Thanks to Dave for sharing a nice memory and broaching this subject for us. I too have had some near whale experiences that left me profoundly humble and reverential. How do we mitigate our impact on this precious planet with all these precious beings so that we can in good conscience look ourselves in the mirror? After seeing a whale in San Francisco Bay some years ago and being truly affected, I hopped into my car and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge spewing exhaust from the gas that comes from the oil that pollutes the water where the whales live. I have worked most of my adult life in environmental education, doing my best, trying to be responsible and thoughtful toward the earth and yet I cannot escape the failings and hypocrisies of my life. I may not be able to do much about the whale that was killed, but I am reminded to be vigilant in the choices I make on a daily basis that affect those whales and all the other life on this planet. It is not a soft touchy feely effort I invoke, but a serious honest commitment to walk our talk. May we all help preserve the sacred places we discuss so much on this list, and devote a fraction of the energy we put into gear discussions into efforts to preserve wild waters and wild things... Very sorry for the preachiness of this, I mean it only to be a solemn reminder of a duty I believe we all should embrace. Cheers to all, Brian Windrope Corvallis, Oregon _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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