The Yellowstone Volcano is About to Erupt …… NOT!

Recently several postings were circulating on the internet regarding an impending eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano. Sheri was contacted on Facebook by concerned friends from as far away as Florida. Indicators cited as predictors of this cataclysm was the recent 4.8 earthquake in the park and a video that showed bison fleeing Yellowstone to avoid the impending devastation.

While the earthquake was stronger than recent quakes, it was one of thousands that occur in Yellowstone area every year.  The University of Utah has an extensive web of seismic monitoring stations throughout the park.  If volcanic activity was building to an eruption, indicators would be noted and reported immediately.

Regarding the fleeing bison herds, the video cited was filmed by Leo Leckie, a sales associate of the nonprofit Yellowstone Assn., an educational partner of Yellowstone National Park. It was taken on March 14, 2014 and shows a herd of bison running into the park from Mammoth Hot Springs after the snows receded, according to Mr. Leckie.

I am not sure why the need to interpret the normal activities of nature as indicators of calamity. There is always fascination with the cataclysmic. Some feel compelled to congregate on a remote hill waiting for Armageddon. Others decry the eating of meat or the use of fossil fuels in the need to reduce global warming. There is recognition in the foretelling a calamity.  The larger the calamity, the more attention and money is available. With the passage of time, one group is left on a hill top and the other is stuck with solar panels, wind turbines, clown cars and soy burgers. The earth continues on its own path. The prophets of doom may proclaim that their calendars were off, but their crusade is too important to abandon.

Those who find the need to obsess over such calamities should attend a showing of the movie “Noah” and leave the rest of us alone. We are too busy living to get sidetracked with delusions!

Got Snow!

While Atlanta shut down over two inches of snow, I was a little nervous about the low snow level in Island Park. Three feet of accumulated snow may be daunting in many areas of the country but it is not adequate to accommodate the needs of the forest through the summer. It also leaves those who enjoy winter recreation with less than optimum conditions. February brought with it a new, thick blanket of white moisture. The additional snow was a welcome sight and hopefully foreshadows what late winter has in store for Yellowstone country.

Listening to the talking heads (not the band) expound upon the weather patterns seems like white noise. They try to explain why the weather is unpredictable and disruptive. One day the earth is suffering from global warming, the weather cools and we are in the midst of climate change. I have no doubt that the climate changes but it always has. The earth has gone through several ice ages and each time, warmed on its own. None of these cycles were man induced.

The same advocates that want to limit the use of wood burning stoves consider a forest fire nature’s way of renewing the earth. It is not burning of wood that creates climate change but who burns the wood. The argument has evolved to classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant. The advocates would classify animal life as polluters because of what they exhale. If the earth’s climate was deemed in danger, it would necessitate a limit the number of people/animals creating the imbalance. Fortunately, the earth’s environment is resilient. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen as a byproduct. A rich carbon dioxide environment spurs the plant growth, maintaining the earth’s balance.

We all should be good stewards of the environment. Teaching good stewardship doesn’t require massive government programs or oversight. The Boy Scouts have been doing it for years. The cry of climate change inevitably leads to a demand for more tax money and limits on activities regardless of the harm that is done. The fix often causes more damage than the perceived problem. Just ask the residents of West Yellowstone or Island Park after snow machines were limited from Yellowstone Park. Then there are the windmills that have been installed throughout the country. I give them less than twenty years before many will be shut down. Conservationists will discover that too many birds are being killed by the rotating blades and demand action.

I am just grateful for the snow that we have been receiving and hope that this winter provides enough moisture for the country to have a safe summer and successful harvest. I find it best to tune out the white noise and enjoy the white solitude of the mountains.