[at-l] cell phones

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 10:01 PM 05/27/2002 -0400, Raphael Bustin wrote:
>At 09:17 PM 5/27/2002 -0400, sAunTerer wrote:
>
> > If we make phone service, electricity and all other conveniences of 
> 'civilization'
> > available everywhere, how long will we continue to have any "wild" areas?
>
>It's not a foolish question, but there is no answer.
>
>Are you willing to forego DEET or insect repellent?

Yes!  I haven't carried insect repellent in several years because I sweat 
it off so fast that it's useless.  It never seemed to deter the bugs anyway.

>Without DEET insects rule and smart humans know enough keep the heck out 
>of the
>woods in the early summer, where they clearly don't belong.

I've experienced black flies so bad that I couldn't deal with it exactly 
once.  I holed up in my hammock when I wasn't in motion and let the netting 
take care of the problem.  When Momma Nature tells me I clearly don't 
belong, I listen or I deal with the consequences of choosing to do what I 
know was a dumb thing to do.

My point was that the engineering mentality which looks at a place and says 
"if we put a cell tower there, and a generating plant over there and dam up 
that river to make a reservoir you could live here" makes it possible to 
develop areas that people otherwise wouldn't.  There was not enough 
naturally occurring water in the LA area to support the city it has grown 
into so the engineers dreamed up ways of making it possible.  In the 
process they not only created a city where air pollution is so bad you can 
sometimes hear it hitting the windshield like tiny hailstones (I know 
because I've been there), they messed the ecology in the areas they took 
the water from.  My point was that just because it's convenient (and 
profitable?) and we have the ability to do it doesn't mean it's a good idea 
or that we should do it.

sAunTerer