Surfrider Foundation

by Erik Olsen on

Earlier today, I mentioned
some of the work being done by the Nature Conservancy as it seeks to purchase and set off from development large chunks
of the American landscape. There are lots of groups out there like this, though most are less prominent, seeking to
promote outdoor activities and preserve the environment. One of the groups I’ve been wanting to mention for a while is
the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots organization run by surfers who are
actively protecting our coastlines and providing useful information on the condition that our beaches are in.

The surfrider Web site is a great place to see what the organization is up to and to offer support if protecting
beaches is important to you. The site is really excellent and taking a quick click tour through through it will open
your eyes to some of the problems facing the country’s beaches.

Of particular interest is the State of Our Beaches
section which provides the lowdown on the status of beaches across the country. They give a rating scale
to beaches everywhere, judging them for their access, water quality, and ecology, among other features. Take
a look.

Crossing the Arctic

by Erik Olsen on

I had not seen this
site until now, but it had apparently garnered all sorts of awards and accolades. And for good reason. The
Arctic Transect site is filled with stunning imagery,
videos, fascinating information and even
QTVRs of the vast and bewildering Arctic
region. The site has been designed as a sort of online classroom to help kids and adults better understand Arctic
issues, including the matter of drilling at ANWR, and creating an awareness of global climate change and indigenous
cultures of the Arctic. This is, excuse the pun, a cool site.

Seal Hunting

by Erik Olsen on

This may be your ball of blubber…I don’t know. But
I’ll post
the
story while reserving judgment. The Norwegian government has a problem, they need to get rid of seals who are
munching sea food meant for humans and spreading disease. And so, new Norwegian wildlife regulations will
permit tourists to hunt seals to cull the population.

In capitalist fashion, there are several adventure travel companies providing holiday packages to experienced and
“rookie” hunters to shoot the seals as part of a kind of water-borne safari. One company expects to make six figures
from the seal safaris by catering to U.S. and European clients. One of them is called
Norsafari, charges about $1300 for a hunt.

Greenpeace, of course, is against the practice, as are other animal activists. It is hard to know what to think
about this, especially following a particularly festive turkey day.

Anyone have an opinion?

Passport EZ Pass – Good or Evil?

by Erik Olsen on


The New York Times

today reports on the privacy concerns of the newfangled chip-embedded passports that we’ll likely be given from now
on. The article says that the chips will contain personal information that might be vulnerable to electronic snooping
by anyone within several feet. The ACLU is against the passports, or at least is
suggesting the information be encrypted (and why wouldn’t it be anyway?) because otherwise “this is like putting an
invisible bull’s-eye on Americans that can be seen only by the terrorists.” Which seems a bit paranoid to me. The major
concern it seems should be identity thieves not terrorists, but the ACLU in a March letter to the FAA said they are
“increasingly concerned that the biometric travel document initiative is part and parcel of a larger surveillance
infrastructure monitoring the movement of individuals globally.”

 

Some countries such a Australia already embed chips in passports. The State Department, which issues about seven
million passports a year, hopes to begin issuing a limited number with chips early next year, initially to government
employees.

I dunno, maybe I’m apathetic, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to put chips in passports. Makes forgery more
difficult, perhaps will ease the travail of getting through the airport. Thoughts?

America in Super-Slo-Mo

by Erik Olsen on

It took three whole months, but Josh Caldwell finally traversed our great
country by Segway. Say what you will about the concept, but there is a bit of historical significance to it. I mean,
it’s not like the first road trip by car, but in some small way the guy is going down in the annals of history for the
ride.

He arrived in Boston to much (well not THAT much) fanfare, and certainly a snicker or two, but you have to hand it
to him, the adulation is more than he got selling vacuums. NPR, the New York Times and others covered the trip, though
my no means all 102 days,  4064 miles and 418 battery charges of it. So you really ought to go to Caldwell’s site,
which finely documents the epic two-wheeled, gyroscopic journey.