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Component I: Sense of Place
Before reading “A natural history of the Sonoran Desert”, I thought deserts were mostly deprived of life. I never really took the time to appreciate and learn more about the environment that I live in. When I think of desert, I think of the flat plains made up of dry sand and land. Turns out I was completely wrong. There are many different climates, types of plants, freshwater fishes, and insects at all live in our desert. Depending on the region you live it can even get so cold not plant can grow there. I’ve always thought rainforests were the most diverse regions. I no longer have the same views after doing a bit of research.
As someone who’s lived in the desert all her life, I believe most humans have the wrong views of nature especially the desert. Often most movies don’t depict the brewing life the desert has to offer. The promotion of certain biomes and communities over others leads many people to have a certain idea that the desert is always hot and dry. For example, desert is one of the most well-known biomes. By learning more about grassland, chaparral, forest, tundra, and woodland people will learn to appreciate the beauty this place has to offer.
Because the Sonora Desert has many different types of latitudes it has a variety of species, plants, and climates. Due to the high elevation, the Tundra has extremely cold winters for which ground-hugging woody shrubs are adapted too. There are certain plants and animals from the rainforest that are also able to survive in the Sonoran Desert. The seven subdivisions were classified based on diversity and vegetation.
Riparian communities can occur in any biome depending on whether there is ever-lasting water near the surface. For example, banks of rivers, shorelines, marishes, or lakes. This type of community is special because it contains a huge source of water and nutrients. Some inappropriate choices concerning the riparian communities would include the over-pumping of groundwater.
One of the characteristics of the Sonoran Desert is the amount of rain and what season it falls on. The North Pacific bring “widespread, gentle rain to the northwestern two-thirds" (pg.13) from December to March. While Summer monsoon brings wet tropical air resulting in aggressive thunderstorms to the southeastern two-thirds. In Spanish, the winter rains are called equipatas and the summer rains are called las aquas.
I was surprised by some of the classifications because I didn’t know some of biomes and communities could even be considered a desert. I never knew the Sonoran Desert contained tropical forest. Although, this place can go through a dry season when it rains many plants prosper creating foliage. It is the only of seven biomes/communities to grow flowering epiphytes.
Component II: Biodiversity
Leopold describes how times are changing like modern transportation and growth of human population are contributing to nature's downfall. If Leopold was worried about those small changes then he would definitely be upset about how the world turned out. Our world now is more polluted than ever coral reefs are dying, deadly gases are in the air we breathe, wildfires have killed thousands of animals, etc. Because humans were never able to find their balance with nature and governments refuse to put protection policies in place, we may never better the place we live at.
Leopold observed that humans find when taking part in outdoor recreations such as hunting, fishing, skiing, golfing, and photography. He noticed that people often want something in return and their appreciation of nature isn’t genuine. He mentions deeply appreciating nature can lead to a better motivator for its conservation. Mechanical sports such as jeeping, boating, and duning are usually for the thrill not to deeply become one with nature. The Arctic Tundra has a low human population many people come here to enjoy the scenery that has been well preserved. Although, in recent years more constructions and residential areas have been added. Makes me think that the same people who live and build there are the ones contributing to its destruction.
One indicator why plants and animals disappear is the destruction of their habitat (deforestation). Some invasive species are introduced via humans. Somethings we could do to stop this is set certain policies to protect endangered environments.
According to Leopold, he gives some solutions on how we can appreciate and preserve nature at the same time. We can start small by observing the smaller parts of nature such as a flower in a field and learning about ecology to enhance perception. Also, thoughts who own lands should leave some wilderness as is.
In general, Leopold's writing was well thought off. You could tell he wrote about his own experiences and compared that to his own self-research. He gives both an informative and argumentative view and in the end he offers solutions. What he means by “raw wilderness gives definition and meaning to the human enterprise” is humans who are not able to see nature in its true form and beauty are those who pollute it the most. For example, people use raw materials and use it to harm the world (oil industry).
Leopold states that wilderness plays a huge role in the development of human society. Wilderness provides us with a sense of comfort and enjoyment when one is not working. It also provides us with resources that helped us become the diverse society we are today. The author mentions how humans have become greedier in the way we use raw materials. We dictate where we can grow land, over fish, cut trees, drill for oil, etc. These overindulgences are self-defeating contributing to pollution.
Leopold explains how studying nature helps people understand the consequences of their actions. Those who remain ignorant will make more mistakes than those who have a more evolve (educated) perception. For example, people who are aware of how water waste affects our oceans will try to use less water in their everyday lives.
The U.S. is very spaced out compared to other countries. Place's people choose to live in are extremely far apart. Public transportation (bus and trains) isn’t as popular as it used to be. When one place gets full they open up another one and take up the wilderness. For example, building cabins, resorts, and hotels resulting in mass destruction of the natural environment.
I think there should be a place in this world for animals that are not ones we like to eat because those animals also contribute to the ecosystem. Without these animals, the animals we do like to eat may become endangered. We need a balance of a multitude of species in order to thrive.
Ecological footprint
It would take 4.1 earths if everyone lived like me. The component the contributes the most to this is carbon footprint. Using renewable energy lightens the impact. It surprises me how much I depend on my car to get to school (I live 40 minutes away). This results in a bigger carbon footprint. After reading the chapters, I realized how much of a contribution to nature's pollution I make and how I should learn to appreciate the wilderness more.
Component III: Geology
In the beginning, I didn’t realize that the Sonoran Desert didn’t always look as diverse as it does today. The development of plants and animals are believed to have contributed to this biological change. With climate change also came expansion and changes in land. After reading the chapter, I have a better understanding as to how the earth constantly adapts to seasonal and environmental changes.
Knowing about the different kinds of plants that grew millions of years ago gives us a sense as to how the vegetation and climate was. Thorn scrubs developed to be able to withstand dry areas. Baja California used to be a part of the Mexican mainland until it drifted apart a couple million years ago. During the Miocene era, volcanic eruptions were able to change the climate in the provinces of North America.
I personally think that the author's use of grandma to describe other ecosystems offers an understanding as to how some other ecosystems are the way they are because of other ecosystems. For example, thorns curbs are a transition between tropical deciduous forest and the Sonoran Desert. The grandma is a tropical deciduous forest because it's older and less of now due to the dry climate. The story alters my sense of connection between the Sonoran Desert and other regions because the author mentions how they influenced a change in each other. For example, the expansion of the modern Sonoran Desert in Arizona and California resulted in modern communities and plants.
After human population started increasing the desert became dryer and warmer. New plants started to adapt such as thorn scrubs. Although, many people still debate whether the change in climate was caused naturally or due to pollution we can’t deny that humans brought over toxins, land waste, deforestation, etc.
The Basin and Ranges landscapes formed over a series of events spanning millions of years. In the past, active volcano explosions left huge circular basins (calderas) which can be seen today in “Chiricahua and Superstitions mountains”. What surprised me the most was not the explosions but what was happening below the earths surface. The heat to the earths crust was what made lands extend and move apart from each other. As a result of faulting due to intense heat, mountains made of granite rocks began to form. With land, stretching came sinking in settlements. When the crust finally cooled valleys started to settle. About 6 million years ago, the San Andreas fault resulted in the separation of Baja California.
With the development of mountains millions of years ago and different altitudes the Sonoran Desert’s climate began to change and become more diverse. Reading about the land formations gives us an idea of how the land came to form its mountains and vegetation. I never learned to what extend the earth’s crust played a role in changing modern earth. Now the changes in the Sonoran Desert have to do more with human pollution than natural occurrence.
A bajada (slope) forms from by a combination of alluvial fans. This is located next to mountains and is made of loose settlement like debris that move down the mountains making cone-shaped lumps. Light rainfall does not have enough force to move the debris down. Heavy rainfalls is able to produce mud, move rocks, and help with vegetation down the mountain canyons. Which is how heavy rains are able to make alluvial fans. The area needs to be wetter. I didn’t know how greatly heavy rain were able to change the way the desert looks.
Dunes are created by an accumulation of sand due to wind. Various dunes of the Sonoran Desert come from the sand of the Colorado River Delta. This area has help contribute to the deserts changing environment. From a satellite view we can see the how delta of the Colorado River land looks to be branching out throughout the land bringing various resources to animals and plants. Humans settlement patterns in the Sonoran Desert have depended on the weather and environment. The formation of mountains and lands is very important to humans because with that came the presence of water. Now and days we greatly rely on technology and imports to survive.
Component IV: Water (Gregory McNamee and the Gila River)
After reading chapter 1, I came to understand just how important the Gila River is not only for humans in Arizona and California but for the ecological system. The new Arizona bills on our water and where it's going suddenly made more sense. While listening to the presentation on current events, I didn’t understand why a bill that dictates how our water was being used would be so important to our community. Also, learning about the geology of the Gila River helps orientate me and understand what location/place the author was describing.
Like Aldo Leopold, Mcnamee’s style of writing contains many personal experiences and detailed descriptions of the environment. Mcnamee's descriptive writing helps visualize the Gila River over the course of millions of years. He explains how the river came to be formed and how both animals and humans depend on it to survive. At the beginning of the chapter, the author writes using all his 5 senses to help give the reader a sense of place. Imagining ourselves being at the Gila River not only grabs our attention but gives the place some significance.
The storyteller Anna Price tells a flood legend story on the Gila River giving us an inside into its history. The flood took many plants, animals, mountains, people, and resources leaving a plain desert in its wake. Just like this story many legends have a sense of accuracy and exaggeration to them. Many stories also like to depict humans as the creators of everything in order to explain how something came to be. The lesson of the story is to never underestimate nature and the natural disasters it may bring.
Over the years the Sonoran bioregion has many names depending on the climate, era, diversity, etc. McNamee believes that the word “desert” is misleading and destructive. He mentions the word desert is a linguistic misunderstanding. Yes, the Gila River is a desert river but not a desert. The Latin word means an abandoned and uninhabitable place. Because the Gila River is vital for the survival of plants, animals, and humans it can’t be an uninhabitable place. The Europeans used the familiar term and ignored the large population of indigenous people living and depending on these thriving drylands. They just saw these places as an obstacle that needed to be conquered.
Component IV: Water (McNamee & the Gila - cont.)
In this chapter, McNamee talks about the conservationist Aldo Leopold and his efforts to preserve the Gila wilderness. Because of Leopold millions of acres of land remain protected years later. Leopold believed that wilderness should take up as much space as possible. People have abused the Gila Rivers and Sonoran Deserts resources for years now. It is wrong because we aren’t doing much to help restore and protect it. I was reading an article on the reason why the Gila River is so polluted. They mention how between Phoenix and Painted Rock dam the river is contaminated with pesticides. This makes aquatic wildlife dangerous to eat.
St. Bernard believes that going out into nature and experiencing everything first-hand will teach you much more than textbooks or teachers. Unfortunately, I believe this does not fit the western civilization as well as it used to. Now, we have every resource at our fingertips. If we don’t know something, we will just google it and millions of websites will tell us what we need to know. We could also do online classes for many careers without having to leave our homes. Technology has altered the way we critically think and learn. McNamee mentions how scientists will look through textbooks instead of going outside. Because the book was published in 1994, many people didn’t turn to computers as they do now. That’s why the 21st century western civilization does not fit into these concepts.
McNamee mentions how some people like Dave Foreman call to establish millions of acres of wilderness. Because projects like these are really big, a big change in thinking would need to take place in our government. We need to think not about how many resources we will lose but about how the earth will benefit. Protecting nature will help us rid the air of pollution, protect vital water sources from drying up, and protect our wildlife.
McNamee wants us to question our government. Are they really doing what's best for the environment or what's best for them? He says that they should be reeducated and the new rules need to be updated and quickly. The Forest Service for example counsel on the use of trees needs to be discarded. They want to add thousands of roads and cut down thousands of trees. The Bureau of Land Management who have yet to remove cattle that has been destroying public land of the west.
Personally, I don’t think McNamee's solution to reversing the destruction of the Gila watershed is practical. He explains how instead of using the “depleting” supply of plant’s supply of fossil fuel we should use oil produced by whales. Whales are endangered animals abusing their resources will do more harm than good for the environment. As the years go in, I’m sure scientists will find a much more sustainable and less invasive way. McNamee believes trees and rivers should defiantly have rights. These rights should be deemed important and protected in court. Unfortunately, the government believes that the health of the fish population isn't worth putting in the effort. The river also isn’t worth considered wild. Up until this day, there are still pollutants that are dangerous for fish.
I’m very surprised about all the different components of the ecosystem and how many things can disturb that special balance. For example, I always thought cattle were very good for the environment but apparently that can destroy thousands of acres of land. I’m also surprised that even back then the government did very little to protect our environment. It makes me think that if there weren’t people advocating for the protection of our land just how much worse things would be.
Component IV: Water (Sevigny and the Rights of Rivers)
Personally, I think Sevigny’s style of writing is very informational. She thoroughly explains how we use the Colorado River’s water throughout the years. The purpose of her style of writing is to make the reader understand that the Colorado river’s resources won’t be there if we continue abusing it.
Over 100 years ago, the mouth of the Colorado river was flourishing and filled with water. As human population grew, the river’s resources started to deplete at a fast rate. Now, the mouth of the Colorado River is nearly drained, it’s a mud field, and you can no longer row your canoes like the Leopold’s once did. To me, despair means that you have given up. I don’t we can afford that mind of thinking. We need to put policies in place to protect the land we depend on. In 2012, the USBR predicted that by the mid-century the river's flow would diminish by 10-20% with a 3.5 million acre lost every year.
In order to prevent the Colorado river from completely disappearing within the next 40 years, we must stop proving water to a city as large as Phoenix. Realistically this cannot happen, so we need to come up with other more long-term solutions. In the past, the USBR has suggested unrealistic ideas such as covering reservoirs with chemical films to stop the water from evaporation. As the organization grew, they mentioned, “the reuse of wastewater, rainwater harvesting, and conservation by cities, farms, and powerplants” (Sevigny 231). Implementing these ideas and making new policies may help us prevent the river from disappearing. At this point, more people should be made aware that we won’t have this river for long. I live in Arizona and didn’t even know this was a problem. Maybe if more people knew they would start conserving water.
I think the quote, “The crisis we face is not one of water scarcity but rather a diminishing of the human spirit” means that humans don’t appreciate nature enough. We do whatever is convenient for us instead of the earth. Like Sevigny mentioned, we destroy our land and only think about what's good for us. What will sustain and help us survive at that moment? We need to think more about our future and form connections with nature to give meaning and happiness to life.
The author mentions how there is no foolproof solution to restore water. Does need mean we should stop sustainable practices to help prevent the river from drying up? Implementing sustainable practices will help buy time. It is an acceptable goal because we can’t continue to abuse the earth’s natural resources at the rate we are going.
Standing allows the government, scientific organizations, and nonprofit organizations to have the authority to speak for the trees. If this was the case, then any damages would be compensated by those in charge. Stone believed that the ecosystem should have a right to defend itself even if that means the quality of life for people decreases. He uses using moral imperative and intrinsic values (to be valued for their own sake) to argue these claims.
Sevigny suggests investing in the usage of local water can benefit us in the long run. However, limiting our supplies locally may not be ideal. Although, the author mentions how this isn’t an expensive goal there are still places that don’t have the funds or resources to make it possible. Sevigny proposes some solutions to the overuse of water. One of those solutions being the rise in prices to discourage people from wasting too much water. I don’t think this is very practical because people who have money continue using the water however, they want. It the people who struggle to pay the water bill every month who might have to go without this essential resource that will mainly suffer. While we can’t continue to abuse our water source it is a basic human necessity. For some tribal people like Tohono O’odham, the land is a part of his culture, and protecting it means a lot to them.
If by worshiping water we mean taking care of and using the water with care then yes, I agree we could worship it. But if you mean worshipping water as is using more of then no it’s a bad idea. Maybe instead of just worshipping water, we could worship the earth as a whole because we need its resources to survive.
Component V: Human Ecology of the Sonoran Desert
Throughout the years, the Sonoran Desert has changed greatly as a result of human interference. Have all these changes been for the good? As Aldo Leopold once mentioned, “man, always kills the things he loves”. Our natural need to dominate has driven animals such as the great Pleistocene mammals of North America to extinction. I think in some instances we can help but put our needs above everything else. Thousands of years ago people were hunter-gathers. Now that we have domesticated animals and build stable agriculture, I think we should know better about the impact we have on this earth.
The mining industry brought many workers and wealth to the Sonoran Desert. The discovery of silver in 1683 led to the building of Alamos and investments in the land. With the promise of labor and “precious” metals, many people moved to the desert. Demands for firewood, salt, timber, charcoal, etc. began to rise. In order to keep up with the rapidly growing mining, population hillsides were stripped, streams rerouted, water polluted, and agriculture communities changed.
Over the years, various groups of people and cultures have occupied the Sonoran Desert. Some have treated it better than others, but I think they all have one thing in common. It is that many were acting out of pure survival. I don’t think this way of thinking will ever change in the years to come at least for the majority of people because it's in our genetics to do what’s best for us. I particularly liked reading about how people survived living in the desert thousands of years ago.
By the time the Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the Hohokam civilization (survived into the 15th century) had fallen down. Some say that it was due to political conflict. Others believe it was due to mineralized irrigation water ruining the fields they produced crops in. With the arrival of Europeans came new diseases which may have played a role at the end of the Hohokam civilization. Europeans also brought new crops, tools, and animals which transformed the desert's agriculture.
The frontier came to an end when Geronimo surrendered to General Nelson Miles for one last time. With this Arizona and Sonora became the extraction of natural resources for the industrial world. These resources were shipped to many places. At the time, Arizona dominated in copper, cattle, and cotton resources.
The major extractive industry is copper mining. So much land and time were dedicated in order to mine these resources. Thousands of miles of tunnels burrowed and railroad tracks build underground. The rise of agribusiness brought jobs, business, and people into the Sonoran Desert. In the past, Arizona used to be mostly rural. Now urban expansion is quickly taking over. Large cities were built and are only getting bigger. The author believes this new Urban life is quickly taken over our desert and the population will only get bigger.
Agents of the Soil Conservation Service introduced South African grass (Lehmann lovegrass) to help with erosion. Now, that plant covers 400,000 acres. Scientist introduced buffelgrass resulting in more than one million desert and thorn scrub scaped off due to the plant. Introducing any kind of plant could lead to serious consequences to the ecosystem.
Component V: Conservation Practices
Conservation issues
It crazy to think just how different the Sonoran Desert used to be. Before changing in the 20th century, the desert used to be filled with plants and wildflowers. This greatly changed after humans started disrupting the natural balance of the ecosystem. Humans have done this by introducing invasive species, climate change, and direct human impact. I think the most shocking way something could go extinct is by introducing invasive species. For example, the Sahara mustard first contaminated crop seeds in 1927. By the 1970s this plant quickly spread to the lower Arizona desert where its dense strands restricted sandy soil. Soon it would invade rock soils and wildflower fields.
Because humans have disrupted the ecosystem's stability the new places, we have built are far less inferior when compared to the old habitats. There is currently no place on earth that has been changed by human activity in one way or another. The collapse of biological communities is due to the aggressiveness of some invasive species. Without predators or diseases, they have in their native species they are able to thrive and multiply in just a few years. In order to reverse our drastic impact, it would take humans to completely disappear. Because this will never happen humans can try to limit their ecological footprint but limit land conversion, vehicle traffic, habitat destruction, etc.
The problem with alternative energy farms is that they take up space and lead to land destruction. While solar energy farms cover areas with mirrors or panels wind farms kill a large number of birds. Wind farms have a large number of toxic materials. The author suggests alternative models in place of these problem farms.
I’ve always had a love for seafood even as a little girl. However, after reading this chapter it made me more self-aware of where my food is coming from. I had no idea that the Gulf of California was depleting resources. The poorly regulated fishery, overharvesting, killing of mammals and nontarget species have negatively impacted the environment. Will I stop eating fish completely? No, because I’ve cut down on my red meat consumption and eating fish is how I cope. In the future, I will be more conscious of where I get my food.
The author mentions, “natural habitat should be the matrix in which islands of human habitat exist, not the other way around”. This means that humans should be living in accordance with animals and their habitats. Species shouldn’t have to adjust to our growing population we should be the ones adjusting. When fragmentation of habitats occurs that makes populations more “vulnerable to extinction”. The smaller a population is the more chances it has to become extinct. For this reason, there should be large areas that are legally protected by the government.
Personally, I plan on getting more involved in the environmental policies the government tries to pass or dismiss. The government controls many of our resources and how they are being overused. If we pressure and show them that we care about how our resources are used then maybe they will start to find better environmentally friendly ways to get the supplies we need. All these conservation efforts are in hopes of stopping the alteration of the global economy before it is no longer able to support human life.
Biodiversity
I think people don’t restore biodiversity because places which have high ecosystem diversity aren’t as vulnerable as places with very little variety. It’s better to focus resources and efforts to help places that have a higher risk of suffering from pollution or human activity. The author uses a small sanctuary as an example to explain this idea. Sure, the sanctuary helps preserve a single endangered species but what about the food source it needs to survive in the wild. Conserving a large area of wildlife will ultimately help more species in the long run.
The fact that they are using Quitobaquito Springs as a symbol of biodiversity is very ironic. The fact that the author thinks of this place as a “desert oasis” says a lot about the world we live in. If this place is still considered to be thriving when it is being destroyed at this moment what does that say about our definition of “biodiversity”? Nabhan does however mention that human occupation has posed danger to this place since prehistoric Hohokam and Patayan. Quitobaquito has hundreds of species of plants, birds, and insects due to the moist harbor. When thinking of desert, we think of dry plains this is why the word “desert” is not appropriate to describe this place.
Component IV: Resource Use & Policy
Will California finally fulfill its promise to fix the Salton Sea?
For thousands of the Colorado River filled the Salton Sea. In 1905 and 1907, an engineering disaster redirected the river into the basin. It would soon become apparent that the salinity levels would continue to rapidly rise. A 2003 agreement on water usage would result in a drop in lake levels. With the rise in salinity and drop in water levels, the lake became toxic and dangerous to be around.
Great economic emergencies have puts a halt on funding and efforts to stop the environmental issues. In 2007, the Great Recession put a stop on Salton’s lake rehabilitation-restoration projects. More recently, the money was used for emergency response for Covid-19. The pandemic halted Gavin Newsom's $20 million dollar bond. He mentioned he will reintroduce this bill in 2021. However, I personally think that this will not be possible. The disasters the pandemic caused will not just go away in the span of two years. The government has been mass-producing masks and sending out stimulus checks in order to help combat covid-19's many growing lists of problems.
For years the Salton’s lake has been on an environmental decline for years. This isn’t a recent issue. The government could have prevented the majority of the damage if only they would have taken the time and efforts at an earlier date. This approach doesn’t come as a shocker to me. Us humans don’t take problems seriously until it’s so bad we can’t ignore it anymore. Take Covid-19 as an example. If we would have gone into quarantine before the disease arrived in the U.S., we would have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths. Now that residents of Salton City are showing concerning symptoms such as respiratory problems but hardly anything is being done. How many innocent people must die before something is done.
Being a local issue, their health problems will be pushed aside. The feds and state refuse to spend some money on a “small population”. A large number of people need to come and protest this issue. I live in San Luis Arizona. The issues we face here such as air pollution caused by burning trash and dangerous pesticides used for agriculture will never willingly be addressed by the state because we are considered “local”.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services refuse to attend a September hearing in concerns to Saltons toxic lake hearing. This is a huge political issue since people’s lives are literally in danger. People such as Miriam and her children are suffering for allergies and dust fights have to get checked every 6 months due to their declining health. If this issue was not as short-term and threatening to the respiratory system, then it should not be pushed for later times. The government will continue to stay stagnant until the problems get from local to a statewide issue. After this the damages will be too expensive and irreversible.
Environmental problems of Salton Sea bring up issues that may occur in other places. The government had to be held responsible for their lack of action and funds. As of 2020, the Imperial County Air Pollution gave violations to the state and feds for failing to perform dust-control projects. Problems like the Salton’s retreating lake will arise and maybe in the future we can take better examples of how to handle the issues. Learning how to deal with toxic lakes will help us with other similar clean-up projects.
Will the climate crisis tap out the Colorado River?
Since 2000, the Colorado River has faced a period of droughts and extremely high temperatures. In 2020, during warm springtime, seasonal monsoons didn’t happen. As a result, the basin suffered the consequences of low precipitation. According to the study, nature will eventually tell us what we have to do to live. This means that we will no longer have the choice to ignore the environmental issue like we do in the past. This “new normal” will negatively impact the Salton Sea. With the decrease of water levels, the shoreline will recede at a rapid pace. Leaving sandy playa and windblown dust everywhere. This drought will cause salt to go up in the air and cause allergies and other bad symptoms.
In the past, my biology professor mentioned how grass (lawns) are a waste of water. I never really understood that phrase until I started the discussions related to water usage. Lawns take so much water just to maintain and keep from drying up especially in the desert. It is a symbol of American wealth as it is hard to maintain. Lawns are there to decorate land because it brings aesthetic appeal and a difference in comparison to the dry sandy desert. Because of this, I don’t think people will ever adapt to the idea of ditching lawns.
Component VI: History & Culture (from McNamee's "Desert Reader")
“Land of Little Rain”
Mary Austin along with Leopold, McNamee, Sevigny all mention how the desert is “never void of life”. They want to address the common misconceptions people have about the desert even way back in Austin’s days. Austin mentions how the weather changes depending on the seasons it’s not just continuously hot throughout the year. For example, June- November is unbearably hot. However, until April comes it is chill and doormat with a little bit of snow. Depending on the altitudes the weather can get to be extremely cold some certain will only grow at high altitudes. Unlike the other authors, Austin talks about Death Valley and how it got its name because of the dangerous hot sink. I think she mentions a little more about the dangers of the desert that can lead to death compared to the other authors.
Some of the plants she focuses on are the Creosote and the Yucca arborensis. The creosote is a shrub that can be found in the Death Valley. This vivid green odorous plant can be used for medicinal purposes. During the springtime, it has a tarry gum discharge which the Indians from that land use to make arrows with. The Yucca trees grow tall and pointy at the end. There are many different types of yucca plants that bloom beautiful flowers in the desert. These plants can get self-fertilized or wind-fertilized but there are many insects here as well. Because there are insects there are birds and other small mammals. Birds such as hummingbirds’ nest in cactus shrubs, woodpeckers’ nest in Yucca, and owls burrowing in the ground in the summer night.
The Yuma Folktale explains why the desert is so hot and why there are no clouds or rarely any wind. According to the tale due to the bitterness and rude behavior of man we are no longer able to live with the privileges of good weather that doesn’t burn our skin when in direct contact. As someone who's lived in Yuma county her entire life, there are many characteristics of this store that are particular to our region. For example, most of the time we see no clouds in the sky and the sun feels like it’ll burn your skin off if you stand in it for too long. However, I feel like we do get a good amount of wind but not when we compare it to other areas. I think the western civilization's view-point of the desert is more technical when compared to the Native American world viewpoint (more religious viewpoint).
The Pinacate
I think McNamee chose to represent the desert of North America in his Desert Reader because of the diversity and versatility the topic can offer. There are many misconceptions about this region McNamee wants to clear up. It is not just a hot dried-up plain that has no thriving plants (flowers) or thousands of species of animals. There is so much to study and see that provides McNamee with many topics to talk about. The story “salt gathering” is about someone who see their guardian who brings prosperity and water to the land. The song mentioned “earth spongy with moisture” by the end meaning in the end they were able to get water from all directions which filled ditches to the brim. As I mentioned, I think the world view of Native Americans is more spiritual. In general, I feel like they are more in touch with nature and can genially appreciate its beauty and use without abusing its resources.
References
Philipps, Steven J. (2000). A natural history of the Sonoran Desert. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press. ISBN 9780520219809. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Leopold, Aldo Carl (1949). A Sand County almanac. O.U.P. ISBN 9787509000007. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
McNamee, Gregory (2012). Gila: the life and death of an American river. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826318428. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Sevigny, Melissa L. (2016). Mythical River. Chasing the Mirage of New Water in the American. University of Iowa Pres. ISBN 9781609383930. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Mark, Olalde (21 December 2020). "Will California finally fulfill its promise to fix the Salton Sea?". Retrieved 6 May 2021.
Nick, Bowlin (24 February 2021). "Will the climate crisis tap out the Colorado River?". Retrieved 6 May 2021.
McNamee, Gregory (2003). The desert reader: a literary companion. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826329844. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)