting seaweed on the beach.

Something else happens to me. I get butterflies in my stomach, as though I too was falling, suddenly weightless, down the face of the wave. These are my “mirror” neurons, the one that specialize in giving us our ability to understand how other people feel and which lay down particularly long lasting, complex and nuanced memory tracts. I still care about and empathize with John on that wave, just as I did forty years ago.

I think we have just summed up the essence of experiential learning. Even if we could create an “app” for environmental education and teambuilding, I doubt it would be as powerful as the real thing. Repeatedly we hear from our participants, “that was the most amazing thing I have ever done and I will never forget it!” Right on, the surf’s up. See you on the river.

Scott the RiverDoc

Sorting Through the “Green” Stuff at MaLode

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There is a lot to learn about making your home, business or lifestyle “Green”. Here at the River Center we have discovered that if you want to learn how to save money and reduce fossil fuel consumption most cost effectively, it pays to stop listening and start thinking. Yes, more information is good, but so much of it consists of confusing “infomercials” for a new kind of “Green Consumerism”.

Take energy for instance. In 2007 when we drew up our Greenhouse Gas Action Plan (GAP) we were aware that most folks associated solar energy with photovoltaic (PV) panels. In fact, our neighbor had recently installed a fancy new set of PV panels that made us, quite frankly, envious. We heard there were tax credits and good deals to be had, and dreams of PV panels began dancing in our heads.

Then we did the math. Once we ranked the sources of our greenhouse gas emissions in the GAP, we discovered that not only was our use of electricity comparatively low, it largely came from pre-existing hydroelectric sources which produced very little new greenhouse gas to operate. In fact, most of our greenhouse gases were coming out of the tailpipes of our vehicles, not from our electric pole. This led to the EcoBus and our fleet of vehicles powered by waste vegetable oil (WVO), a fuel that produces 80% less carbon emissions than conventional fossil fuel.

Furthermore, we discovered that after vehicle fuel, our next largest producer of greenhouse gases was the heating of hot water with the fossil fuel, propane. Alan Carrozza, our solar expert, then suggested that after insulation, solar hot water heating was our next logical energy investment and that it would be much more cost efficient than PV electricity.

This motivated our first solar water heater, a simple “passive” system that cost approximately $1500 and which produced 28,750 BTUs of energy daily. To compare this system to PV we convert BTUs, a measure of thermal energy, into to kilowatt-hours by multiplying by the factor .0002931, resulting in 8.43 kilowatts. An 8.4 KW photovoltaic system would cost approximately $1000 per kilowatt or $84,000. Bottom line, the solar hot water heater produces the same energy 56 times more cost efficiently than the PV panels!

Just for a point of reference, we asked our neighbor if they had installed a solar hot water heater since, like the average American homeowner, over 33% of their energy is used to heat water. Predictably, the answer was no.

How could this be? These folks are not dumb; on the contrary, they are very smart, idealistic, and trying to do the right thing. What we realized, however, was that they were just like us, at risk of becoming victims of “Green Consumerism”. Like other forms of consumerism, the green variety claims that if it costs a lot, is fashionable, and or looks green, it must be green. Clearly, this isn’t true. BP and its “beyond petroleum” advertising campaign are a great example of “green consumerism” and it is no coincidence that they are the largest seller of PV panels in the US, yet they don’t sell solar hot water heaters at all. Why? Less profit!

We learned several things from this experience. One is that the mantra, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is actually very logically sequenced. Unless we Reduce what we consume first, the Reuse and Recycle have a hard time reducing the net impact on the planet. As the video “The Story of Stuff” points out, the stuff we already produce would require 5 planet Earths to be sustainable. Furthermore, when we produce stuff, it is always “Toxins in, Toxins out” and those toxins always end up somewhere. Since toxins concentrate in biological systems, it turns out that human breast milk has the highest concentration of toxins of any food we consume. Wait a minute, can that be right? Check it out at www.storyofstuff.com. Once you do, you will probably agree that we should all take the advice of Daniel Goleman who proposes in his book, Ecological Intelligence, that we do the math and determine the total ecological cost of everything we buy, and let these numbers guide our purchases.

So what does this all mean at MaLode? No doubt it won’t surprise you that we now heat all our hot water at MaLode with solar energy. This requires three separate solar heaters of two basic types: active and passive. Each system “pre-heats” the water from the well with solar energy before it goes into a propane water heater. This ensures that the hot water is at the desired temperature and neither too cold (it is warmed up with propane to the target temperature), or too hot (it is cooled down by being mixed with more cold water). The passive system is best suited for a lower volume use such as the kitchens. Both types of system reduce propane use by approximately 70%.

We are particularly proud of the “active” system that powers the showers and which was designed by Alan Carrozza (pictured on the left) and completed last winter by our tenant, Cornelius (on the right). In this case an electronic brain senses the temperature in the solar hot water heating panels. If the temperature is higher than the water stored in the solar hot water reservoir tank, an electric pump is activated to circulate the water from the panels to the solar reservoir. This system can produce more hot water than the passive system, which is why we chose it for the showers where we encounter our highest volume of hot water use.

So ends another happy chapter at MaLode. We are excited about moving forward, albeit deliberately, toward energy independence and ecological sustainability. This season one of our guests suggested that we use a super efficient steam engine he has invented, which derives its energy from solar thermal panels, to turn an electric generator that would produce our electricity. Hmmm, Stay tuned. In the meantime, we look forward to your next visit and, by the way, use all the hot water you want. That is, if you can wring it out of the low flow showerheads donated to us by PG&E!

See you on the River,
Scott and the MaLode Crew

“Solar for Oil” Barter: It’s very Cool

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by Scott Underwood

Short on cash? Wouldn’t you like to find a way to reduce your utility bills, decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil, and do a favor to the environment by decreasing your use of fossil fuels? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should be interested in what the Mother Lode River Center has been up to recently in nearby Cool, California.

The basic idea is simple. First, we construct a homemade “box” hot water heater from a sheet of plywood, an old retired propane water heater, a cast off shower door and some fittings from the hardware store. We plumb it all together with simple hand tools using plans available for free on the Internet. We then install it as a “pre-heater” to feed into the existing water heater at one of our favorite restaurants in nearby Cool, Ca.  This reduces the restaurant’s use of propane to heat water by 70%. Since over 33% of the energy consumed by an average household is to heat water, this cost savings and major reduction in carbon footprint is available to you too. I hope you agree that we have closed a Cool deal.  But hey, it gets better!

This restaurant uses vegetable oil to fry its food and normally pays to get it hauled off. We then barter the hot water heater for the restaurant’s waste vegetable oil (WVO).  Barter is “the exchange of goods or services without money” and is definitely a good thing because it keeps trade close to home.  Mother Lode is one of the few companies in California that runs its diesel vehicles on 100% WVO. This has several advantages. First, it produces 80% less carbon dioxide than conventional fossil fuel diesel and therefore vastly reduces our carbon footprint. Second, using WVO also reduces the particulates (the greatest disadvantage of diesel engines) by 45% and hydrocarbons by a comparable amount. Amazingly, it also reduces carcinogens by 90%. Bottom line, it is one of the cleanest and ecologically responsible fuels on planet Earth.

That’s it, “Solar for Oil”! We have created Green Collar employment for our staff, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and spared the planet’s ecosystems, helped reduce the concentration of chemicals in the air that cause asthma and cancer, and refused to ride with Osama Bin Laden. Do you support this idea? Write us a note and let us know what you think.

Mother Lode's 100% WVO Fleet

Many thanks to Alan Carrozza for his inspiration and great idea, Greg Hawkins for his construction skills, Ray and Lorrie for their patience and Emily for her photos.

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.

MaLode Celebrates Conservancy’s 20th

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The MaLode crew helped the American River Conservancy celebrate its 20th Anniversary at the Starthistle Ball on October 10th, 2009. After purchasing two tables to support the cause, we showed up in force. This delightful event featured music, feasting, tasting of local wines, a presentation by the Conservancy’s Executive Director, Alan Ehrgott, and the first screening of ARC’s new historical video. As one of the most successful organizations of its kind, the ARC had lots to celebrate. Here is a list of just a few of its accomplishments to date : the preservation of 10,000 riparian acres and growing; this coming Spring, the opening of 21 miles of the American River Trail stretching from Coloma to Folsom Lake; and finally, still in process, the preservation of the first Japanese settlement in America, the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony in Coloma.

One “belle” of the Ball was the ARC’s new video, produced by local Emmy Award winning videographer Janice Stanley of Todd Stanley Productions. Her exceptional skills were in evidence as she helped portray the remarkable story of how the ARC was formed and how so much was accomplished against such great odds.

The story begins in the early 1970s when the South Fork of the American River first achieved its status as one of the premier and most popular whitewater rivers in North America. In those days the very existence of the river was threatened by two dams (the SOFAR Project) that would have destroyed both the Chili Bar and Gorge whitewater runs on the South Fork. Fortunately an intrepid “band of boaters” represented by Friends of the River, The American River Recreation Association, the outfitters, and such familiar figures as Bill Center and Scott Underwood who appear in the video to tell the tale, worked together to defeat that project only to discover that saving the river was only part of the story. In those days only 30% of the river’s riparian zone was protected from development, and by the late 1980s not only were over 150,000 whitewater boaters visiting the Coloma Valley, so were the bulldozers!

Local whitewater photographer, Mark Leder-Adams, hiking over the hills above the South Fork, was only too aware of these threats to the river and documented them in his stunning photographs. It was Mark who first proposed the formation of the American River Conservancy and in a truly inspired moment, the founders chose Alan Ehrgott to be its Executive Director. Aided by the vision and dedication of the Bureau of Land Management’s local Director, Deane Swickard, Alan has guided to successful conclusion one land deal after another involving County, State and Federal Agencies, NGOs, private donors and has invested himself a lot of blood, sweat and tears to bring us to where we are today. That is, just the reverse of where we were 20 years ago, with over 70% of the South Fork’s riparian zone now protected for future generations to enjoy as recreational space, wildlife habitat and the source of clean, fresh, drinkable water.

Other than Alan himself, I am now the Conservancy’s longest serving Board Member and one of my functions is to serve as the Board’s institutional memory. Given that, believe me when I say that limitations of space and time resulted in only a small number of the people who most deserve credit for the success of the Conservancy over the years being mentioned in the film. I remember Sue Britting’s expertise, untiring dedication and sound judgment. Past President Carla Soracco was a tireless advocate of the education programs and the Conservancy’s largest private donor. Manny and Martha DeAquino gave us soul and typified the hundreds of intrepid and selfless volunteers. The list is very long indeed. Suffice it to say there is plenty of credit to go around for a tremendous team effort by a community dedicated to the preservation of its essential heritage for future generations. Best wishes, thanks for all the good work, and a huge Happy Birthday and Merry 20th Anniversary to the American River Conservancy!

Scott Underwood the RiverDoc

2009 Rafting Flows Confirmed!

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Rafting Stimulus Package: Recent Storms Guarantee Great 2009 Rafting!

A wise old river rafter once told me that the snow pack in the Sierras is largely built by three major storms each season. One storm more or less often determines whether a particular season is normal, below normal, or wet in nature. Attempting to predict the outcome is therefore a risky business. It is wiser to relax and just see what happens. It isn’t over ‘till it’s over.

Once again this observation has proven true. While just a few weeks ago the concern was about critical drought conditions, now, one big storm later, the snow pack that feeds the American River is at 101% of normal. Once quiescent, all three Forks of the American River are swollen bright red with runoff. In fact, the North Fork briefly peaked at 11,000cfs. That’s three times safe boating flows.

Bottom line: It is going to be another great season for rafting on the American River! It is time to get out your river gear, Spring boating has arrived.

American River rafting trip options

This is another example of why drought conditions in California as a whole do not prevent rafting on dam-controlled rivers such as the South and Middle Forks of the American River. The South Fork, for example, has multiple reservoirs upstream of Chili Bar that are controlled by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and are collectively referred to as the Upper American River Project (UARP). Because of the FERC re-licensing process that ended in 2007 with the acceptance of the Alternative Proposal, the South Fork was guaranteed to have good rafting flows this season, even before this recent storm. In fact, this agreement now provides for predictable recreational flows for rafting for the next 50 years.

Now here is the truly great news, while climate change may diminish snow pack levels in the future, and population increases will undoubtedly increase demand on dwindling water supplies, even in “super dry” years there are 5 days of guaranteed water flow for boating on the South Fork. That means Thursday through Monday, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, we can count on good flows that begin and end at specific times of the day, even in the worst drought years ever recorded! Furthermore, 90% of boaters would choose the period in which the flows are guaranteed anyway. That means that even in the worst of times, boating is great on the South Fork of the American. This river has the most reliable water flows of any Class III whitewater river in the West!

One more remarkable fact: The total volume of water that flows down the river is not affected by rafting. No one will go thirsty as a result of your boating the river. The only effect of this agreement was to alter the timing of the release of a relatively small amount of this water, approximately 2% of the total, with the result that a huge amount of recreation results from a relatively small change in the release regimen. This is a win, win situation that benefits recreation, fish, wildlife and also SMUD itself by building a reservoir of valuable community support. Thank you SMUD! We all hope for a similarly favorable outcome on the re-licensing of the Middle Fork of the American, which is currently under way with PG&E.

See you on all three Forks of the American River this season,
Scott the River Doc and the MaLode Crew

MaLode Urges Eco-Approach to Health

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Toward an Ecological Approach to Health
Scott Underwood, M.D.

In the United States human health has traditionally been viewed in isolation from its ecological context. During my medical training and subsequent career in Emergency Medicine, issues such as climate change, habitat destruction, species extinction, pollution and the depletion of fresh water supplies were treated as primarily environmental issues lying outside the realm of the medical industry. Equity has been seen as a primarily political, economic and social issue. Sustainability was rarely considered.

I believe this view must be changed and that not only physicians, but all Americans, have a responsibility to effect this change. Achieving health requires that we address all these elements in an integrated, ecological approach. Our goal should to be “healthy people, living in equitable and sustainable societies, in balance with the natural world”. Ignoring any of these elements has profound and unacceptable consequences.

Few people have anticipated these consequences better than my biology professor at Stanford University, Dr. Paul Ehrlich, considered by many to be the father of American ecology. Winner of the Crafoord Prize, the equivalent to the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in the field of ecology, Dr. Ehrlich delivered an extraordinary speech that was, in effect, an urgent call for an ecological approach to health. I encourage you to click here to listen to this speech delivered in 1970. I think you will be amazed at how contemporary and compelling it is today, nearly forty years later.

I would argue, however, that one of the best examples of the implementation of some of the elements of an ecological approach to health actually anticipated Dr. Ehrlich’s speech by several decades. As a U.S. Army dependent, I traveled to Japan in 1946 with my family to spend three years as my father participated in the effort led by General Douglass MacArthur to implement the Marshall Plan in Japan after World War II. Although most Americans have understood the Marshall Plan as a program of financial assistance, it is less well known that its approach was systems based, comprehensive and consisted of three distinct components: Democratization, Decentralization and Demilitarization. In order to implement the “three Ds”, MacArthur took sweeping actions that affected every aspect of Japanese society. For example, his approach to Decentralization reflected an understanding that the concentration of wealth and power in the giant family run industrial monopolies, the Zaibatsu, had played a crucial role in the genesis of Japanese fascism. These monopolies controlled the Japanese economy and had, among other things, eliminated labor unions. MacArthur dissolved these monopolies and addressed their extreme concentration of wealth by imposing a minimum wage, a maximum wage and by redistributing the Zaibatsu’s wealth. He also brought about universal access to health care. The eventual result of these measures was the transformation of Japan from a nation with one of the largest gaps between rich and poor and the worst health indices (longevity, infant mortality, etc.) in the world, into the Japan of today. Japan is now the nation with the best health indices, and the smallest gap between rich and poor in the industrialized world.

Given the present challenges we face as Americans, let us consider what has happened in the United States during this same period. While our nation was 5th in the world in 1950 in terms of health indices, and had a relatively small gap between rich and poor and a growing middle class, these trends have since been reversed. Today our comparative health indices are no better than 21st, below all other developed nations, Costa Rica and Cuba. The gap between rich and poor in our country is now the largest in any industrialized nation. During the same period our expenditures on health care have exploded. The United States now spends over half of all the money spent on health care in the world, the highest per capita of any nation, while representing only 4% of the world’s population. By contrast, Japan spends the lowest amount per capita on health care among the industrialized nations of the world, while achieving the best health indices.

Another very different society that employs important aspects of an ecologically sound approach to health is the nation of Bhutan, located in the Himalayan Mountains near Nepal. Although Bhutan admits very few visitors in an effort to preserve its cultural traditions, over the past two winters Mary and Phil of DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking were granted permission to lead groups of kayakers to explore the rivers of Bhutan. I encourage you to visit their website for details of their travels.

The importance of their experience from the perspective of an ecological approach to health is that the Bhutanese people, who are materially poor by American standards, are comparatively physically and spiritually healthy. To paraphrase Mary and Phil, “the definition of happiness in Bhutan is not ‘having and getting,’ rather in their culture wealth has little to do with being happy. On the contrary, they believe that desiring and wanting often cause suffering. This principle is an underlying motivator of behavior with the result that their culture is open, loving, curious and accepting. Their government pursues the ‘gross national happiness’ and to promote happiness the government engages in implementing model educational, social and environmental programs that take into account the desire to protect the country’s environment and cultural traditions.”

The far off Kingdom of Bhutan and the concept of the “Gross National Happiness” may seem esoteric to many Americans. Nevertheless, over 400 respected U.S. economists including Nobel Laureate Professor Herbert Simon contend that it would actually be more realistic and useful to substitute for our use of the Gross Domestic Product (the total of all goods and services produced) the measurement of the Genuine Progress Index, which attempts to measure the quality of our lives. Comparing these measures during the period since the 1970s is revealing. While the conventional GDProduct more than doubled, the Genuine Progress Index declined 45% during this period. Measuring the GPI would have warned us that, contrary to the many assurances to the contrary, the U.S. economy was actually undermining our health during this period. Not only was our prosperity unevenly distributed and unsustainable, it was not performing its most important function. That function is to support improvements in the health of our population.

Clearly, an ecological, scientific approach to health demands that we define what health is, how best to measure it, and then promote the conditions that achieve it. If we do not do these things, it stands to reason we will be unsuccessful in attaining health. We must recognize that health is more than just the absence of disease. On the contrary, it requires doing things that actively promote it. It is not enough to attempt to correct the effects of doing things that destroy it.

At Mother Lode it is our continuing commitment to contribute toward this effort, one river based experience, one letter, one environmentally and socially responsible act at a time.  We hope you will bring your ideas and suggestions, and help explore the possibilities. Remember, recreation is just that: “re-creation”, a process by which meaningful, constructive change occurs and a vital part of an integrated and ecological approach to health.

See you on the river!
Scott the RiverDoc, Charlie the RiverDog and the MaLode Ecowarrior Clan

Solar Trifecta Comes to Mother Lode

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What is a Solar Trifecta? This is it!

Picturesque is not what you necessarily think of when you mention solar power, yet this view of Highway One just south of Monterey is about as close as it gets. How is it a “Solar Trifecta”? Check this out:

First, the Dodge truck you see here pulling the trailer is soon to become the main gear shuttle vehicle for our American River rafting expeditions this season. It is currently completing its conversion to 100% waste vegetable oil (WVO) at GreaseKings in Sacramento and will join the EcoBus as the first 100% WVO powered whitewater river rafting transportation system in use on the American River. Similar to EcoBus, this truck requires the installation of a second fuel tank to contain the WVO, an electrically controlled fuel management valve to switch from the Diesel#2 fuel tank to the WVO tank, a countercurrent exchange system to heat the WVO, and a special filter system to both heat and purify the WVO before it enters the sensitive fuel management system of the Cummins turbodiesel engine of this 2005 Dodge Ram 4×4 pickup. Also similar to EcoBus, using 100% WVO will achieve an 80% reduction is greenhouse gas emissions. However, this improvement will occur not only for our rafting shuttles but for food shopping and errands, all while achieving approximately 17 miles per gallon of WVO. Amazingly, this is better mileage than we get with our current Toyota T-100 with a V6 gasoline engine. Not only will we be saving carbon, our mean fuel cost for WVO is 50 cents per gallon or approximately one tenth the current cost of petro products!

Second element in the Trifecta: six solar hot water heating panels hidden in the bed of the truck. Our solar guru and benefactor, Allen Carrozza, is generously loaning them to the River Center to expand our solar hot water heating and educational opportunities. These panels will reduce the propane required to heat hot water for showers, etc., all by a whopping 73%.

Third in the Trifecta is the object under the cover on the trailer behind the truck. Yes, its “PLUGRIN”, the electric car we are transporting from Santa Barbara that is being lent to us by Dorothy Pearce. It will be recharged from the photovoltaic panels attached to the front of the Solar Energy Exploratorium. This four passenger car has a range of 35 miles, a top speed of 25 mph and will be used to draw attention to the SEE as well as to run errands to Coloma. Such cars are of increasing interest and a similar car, the “ZEN” or Zero Emissions Neighborhood car, was recently featured on the front page of the Sacramento Bee. With gas prices rising above $4 per gallon, interest in electric cars is no longer academic.

We now will be able to collect vegetable oil from local restaurants in Coloma with an electric car, recharge the car with our PV panels, then power our larger vehicles with the WVO. Solar power makes the electricity to power the electric car, solar energy creates the vegetable oil through photosynthesis, solar energy from the panels will heat the water that warms the WVO while we refine it. A solar scenario that’s renewable, cheap and near zero carbon emissons. The Solar Trifecta, and you saw it first here at Mother Lode!

American River Rafters Support Solar Power

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Archer School Students Write Letters to their Legislators

What better way to conclude your freshman year in high school than by rafting, hiking and camping on the historic and beautiful South Fork of the American River in Coloma, California? For five days this week, the Mother Lode River Center and Santa Barbara Adventure Company played host to seventy members of the freshman class of the Archer School for Girls. These intrepid adventurers tent camped on our beach, rafted two days, hiked another day and generally had the time of their lives! Spending an extended period outdoors helped them encounter the natural world while learning about themselves, bonding with their classmates, and expanding their ability to accomplish team challenges such as navigating a raft through Class III whitewater rapids.

Seamlessly integrated into these activities were challenge course group games that heightened their awareness of their surroundings and also promoted connection to each other and the natural world. Campfires, facilitated sing-alongs, quiet time by the ever changing river- all these elements combined to make the experience something the students will remember fondly and benefit from for the rest of their lives.

This season the students also had the advantage of encountering the new Sustainable Practices Program at the River Center. For instance, each time they left the river center in Mother Lode’s new EcoBus, the fuel powering their journey was ecologically responsible 100% waste vegetable oil which reduced their carbon footprint by 80% when compared to the use of petrochemicals. The hot water they used in the kitchen was heated by our new solar panels. The Solar Energy Exploratorium was open for those interested and during their visit “PLUGRIN” the electric car made its debut demonstrating the potential for a true zero emissions vehicle.

On the their next to last day, blushing with the success of running “Troublemaker”, the largest rapid on the exciting Chili Bar Run, they had the opportunity to exercise their environmental muscle as well. One of their guides explained the importance of supporting the investment tax credit for solar power by writing a letter to their legislator. They enthusiastically wrote eloquent and well informed letters that Mother Lode will forward to Governor Schwarzenneger, President Bush, Senators Reid, Boxer and Feinstein and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as well as the three candidates for President. By requesting a reply, these letters will allow each of them to discover where their political leaders stand and make each of them aware of their power to change the world in positive ways.

Experience, Connection, Observation, Stewardship- this is “ECOS” and for over thirty years this has been the Mother Lode Way. These Archer School students had a great opportunity to encounter and complete the full circle. We are pleased to have been a part of their world and we look forward to collaborating with the Santa Barbara Adventure Company to bring similar experiences to other students from the Los Angeles area in the future.