The Shift

"Faith and the Land Dialogue" REPORT

The following was submitted by George Handley, Professor of Humanities at BYU:

On April 10, 2008 a gathering of LDS spoke together about LDS belief, stewardship, and wild lands. It was an evening for personal reflection and thoughtful exchange around questions such as: What do Utah's wild landscapes mean to you spiritually? How do LDS beliefs and teachings call on us to care take the natural world? How might we join with people from other faith traditions to foster better stewardship of our wild land heritage? Guided by a trained facilitator, we talked and thought together in small groups and then "harvested" what was spoken and heard in order to make visible the stories, insights and learning that has been shared. This evening of dialogue was part of a larger initiative (sponsored by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and in this case also by the Utah Humanities Council) that brings people together within different communities of faith and also across faith traditions to talk about why our state's wild land heritage is important spiritually to Utah citizens. The initiative is based on the belief that Utahns from all religious traditions, as well as Utahns of no particular faith tradition, value Utah's wild lands as places of spiritual inspiration, connection, renewal and solace. It is also based on the belief that coming together to share what is important to us individually and collectively will reveal collective wisdom that can guide our stewardship of the wild lands we love.

To download a more complete document on this event, please click HERE.

Utah Valley gets an "F"

On May 1st, the American Lung Association released its “State of the Air: 2008” report awarding Logan, Salt Lake City and Provo with “F’s” for short-term air quality where spikes in pollution make it especially harmful for lungs and submerge us and our beautiful mountains in a fog of health-damaging smog. According to the report, these Utah communities (including their surrounding areas) rank among the dozen worst cities for spikes in air pollution. Logan ranks 6th, Salt Lake City 7th and Provo 12th. Who is to blame for this appalling situation? We are. Our population is growing fast and with it come urban sprawl and its harmful effects. Unfortunately we’re way too dependent on fossil-fuel vehicles that pollute. We get most of our power from dirty, harmful, coal-burning power plants. Equally disturbing, we continue to elect community, state and national leaders that are failing to adequately protect the air, our health and cannot even protect our view of the beauty around us.

There are better, smarter, healthier and sustainable ways of living, transporting ourselves and obtaining our electrical power. We need to elect representatives and governmental officials who will mandate that we move away from dirty, harmful unhealthy practices and toward clean, safe sustainable practices and sources of energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal, all of which are abundant here in the West.

Until we get smart, change our ways and elect better leaders, we will continue to fail as the “good stewards of the earth” we are charged to be. -- Jim Westwater, Chair, UVSF

photo © JNWestwater

Gov. Huntsman opposes importation of nuclear waste

Click HERE to read the Herald article.

Progress is coming to Spanish Fork

The Spanish Fork Wind Farm is taking shape! It's the 1st urban wind farm west of the Mississippi and only the 2nd urban wind farm in the US. The turbine towers are nearly 300' high and each propeller blade is about 148' long. Each of 9 turbines will generate about 2.1 megawatts of electricity. Like solar and geothermal, wind power is "free," safe, clean, renewable and a source of energy independence. Unlike coal, wind power does not poison the air, the water and human beings, it does not contribute to global warming or black lung disease, it does not result in the the deaths of thousands of miners every year or destroy the surrounding environment, as is often the case with "mountain top removal" and strip mining. The world will be much better off if it moves quickly toward clean, safe, renewables and away from dirty, polluting, harmful, hazardous, diminishing fossil fuels. Recently, a tour for Sierra Club members took place where we were introduced to these clean white giants. It was quite impressive.

Photos ©JWestwater

BACKPACK OUTINGS

For a long list of Utah Sierra Club hikes and outings click HERE.

Bob Own (left) who did our "Art of Backpacking" presentation in February, is proposing several fun backpack outings for us. Here they are! If you go, you will need to sign a release for so please let Bob Owen know asap if you are planning to go. Thanks. PLEASE NOTE: These backpacking trips listed below are not UVSF outings but are opportunities for UVSF members and the public to enjoy nature first hand with a good friend of the UVSF, Bob Owen.

FALL BACKPACKING

HIGH UINTAS, Fri-Sun, August 22 through 24th.
We will meet at the Highline trailhead above Mirror Lake and follow the Highline Trail into the designated wilderness. Day one will take us to Pinto Lake to set up camp. Day two will be fun hiking without packs along different trails to other lakes. Fishing and swimming would be an option as we enjoy the beautiful environment. Day three would be packing up and hiking out. The hike is not strenuous but is at about 10,000 elevation.

FENCE CANYON/ EGYPT TH, Fri-Sun, September 12 through 14.
If participants wish, we could spend an extra day at the river and come home Monday. Day one we will meet at Devils Garden and then hike a few miles down the slickrock to the Escalante River to set up camp near a spring (but still need to filter water). Day two will be hiking without packs a few miles down river which requires wading. We will have plenty of time to spend at the Golden Throne, which is a photographers paradise. The final day will be moderately strenuous hiking back up the slickrock.

LITTLE DEATH HOLLOW, Fri- Sun, Sept. 26 through 28.
Day one we will meet in Boulder and follow the scenic Burr Trail with a stop or two to hike a little without packs in some of the best sandstone hiking in Utah. We will have a 13 mile dirt road to reach the trailhead where we will camp. Day two will be hiking down Little Death Hollow which has several miles of narrows and slots with a dozen or so choke stones to negotiate over, around or under. Perhaps a little mud and a pool or two to wade. We will camp on the sand under some beautiful Fremont Cottonwood trees. Day three we will pass by a mother lode of black petrified wood as we hike out Wolverine Canyon which has some more narrows. Perhaps a 5 hour hike out. This is not a strenuous hike (total 14 miles).

GRAND CANYON, Thur-Sun, October 16 through 19.
We will need to travel and camp in the area of the trailhead on Wednesday night. Day one will be the big drop to some level sandstone, then another drop to Surprise Valley where we will set up camp for the trip. Day two will be a third drop past the roaring Thunder Falls and down the resulting river to Tapeats River and on to the Colorado, then return to camp. Day three will be hiking the other direction to Deer Creek to enjoy the falls and beautiful green canyon. It will still be summer there. Day four will be the very strenuous hike out.

About these hikes: There is no cost other than about $25 permit fee for the Grand Canyon. All we request is a love for nature and a respect for the environment and willingness to abide the rules the Park Service has set, which we will discuss the first day of each trip. None of these trips have exposure and no ropes are needed. There is usually a 12 person limit. Fires are usually restricted so you will need a little propane stove and water filter. Get in shape ahead of time for these trips. These trips will not be a foot race to the other end, but rather a slow pace to enjoy beautiful nature.

Trip leader: Bob Owen --•-- beowen@sisna.com --•-- 435-527-1099

For a long list of Utah Sierra Club hikes and outings click HERE.