Man’s Impact

What We Do To Our Planet We Do To Ourselves   By Frank Schiavone When it comes to the footprint we leave on this ever-shrinking globe, we humans wear some pretty big clodhoppers – size 13, triple wide. From space, man’s impact on our world is clearly visible. Bill Mckibben in his book, The End of Nature, writes that there is nowhere on Earth that man’s reach is unfelt. Even our aerial...

An Enduring Legacy

An Enduring legacy     By Frank Schiavone The measure of any society is what it bequeaths to the generations that follow. We are more than just the sum of our material wealth. Our greatness and goodness lies in our values, our creativity, and the paths we choose to follow. Are sprawling developments, mega-stores, and look-alike strip malls the only legacy we wish to pass on to future...

Biodiversity

Biodiversity and Why it Matters   By Frank Schiavone Habitat and species loss is a major challenge in Southern California. In fact, Southern California has been identified as one of eight “hot spots” worldwide where species loss is occurring at unprecedented rates. Many of the plant and animal communities here rank as some of the most threatened in the world. According to a nationwide...

Habitat and Extinction

Habitat Loss a Challenge for Inland Valley Area   By Frank Schiavone Habitat and species loss is a major challenge in Southern California. In fact, Southern California has been identified as one of eight “hot spots” worldwide where species loss is occurring at unprecedented rates. Many of the plant and animal communities here rank as some of the most threatened in the world. According...

Value of wilderness parks?

Why can’t policy makers see value of wilderness parks?   By Frank Schiavone Recently, I visited an old friend. Well, actually it’s a place, a very special place called the Santa Rosa Plateau. It’s just north of Murrieta. The last time I was there was about 12 years ago or so. Now an ecological reserve, it could easily have become a hodgepodge of mini-mansions and tract homes. A...