COVID Craziness

If you’ve wondered how trash ends up in our local waterways and then the oceans, you’ll find the answer in this photo of a discarded mask near a river. 

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

On my daily walk recently, I came upon yet another disposable mask on the ground. It was disturbing for many reasons, one of which was that it was quite close to my local river. This refuse could easily be wind-blown into the waterway, beginning a journey to the Chesapeake Bay and eventually the Atlantic Ocean.

Movies or television series (especially, it seems, those from Europe) often show people discarding all kinds of things directly into large bodies of water or the tributaries leading to them, as if such areas represent just another wastebasket. Apparently, quite a few people are oblivious to the fact that many forms of wildlife reside within these liquid habitats and human refuse poses serious harm to those organisms.

The number of disposable masks I’ve seen in parking lots and along roads is sure to rise because “disposable” equates to “one use” in our wealthy society—even when an item could easily be reused. My husband and I bought two disposable masks when the pandemic began over six months ago, and we are still using them. When we get home from shopping, I flatten the masks and leave them out so any COVID virus organisms on them will become dehydrated and less virulent or completely harmless.

Additionally, we wash our hands at least once while out-and-about and immediately upon arriving home, and we practice the six-feet-apart rule as much as is practical in public. But, what I consider most important of all, is that we do not touch our hands to our eyes, noses, or mouths unless we’ve cleaned them first. If this one bit of reasonable and effective advice was impressed upon the public, we would not have had to shut down businesses, many of which will never reopen. Instead, we’ve had pandemonium, a chaotic situation in which government and medical officials alike have responded with fear and overreaction.

Yes, this illness is quite infectious and needs to be taken seriously. However, it never meant we needed to put people out of business, depriving owners and employees alike of their livelihood. Individuals can take their own proactive steps to protect themselves from COVID-19 while still visiting restaurants, museums, grocery stores, etc.

The one reaction by government and medical officials that has been proven to be overkill—as evidenced by the relaxation of government insistence for it—is the sanitation of virtually everything in sight. Just because we’re able to spread these chemicals everywhere does not mean we should. Common sense should tell us that inhaling chemicals not meant to be ingested can never be good for one’s wellbeing, and yet people have been subjected to that experience.

I got to the post office a bit early one day before the service section opened. As I waited in the lobby, a man came around to sanitize every wall and object in the room. He wasn’t near me, but—much to my dismay—his spray filled the lobby and I ended up breathing those chemicals.

Another time, my husband and I stayed at a hotel that offered breakfast with the night’s lodging. We got into the dining room first thing to eat, and only one other person was having his breakfast. Yet, the moment he left, an employee came around and wiped every single table in the room, rather than just the used table, with sanitizer. We weren’t only unhappy about having to breathe sanitizer and wonder what ill effect it could have on our health; we also could not enjoy the rest of our breakfast due to the fragrance. This experience did nothing to encourage us to travel again, which would be a help to the industry, from hotels/motels and restaurants to gas stations and other kinds of businesses.

I complained to the hotel chain, which blamed it on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines they were required to follow. It’s sad but true that those in charge with the power to impose rules rarely think through their edicts to be sure they are logical and don’t go beyond what is absolutely required and suitable. Of course, those in government have guaranteed income and employment, so they are immune from the consequences of the rules they impose upon the rest of us. Thus, they probably don't concern themselves with the repercussions. Craziness can be defined as “something that is totally unsound”, which I would suggest has been the case with the extreme sanitation requirement in the general public realm (rather than just in medical settings).

 NATURE ADVICE:

The COVID pandemic has been disastrous for our environment. Think of the tons of additional waste, thanks to restaurants that had to offer take-out service only (with its plastic utensils and Styrofoam containers that are hard to recycle) in order to survive. Think of all the people throwing away disposable masks after a single-use. Think of all the sanitizer chemicals that make their way to wastewater treatment plants and then to waterways, yet have not been proven to protect you any better than using plain soap and water and keeping dirty hands away from your face. It’s a fact that outside of a hospital, most people catch respiratory illnesses directly from infected people, not contaminated surfaces.

https://www.rush.edu/news/does-hand-sanitizer-work

Speak out against lockdowns that harm people financially by keeping businesses shuttered and sanitary measures that bring unnecessary harm to our natural world.

 

 

Invasion Biology: Perception Trumps Reality

Numerous pollinators, such as this Tiger Swallowtail, obtain nourishment from the blooms of Autumn Olive (Eleagnus umbellata). Their feeding fertilizes the flowers, which then provide fruits by late summer for birds and mammals.

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon

 

 

One definition of perception is “a thought, belief, or opinion, often held by many people and based on appearances”.

 

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/perception

 

It’s the perfect description for the field of invasion biology that deals with plants. When particular nonnative plants became noticeable in number alongside roadways, trails, and in fields, folks suddenly became aware of them and concluded these species had “pushed out” the native plants they felt should be in these locations. But their assumption was based only upon what they were seeing. While seeing can sometimes equate to believing, seeing can be quite deceiving, especially in regards to this issue. I can make clear this point by sharing a true story from my life.

 

I made the decision to work for a year before going to college. My parents did not have money to pay my way, and I didn’t want to end up thousands of dollars in debt by leaving for college when I was 18.

 

My one-year delay turned into five long years. Although I worked sixty-plus-hour weeks, I realized hostessing/waitressing in a restaurant and cashiering in a department store were not going to get me the money needed for college. Therefore, when a managerial position became available at a store 45 minutes away in another town, I jumped at the chance to get it, which I did.

 

Within my first few weeks there, my sister asked me to pick up diapers for her recently born baby. As I was only about 21 and this was the very early seventies before the term “Ms.” had taken hold, I was addressed as “Miss” because I wasn’t married. Immediately word got around that I was a single mother with a baby!

 

Obviously, appearances can be deceiving, and people should refrain from reading too much into them without further investigation. Although it may be difficult for older and younger people alike to grasp how our natural world became so full of plants they mistakenly believe to have “invaded”, that’s no excuse for jumping to conclusions that are, indeed, erroneous.

 

How can I know (and I do know) that the field of invasion biology is way off track? I know because I’ve paid very close attention to the environment throughout my life, which now adds up to many decades of observations.

 

The reason many of the so-called invasive plants exist in the United States is because they were deliberately brought here from other countries. They were known to be effective for preventing erosion by covering disturbed areas (such as that caused by road construction) where most native plants couldn’t possibly return because the soil conditions weren’t right for them. Plants (e.g., Kudzu) continue to grow in such sites, and in developed areas cleared for new construction that has been long delayed or never happened. Invasion biologists overlook the fact that all plants have soil requirements that must be met for them to grow; to home gardeners, it’s known as “right plant, right place”.

 

It’s said again and again that alien plants crowd out native species, but the reality is that they first come up where no, or very few, native plants are already growing. Ground that is compacted and nutrient-poor (either due to construction, trail use, or hundreds of years of cows treading over the landscape) is where nonnative plants fulfill the important role of colonizers that rehabilitate the soil. Over time, native plants can come in, and they do.

 

Invasion biologists must not be gardeners. Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly ignore—as the entire field has done—the truism that environmental conditions dictate which plants can grow in disturbed soils.

 

NATURE ADVICE: 

When I first moved into my newly built house 30 years ago, the topsoil had been graded away and the landscape was as gray, and every bit as devoid of life, as the Moon.

 

By working some of the yard while allowing nature to take its course in other areas of it, I soon had a nature-friendly garden that consisted mostly of non-native plants, some of which are known as “invasive.”  But every one of these plants contributed to a wildlife habitat that has become a haven for a huge diversity of organisms.

 

People are being made to feel guilty for allowing plants to grow that are well established in this country and are providing the structure necessary for superb wildlife habitat. Don’t allow yourself to be dictated to by friends and neighbors misguided by the invasive-plant movement that is, itself, misguided by scientists.