Letters to the Turnagain Times

Goodbye to Mike Howerton

On Aug. 2, Mike Howerton shuffled off his mortal coil after a long bout with cancer. A memorial service and celebration of life for Mike was held on Aug. 18.
The recurrent theme of those who spoke of Mike was that he had touched and affected each person’s life. I did not meet Mike and Carol until very recently. However, the abiding sorrow I, too, experienced was evidence enough that he had touched me as well.
Although I didn’t know Mike for very long or very well, I knew him well enough to say two things with certainty. I wish I’d known him longer, and I wish I’d known him sooner.

Don Johnson
Girdwood, AK

Persons’ Community Support is well known

Bob and Deanna Persons’s support of the Girdwood kids for all these years is wonderful. Think how many kids had a merrier Christmas due to their clandestine generosity. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in Bob’s situation now with the investigation of Senator Stevens, but looking in from the outside, the only thing I can say is that it probably was not necessary for him to divulge his secret over it. I think everyone in this community who knows Bob could have no doubts about his integrity, generosity and kindness to everyone he encounters.

Steve Poirot
Girdwood

Commentary:

Local development poses challenges for a mountain rainforest sanctuary

By David Lakota
Special to the Turnagain Times

Sitting on a rock in the sun in the middle of the rainforest. Blue sky, fragrant breeze, peace and quiet.
Moments ago I knelt by the creek and took a drink then splashed water on my face from the pure glacier stream.
In that instant a flash came to me, it was a recurring theme—past, present and future development, particularly along Crow Creek Road—the main access to this mountain rainforest sanctuary in which I live. More than ten years I have been here co-habitating with the brown and black bears, the moose, wolves, wildcats, eagles, and ravens. I live among big spruce, hemlock and cottonwood trees. Daily I forage from the land—all seasons of the year—devil’s club buds and fiddleheads in the spring, rock flower and salmon in the summer, and blueberries and mushrooms in the fall.During the long winter months, I have dug beneath the snow to eat crow berries or picked perfectly ripe high-bush cranberries off frozen branches growing all over Girdwood. Every day that I can drink from one or more glacier creeks: Virgin, Glacier, Winner, Crow and California. These are among some of the most pure and pristine waters on Earth.
Eating from the land plays a role in my being in tune with it. The more I am in tune with it the more I perceive its subtle messages, “Bring people here,” it tells me. “And bring nature to people.” So, that is part of the reason I chose to write this article—for my sake, for the benefit of the land and for people who visit and live here. To express concern about development in Girdwood, especially along Crow Creek Road. I also want to give other people the opportunity to speak their mind, to be heard and possibly to have the best ideas implemented.
This article is the first of what I envision to be a long series of articles that follow development as it occurs. Though I am heavily biased toward a natural, wild, free way of life, I respect and appreciate many of modern society’s wonders- hot-running water, internet, restaurant food, movie-theaters, air travel, smooth roads, a public library, community center, music and video technology, etc. People need a place to live- shelter from the elements and a place to raise their families, as well as a place to engage their creativity and service work.
Many people have come to Girdwood because of its close proximity to wilderness and civilization, its profound beauty and outdoor activities along with modern conveniences: grocery store, post office, pubs, school, and fire department. Everyone also seems to enjoy “the small-town atmosphere”.
Sustaining this high-quality of life may require some effort on the part of the townspeople. I’m not referring to those individuals who have been working diligently for years on behalf of Girdwood. Rather, I am calling out to those who care about this place but for some reason or another have not been able to express their concerns, to be heard or to have their ideas implemented.
I want to remind everyone that “one person can and does make a difference.” And “There is always something that may be done.” It is never too late and there is virtually no limit to the far reaching extent of positive influence and change that one person can inspire or affect. And this dims in comparison with what a group of dedicated, like-minded people can do.
“In a healthy society, economy always follows ecology, and education precedes them both,” stated Ken Carey of VISION.
After more than 14 years of exhaustive research, I have discovered that sustainable development, to me, means living the best of both worlds: wilderness and society, Nature and technology. Though I am a tree-hugger to the extreme, I also recognize the importance and necessity of development. “Change is the only constant,” it has been said, and I’ve always agreed all change is for the better. But it is up to you, and it is up to me to determine our destiny.
Blending and balancing these two seemingly diametrically opposed ways of life has not been easy, but it is possible. And it is highly recommended. It requires, first and foremost, caring to some degree about people, self and nature. It also requires that I think outside my own limiting beliefs and ideas and accept what others have to say, to learn to cooperate rather than be at odds, and to fight for what I believe in.
Therefore, I welcome your feedback, both positive and negative in order that we may continue to enjoy the exceptional way of life that Girdwood offers. I intend to continue researching and writing about sustainable living including conducting and publishing interviews with local residents, policy-makers, and visitors from abroad.
Here is what I have discovered so far. This comes from various sources some of which may be reliable and others may not. There are plans to widen and pave Crow Creek Road from Alyeska Highway to Crow Creek Mine. There are plans to create 1,320 new “units” (single and multi-family homes). Crow Creek Road traffic is expected to increase from the current 200-300 per day to as much as 5,000 per day. Some of this development is happening now. Major development is expected to begin within the next 2-3 years and most of the proposed development is expected to be complete within ten years.
You and I and everyone have the opportunity to play a more active role in determining what happens to the place in which we live. We have a fundamental responsibility to let go of what has not been working and to nurture and develop what does. It’s also one of our most important obligations to envision the future we want instead of what is thrust upon us.

Opinion

Coal Will Take Alaska Backwards

By Bob Shavelson,
Cook Inletkeeper

Alaska stands at the crossroads of an exciting energy future, with a North Slope gas line, a Southcentral Spur line and world class renewable energy sources ready to provide cleaner, more secure power supplies and good, long term jobs. But there’s a fly in the ointment. As energy prices remain high, large corporations and local utility boards are increasingly looking to an energy source of the past - coal - as a quick fix for Alaska’s energy needs.
In just the past two years, we have seen a host of coal projects thrust into Alaska’s energy discussion, including: Texas developers’ plans to open the massive proposed Chuitna coal strip mine on the west side of Cook Inlet, 45 miles from Anchorage; the Mental Health Trust’s proposed Chickaloon coal strip mine, straddling the rich fish and game resources of the Matanuska River; Homer Electric Association’s plans to re-start the defunct and problem-plagued Healy coal fired power plant; Agrium’s plans in Kenai to use the Alaska Railroad’s tax-free bonding capacity to build a coal fired power plant and a coal gasification unit to produce fertilizer for export; and the Matanuska Electric Association’s plans to build a coal fired power plant near Palmer.
Coal is the worst choice we can make for our energy future. From denuded salmon, moose and bear habitat and aggravated climate change, to mercury in our fish and asthma in our kids, coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. Yet the myth of “clean coal” has been elevated through a well-funded, coordinated spin campaign designed by the coal corporations to fool people into believing “new technologies” can prevent coal from harming our health and our communities. For example, the Alaska Coal Association has ramped-up a “clean coal” campaign, complete with a pretty web site and full page newspaper ads, to trick people into forgetting about mercury pollution, asthma and greenhouse gases from coal. You can see some of the coal industry’s dubious claims in an opinion piece written earlier this year by Steve Borell of the Alaska Miners Association:
Claim: Alaskans can switch from natural gas to coal “without adverse impact to the environment.” False. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel; coal is the dirtiest. In fact, the Ontario Ministry of Energy found coal’s human health and environmental impacts to be at least 4 times greater than those of natural gas, and the U.S. Energy Information Agency found coal to produce 60% more greenhouse gases. Considering the ravages of strip mining, mercury in our fish, asthma in our children, and high greenhouse gas emissions, there’s simply no such thing as “clean coal.”
Claim: “Some folks argue [greenhouse gases from coal] may contribute to climate change.” Wrong again. “Some folks” ignores the overwhelming consensus among climate change scientists, and the experts with the International Panel on Climate Change found a 90% likelihood that man-made greenhouse gases are causing – not “may” be causing - accelerated global warming.
Claim: Using carbon dioxide from coal combustion to enhance oil recovery in older fields would “efficiently sequester” the C02. Untrue. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, C02 sequestration technologies are in their infancy. While C02 can be injected to help bring trapped oil to the surface, the C02 eventually escapes. So for the foreseeable future, enhanced oil recovery does not “efficiently sequester” C02.
As we know all too well, misinformation and confusion are powerful allies in the war against facts and science. But the stakes in this game are too high. Alaska is at a crossroads: we can move backwards to coal – and the costly asthma, mercury, climate change and habitat destruction that accompany it. Or, we can build the gas pipeline, and ride a natural gas bridge to a future of clean wind, tidal and geothermal power - and the secure energy and long term jobs they will produce. Whatever path we take, Alaskans expect and deserve decisions guided by facts and science – not the misinformation and distortions we’re hearing now from Big Coal.

Commentary

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

By Sourdough Dru
Special to the Turnagain Times

I know curse me curse me am I insane? Ready for winter? It’s August for Heaven Sakes! Dang straight I’m getting ready and so are other Alaskan locals. I see em’ in my gift shop every day. From Fairbanks to Eagle River to Palmer, Wasilla, Emmonak, Point Hope, Dillingham, Homer, Juneau, Anchorage, Chickaloon, Denali, Galena, Moose Pass, North Pole, Ninilchik, Kenai, Nenana, Nome, Chitna and the rest. All over Alaska we are getting ready for that blanket of white.
I’m not alone in my mission to get out and see my beautiful state before the chapter on the season of warmth turns its final pages of the year book.
Us Alaskans are out Adventuring – touring in the light of day people seem to be busying themselves like expectant mothers with that sudden urge to get the nest ready for the new arrival. Ride the trails. Hike that walk you’ve been dreaming of all summer. Jump in that deep hole up the creek before it’s too cold. Pick the mushrooms, get out! Hang the clothes on the line.
I checked the fluids in the rigs. Adjusted the antifreeze and filled the windshield washer fluid so we are ready for the sloppy times coming. And that slow leak in the “Slednecks” truck in the left front tire. I’m having that fixed yesterday. The tailgate on the little blue truck that was a “B” to open and a new door handle that was broken off are now repaired. Winter won’t be quite so straining.
Berries, berries, berry so many so little time! Will I ever get enough? No but I gotta go pickin’. If the bears don’t get em’, the rain will. Please leave some for the bears or they might not leave you! (That’s no joke. Don’t strip em’). The bears are unhappy enough that us homosapiens are picking’ em’ anyway – we smell pretty human. Treat these wild bushes as if they were in your back yard so they will return – walk through them, pick them up, brush through them don’t stomp em’ down. Cause-hey the wild ones are in your back yard! And pick, pick, pick every couple days cause the more ya pick the more will come.
And the firewood! Get it now or get it ordered! Any little thing that’s little when it’s warm is much “mala” when it’s colder! Some things are impossible or damn difficult if it is way below zero. Soon that sloppy time that lasts forever will be here. The mud, the slush, the wet will grind on until cold and snow make pleasant outdoor recreation (Lord it’s raining buckets again!).
So get fishin’, get ‘er done. Smell them rotting pinks, a sure sign we’ve got little time. Keep that line wet if ya love to fish! A general Alaska rule is—when the fireweed arrive the fish er’ in and when the fireweed go the fish er’ gone. So get out there folks the fireweed are on their way out.
No time to dwell on my buddy’s theory that soon we will be under marshal law cause we are “the mans” pawns in greed. Kind of like that science fiction theme about the computer—the machines that turn against the owner and creator-us. Except it is a government that betrays its people. At the very least we know the Feds are messing with our weather. They’ve got an operation up in Gakona that does “experiments” in unmarked planes all over the state (maybe the world). I don’t like it. I believe that is Gods’ job. No time for this. Today: 15 hours 51 minutes of daylight becoming less and less each day.
Paradise has arrived. Right here in Hope, Alaska. So I am riding my bike. Riding in between the bursts of rain. The dog and I. Hunter does so much running his claws don’t need to be clipped. Spots I’ve dreamed of all summer call me. I scheme my way to them before the ice and the snow will defeat my two tires. The river and the valleys; the action of the Forest in the summer. I feast on the sounds and the smells before summer slips away.
Flashlights, emergency oil lamps for when the power goes out. Replace them outdoor bulbs and start picking up the yard. Clean your windows good it will help with cabin fever. You don’t wanna be that “punk.” As the local rock group The Whipsaws call him in their song “Petersville” from their album “Ten Day Bender.” The Whipsaws sing of the Cheechako miner who cracked years ago in Petersville. He was a wanna be miner who went Postal and killed some other miners.
Gee there is a break in the weather, I feel it. My heel is bouncing nervously—it’s not raining! Have your hats and mittens, boots and flannel jammies located for future shock of a coming winter season?
Dream of snow calm and peaceful. But live now. The weeks will soon turn into days. I am stepin’ out in that forest, feelin’ each breath of sun; listening to the water run and the sea gulls sing of fun. The time is coming and when it does I will break out the skis’ and make tracks. Until then I’m biking’ and hiking. No cursing at myself under my breath because I’m not ready. No regrets. Yes, indeed I’m ready. Summer is not lost to me. Us earthlings we are so blessed. Thank you God! My bike is calling, and I can’t keep still. Gotta go! Meetcha in the Fallin’ Rain!