tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post8900878437013064659..comments2024-03-20T01:03:09.526-07:00Comments on phantsythat: a gritty letter from Crowsusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-25345844084050616412015-02-14T12:49:45.693-08:002015-02-14T12:49:45.693-08:00Hi Lindsay
Apologies for allowing some days to go ...Hi Lindsay<br />Apologies for allowing some days to go by before responding to your kind comment. I think a large part of the problem with overusing resources as we do is that every need is looked at through a narrow lens. I'm sure things would be better in every way if different methods were tried depending on circumstances and local resources.<br />Fraser Island really is magnificent - Paradisical, in fact. Crow thanks you for your travel suggestion and says further that he will soon make a stopover.<br />All the bestsusanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-71847306792275595632015-02-10T14:29:24.449-08:002015-02-10T14:29:24.449-08:00Hi Susan & Crow
Thanks for your insightful po...Hi Susan & Crow <br />Thanks for your insightful post and sand inflicted gritty letter on such an important matter, for it seems we cannot exist without using monstrous amounts of sand in industry, for concrete, filling roads, brick-making, glass, sandpapers, etc. But the question as to how we can safely remove the sand from designated areas without causing undue erosion or degradation remains a somewhat vexed question. There is an abundance in deserts as the composition is 20% but the mining or collecting the better quality beach sand will have dire results in the eco system and the surrounding dunes. In Australia, both the removal of sand and more so the encroachment of buildings onto the foreshore in many coastal regions has caused sand erosion. But at least some treasures have become world heritage sites such as " http://www.fraserisland.net/images/brochures/FFIsland.pdf" Fraser Island which is the world’s latest sand island in the world. I suggest you ask Crow to fly over and enjoy some much need R& R. <br />Best wishes <br />Lindsay Byrneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11030132436987752741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-87975652820058441812015-02-07T19:50:42.173-08:002015-02-07T19:50:42.173-08:00Hi Tom, good to see you. I tend to discover a lot ...Hi Tom, good to see you. I tend to discover a lot of interesting and little known events in my reading and I will admit there are some - like this one, for instance - that I hesitated for a while to draw attention to. I did so because I think my friends who read this blog should know about, even if we can't do much to stop the destruction.<br /><br />Thanks for the nice comment about the drawing. I have good hopes for this one.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-68565620898366743402015-02-07T19:43:27.043-08:002015-02-07T19:43:27.043-08:00Imagine running down to the beach only to find a s...Imagine running down to the beach only to find a shelf where the sand used to begin. The whole thing is an awful business for people and animals both.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-19344522012942828552015-02-07T19:18:34.540-08:002015-02-07T19:18:34.540-08:00I was quite dumfounded by this as well, Tom. That ...I was quite dumfounded by this as well, Tom. That so much damage is being done to our environment by a very few in their neverending quest for wealth and the power it brings really is frightening and depressing.<br /><br />At the same time, it was Alexander Solzhenitsyn (after years of suffering in Stalin's Gulag) who said: 'If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.' <br /><br />susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-8115472872213321782015-02-07T18:51:25.227-08:002015-02-07T18:51:25.227-08:00An issue I had no idea that existed. Not sure if I...An issue I had no idea that existed. Not sure if I thank you or complain.....there seems to be many issues to take up our lives, eh? <br />Not meaning to be frivilous here. <br />Be interested to see the sketch completed in watercolor, I imagine I'll take a fancy to it. <br />Should Fish Morehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18400586203204886095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-47379705097200789982015-02-07T05:35:37.315-08:002015-02-07T05:35:37.315-08:00frightening to live near a beach that might get &#...frightening to live near a beach that might get 'stolen', I imaging that's happening a lot in unregulated places. how sad that they are destroying the sea bed..clairesgardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17717145894222550969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-77864871088554460012015-02-07T01:42:37.815-08:002015-02-07T01:42:37.815-08:00I am appalled! I didn't realise that this prob...I am appalled! I didn't realise that this problem existed. I never could see the point of the Dubai sand islands, except to boost the ego(s) of over-rich oil kingdoms. It seems to be a losing combination for those who wish to preserve, appropriately, the world's environment......money and venal stupidity. How does all this gel with the supposed fundamental goodness of humanity?Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028121782477111901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-76554639575556335792015-02-06T18:37:00.602-08:002015-02-06T18:37:00.602-08:00No matter what's going on, Crow always focuses...No matter what's going on, Crow always focuses on his bottom line. After reading the second part of your comment, I think I'll crack one of his bottles - and remember to replace it before his return. Bottoms up.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-81049423364254897572015-02-06T18:30:25.612-08:002015-02-06T18:30:25.612-08:00Yes, Marja-Leena, I was pretty shocked too when I ...Yes, Marja-Leena, I was pretty shocked too when I first read about this, but you're right that it does make sense when you think about it. Recent construction booms here and in the US are largely driven by real estate developers who want to sell to rich people from overseas - those who need shelters for their money. Lots of places are owned but not lived in.<br /><br />I've read that because sand is undervalued internationally that it's still cheaper to use it rather than find ways to recycle other materials.<br /><br />Sometimes all the sad things I read make me too depressed to feel like writing much. Working on my drawings and paintings (as well as reading and walking) makes coping a little easier. Thanks, my friend. susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-55500116828282840372015-02-06T17:07:33.601-08:002015-02-06T17:07:33.601-08:00...with apologies for flippancy, of course, but I ......with apologies for flippancy, of course, but I have been imbibing some of the Highland Park malt whisky that a grateful lady gave me (not what it may sound like, I assure you) so my concern for the sand of the planet, and indeed for the planet, and even the entire bleedin' universe is temporarily on vacation. Cheers.Andrew MacLaren-Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275686573421308677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-12645893363606023422015-02-06T17:03:30.596-08:002015-02-06T17:03:30.596-08:00Sand may be serious but running out of fruitcake a...Sand may be serious but running out of fruitcake and brandy would be disaster... I feel Crow's concern.Andrew MacLaren-Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275686573421308677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764563741359701027.post-59964299886555360952015-02-06T11:16:09.532-08:002015-02-06T11:16:09.532-08:00Wow, I was not aware of the extent of this but of ...Wow, I was not aware of the extent of this but of course!! Locally I've heard of complaints by First Nations regarding illegal? dredging of gravel along their lands on the Fraser River. This impacts their fishing rights and prevents the salmon from laying their eggs in the gravel. All this construction is due to the power of the very wealthy to keep building huge hotels and business towers, and of course apartments to house the brimming overpopulation in cities. Will recycling old concrete, glass and other materials provide enough to save our sands? <br /><br />Thanks Crow for opening my eyes to this. It is all so depressing, isn't it? Dear Susan, keep on doing your art - it is good medicine against bad news.marja-leenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634791656471132347noreply@blogger.com