A different landscape every day

Sally Deng

Letter to the editor in today's NY Times:

Living as part of nature

Re “The Wondrous World That Only Animals See,” by Ed Yong (Opinion guest essay, June 21):

After a year dedicated to promoting biodiversity and planting more native plants on our five-acre property, I remarked to my husband that the big difference between experiencing the typical manicured lawnscape we’re used to and what we have wrought by allowing our land (plants and animals) more self-determination is that instead of a static scene that is the same each morning, I see and hear a slightly different landscape each day.

There are new plants finding a place to grow, a wider variety of birds settling in, and evidence of greater activity behind my back: peach trees and oak seedlings growing where squirrels have planted peach pits from the compost and acorns, a groundhog bringing her new kits out from under the deck for their first outing on clover and grass, a hawk and a fox setting up stakeouts for prey in the early morning.

My 90-year-old husband replied, “Human imaginations are nothing compared to what nature has to offer when you stop trying to control it and learn to live as part of it.”

Janis Richter

Rochelle, Va.

Today the dirtiest day of the year

Photo: Connor Radnovich

In today's SF Chronicle:

Backyard barbecues abound and downtown fireworks celebrations draw crowds. But Independence Day, more than any other holiday in California, is all about going to the beach. As an environmental activist with the Surfrider Foundation, this delights me; I believe in not only protecting the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, but also in making sure people can enjoy them. 

The Fourth of July offers people from all over California the time to make the most of a long summer day. Survey San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on July 4 and you’re likely to see a wide range of people from across the Bay Area, unified by the joy that a day at the beach can bring.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for that pretty picture to inevitably degrade into a far less pleasant one.

While the Fourth of July brings people together for fun and celebration, the “Fifth of July” is more often than not the dirtiest beach day of the year across California and the country. The dramatic holiday influx of beach visitors leave behind a huge amount of trash.

This is notable because plenty of litter accumulates on a regular day.

In 2021, 1,259 volunteers with Surfrider Foundation’s San Francisco chapter cleaned up more than 3,872 pounds of garbage off the city’s beaches....

Rob's comment:

And July 4th is the noisiest day of the year. In my neighborhood, it sounded like some pretty heavy ordinance was exploding last night. Fortunately, the infantile perpetrators had mercy on the rest of us---and the area's animals---and mostly stopped the barrage after midnight.