|  Belong To The Earth : BTTE
"Be informed about your Environment!"
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One of the most common questions you've asked us is : "Where did you get all those great environmental pics?"
The fact is that we did not paste them from any other sites (except for the two satellite photos ie.: The Mouth of the Rio Grande & Lake Erie Comparison)- We thought you should see those too!
All of our other BelongToTheEarth websites' pictures are also100% photographed by us, the artists and creators of BTTE Ecology Group (with an LG camera phone & a samll HP digital Photosmart M425 5.0 megapixel camera).
Many of you have asked us if you can help work with us and "How did you do it?"
Those are both loaded questions. We are definitely going to keep all of you seriously interested people in mind for when we get settled and even more organised.
First of all, it certainly has not been an easy task but it is something that we have been wanting to do for years. It helps that we have good science backrounds in biology, Physics, Fish Game & Wildlife, Botany & Agriculture, Astronomy and Physical Geography. We also have Art, Computer, Photography, Auto-Mechanics, and Camping & Survival Training Experience. (Also a big thanks to Nissan for our 'Technological Chariot'!).
In order to photograph all these extraordinary sites on Earth we had to sleep in vast deserts, mountain sides, on cliffs, high elevation mountain tops, and in old abandoned mining towns on roads along remote lakes and rivers. In other words; we're "roughing it" (no luxuies). If you're really interested in doing that let us know. But the fact of the matter is that we need all of you, even now; for contact information in your area!
People have written in with comments about concerns in their areas.
Liz (from New Mexico) wrote in about, "...some invasive non-native plants (I think it was salt cedar). It was taking over a lot of bosque land all over southern New Mexico. A particular problem in a system where water is so scarce. In Albuquerque we'd get an average of 7" of rain a year. Most of it coming in one month in the summer. There was snow but not much and what came only lasted a day."...."Also, New Mexico has been in a drought even when I was there. The cottonwood trees are in danger because they need Rio Grande to flood periodically to get their seeds to germinate. With all the cities pulling water out of it, it's barely a river at all let alone flooding. In New mexico I was struck by the effect people have on the environment. When I would walk on the mesa I would see old matresses, oil pans, etc just dumped in the desert. If it isn't there own back yard so many people think it's a junkyard that won't effect them. I think I noticed more there because the desert is so fragile. I'm glad there are people and organizations out there trying to something about it."
Maryland Legislator Roger Manno wrote, " I've got some awesome environmental legislaton that I am introducing in the Maryland legislature in January. I'll fill you in as we get closer -- but it would be great stuff for CA as well....." Earlier on, in an instant message conversation, he explained that a law was recently over-turned dealing with where Detergent Compnanies can dump their chemical phosphate waste from their factories...inadvertantly dumping thousands of tons of detrimental amounts of phosphates into the Chesapeake Bay harming the fish, crabs, and other aquatic life. There has been a serious problem with phisteria diseases in the already dropping numbers of fish and the very few Blue Crabs that are left are small and disease ridden also.
Paul in Louisiana wrote, "We have a concern about all the Cypress trees dying in the estuaries near the mouth of the Mississippi River before it meets the Gulf in the New Orleans area. Man made channels, canals, and dredging have altered the wetlands ecosystem so much that the future of the Terrebonne Estuary system is uncertain. When they dredged, to supposedly hold in fresh water; it actually washed away and increased erosion, causing more salt water to back up into the estuaries killing thousands of native cypress trees etc. Also oil production and oil field canals have been enemies to the fresh water marshes' ecosystem."
Thank you for sharing your local environmental concerns with us. We are now becomming so integrated with nature and humanity that we are becoming a part of every community. Reaching those with sincere interest and the knowledge and understanding for discovery, expansion and new invention is one of our biggest goals to solve these man-made problems. |
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