Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

Manistee North Pier Lighthouse

  Pilot Mountain in North Carolina

  The view from Pretty Place Chapel , South Carolina

Lake Jocassee as seen from the boat ramp at Devils Fork State Park in South Carolina

Gazebo in Jonesboro, Illinois

  Artwork from Ken Avidor

  Artwork by Ken Avidor

  Farm near Douthat State Park, Virginia

  Eagle Rock Train Station, Eagle Rock, Virginia

  Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Atlantic Ocean, Kure Beach, North Carolina

    First picture: The massive slag pile at the former Anaconda Copper Company Smelter Second picture: The slag pile behind the old guard shack at the smelter entrance More info about this company Man-made disasters abound almost everywhere, but most of us cannot "see" them because we are "blind" to this destruction. Without a sense of reality regarding ecological overshoot, many people turn a blind eye to the destruction taking place daily in cities and towns (and plenty of rural or remote places as well) throughout the world. Joni Mitchell's famous song Big Yellow Taxi comes to mind. But seriously, how often does one happen to be driving somewhere and see what once were fields and forests being leveled for some new housing addition or shopping center or roads or other infrastructure?  It's also interesting as I began thinking about writing this article what disasters in particular came to mind. There are literally countless small towns which were once inh...

  Bell Smith Springs Recreational Area

  Inspiration Point is at the top of this cliff in southern Illinois