Megalopolis

What is an "Invasive Species"?

2009-10-24T14:11:00.003-04:00

I'm mixed up. What exactly is an invasive species? What difference does it make what plants grow or what insects or animals live in which areas of the "wild", or how they got there? Why do some people think they are in charge where plants and/or animals can or can't be? Who decides the borders? Its just natural evolution, people (invaders?) have populated the entire planet now, and so has everything else. Take honeybees for instance. They are not "native" to the USA, people brought them from Europe. Without bees to pollinate, some areas of the agriculture industry would collapse. Sometimes we depend on the "invasives", so maybe we should let things take their natural course and spend less time "weeding" entire mountainsides.

Harley Davidsons of the Future (Shhhhh!)

2009-10-08T18:54:00.002-04:00

The most distinctive characteristic of that most hallowed of American symbols, the Harley Davidson motorcycle, is the unmistakable, throaty roar of the exhaust. Its music to riders of those beautiful machines, and a noisy nuisance to the unenlightened. Some communities have even tried to ban the bikes, or at least try to muzzle them by trying, sometimes successfully, to enact ordinances against noise.
IN THE FUTURE, when gasoline is all gone and the Harleys are all silently powered by electricity, their unique sound will be a recording played through a speaker made to look like an exhaust pipe, so the bikers will be happy. But everybody will be happy because on the handlebar, right next to the throttle, will be something new, a mute button.

What / Where is Megalopolis?

2009-09-24T19:52:00.000-04:00

The term "Megalopolis" was a tag given in 1961 to the roughly 500 mile densely populated corridor on the eastern seaboard of the United States which runs from Boston to Washington. Comprised of cities and commuter communities, booming population and resulting sprawl created a massive continuous suburban landscape. Towns and once-isolated farming communities became part of the metropolis, creating the massive Megalopolis, a single "place". Its very much a new place, made of many new things, and some very old and mysterious things. Its where I live, and I am fascinated by its ecological and environmental detail, its history, its people, and its future. Its what this blog is about.