Yellowstone National Park has been described as a winter wonderland.
“We find that a lot of people from across the United States enjoy going into the park on snowmobiles, because … you’re out in the fresh air,” said Bill Howell, part owner of a local snowmobile and snowcoach tour company. “You get to see things on a snowmobile. With your guide you can stop and take pictures.”
But conservation groups have been seeking to ban snowmobiles here for more than a decade. Even snowmobile enthusiasts now admit the machines became a problem in 1990s.
“The amount of machines and the amount of people going into the park skyrocketed, a lot more than I think anybody had ever predicted or thought would happen,’ Howell said. “And as a result it probably did get a little out of hand.”
In this edition of This American Land we take a look at efforts to create a balance between the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and those who aim to limit motorized access to the park. Read the rest of this entry »
Drilling on public land supplies 27 percent of the nation’s natural gas. But producing this relatively cheap, clean burning fuel comes at a cost.
“We’re having traditions disrupted,” said Steve Belinda, of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Places where extended families would spend two weeks hunting and camping together, all of the sudden they show up and they’re in the middle of some energy development with big trucks and noise and tons of roads.”
This edition of Assignment Earth takes a look at new regulations enacted by the Obama administration that require an environmental impact report to be filed in advance of drilling on public land.
Question: Should the recreational use and preservation of public land supercede oil and gas drilling that could speed the recovery of our economy and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy? Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been more than a month since the last podcast. Thanks to everyone for all the emails and Facebook messages asking for the next edition. After an action packed first season of production, the realities of life came crashing down like a devastating wave. The recession of 2009 made times a bit tough. Simply put the project was placed indefinite hold while I scrambled together a few odd writing jobs through the end of December and all of January. I had to work to make enough cash to pay our property tax bill. I’m happy to say that I recently wrote a fat check to city of Madison and now the project is back on track.
Bryan Smith
I’ve learned a lot through that first season. With the collapse of traditional media, as newspapers and magazine continue to fold up under the weight of an antiquated model of communication, I’ve discovered that this form of storytelling, sharing music, art and adventure online is the wave of the future. With many creative souls out there building new high quality content for Internet there’s no shortage of great stories to tell. If you’ve been following along on the blog and on Facebook, you’ll know that I’ve been more than a little busy still traveling and finding new subjects to share with you. And in the process I’ve become thoroughly inspired by the work of many others who are pushing the boundaries of creative expression as they explore the heights and depths of the human spirit.
You’ve heard me mention my friend Fitz Cahall. He’s the creator of my favorite podcast The Dirtbag Diaries. Fitz has new project that recently posted the Internet, a series of short films that depict the lives of adventurers chasing their passion through course of a year, a season.
I connected with Fitz toward the end of last year during the Banff Mountain Film Festival. There I saw the premiere edition of the 22 part film series The Season. It’s an exciting yet, moderately paced thoughtful contemplation on what motivates ordinary people who do exceptional things in the outdoors. At the Banff Centre for mountain culture, in Alberta Canada, I also met Fitz’s partner co-producer and director of the SeasonBryan Smith.
Produced exclusively for distribution online, the Season brings Internet adventure storytelling to a new level. Directed by Bryan Smith this new film series illustrates the narrative behind the lives of people like each of us who aspire to lead a rich live in adventure. Read the rest of this entry »
This video appears on the Huffington Post accompanied by a story written by Sam Stein. In it monkey wrench prankster Andy Bichlbaum poses as an official of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a meeting of the National Press Club. Claiming the Chamber had reconsidered its views on climate change Bichlbaum compelled a room full of reporters to ask tough questions about why the corporate interests of the country continue to resist legislation that might reverse negative human impact on the environment.
It was all an elaborate hoax. The idea was to embarrass the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to do what many believe is the right thing: stop lobbying against The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. This bill proposed by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer aims to curb industrial pollution while creating green collar jobs in the production of renewable energy. Apparently Bichlbaum wanted to point out that the Chamber of Commerce is one of the bill’s leading opponents.
Andy Bichlbaum at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival
Music is an incredible gift. Talented artists who share the joy of lyric and melody are among the many wonderful people who make life on this planet truly worthwhile. Add to that a message of environmental protection and you’ve got an incredible combination to make lasting social change. Hot Buttered Rum is just that kind of band.
I feel like I’ve been posting a lot of really weighty stuff lately so I figured it was time to put something up that’s just damn cool. This video is contributed by my Facebook friend Steph Davis. Even though we’ve never me in person we have 72 friends in common and I simply like her style
National Geographic Adventure west coast editor Steve Casimiro posted this item to his web site The Adventure Life. “Signatures is not ski pornography, and thank god for it,” he writes. “The new ski/snowboard/telemark movie is a sonnet, or maybe a love letter, an unabashedly romantic, even tender, look at a life spent sliding on snow, this time in Hokkaido, Japan.” The images are spectacular. With plenty of days left until summer and with fall hardly on the horizon, it’s kind of nice to look forward to the coming ski season. The film Signatures premieres September 19th. Stay in touch for a Joy Trip Project film review shortly thereafter.
The Joy Trip Project is coming in a little late to comment on this video. At the time of this post more than a quarter of a million people have downloaded “Performance” by Robin Moore from YouTube and at least three JTP fans have posted it to their Facebook profiles. This bouncy little hip-hop film that has the look and feel of a Saturday Light Live Digital Short produced by Andy Samberg. With a lot of insider jargon and references that only the most avid bicycle riders will appreciate “Performance” is a realistic though tongue-in-cheek look into the world of amateur cycling.
But what makes this video most appealing is that it brings an otherwise obscure sport into the culture mainstream with music and humor. In a tight little cycle of affluent consumers who take their playtime way too seriously it’s more than a bit refreshing to find ourselves the butt of joke while inviting anyone who cares to watch to laugh right along with us. Check it out. It’ll make you smile. Read the rest of this entry »
This travel video comes from Christoph Rehage. Taking a few still and video images on a year-long trek from China to Germany he pieces together an amazing short film detailing the course of his adventure and the growth of his beard.
Yellowstone National Park has been described as a winter wonderland. 
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Drilling on public land supplies 27 percent of the nation’s natural gas. But producing this relatively cheap, clean burning fuel comes at a cost.
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