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/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER THE CANYON COUNTRY Ne Sa 0) Sa = iT ZEPHYR “PO BOX 327° MOAB, UTAH 84532 JIM STILES, PUBLISHER 435.260.1273 gee es moabzephyr@yahoo.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ken Sleight Martin Murie. Ned Mudd Doug Meyer Harvey Leake THE ARTIST John Depuy HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS Herb Ringer (1913-1998) ZEPHYR PILOT & AERIAL RECONAISSANCE Paul Swanstrom 2008 BY JIM STILES FIRST...THANKG.... I have received scores and scores of emails as a result of my recent announcement that the print version of this publication would end next February. The notes to me were long and heartfelt and kind and sometimes sad, and very personal, but I cannot tell you how much they meant to me. I have even included a small sampling of them in the Feedback section of this issue. For those of you who feel it is the passing of an era, I share that same sentiment, but with mixed feelings. I am very hopeful that the online Zephyr can continue the tradition for frank conversation and impartiality, wherever the chips may fall, that the print Zephyr has strived to achieve these last two decades. Let’s hope for the best. Gene Schafer Tom Wesson WEBMASTER ' Gary Henderson’ spankme2times@excite.com didn’t even realize when I made it. I could either be honest (to my own values at least), even painfully blunt, orl could try to be liked. My ornery personality probably made that decision for me. would just express themselves as openly and honestly as I SUBSCRIPTIONS & TRANSCRIPTIONS Linda Vaughan CIRCULATION In retrospect, getting choked by Mayor Tom Stocks and crashing into the Mountain Dew display at Dave’s Corner Market was a highlight of sorts in soliciting an unveiled response to a Zephyr story. When former Grand County Lance Lawrence commissioner Jimmie Walker said he could sum up The Zephyr in one word, “Shit,” I had no idea then how grate- THE ZEPHYR, copyright 2008 The Zephyr is published six times a year at Moab, Utah. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of its vendors, advertisers, or even at times, of its publisher. ful I would be years later, for such candor. I almost feel sweetly sentimental, just thinking about it. ' Nowadays, I couldn’t get a straight answer from some of my philosophical adversaries if the future of the planet depended upon it. What they don’t get is...it just might. This is no ordinary time. A few weeks ago, the Associated Press ran a story called, “Everything Seemingly is Spinning Out of Control.” From natural disasters to the price of airfares, the falling dollar, the rising cost of gas, the sports scandals, global warming, wars—where do we go to feel better about anything? Or should we? Is it Reality Time, at long last? The AP story concludes, ”...maybe this is what the 21st This is what is wrong with the conservation. movement... Ithasa clear conscience. century will be about —— a great unraveling of some things long taken for granted.” Old solutions don’t work anymore and thinking, in this day and age, that the end somehow justifies the means, no matter how corrupt or counter-productive those means might be, does not stand. That is why the cover story to this issue is one of the most important this publication has ever published. “The Greening of Wilderne$f...part 2: How the MegaRich are Co-opting Environmentalism and Turning IT into a Big Business,” is the sequel to Part One, which first appeared in the June/July 2005 issue and which wound up in Brave New West. Wendell Berry And I asked them: “During these troubling and dangerous times, do you believe that maintaining such a standard of living is consistent with the goals of the conservation movement in the 21st Century?” I heard from four of on All but one praised Bonderman, or suggested that “judging” others was counterproductive, or that the community that accepted him. was more to blame than Bonderman himself. While they would surely feel free to pass judgement when the subject is safe (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et all), ask for an honest assessment of an ally, and you can forget about it. They can circle the ideological wagon as well as any right winger I’ve ever seen. One respondent equivocatingly wrote, “Depends on your definition of conservationist. One is “one who practices or advocates conservation.’ I could not agree that someone who requires 30,000 square feet of space to live in is practicing conservation. I would instead state that Bonderman is likely ‘one of the country’s greatest benefactors to conservationists right now.’” As to his lifestyle, “Depends on your definition of ‘hypocrisy.’... The definitions of hypocrite don’t appear to include environmentalists accepting money from a person who lives in way-too-large houses and flits about in a private jet as if it didn’t burn fuel. Can’t think of any reason he shouldn't be giving his money to conservation groups, nor can I think of a reason they shouldn’t accept it. Money has no conscience.” Just how much time is left for equivocating, before we choke to death on our collective, politically correct rhetoric? Over the years, as a result, I collected more than any man’s fair share of enemies.and adversaries, especially in Moab. But I came to appreciate the opposition, if they challenged their perspectives. Jose Churampi “Greening, pt 2.” ON THE RECORD? OFF THE RECORD? POLITICALLY CORRECT? POLITICALLY INCORRECT? I SAY, “SCREW IT.” When I started the Zephyr, I had to make a choice that I ZEPHYR TRANSPORTATION FLEET SPECIALISTS erful billionaire who is also a highly praised environmentalist. You'll learn all about Mr. Bonderman when you fead It is incredibly long, almost 10,000 words, and I urge you to read it slowly and thoroughly. It is also well-documented. The web links that I used to compile the story are listed at the end and the quotes therein comprise more than half the story’s text. I will be curious to see the response, if any, irom the mainstream environmental community. If the past is any indication, I should not hold my breath. Originally, I planned a sidebar story for Part 2. I sent an. email to about 20 environmentalists across the West and offered some information about David Bonderman, a pow- 2 It was like listening to Clinton search for the definition of ‘is.’ Another observed, “Publicly condemning others for their choices is porn treacherous and almost always counterproductive.” I’m sure this fellow would never judge a man for driving his ATV across a pristine moutain meadow either. Yeah...right. Never has one question so incpeed an environmentalist to embrace the Golden Rule. Or to recall Jesus’ admonition, “Do not worry about the speck in your brother's eye, worry about the log in your own.” It should also be remembered that the only time Jesus ever totally lost his temper and came unglued to the point of violence was when he found the moneychangers in the temple. Greed did not sit well with Jesus Christ. Back to the letters. The most remarkable was this contribution. In part he wrote: I think I know what you seem to be fishing for -- a hint of hypocrisy in anyone living such an extravagant lifestyle and being lauded for their contributions to the environmental movement, for doing good things like donating millions of dollars and serving on boards and then building a supersized mansion in your backyard. and since most of us have a lot less than Mr. Bonderman in terms of assets, and many of us donate proportionately as much time (and maybe even as much money) to the environmental movement, it’s easy to say, yeah. that’s bad. He’s bad. We're good. But you know, I’m not sure that kind of thinking really gets us very far. ..Mr. Bonderman leads with his money. Maybe we can teach each other something by what each of us does, not what we don’t do...so...thank you Mr. Bonderman for sharing your time and money with the conservation movement. May we all learn from each other. What's remarkable about that? This is what’s remarkable..a few days later, I received these off the record com- ments, from the same guy: I think the whole system we live in stinks, and is headed for a fall. and this Bonderman guy buying into the mess and building a McTrophy home in Moab is hardly an enviro in my deep ecolo- |
