WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!

The title of our latest article comes from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an international union seeking to unite working people across the globe to ensure fair and just socio-economic conditions. Though brutally repressed in the first three decades of the 20th century, it was a driving force in the labor struggles in those seminal decades which helped provide us with the basic rights we take for granted now, 40 hour work-week, workmen's compensation, etc.. Rights, which now, more than ever, are in danger of erosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Workers_of_the_World

The history of the labor movement in this country from 1850-1950, and it's importance in developing a more civilized society, is not taught in much depth in our grade schools. I encourage all who have not seen this book, People's History of the United States, written by one of the brightest voices in the progressive movement in the past 50 years, Howard Zinn, to read it and get a more informed picture of how this country has evolved.

http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States-Present/dp/0060838655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235613236&sr=1-1

The main global news story lately of course is that the economy in this country, and now, throughout much of the World, has entered a pronounced recession, or even a depression, approaching the severity of the great one in the 1930s. The monthly rate of job loss in the U.S. is now higher than ever in recorded history. The factors that created this mess are complex, but stem down to the deregulation of the financial industry beginning under the Reagan Administration in the 1980s, continued by the Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II administrations. Banks, insurance companies, and other large financial institutions were then free to engage in risky operations selling debt-based securities and packages to reap massive short-term profits. Inflation of real-estate values far beyond the ability of all but the most highly-paid workers created an unsustainable "housing bubble" after 2000, which burst in 2008, leaving many of the largest banks and financial institutions in the U.S. and in other countries essentially bankrupt.
Once again, one of A.P.R.'s favorite commentators, Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Treasury Secretary during the Reagan administration, sums things up here:

http://counterpunch.org/roberts02242009.html Give this a read, if you are able, we trust his viewpoints here, coming from his background and experience.

It is during times of economic stress that employers can use this as an excuse to slash employement, wages, and benefits, even if they are not imperiled. http://counterpunch.org/lindorff02202009.html. This is certainly occurring now, as the preceding link will show.

So it is more important than ever, that workers in all forms of industry and occupation unionize to stop assaults on the rights and benefits that belong in a civilized society. An extremely critical piece of legislation will be coming up for a vote in the U.S. Congress in the next few months, the Employee Free Choice Act. The following article sums it up nicely.

It Has Many Virtues
A Closer Look at the Employee Free Choice Act

By DAVID MACARAY

By now, most people have heard of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the bold legislative initiative introduced by the Democrats (Rep. George Miller, D-CA), intended to amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by making it easier and fairer for employees to join a labor union.

Although the measure passed the House by a vote of 241 to 185, in June of 2007, and was approved by a 51-48 vote in the Senate, it failed to get the 60 votes necessary for cloture (which would have made it filibuster-proof), causing it to lie dormant for the remainder of the 110th Congress.

However, it should be noted that President Bush had already promised to veto the legislation, so even with those 60 crucial Senate votes the bill would have emerged stillborn. To have any chance whatever of becoming law, it was clear that the EFCA would require a Democrat in the White House.

During the primaries, both Obama and Clinton loudly sang the praises of the EFCA (as they raked in organized labor’s contributions) and promised, if elected, to fight for its passage. But because there have been signs that President Obama is hedging on that promise, it remains to be seen how hard he and his Congress-savvy chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will push for it. On one side, they have moderate Democrats terrified of provoking the Republicans; on the other, they have an aroused AFL-CIO applying pressure.

If enacted, EFCA would allow employees to circumvent the complex, time-consuming, and management-skewed NLRB certification process. Instead of a full-blown election, workers would have the choice of “card check,” where all they have to do is sign cards indicating they wish to become union members. If a majority of the workforce signs such cards they instantly belong to a union.

Naturally, most businesses hate the idea of the streamlining the process. They object to anything that makes joining a union easier. Indeed, if it were their call, many businesses would prefer seeing unions made illegal or “state-run,” as they are in the most repressive countries in the world. Accordingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent millions lobbying against passage of the EFCA.

While card check is the most celebrated feature of the EFCA, there are two other provisions in this bill that are equally—if not more—important. Card check is an enormous advantage to unions, but it’s not a “new” method. It’s already used voluntarily by companies who feel they can either defeat the measure through anti-union propaganda, or believe there’s benefit in being seen as “labor friendly.”

But the two other features of this bill could be seen as labor milestones.
First, the EFCA will give the union the right to demand that the company begin contract negotiations within 10 days of certification. Ask any union organizers how hard it is to get that first contract, and they’ll tell you that companies are notorious for dragging their feet—either by stalling interminably before sitting down with the union, or purposely prolonging the negotiations to the point where novice memberships get so antsy, they lose their nerve and ask for decertification. It happens.

However, under the EFCA, if the parties are unable to reach an agreement within 90 days, either side, union or management, can request that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) be brought in to mediate the bargain. Mediators already assist in contract bargains, particularly when strikes have been called or appear to be imminent, so having one present isn’t innovative.

But here’s the astonishing part: If the parties can’t reach a mediated settlement within 30 days, the FMCS has the authority to finalize the contract. In effect, it would be binding arbitration. The notion of an outside party—a government agency, no less—setting the terms of a labor agreement would put the fear of God in management, causing them to do everything in their power to reach an equitable agreement. It’s a profound improvement to the process.

Second, the EFCA would require the NLRB to seek an immediate injunction when there is “reasonable cause” to believe an employer has fired, suspended or harassed an employee for engaging in a union organizing or first contract drive. Moreover, an employer who is found guilty of illegally firing or suspending a union activist would be required to pay that employee three times his back pay—the amount of his lost wages, plus two times that sum in punitive damages—plus as much as $20,000 in civil fines.

So there it is. The EFCA will not only make card check a way of life, it will prevent companies who hope to avoid having to agree to a fair contract from stalling or playing mind games at the bargaining table, and will stop (or seriously curtail) management from illegally thwarting union activism in the workplace.

It’s no wonder the Republican Party and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are going ape-shit over this. Arguably, the EFCA would be the first big-time pro-labor legislation to come down the pike since the 1935 Wagner Act. Now it’s up to Obama and the Democrats to step up to the plate and get it done.

David Macaray, a Los Angeles playwright (“Borneo Bob,” “Larva Boy”) and writer, was a former labor rep. He can be reached at dmacaray@earthlink.net

Only 8 percent of workers in the U.S. belong to unions currently, down from a high of 35 percent in the 1950s. Higher wages for all workers will do more to stimulate the economy, due to increased consumer spending for housing, etc.. than any other single thing.

While your lead editor lived in Missoula, Montana, in the 1990s, a time came when I found myself between jobs, and out of the federal government, for whom I had worked for ten years previously. The only short-term job I could find in the tough college-town environment there was as a "revenue accounting technician" for the Iowa-Missouri Rail Link (IMRL), a small midwestern railroad bought up Missoula's local billionaire, Dennis Washington. He also owned Montana Rail Link (MRL), a railroad connecting Montana with the adjacent states. Our section was in charge of billing all the concerns shipping materials in the railcars, each car had to have a separate "bill of lading", which was charged by weight, distance traveled, etc.. Since the IMRL was a new operation there, everyone working in that department was newly hired, including myself, and primarily composed of single mothers, widows, and divorcees.

The MRL employees, on the other side of the building, were all unionized, and made, as a minimum, 12.50 an hour (this was in 1997-98). The non-unionized IMRL people, were hired in at 7.50 an hour (try living on that in a place like Missoula!), which went up to 8.50 after one year. There was an evening shift, and some weekend work was required, yet there were no shift differentials for that. I got to talking with the unionized folks across the way, and they encouraged me to try and organize our side. I was all for that, as we all desperately needed the higher pay, and I was not happy that we were being exploited. As well, I knew I would get back into the federal govt. eventually, as a meteorologist, so was willing to take some chances.

The higher supervisors told us not to talk to the other section (which was illegal!). I talked with all my co-workers individually, and in small groups, and got favorable input for trying to organize our side into the union. Management found out, and called a hasty meeting, where they said that unionization would lead to fewer positions, the possibility of being "bumped" out by more experienced people from the other side, and less autonomy in our job duties. It was a classic scare-tactic, and quasi-illegal. Unfortunately, then, a vote was held, and our section decided not to unionize. That was a personal blow to me, as I had put alot of effort into organizing, for the betterment of all of us, especially the single mothers that had children. But, I then realized, that was why they were hired. Because these women were so vulnerable, with relatively few employable skills, they were easily threatened and manipulable, and so fell for the management threats. That was quite a lesson for me. Fortunately, I did get back on into the federal government. by taking a position in Juneau, Alaska, shortly thereafter. I didn't take what I initially felt as a betrayal personally, for very long, once I realized why my organizing efforts failed.

This is why the Employee Free Choice Act is so important, by more easily allowing workers to organize, higher percentages will join unions, helping them to a better standard of living, and helping the overall economy, as well. For those of you living in the western states, go to Costco, and then Sam's Club, and notice the difference. Costco's employees are unionized, make several dollars more per hour, and have better benefits, than those at Sam's Club (a subsidiary of WalMart). Costco has much lower employee turnover, more professional and highly trained staff, and as a result, a nicer environment to be in. The Wall Street Journal, a few years ago, panned Costco for treating their employees too well, at shareholder expense. Yet Costco has found it to their advantage to have a happier workforce with lower turnover, which all came about through the force of organized labor.

This will be a strong test of the Obama administration. If he/it ends up not supporting the EFCA and working for it's passage, that will be a stunning betrayal of organized labor, who helped get him elected. WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

GREEN TO THE FUTURE

As most of you know, A.P.R., is a green-oriented publication, and if someone asks me personally, about my political orientation, I don't hesitate in saying I'm a Green.

Green parties in all the "developed countries" have been around for several decades, and in some countries, such as Germany, have been able to influence policy, and have a significant number of seats in their parliaments.


And when I refer to myself as a Green, people in the other countries I've visited have always immediately been able to relate that to having an expansive, non-militaristic/competitive worldview, with a strong concern for peace, and social/political/environmental justice.

A.P.R. was certainly relieved that a Democratic president was elected instead of the overtly fascist alternative, but nevertheless, this country will still not see universal health coverage, expanded jobs programs, mortgage re-financing (to end the flood of re-possessions and plummeting real estate values), and other social benefits, without struggle. We are not of the "I told you so" ilk here, but so far what we see coming out of the White House is not promising, all the cabinet appointees have nothing new to offer, and except for one or two, could not be considered progressive. http://counterpunch.org/cockburn02062009.html . That being said, what would be happening, if whom we supported at A.P.R. had been elected? Well, give this a read, and see what you think.

GREEN PARTY FIRST 100 DAYS

How would a Green Party administration handle its first 100 days in office? Longtime Green activist John Rensenbrink offers these suggestions:

"Initiate a one-trillion dollar community-based grant-in-aid program from the national government to local communities. These funds will be channeled though collaborative arrangements between state and local governments and require maximum feasible participation in governance by all parts of each local community receiving these grants. Also required is a 5% matching grant from each participating local community. The purposes of the grants are for sustainable community development and community empowerment.

The grants include funds for renewable energy, conservation, work-force housing, small business development coupled with apprenticeship programs to hire the unskilled, open space, extra support for teachers and for ecologically informed education, college scholarships, food and water security, public works, public transportation, regional cooperative projects, support for neighborhood policing programs, and support for the arts. This replaces the "bailout from the top" scheme initiated in late 2008 called the Troubled Asset Relief Program. [These kind of projects are desperately needed in the hundreds of villages in the Alaska "bush", where poverty and unemployment rates are very high, A.P.R.]

Substantially lower the income tax and combine this with a carbon tax of $250 per ton to be phased in at the rate of $25 per year from 2009 to 2020 - the carbon tax to be offset at each step of the way with a matching reduction in income tax. This is advocated by Lester Brown of "State of the World" fame and is designed to discourage fossil fuel use and to stimulate investment of renewable sources of energy.

Extend Medicare to the entire population; in other words, a single payer health care program for all.

Establish a financial transactions fee. Economist Dean Baker estimates that a very small fee ranging up to, say, 0.25% will yield $100 billion or more annually. The fee would be placed on the sale or transfer of stocks, bonds, and other financial assets, including the great variety of exotic and speculator-driven financial instruments so much in the news lately.

Initiate a reparations program for dispossessed African American and Native American peoples.

Initiate a constitutional amendment for the election of President and Vice President by popular vote.

Pressure state and local governments to institute instant run-off voting in elections and to develop pilot programs for proportional representation.

Push for laws and administrative rules in military and civilian life that provide support for gay marriage and gay families.

End the drug war, decriminalize cannabis, and support growing hemp for industrial use.

Initiate a constitutional amendment affirming that the word "person" in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States applies to real persons and not to corporations.

Initiate -- through collaborative diplomacy -- Peace, Justice, and Sustainability Summits, starting with summits engaging respectively the governments in the Americas, in Europe, in Africa, in the Middle East, and in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to a World Summit on Peace, Justice, and Sustainability within two years.

Promote in these summits a worldwide program for collective security; renewable energy; and community-based sustainability programs in food, water, energy development, education, transportation, and local self-reliance, with guaranteed participation by all sections of the local community.Promote in these summits plans and provisions to end the trade in arms, the trafficking of women, and the militarization of space.

End the war and the military occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Promote equally the security and rights of both Israel and Palestine.

Develop a plan to close American military bases throughout the world, phasing out the bases in step with collaborative actions to provide the affected countries with alternative collective security arrangements.

Take leadership in promoting a worldwide financial transactions fee, the funds raised to be directed primarily to solar power development in developing countries.

Institute a world-wide carbon tax, proceeds to be used to lower taxes that burden small businesses.

Create a World Environmental and Labor Protection Organization alongside the World Trade Organization -- or expand the WTO to include protection of the environment and labor."

Now, polls consistently show that the majority of Americans support almost all the items listed in this what-if scenario. So, why don't we have universal health-care, etc..? Because the democrats and republicans all are beholden to the insurance industry, and until other parties are elected, nothing will change. Unfortunately, the corporate media does its best to ensure third-party candidates, or progressive democrats, and their ideas, are ignored, or cast as flaky, and idealistic/unrealistic.

With the economic situation continuing to worsen though, it's quite possible the Obama administration will be forced to take stronger actions when millions more jobs are lost, and civil unrest becomes possible. Which could easily happen, the way things are going. Just remember though, as you've heard here many times. Nothing we take for granted, job benefits (vacations, 40 hr. work-week, etc.), health insurance, civil rights, women's rights, etc.. came about through voting. They all came about because of decades of struggle and opposition. So it will be, if we do wish to see universal health care, and the other social benefits the rest of the "developed world" enjoys. Cheers.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, How much longer?

Parched: Australia Faces Collapse as Climate Change Kicks In

by Geoffrey Lean and Kathy Marks

Leaves are falling off trees in the height of summer, railway tracks are buckling, and people are retiring to their beds with deep-frozen hot-water bottles, as much of Australia swelters in its worst-ever heatwave.
Melbourne thermometers topped 43C (109.4F) on a third successive day for the first time on record, while even normally mild Tasmania suffered its second-hottest day in a row, as temperatures reached 42.2C. Two days before, Adelaide hit a staggering 45.6C. After a weekend respite, more records are expected to be broken this week.
Ministers are blaming the heat - which follows a record drought - on global warming. Experts worry that Australia, which emits more carbon dioxide per head than any nation on earth, may also be the first to implode under the impact of climate change.
At times last week it seemed as if that was happening already. Chaos ruled in Melbourne on Friday after an electricity substation exploded, shutting down the city's entire train service, trapping people in lifts, and blocking roads as traffic lights failed. Half a million homes and businesses were blacked out, and patients were turned away from hospitals.
More than 20 people have died from the heat, mainly in Adelaide. Trees in Melbourne's parks are dropping leaves to survive, and residents at one of the city's nursing homes have started putting their clothes in the freezer.
"All of this is consistent with climate change, and with what scientists told us would happen," said climate change minister Penny Wong.
Australia, the driest inhabited continent on earth, is regarded as highly vulnerable. A study by the country's blue-chip Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation identified its ecosystems as "potentially the most fragile" on earth in the face of the threat.
Many factors put Australia especially at risk. Its climate is already hot, dry and variable. Its vulnerable agriculture plays an unusually important part in the economy. And most people and industry are concentrated on the coast, making it vulnerable to the rising seas and ferocious storms that come with a warmer world.
Most of the south of the country is gripped by unprecedented 12-year drought. The Australian Alps have had their driest three years ever, and the water from the vast Murray-Darling river system now fails to reach the sea 40 per cent of the time. Harvests have fallen sharply.
It will get worse as global warming increases. Even modest temperature rises, now seen as unavoidable, are expected to increase drought by 70 per cent in New South Wales, cut Melbourne's water supplies by more than a third, and dry up the Murray-Darling system by another 25 per cent.
As Professor David Karoly, of the University of Melbourne, said last week: "The heat is unusual, but it will become much more like the normal experience in 10 to 20 years."

A little sensational, to be sure, yet Australia is highly vulnerable, as this article that was the headline today in Commondreams.org mentions. Fortunately Sydney, and all my mates I met there have been spared the brunt of this current heat-wave.

I returned from that interesting and dynamic continent one week ago, after my work tour ended, and a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef, and have been re-adjusting to winter in Fairbanks. Mattie held the fort down well at the A.P.R. Chena Ridge research center, however, and so as a reward, we have been skiing and running quite a bit, so she can get the outdoor time she missed during my absence. We skied for several hours today on the Univ. of Alaska trails in the bright -25 to -30F sun, while most people were watching the Super Bowl.

When I first learned I would get the opportunity to work and visit Australia, I had to decide what to do with one week that I could afford to take for sightseeing, after my work tour ended. I thought about Tasmania, it would offer cooler weather and beautiful alpine scenery, since it is further south, surrounded by the chilly Tasman Sea. But I decided on the Great Barrier Reef instead. The largest coral reef system in the World, it is the Holy Grail of scuba diving, and I might never have the chance of seeing it again. Since I got my advanced open water diving certification, I can't dive enough, so this was a great opportunity.

Another reason I felt a strong need to visit the Great Barrier Reef, is that in our lifetimes, it may die out. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0516-02.htm Global warming, causing ocean temperatures to rise, is expected to have serious consequences for all the reef systems throughout the World.


This link, below, describes the latest information about this, as it relates to the GBR, since it from the GBR Marine Authority, the Australian government agency in charge of its preservation.
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/climate_change/climate_change_and_the_great_barrier_reef
To add to all this bad news, increasing oceanic acidity, due to absorption of our increasing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, is already showing up as problematic, and will be getting much worse. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/31-5 This is all very bad news for the planet, the oceans are the most important life-support system we have, and damage to their health and ability to help regulate our climate, and for food production, will have serious effects on all countries.

It is with these thoughts in mind, that I felt the need to visit the GBR, so I could see it before it disappears.



I flew from Sydney on the 18th of January, 3.5 hours north to Cairns, the city most divers use as a base to explore the GBR. With a population of around 150,000, it is fairly large, with many resorts. At only 16 degrees south latitude, it is full-on tropical. Since I arrived on a mid-summer evening, it was 30C (86F) and raining! And I thought Sydney's occasional summer heat was taxing.



Cairns was not all that scenic the next morning, when I was taken by the Cairns Dive Center, with whom I'd booked my 3 day 2 night dive-boat trip, from my hotel to the waterfront. Record-breaking heavy rains the week before, and fairly heavy rain the day before (summer is peak rainy season there) produced so much runoff that the bay was green and brown for miles out.











We were taken on a smaller, 40 ft. or so, dive boat about 25 miles offshore, to a larger one, which stays on the GBR system, and just migrates from reef to reef each day. That trip took over two hours, and in the 5 to 7 foot choppy seas, several people got seasick, and I had to look at the horizon a few times. But, fortunately, nothing came up :).





















Upon reaching the larger boat, the 85 foot long Kangaroo Explorer, the six of us booked for our trips to start that day boarded and were assigned to our rooms. There were only four other divers already there, making 10 total. Since some were couples, and there were 7 cabins available, I got my own room, small with two bunks, yet comfortable, and bathroom! Since this was a larger boat yet, the rocking in the 5 to 7 foot seas wasn't quite so bad, and I actually slightly enjoyed it, being fairly novel. It was a little fun lurching back and forth while walking around, eating, etc..

I was the only Yanqui on board, the other tourists were all Euros. I had chatted the whole trip out on the small boat with a nice Swiss youngster named Marcus. I had thought he was 22-26, since he seemed fairly mature, and was quite large, 6'5". We became dive buddies, that is, divers never dive alone, but always need a partner, or buddy, so that in the event of any problems, help is always available. Before our first dive, he told me he was only 18, just out of high school, and traveling for six months, before having to do his mandatory six months in the Swiss Army (some European countries have this mandatory service requirement, Sweden, and Germany are two that I know for sure of, besides Switzerland). I was surprised, but he has his advanced certification also, so that was why we paired up.

Here he is, on our first dive. Note the gloominess, this was only about 40 feet down, but a tropical weather system was bringing rain and wind, and this was stirring up the water, so visibility was only about 20-30 feet. Not nearly what is possible there during better weather.

He snapped a picture of me down at 10 m (33 ft.), where it was a little lighter, with my underwater camera. The water temperature was an incredible 29C (84F), so we just wore light stinger suits, polyester fabric that just protects your skin from potential jellyfish incidents (I only saw one on my three days of diving, thank God!). Even with just these, I was close to overheating when working hard. Unfortunately, all the dives on our first two days were in the cloudy, gloomy weather and high seas, so the visibilities in the water were only 15-30 feet, and my pictures were not the most vibrant. But, it was still great fun diving in the warm water three times the first day, and four the second, including once at night. On this night dive, I surfaced before Marcus, while he went off with another group. After my mandatory 15 ft. 3 minute safety stop, I ascended without looking directly up first. I hit my head on the bottom of the boat! I didn't know I was so close to it. At first I thought I was in a cave, barnacles were overhead, but then realized I was in the space between the two hulls of the boat. Then I had a minor panic, thinking the boat would move, the prop would start spinning, and... I calmed down in a minute and just dove back down five feet or so, and out from the boat. Funny how those little panic moments happen.

While between dives, or when the boat would at mid-day move to another reef (which took about 90 minutes), it was nice visiting with the other tourists. We all had great conversations about our countries, and everyone kept asking me questions about Obama. I told them, yes I and most Americans were relieved and very hopeful, but not to expect too much. As, he wouldn't be in that position, if the powers that be (Military-Industrial Complex, Multi-National Corporations, Financial Industry, etc..) didn't approve of him. And that he would go the way of JFK, MLK, etc.. if he and his administration tried to change things too much. It's great how politically educated and progressive most Europeans I have met are, but it always makes me sad too, knowing how different it is in the U.S., and certainly in Fairbanks!

Day three of the dive trip more than made up for the gloomy, turbulent first two days. Upon arising at 0530, to get ready for the 0630 morning dive, I saw that the sky was mostly clear, and felt and saw the swells were much smaller. We were told by the divemasters on board that often the 0630 dive will be the best for seeing more variety of fish and life in general. We weren't disappointed!




My favorite memories of this whole trip were of that 0630 dive on the third day. Right after getting in and dropping down to 40 feet, we encountered these schools of fish, which we never saw on any of our preceding and subsequent dives. Fantastic!

The rest of these pictures are from the other two dives I did on that third day. The smaller dive boat to return me to shore arrived at 230 in the afternoon, and that was a long, hot trip, in that blazing sun.





Unfortunately, I don't know the names of most of the fish, or any of the corals I saw, there were so many.

There were several species that were purple and blue, which I thought were particularly beautiful.






The lighting when the sun was out on the last day, made for some very beautiful and interesting scenes, this was down at around 45 feet. All my dives were quite shallow, all the best corals, and hence all other life, was only around 55 feet down or less. Below that, just a sandy surface/plain, with not much to look at. So the deepest I ever got was just 75 feet, whereas sometimes in Florida or San Diego, I have to get to around 100 feet to see some things.



I'm not sure what these grey speckled fish are either. There was a large fish chart in the dining room of the boat, but it had hundreds of species on it. I would need to have hard copies of these photos next to it, to really get a good i.d.

If I'm not mistaken, some of these corals are just slightly bleaching. The Australian govt. web-site, given above, said there was some bleaching this summer, but not as bad, so far, as in other years.







What sets the GBR apart from other reef systems, and what I really noticed as different, from the ones in Florida I've been on, is the variety of the corals. There just seem to be an endless variety of them, all slightly different in color and shape. There were more varieties of fish, as well.







The only large creature I got to see was this nice loggerhead turtle. Four of us were diving together when we saw it on the second day. It just kept munching on some seaweed while we all manouevered around it. It was down around 60 feet, so the lighting was pretty low, it was a cloudy day, and the visibility was only around 20 feet. Still, it was great to see her, just casually munching, and not seeming to mind us being around her.

I think this is some form of grouper, these were the largest fish we saw. It was about 18" long. As you can see, it looks rather dim, this was down around 50 feet. Though it was on the third day, some clouds were still around, so when the sun was shaded, it got much dimmer down there.

All in all, this was a great ending to my previous five weeks in Australia. If I never get back there, I can at least remember the things I saw and did fondly. If I do get back there (which I would love), more surfing is on the agenda. Those beautiful beaches in and around Sydney were truly amazing, and the water during my stay, was always around 68-72F (20-22C). Perfect!


My little surf outing was the Wednesday of my last week working at the Sydney Bureau of Meteorology. My instructor was Michael (Mick) Logan, Senior Severe Weather Meteorologist. He holds a similar position in his office, to mine, in charge of the fire weather program, and so we worked together quite a bit, and he was in charge of my training.

Mile-long Manly Beach, one of the premier surf spots in the Sydney area, was the location. It was a hot day, heading up into the 90s F, but we started in the morning around 0800. The water was a perfect 70F or so, but,

as A.P.R.'s exclusive Manly Surf Cam shows, it was "blown out". That is, a fairly strong onshore Northeast sea breeze was blowing out the form of the waves, they would break very fast, not giving you much hang time at the base of the breaker. There was also a good swell from the Tasman Sea, so it was quite rough. This made for difficult conditions to learn in, the board was never very stable in the churning water. Mick would spot the best looking wave, tell me to get ready, then give the board a shove after I got on it and started paddling. I got churned under and tossed around several times, but that's half the fun (though these were small 2-4 footers, anything bigger will have to wait until my skills improve).

Mick said surfing is one of the hardest sports to learn, as you have to have good conditions come together, with/during the time you have available. I fully believe that, the best I could do during our lessons, was to just get up on my knees on the board. It was quite a good workout too, in the couple hours we were out. He's been surfing for many years, and lives right near Manly Beach, so is quite adept at the sport. I'll be doing some more learning in San Diego, next time I'm down, lots of good places for beginners there. Cheers.

AUSTRALIA PROGRESSIVE REVIEW? Part III - WHAT WE ARE MISSING

WHAT WE ARE MISSING

Yes, your lead editor has been having fun in and around Sydney, Australia doing things like learning to surf,

hiking around the beautiful cliffs on the coastlines, and photographing and enjoying the natural beauty to be found here on this interesting continent.



Yet, while Mattie holds down the fort at A.P.R.'s Chena Ridge/Fairbanks research centre, I still keep abreast of current events and am keenly interested in learning as much as I can about Australia, while I am here.


I want to share some the things I've learned from talking with the many friendly people I've met here. First though, I want to quote part of this very good article I came across today.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/15-4

"Obama appointed former Sen. Tom Daschle as secretary of health and human services, and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform. Daschle's health care book, "Critical," recalls historical failures to achieve universal care: "Like Clinton, Truman had reason to be confident. His fellow Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, and polls showed that Americans were anxious about the high cost of health care and eager for change. But both presidents underestimated the strength of the forces arrayed against them ... (s)pecial-interest lobbyists -- led by doctors in Truman's time, and insurance companies in Clinton's."
Obama knows well the issue -- while his mother lay dying of cancer, she still had to battle the insurance industry. He said in that 2007 speech, "Plans that tinker and halfway measures now belong to yesterday ... we can't afford another disappointing charade ... we need to look at ... how much of our health care spending is going toward the record-breaking profits earned by the drug and health care industry."
Yet Daschle proposes not much more than tinkering -- improving Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration, all examples of "single-payer health care" -- in which the government is the single payer for the health care -- while preserving the inefficient, multi-payer, for-profit insurance model.
In December 2007, the American College of Physicians compared U.S. health care with other countries', writing, "Single-payer systems generally have the advantage of being more equitable, with lower administrative costs than systems using private health insurance, lower per capita health care expenditures, high levels of consumer and patient satisfaction."
Michael Moore, in his film "SiCKO," includes a recording of John Ehrlichman speaking to Richard Nixon, discussing medical insurance profits: "The less care they give 'em, the more money they (the insurance companies) make."
Obama is in charge now. Who will he emulate -- Nixon or FDR? People across the political and economic spectrum, from big business to the little guy, are dying to know."

As you may or may not know, the U.S. is the ONLY one of the 25 "industrialized" nations without universal health care/access for it's citizenry. Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" was a very good description of why this is, and how it happened, and A.P.R. highly recommends it for those interested.

Here in Australia, of course, like all the other industrialized nations, universal health care is a given, no one I've met even questions it's existence. And, they've expressed shock and dismay when I tell them how it works in the U.S. That if you don't have medical insurance, that you will quickly go bankrupt if a major accident or illness occurs, and even if you are insured, this can happen. The quality of care here is viewed favorably by all I've talked with, which is similar with what people in Canada have said about their system.

What else does Australia have to offer, in common with all the other social democracies, but not the U.S.?

Every worker, from the entry-level janitor or fast-food worker, on up the ladder, receives a minimum of one month paid leave per year. Think about that.

The minimum wage in Australia is $14.38 AUSD, or about $10.50 USD. What is it now in the U.S., $6.25? And remember how long it took to go from $4.35 to that? Eleven years! $14.38 per hour here, gives you roughly the same standard of living that that rate would in the U.S., in USD. I can just hear conservatives howl if they were to read this, that businesses would go bankrupt, and unemployment would skyrocket. Well, there seem to be just as many small stores, delis, restaurants, and other businesses here as in the U.S., with enough staff to give decent service, so they seem to be managing. And, prices for their products/services don't seem to be any higher than in the U.S. Enough said.

Unemployment compensation does not expire here like in the U.S. It is $1543.00 per month, AUSD, which in a fairly expensive city like Sydney would only provide a simple existence, yet you would not starve or be forced into homelessness. Something which several Aussies I've talked with, expressed concern about, seeing the homeless people in the U.S. when they've visited. I've seen very few here. Again, the conservatives will try and give you those thinly-veiled racist stories about "Welfare Queens" milking the system and making out like bandits, using a variety of schemes to collect undeserved benefits. BULLSHIT! Those stories were made up, using that veiled racism they are so good at using on many white Americans, to end social spending programs. No one I've met here expressed concern about people abusing their system, and with proper supervision and oversight, fraud and abuse would be minimal.

What do you call the fact that many of the largest corporations in the U.S. end up paying almost no income tax, due to all the various loopholes in the tax codes? And of course, our 700+ Billion bailout of the criminally greedy financial institutions. How they pleaded, begged, and threatened for assistance when their insane actions led to their potential demise. Yet do they give a rat's ass when they let go 10,000 jobs, or whatever, as they shift operations to an overseas low-wage country? No, their executives get awards and raises for that.

Is there anything else Australia has the U.S. doesn't? How about this. University education is not free here, but tuitions are much lower at both private and public institutions. Everyone who can enroll is able to get NO-INTEREST (yes that's right, NO INTEREST) loans to pay for their schooling. And, payback only begins when you start working, and is wage-scaled, deducted along with your taxes.

Income taxes in Australia are slightly higher than in the U.S., and there is a gasoline tax, such that gas here is about $4.30 AUSD, or about $3.25 USD. No one complained to me, and part of the reason they are higher than ours, is that this country only has 20 million people in it, with a much smaller economy.

WHAT WE ARE GETTING
What are we getting in the U.S. with our tax dollars? Well, for about TWO BILLION DOLLARS PER WEEK for the last five + years, the country of Iraq has been destroyed and over a million people killed, in an unjust, immoral, and unprovoked war. Three to four million people have been driven from their homes and sought refuge in neighbouring countries. The economy of Iraq was destroyed, and unemployment there is still nearly 50 percent. People in Baghdad are lucky to have 2-3 hours of electricity per day, and access to clean water for drinking is very limited.

The U.S. defense budget increases greatly every year, and was over 600 Billion dollars last year. More than the next 10 countries combined. Why?


Are you happy that this is what you are getting with your tax dollars, instead of what social democracies provide?

Do we really need 700 + military installations in over 110 countries?




America lost it's most prominent leader for social justice on April 4, 1968. MLK was born on 15th January, 1929, so he would have been 80 years old yesterday, had he not been murdered.

(April 3, 1968): "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. I won't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land."

I know you've seen parts of MLK's landmark April 4, 1967 speech he gave in New York, where he publicly came out strongly against the Vietnam war, and which led to his death, exactly one year later. But, these words are more than ever needed to be heard and understood by all Americans. The full text of this amazing speech can be found here:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm

"It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin...we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered...

...True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring...

...A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, "This is not just." It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of South America and say, "This is not just." The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.
A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, "This way of settling differences is not just." This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Can you imagine what MLK would be thinking of the Bush regime, and what they have gotten away with? And how Israel, with our financial, military, and political support, is engaging in genocidal actions in the Gaza Strip? Just think how different things could have been, had he lived, and were here now at the age of 80. The Vietnam War would have ended sooner, perhaps we could have even evolved into a less militaristic social democracy. But it was not to be...

But, if you read this, as you enjoy your well-deserved holiday of his birth anniversary, remember these words, and his legacy. They are more important than ever now. May he rest in peace.
Cheers.

AUSTRALIA PROGRESSIVE REVIEW? Part II, 4:48 TO KATOOMBA ~and~ WICKED FUN

While your lead editor really loves visiting and working in this interesting country of Australia amongst so many friendly and outgoing people, living in the busiest part of downtown Sydney is hard for me. So, let's set the politics aside for a bit (well, mostly anyway, I may have to rant and rave a little bit about the insanity and cold-blooded murder that Israel is perpetrating on the trapped civilians in Gaza, aided with your tax dollars and government support, but that could be a whole several articles http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/11-0 ), and check out the parts of this country I've been able to explore.


4:48 TO KATOOMBA

My second weekend in Australia, I took the train out to Katoomba, in the Blue Mtns., 40 miles east of Sydney, just to explore and hike in the national park there on some of the trails. I had a great time, just on that day trip. While browsing in an outdoor gear shop (I just can't resist going in those, which is hazardous...), I saw that a rock-climbing course was being offered the following weekend. I had never tried it, but now seemed like the perfect time. So, after another rushed and busy week of work and city life, after getting off work at 4:30 pm on Friday, January 2nd, I rushed right down to Central Station with my bike and pack, and caught the 4:48 to Katoomba.

My two day rock-climbing course, run by the Australian School of Mountaineering, was all day saturday and sunday, the 3rd/4th. I found a nice room in a hostel, and showed up, ready to ascend, at 0830 sat. morning. There were just three other students, a late 20s British tourist named Paul, and a married couple from Sydney, Michelle and Paul, who were about my age. Our instructor was a really interesting and fun guy named Andrew Sharps, who had us call him Sharpy. He's only about 30, but has been climbing since he was 14, and has gone through all manner of courses, certifications, and done some amazing (and downright terrifying, to me) things. And of course his outrageous Aussie accent made him all the more entertaining.

The first day we drove east of Katoomba to an area called Mt. Victoria, where some great rock walls are to be found, with very steep pitches. The rating system in Australia for climbing is on a scale from 5 to 34, 34 being the hardest and steepest. In the U.S., a different system is used, a decimal system where 5.5 is the easiest, and 5.15 the hardest. Just do give you some idea, even on the first day, we went right into moderate-expert pitches, 12s, 14s, and even 18s, on the Aussie scale.

Sharpy, to the right here, first "showed us the ropes" for an hour or so, before we started climbing. Explaining the rope knots and treatment, basic gear, and the different methods of pushing yourself up rock slabs, walls, and cracks using different foot and hand holds/methods. Then, it was time to head up. Ropes were set to hooks permanently attached on top of some of the faces, or metal tools were wedged into cracks. Attached ropes then were thrown down to the bottom. We attached one end of the rope to our climbing harness in a double figure 8 knot. Our partner attached a carabiner from the other end of the rope to their harness. The other end of the rope was also anchored to a tree or rock. The partners job was to belay while we climbed, meaning, just keep reeling in the slack on our rope as we ascend. So that if we slip, only a few inches will we drop. Even if they were to let go the rope, we would only drop a foot or two, so it was completely safe.

My first go at a moderately steep 14 face was, I have to admit, pretty stressful. Since I had never done it, and didn't really understand that to slip was no big deal, I put everything I had into it. And ended up scraping my knees pretty bad. There's a reason most climbers wear pants, a hard-earned lesson. I didn't slip, but it's amazing how exerting it is, when you use your whole body and mind to propel yourself up just 50-100 feet. My second climb was much better, Sharpy told me I used my hands/upper body too much, and to rely more on my feet (a common problem for men, since they usually have more upper-body strength). And, he told me to just let go and slip, to feel that, so I could understand, and try more edgier ways of foot and hand holds. So I did that, and it went much better. Realizing I was completely safe, I was able to extend myself more into different hand and footholds, and be more efficient. Like all human-powered sports, efficiency is the key to success! My partner was Paul, the British tourist, so we traded off belaying and climbing. We did four climbs that first day, up pitches of 60-120 feet, very tiring.

Day two's climbs were on Mt. Pennington, about 5 miles east of Katoomba.



These pitches were a little higher and steeper than saturday's, and we were going to do a couple of crack climbs, which require specific hand and foot holds. This is one of the pitches, to the left. Note the crack in the middle of the face below the tree branch. We used this crack to climb, and it was tough, having to brace your fingers in it, to help you get up. But we all did, and were quite happy. My fingers though got quite scraped up, but I think if I did this more often, they'd toughen up.
It was hard, and painful wedging your toes into the narrow crack, but I think with practice, my feet would toughen up for that too.






Here I am on that crack in the face, it took all my mental and physical focus to wedge myself in the crack and find other footholds at times, to get up. I think that's why I like climbing, using everything you've got to focus on a short-term task, is something I really like to do. Note, also that pants are being worn. My legs were much better off that day.

We all did another four climbs that day, and had great fun, and learned a great deal. All of us were novices, but came away from our course wanting to do more, and get the equipment we need. There are lots of great places to climb in interior Alaska, so this coming summer, that's something we'll be doing. Mattie might even get into it, and with her claws, she won't even need a harness and rope, I'm sure she could just zip right up those faces. But, I'll keep her harnessed, just to be on the safe side. Sharpy said when he was younger that he climbed, alone and without ropes for safety, 20 to 30 meter pitches! Just thinking about that made me shiver. He said he doesn't do that anymore, he doesn't want to die! Good on ya, mate!


WICKED FUN

It so happened that the weekend after my rock-climbing course was to be a three-day off one. I had seen funky little mini-campers zipping around Sydney, and so planned to rent one for that weekend, and hit the road. I had two goals, to spend the night and walk around the next morning on a beautiful section of coast to the south in an area called Jervis Bay, and to see Australia's high country and do one of my fast-packs there.

I picked up my Wicked camper http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/ on my lunch hour on Thursday Jan. 8th. What followed was my first leftie driving experience, since they follow the British model here in Australia. It was terrifying on the cramped, crowded, chaotic Sydney streets, clogged with mid-day traffic. I almost side-swiped a city bus on the way back to work, and arrived back sweaty and highly agitated.

After getting off at 4:30 I raced back to the motel and threw my stuff together, and got on the open road at 5:30 pm. I had good maps, and getting out of Sydney, the traffic got lighter. After an hour or so, I felt much more comfortable with the new driving method, and enjoyed the quieter highway in the cool, cloudy weather with a few showers.

It took three hours to drive 200 km south to Jervis Bay. The campground I had wanted to stay in was full, but just a little bit down from that was a boat ramp parking area, called Murray Beach, secluded and mainly empty. I pulled in there and hoped for the best. Sure enough, I had a nice quiet night, no hassles, and the gusty south winds and chirping of birds ensured a nice relaxing sleep in the comfortable camper. These little campers, based on a minivan platform unavailable in the U.S., have a bed, table, and little kitchen area, perfect for one or two people. Run by 20 something kids, the company is a classic hipster operation. Picking it up took a long time and was a chaotic affair, but worth the effort.

Here it is parked in our nice little spot friday morning. I sure wish I had one of these at home! It was fun to drive and got about 28 mpg.






Friday morning, I got up around 800 am, and after breakfast, hiked on the Murray Beach and Grosvenor Head trails. What awaited was Aussie beach/coast paradise. I don't know what it is here, but the water at all the coastal areas is the most beautiful pale blue colour I've ever seen. Hawaii and Florida come close, but don't quite match it. I just wanted to dive right in and stay in all day, but couldn't. I had alot of driving to do, to reach the Alpine country.





Still, it was hard to leave, I wish I had several days, my scuba gear, and a kayak, to use around this beautiful area, which is protected by two national parks.












I pulled out around 1100 and continued south on the coastal highway, south to Bateman's Bay, a beautiful resort/surfing town. Here I cut inland on the Kings Highway, a newly widened but still extremely windy road that ascends 2000 feet as it heads inland toward the capital, Canberra. Once inland through the moister coastal forest, the land opened up into wide valleys reminiscent of parts of Northern California and Southern Oregon. I turned south at Canberra, and dropped down to Cooma, a dry dusty town at the eastern edge of the Great Dividing Range, wherein lies the highest terrain on the continent.






I drove past the upscale little ski town of Thredbo, which has a downhill ski area of the same name. The base elevation of it is 4800 feet, and the top 6200. These are pretty low elevations for an area at only 36.5 degrees south of the Equator. What gives? In California at 36.5 degrees north of the Equator, you certainly wouldn't find a ski area at that low of an elevation.

What gives, is Antarctica. It gives the Southern Hemisphere colder weather all year, and especially in the summer. Since Antarctica stays well below 0F even in summer, this contrast keeps the summer jet stream, which is usually very weak in the northern hemisphere, much stronger. Thus, more frequent and stronger low pressure systems are pushed around by a stronger summertime jet stream in the southern hemisphere, keeping things cooler, than at similar latitudes, in the northern.

On the other side of a 5000 foot pass, Dead Horse Gap ( on the highest road in Australia), I stopped at a little camp ground at about 4300 feet. Here, while still cold enough for winter snow, live some of the largest trees on Earth. These blue gums can reach up to 300-350 feet, as tall as redwoods. I had a nice relaxing evening here after a short run through the forest, listening to the screechy sulphur-crested cockatoos.

After another wicked sleep in the camper, I hit the road back to Dead Horse Gap, to start my planned all-day hike over the highest terrain on the Continent. I got to the trailhead at 0930 and started in. As with all my fast-packs, I just had about 18-20 lbs. on my pack, my sleeping bag, in case of unexpected delay/injury, extra layers/raingear, and food/water. Unfortunately, in my mad rush to get out of Sydney, I forgot to bring my trekking poles, which was to have an effect. I then had to wear my hiking boots, instead of running shoes, since I needed ankle support, in the absence of poles, which also was unfortunate.





The trail quickly ascended from around 5000 feet through these snow gums, and rapidly got above tree line, which was only at 6000 feet. Vast wildfires in 2003 decimated huge swaths of this area. Tree-line in Calif. at 36.5N is about double what it is here!












When I got up and over the plateau that is around 6000-6500 feet, I could see a few small lakes, like that to the right, and vast areas of alpine tundra and rocks. What really struck me is how much this area looked like the White Mountains, near Fairbanks. Of course, there is no permafrost here in Australia, but the granitic rocks, and tundra were quite similar. One big difference was the higher sun angle. Even at only 6500 feet, sunglasses and good sunscreen were essential. The walk up to Mt. Kosciuzcko, 7316 ft., the highest point on the continent, was interesting. A wide paved track, the start of which was at the top of the ski lift from Thredbo. Hence tourists could ride the lift up, then just walk 5 km to Mt. K. And did they ever, there were hundreds, many on cell phones! Gawd, get me away from that s..t. Relief was just one km away, on a 25 km loop trail which traversed all the higher peaks and gave views of some lakes.



I really wanted to put my newly-acquired climbing skills to work on rocks like these, but didn't have time. Still, it was nice just being around such beautiful terrain. And once I was just a few km in on the loop trail, seclusion returned.














This is Blue Lake, at around 6300 feet. Glaciers scoured out this valley in the ice ages, and it is over 100 feet deep. What a great place for a dive that would be! If you look closely, there are still a few little snow patches above it. I've been told that many people cross-country ski here in winter, and saw many beautiful pictures. It's a six hour drive from Sydney though, so it's not something that could be done too often, unless you live close by.


All told, I walked for about nine hours, about 42 km. I think I managed to see all the terrain in Australia that lies above 2000 meters (6560 feet), as there are no other peaks above that elevation anywhere else. I had a great time, since very few people were on the middle parts of the loop. And I talked with some park rangers, at the beginning, and end, when they were laughing at/with me, for having hiked so long. I've never had problems on my other fast-packs of 25-40 miles (42-64 km), but the absence of my trekking poles and running or multi-sport shoes with extra cushioning took it's toll.

By km 35 or so, I knew I had blisters on the bottoms of my feet near my toes, and my hands swelled up some. That is because they are low and swinging all day, forcing fluid into them, turning them edemic. This doesn't happen on long ski outings or treks with poles, because my hands are higher overall through the day.



Dig these puffy hands, right as I finished. Usually my hands are thin and veiny, not today! I decided to get a cheap motel room in Thredbo to clean up and drink beer in, so after I got there and had a few, they returned to normal!


My foot blisters were hideous, but not totally incapacitating, and most importantly, my knees and hamstrings were not too sore, as it was quite an up and down trail, with 2500 ft. elevation gain in the first 8 km, then several 1000 ft. dips and rises thereafter. So, I was quite happy, my goal of a good, long, fast hike in high, somewhat secluded country was achieved, and I got all the city crud out of my lungs. Research now shows that people living in Southern California in one week get as much lung damage as from smoking a pack of cigarettes. I'm sure Sydney would be similar. Thank God A.P.R. is headquartered in the clean cool air, in the hills above Fairbanks!

The weather on my all-day outing was perfect, some building cumulus, but no real threat of storms. But, around 10 pm in Thredbo, a strong storm with frequent lightning and heavy rain came through and freshened things up. A great end to a fun day, and even better, I didn't get caught out in it, above tree-line.







The next day, I left Thredbo around 1000 and headed out of the mountains, back to Canberra, and Sydney.

Just about 10 km out of Thredbo, I saw a large dead animal by the side of the road. I had to stop. It was a wombat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat

These incredibly cute creatures are like koala bears but bigger, and ground-dwelling. This poor little guy was lying on his back, it's face grimaced in it's death's agony, probably from internal injuries/bleeding. I was very sad, remembering Coyote, Stikine, Nahanni, and Kiana, my former canid companions, who perished this way. I said some prayers for the poor creature, and turned it over. They are fairly rare too, all the sadder that this happened. I would have buried it, but I had no shovel.


That put me in a downer mood for awhile, but having to focus on the leftie driving snapped me out of it. I got to Sydney in just six hours, and drove straight to Bondi Beach, to cool off in the sparkling blue waters after the long hot drive. I'm not crazy about being in a city as big as Sydney, but the beaches here are so incredibly beautiful, and am so glad I got to see them.
Cheers.