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Show tThr Page A8 (Timrs-3nbrpni)n- Thursday, March 1,2001 it OUR TOWN AFTER ACeSt.TAItJCDrtrtoNiT'fYLAH.- - Community Comments Sycoo s by Sam Taylor e and flights completed one of the best records of any company that ever served this town. We were disappointed when it lost the coneven though it had the tract the last of local government officials and a lot of support local commuters. It gave us a pretty darned good link to Salt Lake City and back on a regular basis. That link is Moab's logical tie. An airline giving us service to Denver just wouldnt provide the service that most Moab flyers need, even though it might be a little better for recreationists and tourist industry. Even though the company offering the Denver service seems to be finanIm terribly afraid, as cially sound and well-ruMr Rydman says, that we would just be a smail pawn in the companys broader plan. If they get the contract, predict a lot of canceled flights. Mr. Rydmans suggestion that Moab and Grand County purchase its own plane so it could be in the driver's seat" in service operations, just isnt a viable option. pressurized airto provide adequate serplanes large enough vice dont come cheap. To saddle local taxpayers with that burden wouldnt be fair. Even when operating at full tilt, a commuter airline serving the Moab contract on'y serves a small percentage of local citizens. am still convinced that this community, which now depends almost entirely on retirement and tourist economics, needs dependable air service. believed it in 1957 when we welcomed Frontier Airlines to town and still believe it. If we still had two passenger trains a day stopping at Thompson Springs it might be a little different. If we still had Continental Trailways buses stopping here from two directions (in the wee hours of the morning), it might be a little different. But we dont have those options. We have one SE Utah to Salt Lake City ground shuttle operating, but aside from that, our only option is a vehicle good enough to get across the desert and over the mountain to either Salt Lake City or Denver. When it comes to public transportation, we were better off forty years ago than we are now. That's progress? highly recommend a close reading of a guest editorial on Page A7 of this issue Written by Nate Rydman, a former chief pilot for Redtail Aviation with the now bankrupt Sunand later a some keen insight on what he has Airlines, rise Moab should be looking for in subsidized airline service can personally i elate to many of the points he attempts to make I'm afraid he's right that the larger the airline, the more shabbily Moab travelers can be treated For forty years, Adrien and have frequently used the Moab essential" air service. Back in the early days, when Frontier Airlines first got the service, we were a small pawn in that company's ahempt to become a major carrier between large cities. Getting anywhere on Frontier meant a stop or change of planes in Grand Junction. That was fine as long as the stop wasnt too long But all too often, Moabs stop was canceled in favor of better service to the larger airports. will never forget the early morning stop .n Grand Junction on our way home from Salt Lake City With three small children in tow, we were told in Grand Junction, which was under assault from a major snowstorm, that because of the storm, the Moab flight had been canceled. After huddling in the restaurant at a nearby motel for breakfast, we pondered our options We could on-tim- I co-pil- ot I I in Twin-engin- the airport hoping that the I to pick up our own vehicle, the sun was shining brightly. They lied to us. They just needed that old somewhere else. Although Alpine Air took a lot of heat over the many years from local critics, that company had Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor spent a few days in Tucson last week, visiting my mother and my sister and family there. The weather being in the 70's was a special treat. Sufficient rain on the desert has brought forth an abundance of early spring wildflowers, the likes of which have never seen before. Considering fiow hot it gets in the summer there, the wildflowers have to get their growing, blooming and seeding done expeditiously. Picacho Peak is a state park, located between Tucson and Phoenix, and we drove there one day, the Mormon Battalion? They moved to Tucson, where members of the unit dress in the uniforms of those long-agdays, and march in parades. I havent any idea whatever else they may do. We also took the opportunity to revisit Ted DeGracias Studio in the Sun. I have long loved DeGracias poignant paintings of native American children and scenes. The studio has been enlarged since was there last, including a lot of early work, which is quite different from what he did later in life. arrived back in Salt Lake City in a snowstorm Friday night, but came on along home Saturday with only wet roads to contend with, thankfully. At home there were new lambs in the pen, twin ram lambs. They seemed to be doing fine, however mama lost track of one of them in the night, and he was one cold lamb Sunday morning. Although we brought him in and warmed him up, he didnt live. Always a sad experience. It was offset by the arrival of another set of twins during the morning Sunday. It was a lot of sheep work that day, and five months to the day of the rams introduction to the ewes. So, I'm watching them closely, as we will be having more lambs right along for a while now, and would be happy to see it warm up a bit. Maybe this year I'll wait until somewhere around before bringing a ram in. I o I I I cellent seats. believe this was the 75th annual rodeo parade, and my ears pricked up when heard the announcement of the Mormon Battalion coming down the street. Ever wonder what happened to I I I mid-Octob- er ntcs-lnbcpcnh- (ITS) t cnt 6309-2000- of " ) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 Postmaster: Send changes of March 3, 1897. address: editormoabtimes.com address to: The P.O. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 Times-lndepende- or FAX 5 W ht ' wiuTmot wi Wty -- me V VO0R V W0PJ fTe thev vwfu, Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas by Ollie Harris Needs 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers SenaT. Flanders, Editor UTAH Sadie Warner Dorothy Anderson T-- l Maps Press, Production Manager Systems Manager News Writer News Writer Advertising Representative Real Estate Weekly. Design Mail Room Supervisor Jose Churampi, Stan Zook.. The point of this, I suppose, is to investigate where are on the list of needs. Clearly, I enjoy the fulfillment of most of them. Since I am beyond the need for I esteem and well into the need for can be content with any decent, functional reel. Howneed for ever, I still hunger to fulfill the aesthetics, for beauty. we ever-prese- Besides, its on sale. Now, have you ever heard a more convoluted ratio- nalization for buying a fishing reel? Writers on the Range When shopping don't think you're saving the planet on-lin- e, by Daniel Kraker Stock prices of Internet retailers may be plummeting, but shoppers haven't stopped spending their dollars on the web. This past holiday season, more than over twice the amount $10 billion was spent million shoppers visited spent in 1999. Thirty-fiveach week leading up to Christmas, more than $10 million more than last year. Forrester Research predicts that retail is expected to grow to $108 billion in 2003, more than 13 times the 1998 total of $7.8 billion. By now most of us have grown tired of the incessant proselytizing over the wonders of the Internet. Yes, we realize that shopping will never be the same. Yes, we know that communication barriers are toppling. Now, added to these astounding feats, we are starting to hear about the environmental wonders of the on-lin- e, e Internet. Last summer the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions coolcompanies.org) published a hopeful report arguing that the Internet yields significant energy sav- ings and provides enormous environmental benefits." The report contends that each minute spent drivto ing the mall uses more than 10 times the energy of a minute spent shopping on the Internet." It also claims that Internet shopping uses less energy to get a parcel to your front door. Shipping 10 pounds of packages by overnight air - the most energy- - intensive delivery mode - uses 40 percent less fuel than driving round-tri- p to the h mall. Ground shipping by truck uses just the energy of driving yourself." Others argue that companies can avoid waste limited inventory. Products such as books, by holding music, photos and videos can also be bought in electronic form and sent directly over the Internet, further saving materials and energy. I confess: Like many Westerners, I shop more out of necessity than want. On the Hopi reservation, where I live, there are two hours of buttes, junipers and grazing land before you arrive at FlagstafTs downtown shopping district. But I hold no delusions of ecological grandeur when I send my credit card number shooting through cyberspace. First, my computer sucks up a lot of electric juice. Some estimate that electricity consumed surfing the net went from near zero in 1993 to nearly 8 percent of U.S. consumption in 1999. In addition, the Intels and Apples of the world are giant electricity consumers. The aver- on-lin- e, Circulation Manager, Ttefion. High Country News e Tom Taylor Zane Taylor.. Ron Flanders Franklin Seal. Lisa Church Mary Wright Space does not allow for a but basically, complete discussion of it means to be honest with others and with oneself, to be creative, to enjoy profound and deeply emotional relationships. is But wait! Theres more. After added to the list, we experience cognitive needs, the thirst for knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Finally, at the top of the list lies aesthetic needs such as the desire for beauty. So, what does this have to do with my dilemma over which fishing reel to buy? Well, since I am preoccupied with a fishing reel, it must mean that my physiological needs have been met. I am way past worrying about safety. I clearly enjoy belonging and love. Maybe the reel has something to do with esteem? Is that why I prefer nice stuff? Does it make me feel worthwhile? Nah! I Maybe the reel has to do do not need the reel to become honest with myself and with others, to be creative or to enjoy profound and deeply emotional relationships. Perhaps the expensive (to me) reel fills an aesthetic need. It is a thing of beauty. It is as light as a feather. It is constructed of superior material. It has more ball bearings than any other. It contains forged aluminum and termed, The problem is, should I buy the $30 fishing reel or should I hold out for the $60 reel that is marked down from $170? It isnt an unfamiliar problem. It has plagued me always. It's just that I like nice stuff, but usually cant afford it so I end up going without. If you can see past the surface of this problem it becomes evident that it is really quite wonderful that such a problem exists. It causes me to ponder the old psychology lesson that outlined the needs of man, first articulated by Abraham Maslow. The principle is that there is a hierarchy of needs beginning with the most basic, physiological needs. At the very bottom of the list he the most basic needs. They are limited to those things that keep us alive and propagate the race. Until those most basic needs for food, water, shelter and mates are met, we do not concern ourselves for anything else. Nothing else matters. But as soon as we are able to meet those needs, issues such as safety are added to the list. At this stage of the game, being safe might be considered a luxury. If one is starving or perishing of thirst, he will take some very dangerous gambles to meet those needs. An example that comes to mind is drinking water that is most likely seriously polluted. Safety is not an issue when life is at stake. When the basic physiological needs are met and safety is no longer a preeminent issue, the needs to belong and love are added to the fist. After ones needs for love and belonging are met he begins to feel dissatisfied. A restlessness comes over him and he begins to experience a need for esteem. He needs to feel worthwhile to himself and to others. Not until this need for esteem is added to the list can he go on toward the next level on the list. After esteem needs are addl'd to the list and are met, he again begins to feel restless and to desire what is one-tent- Member SiMPAX sciio NtrruJETnevw t4tjr use rtfe v ww jo v vBt vse wmj- - I along with a lot of snowbirds from Michigan, Ohio, and etc., who were also on the trail of the spring blossoms. expect this is about the top of the tourist season at Picacho (peak" in Spanish) Peak, and the facilities were quite strained by the crowds, but the dazzling display worth the effort of going. It was also rodeo week in Tucson. They close the public schools Thursday and Friday for this annual western tradition, and a lot of people drive in from the hinterlands (like Phoenix) to see the parade and go to the rodeo. We had parade-sid- e seats in front of the TV set, and considering that this parade lasts about two hours, they were ex- ail 1 e, I for home. Lo and behold! We ran out of the storm just west of Fruita and drove on home in the clear. When we dropped the car off at Canyonlands Field (The VXSCP-- I CHURCH wiu- - I made arrangements, picked up the car and headed 3 i H I evening flight made it. We could stay overnight and hope the flight was on the next morning We finally decided that we could rent a car equipped for winter driving and make the white knuckle drive to Moab. Even though that option was a little over our limited budget, thats the one we decided on. We DC-- . Her OiC THf V at n, I spend the day IVliLL s Re Kelly Ericson, Bobbie Domenick, Jed Taylor Backshop Ken Davey, Came Mossien News Writers Layne Miller. Regional Correspondent Green River Correspondent Betty Bailey Ron Drake Castle Valley columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Harris Columnist Distribution age microchip processing plant uses enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. And my Internet service provider, with its banks of servers, is not exactly an energy conservation archetype. The computer manufacturing process also generates hazardous waste. Tbxic solvents, acids, and heavy metals are used to make semiconductors and monitors. of the 29 Superfund hazardous waste sites Twenty-thre- e g in Silicon Valley are former factories. And because computers become obsolete so quickly - a 1999 study by the U.S. National Safety Council estimated that more than 20 million PCs became obsolete in 1998 alone - they present a tremendous disposal problem. Of those 20 million computers, only 14 percent were recycled, resold or donated. The rest were tossed into landfills, where the lead from their monitors and the mercury and chromium from their processors are now high-powere- d chip-makin- health hazards. Furthermore, although energy is undoubtedly saved by loading up one truck with deliveries in lieu of sending 100 personal cars speeding off to the mall, this logic assumes that someone who shops doesnt also shop in their car. Most consumers, in fact, create two journeys instead of one by shopping for basics such as groceries in their car while shopping for gifts and items And when customers want next-dadelivery, more partially loaded and therefore less efficient - trucks are put on the streets. So what is an to do? First of all, don't ditch the mouse, especially if, like me, you live in an isolated rural area. Resell or recycle your s computer when you upgrade. Find an ISP. Theres at least one out there: SolarHost (solarhost.com) claims to be the world's first ISP powered exclusively by solar energy. More importantly, when you shop by car, skip the trip to the mall or the strips, which perpetuate the sprawling, landscape that is the true culprit of many of our environmental ills. Take a bus, or better yet, ride a bike or walk to your local downtown shopping district Support local businesses and a comdevelopment model. pact, pedestrian-baseIf you really want to make a difference with your spending decisions, surf globally, but shop locally. Daniel Kraker it a contributor to Writers on the Range, a ten. ice o'ILgh Country News ( uu w.hcn.org ). He hvet in Keamt Canyon, Am., on the Hopi Indian on-lin- e on-lin- e. y earth-conscio- web-shopp- er energy-consciou- big-bo- x energy-wastin- d Reservation. g |