Saturday, March 20, 2010

Planetary Science and our North Cascades

This article in the BBC struck me as very applicable to our North Cascades. Indeed, I've often written about the role of water in all of it's phases as a key to shaping the North Cascades (and also our enjoyment of this amazing corner of Planet Earth). Time to get out and enjoy before all the glaciers are gone!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8577165.stm

People have expressed surprise at my passion for NASA/spaceflight and how it fits with my conservation ethic. It's all about living on a rock spinning in the vast cosmos, and knowing it! Taking the time to explore firsthand the cycle of water in all it's forms is a blessing and a privlege. And when in the backcountry, it becomes obvious how important the mountains are to our very way of life--keeping them as healthy, intact ecosystems is literally keeping our life support systems functioning on a local, and a planetary scale. The North Cascades: where the largest ocean in the solar system meets (and creates) a rugged and rocky landscape rising more than a vertical mile in the sky...

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