[at-l] This and That stuff

[thornel at attglobal.net (W F Thorneloe)]

I suspect that Ursaphobia would be the correct word for Bear Phobia, if one 
felt that they needed to be obtuse about the terminology. I doubt it would 
only be a significant factor involving Post Traumatic Stress following a 
bear mauling, or an unreasonable desire to stay in urban areas that are 
devoid of bear populations.

On the Pole Dueling threads (quite the Freudian image): life is full of 
examples of the laws of unintended consequences. I heard on NPR several 
weeks back about a forest with loss of a tree species because of fishermen 
abandoning worms after their forays on a neighboring lake. The worms 
converted organic matter too efficiently, starving the seedlings and trees. 
Now that the problem is recognized, should tree huggers endorse a wholesale 
pesticide to kill off the worms?

Similarly, much ado has been made about nothing. There are tradeoffs with 
any sort of hiking pole. Even the failure to use a pole has consequences, 
regarding trail damage, injuries, search & rescue and fiscal solvency of 
some trail donors. The only thing that is clear: not one of these guys will 
allow their favorite pole to be taken from their grasp.

OrangeBug