Uncategorized

Pedometer Review/Recommendation

Over the years, I’ve had a few different pedometers. Most have been cheap. Some only count steps; some are difficult to calibrate. When I decided to buy pedometers for my wife and me, I did a little research, starting with Amazon.com. I chose the Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer .

I like the fact that with the press of the Mode button, I have the following information for the current day: total steps taken, total aerobic steps, calories (kcal) expended, and miles walked (to the hundredth of a mile). At midnight, the Omron rolls today’s info over to “1 day ago” and starts over automatically. Pressing the Memory button displays separate info for each of the prior seven days.

Note that the Omron is always on – there is no power button. The benefit is that you can’t forget to turn it on. I regret the continuous power usage, although it is minor. If only there were rechargeable button-type batteries or if the Omron drew its power from motion. Next generation.

The Omron clips to your belt, waistband, pocket, or earlobe (kidding). You can also easily slip the Omron out of its clip and carry it in your pocket or purse – it is just as accurate carried that way.

There is some evidence that walking as few as ten minutes at a sufficiently fast pace can have a beneficial effect. The current recommendation is to walk 30 minutes cumulatively at 100 steps per minute or more every day. That is not race-walking but it is more than a stroll. Three thousand aerobic steps per day is the goal. (With my stride, that’s about 1.5 miles.) Another goal is 10,000 total steps (any pace) per day. The Omron will help you track your efforts to meet these goals.

Note that the Omron counts a pace of 60 steps per minute as aerobic (below the 100 steps per minute guideline). However, because it tracks minutes at that pace or faster, you can easily see whether or not you’ve achieved 100 steps per minute.

Regarding calibration: You don’t have to calibrate steps per mile if you don’t care about the accuracy of the mileage indication. The owner’s manual explains the easy steps to calibration. I refined my calibration by carrying a GPS on several walks.

I’m not thrilled to endorse a product, but this one is good enough to overcome that reluctance. My wife and I both like having our own pedometer and it has definitely boosted our walking. I haven’t lost much weight in the four months I’ve had mine, but I have moved my belt in another notch and enjoyed the neighborhood a bit more.

Chaco

The Gambler’s House [updated]

I am again recommending the Chacoan website created by Teofilo – Gambler’s House (an allusion to the Navajo history of Chaco). He writes well and thoughtfully, interspersing interesting photos in the text. In particular, Teofilo sums up the information about the source of all of the wood used in Chaco in this entry:

Where They Got the Wood « Gambler’s House
http://gamblershouse.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/where-they-got-the-wood/

I’m certain it is not for lack of knowledge that he doesn’t mention that some think Chimney Rock was an outpost for gathering wood that might have been floated as far as Chaco. I don’t know if there is any merit to this idea. However, waterways may explain why wood would come from some areas and not others. In particular, Jemez may not be upstream from Chaco. peace, mjh

Update 7/9/09: Asked and answered. In his next post, Teofilo destroys the floating logs hypothesis, which I think I heard at Chimney Rock — and clearly, the eponymous rocks are all the reason the Chacoans needed to be there. Nothing like the careful consideration of facts to undermine a lovely idea. Still, in all matters, remember that the word facts often should be followed by “as we know them now.” Not said to undermine Teofilo’s facts — he has quite a grasp.

colorado, wildlife

Lynx Kittens in Colorado

Discovery of 10 lynx kittens heartens Colorado wildlife biologists | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times

Biologists with the Colorado Division of Wildlife have been cheered by the births of 10 lynx kittens in Colorado this spring, according to the Associated Press.  Prior to the discoveries of the kittens — seven males and three females in five separate dens — no newborn lynxes had been found in Colorado since 2006.

The species once flourished in the area but were gone by the early 1970s as a result of purposeful killings (by traps and poison) and human encroachment (in the forms of logging and property development).  In the last 10 years, 218 lynxes from Alaska and Canada have been released in Colorado, but biologists don’t know how many members of the threatened species are currently in the state.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/06/lynx-kittens-colorado.html

colorado, wildlife, wyoming

Young wolverine makes 500-mile trip to Colorado – The Denver Post

A wolverine has traveled more than 500 miles from Grand Teton National Park into Colorado, the first known incidence of a wolverine in Colorado since 1919, wildlife officials said today. …

The wolverine, a young male known as M56, spent April and May traveling 500 miles south from Grand Teton National Park and successfully crossed numerous highways, including Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming, to reach Colorado.

The wolverine, which was collared in December, is now in northern Colorado, where the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Wildlife Conservation Society are jointly tracking it.

Bob Inman — the Ennis, Mont.-based director of the Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program — said wolverines were virtually wiped out in the lower 48 states by 1930. They were killed by unregulated trapping and poison-baited gut piles, he said. There has been a very slow recovery with about 250 believed to be living in the lower 48, said Inman.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12619944

newmexico

White Sands to waive entrance fees 3 weekends

White Sands National Monument will waive entrance fees for three weekends this summer to encourage visitors. Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider says during these tough economic times, families will have a chance to explore White Sands’ spectacular geography for free.

The free weekends will be this Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19 and August 15-16. The fee waiver doesn’t include camping fees or special use permits.

The free weekends are part of a National Park Service effort to provide free weekends at 390 parks across the country to promote local and regional tourism. — Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com

Associated Press headlines with Santa Fe news – SantaFeNewMexican.com

Uncategorized

Power Of Wilderness Experiences As A Catalyst For Change In Young Offenders

Professor Jules Pretty, Jo Barton and Rachel Hine were involved in ‘The TurnAround 2007 Project’, initiated by the Wilderness Foundation UK to help seven vulnerable young people in Chelmsford and mid-Essex. This nine-month project used the power of nature and wilderness experiences a catalyst for change, enabling the young people to re-evaluate their destructive lifestyles and gave them the self assurance to take responsibility for their future.

Senior Research Officer, Jo Barton, explains: ‘The programme consisted of monthly workshops and weekly life coaching but the key element was getting them in touch with nature and away from negative distractions in their usual urban environments.’

‘This involved two wilderness trips – one to the Isle of Mull in Scotland and one sailing on the Thames. The first took place at the beginning of the project and the second at the end. The difference in behaviour was amazing!’

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105091536.htm

colorado, wildlife

Colo. ranchers oppose plan for wolf recovery | SummitDaily.com

 

Arguments by cattlemen not based in real science, conservationists say By Bob Berwyn summit daily news Summit County, CO Colorado

SUMMIT COUNTY — A push by conservation groups to bring wolves back to the Southern Rockies has fueled a new round of controversy, with Colorado ranchers going on record to oppose the attempt.
WildEarth Guardians recently petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a wolf recovery plan for the region. Reestablishing a population of the carnivores is crucial to bringing ecosystems back into balance, according to the group.
But the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association said the idea of bringing wolves back is based on a “faulty assumption” that wolves are needed for functional, healthy ecosystems.
“We would suggest that any healthy ecosystem has the capability of adapting to the constant change under which it exists,” the association said in a statement released last month. “Constant perturbation is the norm for an ecological system and, in fact, systems are dependent on these perturbations for proper functioning … As one component of the system wanes, others quickly fill the void.”
But conservation groups supporting the wolf recovery plan said the cattlemen’s position is unfounded and completely lacking in scientific credibility.
“To the contrary, there is a robust and growing body of research indicating that wolves are critical to the ecological health of the systems they evolved in. The subtext of the (association’s) position is that it was acceptable to extirpate wolves and that the cascading degradation of the ecosystems … is also acceptable,” said WildEarth Guardians’ Rob Edward.
Recent research shows that, as wolves, deer and elk co-evolved, the predator-prey relationship between them helped shape the greater ecosystem far beyond the direct effects of hunting, he said.
By the way they hunt, wolves keep ungulate herds on the move, preventing them from over-browsing stands of young willows and aspens.
Scientists in Rocky Mountain National Park have determined that an over-population of elk has caused a dramatic decline in wetlands and associated habitat for small mammals and birds.

Colo. ranchers oppose plan for wolf recovery | SummitDaily.com

daytrips, newmexico

UNM Today: Field Guide to Middle Rio Grande Bosque Released by UNM Press and UNM Biology Researchers

Extending from the spillway below Cochiti Dam, about 50 miles north of Albuquerque, to the headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir, near Truth or Consequences in the southern portion of New Mexico, the Middle Rio Grande Bosque is more than a cottonwood woodland or forest. It is a complete riverside ecosystem, among the more important in the world’s arid regions.

“A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque” [Penned by biology researchers at the University of New Mexico including Jean-Luc E. Cartron, David C. Lightfoot, Jane E. Mygatt, Sandra L. Brantley, and Timothy K. Lowrey] provides nearly 400 pages of information, features 800 color photographs and descriptions of more than 700 plants and animals in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque.

This authoritative guide reveals the important role of a unique riverside ecosystem. As the first of its kind for the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, the guide provides an invaluable resource for land managers, teachers, students, eco-buffs and nature enthusiasts. …

The next event will be held Friday, Dec. 5 in conjunction with Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day at the UNM Bookstore. The book-signing at the UNM Bookstore, located at Central and Cornell N.E., will be held from 12 to 2 p.m.

Other signings include the Rio Grande Nature Center on Jan. 10 and Bookworks on Jan. 11. Bookworks is located in the Flying Star Plaza at 4022 Rio Grande N.W., while the Rio Grande Nature Center is located at 2901 Candelaria Rd., N.W. Those book-signings begin at 5:30 p.m. at each location.

For more information visit UNM Press at: http://unmpress.unm.edu/.