Trails 2000 not only group doing trail work
To Will,
Your recent opinion piece, “One-track minds,” made some good points; namely, that unless you participate in trail work, you’ve no right to complain about what happens to the trail. However, you made a BIG mistake in calling Trails 2000 the only organization that performs trail work. Maybe Trails 2000 is the only group you’ve ever encountered on the trails (do you only ride in the Gulch?), but there are many others that maintain Durango’s extensive trail system. Have you ridden Hermosa Creek? It’s maintained by the San Juan Trail Riders. Ridden the Colorado Trail? It’s maintained by the Colorado Trail Foundation. Been down Engineer Mountain or Jones Creek or Elbert Creek or Cascade Creek this summer? Thank the Southwest Conservation Corps. Even though bikes and horses don’t always play nice, even the Back Country Horsemen of America does its part in keeping our local trails running smoothly. Have you stepped off your bike and into the wilderness lately? You didn’t have to climb over (too many) trees due to the USFS Wilderness Rangers. And last, but definitely not least, don’t forget that the hundreds of miles that aren’t maintained by these groups are maintained by the USFS Trail Crew. Not that Trails 2000 doesn’t do valuable work, but they are far from alone out there.
To Will,
Your recent opinion piece, “One-track minds,” made some good points; namely, that unless you participate in trail work, you’ve no right to complain about what happens to the trail. However, you made a BIG mistake in calling Trails 2000 the only organization that performs trail work. Maybe Trails 2000 is the only group you’ve ever encountered on the trails (do you only ride in the Gulch?), but there are many others that maintain Durango’s extensive trail system. Have you ridden Hermosa Creek? It’s maintained by the San Juan Trail Riders. Ridden the Colorado Trail? It’s maintained by the Colorado Trail Foundation. Been down Engineer Mountain or Jones Creek or Elbert Creek or Cascade Creek this summer? Thank the Southwest Conservation Corps. Even though bikes and horses don’t always play nice, even the Back Country Horsemen of America does its part in keeping our local trails running smoothly. Have you stepped off your bike and into the wilderness lately? You didn’t have to climb over (too many) trees due to the USFS Wilderness Rangers. And last, but definitely not least, don’t forget that the hundreds of miles that aren’t maintained by these groups are maintained by the USFS Trail Crew. Not that Trails 2000 doesn’t do valuable work, but they are far from alone out there.
Despite the confusion, your take-home message is valuable: if you want to enjoy the trails, grab a Pulaski or McLeod (not McCloud) and pitch in. But keep in mind, your options are open. Trails 2000 isn’t the only group out there.
-Thanks, Emma Millar
Before dismissing the question, think back to the wars of the past and to the probable future consequences of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Long gone are the eras where masses of troops, clearly defined by uniforms, formations and leaders in full view of the opposition “slugged it out” in the countryside, mostly, and where the civilian populations were largely protected by military protocol, at least until one side or the other won decisively.
-Thanks, Emma Millar
Is war obsolete?
Dear Editors,
Is war obsolete? That may seem like a silly question given that the United States and its coalition partners are engaged in two major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and lesser – though not less important – conflicts are under way in a number of countries, including Libya and Syria and between Palestinian factors and the Israelis.
Dear Editors,
Is war obsolete? That may seem like a silly question given that the United States and its coalition partners are engaged in two major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and lesser – though not less important – conflicts are under way in a number of countries, including Libya and Syria and between Palestinian factors and the Israelis.
Before dismissing the question, think back to the wars of the past and to the probable future consequences of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Long gone are the eras where masses of troops, clearly defined by uniforms, formations and leaders in full view of the opposition “slugged it out” in the countryside, mostly, and where the civilian populations were largely protected by military protocol, at least until one side or the other won decisively.
As with all pervious wars, neither World Wars I nor II resulted in anything except death, destruction, economic tragedies for the aggressors and the defenders of their freedom. Should aggression be met with defense? Of course. Both World Wars led to further conflict, including the Cold War between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Neither the Korean nor Vietnam wars achieved desired objectives from the standpoint of all (or any?) of the combatants.
Now to the current wars: Neither of these conflicts has had fully desired or definitive positive results. When the Coalition Forces pull out of Iraq, a reasonable prediction is that civil war will erupt. Eventually, Iraq may divide into three separate entities. In Afghanistan, it is difficult to imagine that the Coalition exit will bring about anything but chaos, both because of the history of strife in that tragic country and because of the modern collision of Islamic factions such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and the ensuing economic, religious, territorial and power struggles.
A critically important concern regarding modern warfare is the fact of urbanization. All major 20th Century wars resulted in savagery focused on and perpetrated against civilians; that is, against what were termed noncombatants in previous centuries. Secondly, the ability of the forces of the major combatant force to distinguish between combatants and civilians has disappeared into the reality of modern warfare.
The fact that combatants can meld into and become indistinguishable from non-combatants is a salient fact that requires enormous constraint on the part of the usual sorts of military forces, grave dangers to the constraining forces, high levels of civilian casualties, or all of the above.
Let’s look at the United States war in Vietnam. One of the key factors in the eventual defeat of the U.S. was the fact that the Viet Cong troops could “hide” among the South Vietnamese civilian populations before, during and after initiating military operations. Another key factor was the fact that the U.S.-sponsored South Vietnam governments lacked the vital support of a majority of the people. No insurrection has ever been suppressed, to my knowledge, without the cooperation of a majority of the local people.
Let’s look at the United States war in Vietnam. One of the key factors in the eventual defeat of the U.S. was the fact that the Viet Cong troops could “hide” among the South Vietnamese civilian populations before, during and after initiating military operations. Another key factor was the fact that the U.S.-sponsored South Vietnam governments lacked the vital support of a majority of the people. No insurrection has ever been suppressed, to my knowledge, without the cooperation of a majority of the local people.
The USSR’s war in Afghanistan is a classic case of why war is obsolete in the modern world. The USSR entered Afghanistan with one of the world’s largest and best equipped armies, though the military leaders proved to be less than up to the task. After 10 bloody years in which millions of Afghans were slaughtered, along with thousands of USSR troops, the invading forces ignominiously retreated out of Afghanistan and back into a crumbling and soon-to-disintegrate USSR. There is a sense in which the USSR lost that war and sufficient internal cohesion to remain a union of republics.
Modern warfare is a messy, convoluted, deranged “business” where there often are no typical battlefields or battle lines. Also, as both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan clearly show, protracted warfare (10 years in the USSR and U.S. wars in Afghanistan) is now apt to be normative. Civilian casualties will be unconscionably high. Clear distinctions between civilians and insurgent or counterinsurgent factions can’t be made. Traditional military might and tactics no longer assure victory. Inexpensive weapons, often used with devastating effectiveness, emerge. The cost of starting and waging war is no longer a viable option for modern economies and, typically, wars are not supported sufficiently across time by the civilian populations.
Is war in the open, opposing armies sense with clear victories obsolete? I think so. And, in my opinion, it is about 10,000 years too late in becoming obsolete!
– Hal Mansfield, Durango
Energy to spare
Dear Sir or Madam,
It seems that energy opportunities abound for the Four Corners region.
– Hal Mansfield, Durango
Energy to spare
Dear Sir or Madam,
It seems that energy opportunities abound for the Four Corners region.
There are large tracts of open spaces on public and private land available for solar and wind energy farms. We mine and hopefully will soon be able to process uranium for nuclear power locally. With our large unemployed labor force and lots of empty land, nuclear energy power plants could be built here as well.
We are tsunami and earthquake free and again have large tracts of land available for nuclear waste disposal sites.
It is time we take advantage of our plentiful resources and utilize them to create nuclear energy parks for the manufacture of nuclear fuel and power plants to meet our energy needs.Transportation costs and dangers will be eliminated with sites that create use and dispose of the nuclear fuel within a short distance.
It is time we take advantage of our plentiful resources and utilize them to create nuclear energy parks for the manufacture of nuclear fuel and power plants to meet our energy needs.Transportation costs and dangers will be eliminated with sites that create use and dispose of the nuclear fuel within a short distance.
Nuclear power plants will allow for the removal of those dirty coal power plants and ensure clean air for our children to enjoy.
– Sincerely, Mike Green
– Sincerely, Mike Green