tagged w/ Yosemite National park
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Many years ago, during my time as a child and through young adulthood, I was immersed in the (sometimes solitary) lavish joys of nature in rural South Carolina. The memories of the steaming, dusty red clay roads and the smells of downstate piney-woods are now fading away, replaced by years of gritty urban life in Chicago’s inner-city. However, that doesn’t mean that now I’ve become completely blind to the beauty of rural landscapes. I just have to enjoy it from the comfort of a chair, in more climate-controlled conditions. So this video is pretty perfect for me.
“Yosemite HD” is an amazing four-minute time-lapse short art film, a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. They made numerous trips to Yosemite National Park, where they captured the beautiful landscape it offers for visitors every year. Set to “Outro,” from M83′s lovely and stratospheric “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” this might be the best music video you could ask for. So stop whatever you’re doing right now, put this video in full-screen mode and breath very deeply during the film’s duration!
This piece includes colorful high-resolution photographs, as well as the exhilarating short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/look-homeward-angel-park-pretty/Many years ago, during my time as a child and through young adulthood, I was immersed... more
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Normally we like to keep our technology and nature reasonably separate, but like peanut butter and chocolate, some combinations turn out better than you'd think. In the latest in a long line of projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment act, Yosemite National Park has installed over 2,800 solar panels in the El Portal maintenance complex, neatly hidden from the all seeing eyes of the public.
The plenitude of photovoltaic plates will produce about 800,000 kWh per year, saving the park $50,000 annually on its power bill and scoring it $700,000 in rebates from PG&E over the next 5 years. The 5.8 million dollar system cuts the park's reliance on carbon fuels by 12 percent, and is now the largest grid-connected solar energy system in the National Park Service.
Solar fanatics looking for a better view should check out KCRA's coverage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5H60sRgaB8Normally we like to keep our technology and nature reasonably separate, but like... more
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While daydreaming about backpacking, kayaking and rock climbing, I came across this incredible timelapse video of Yosemite that was shot by National Park Service videographer Steven Bumgardner.While daydreaming about backpacking, kayaking and rock climbing, I came across this... more
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Here's a word of warning from someone who's seen a rental car or two ripped up in his day. If you find yourself on this side of the Earth, and happen to stop in in Yosemite National Park -- for the love of all that is dear -- put your food, diapers or anything that may remotely carry a scent in the bear bins that are provided. You really have no idea the kind of damage these animals can do to metal until you've seen it.Here's a word of warning from someone who's seen a rental car or two ripped... more
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When it comes to snack time, black bears in Yosemite National Park have a favorite automotive treasure trove: the minivan.
From 2001 to 2007, bears broke into 908 vehicles at the park. Of those break-ins, a whopping 26 percent were minivans, according to the Journal of Mammalogy.
Top Cars Black Bears Target:
Minivan -- 26.0 percent - Sport-utility vehicle -- 22.5 percent - Small car -- 17.1 percent - Sedan -- 13.7 percent - Truck -- 11.9 percent - Van -- 4.2 percent - Sports car -- 1.7 percent - Coupe -- 1.7 percent - Station wagon -- 1.4 percent
But why minivans? Why not full-sized vans or perhaps the station wagon? According to the article, the Yosemite foragers are smarter than the average bear. They're actually contemplating risk versus reward:
"Selection of minivans by bears in Yosemite National Park was the likely consequence of efforts to maximize caloric gain and minimize costs by targeting vehicles with higher probabilities of payoff. ... The trade-off between food acquisition and penal actions by humans likely pressured bears to target vehicles with the highest probability of attaining food," according to the article.When it comes to snack time, black bears in Yosemite National Park have a favorite... more
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The oldest and largest trees within California's world famous Yosemite National Park are disappearing.
Climate change appears to be a major cause of the loss.
The revelation comes from an analysis of data collected over 60 years by forest ecologists.
They say one worrying aspect of the decline is that it is happening within one of most protected forests within the US, suggesting that even more large trees may be dying off elsewhere.
James Lutz and Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington, Seattle, US and Jan van Wagtendonk of the Yosemite Field Station of the US Geological Survey, based in El Portal, California collated data on tree growth within the park gathered from the 1930s onwards.
Their key finding is that the density of large diameter trees has fallen by 24% between the 1930s and 1990s, within all types of forest.
"These large, old trees have lived centuries and experienced many dry and wet periods," says Lutz. "So it is quite a surprise that recent conditions are such that these long-term survivors have been affected."
The wider the diameter, the more aged the tree (J. A. Lutz).
Large trees are not only older, but they play a distinct and important role within forest ecosystems.
Their canopies help moderate the local forest environment while their understory creates a unique habitat for other plants and animals.
Older, larger trees also tend to seed the surrounding area and crucially are able to withstand fires, short term climatic changes and outbreaks of insect pests that can kill or weaken smaller trees.
But the study by Lutz's team suggests they are no longer faring well.
In a study published in Forest Ecology and Management, the researchers collated all the data that existed on tree growth with the Yosemite National Park. In particular, this included two comprehensive surveys: one conducted in the mid 1930s and another during the 1990s.
"Few studies like this exist elsewhere in the world because of a lack of good measurements from the early 20th Century," says Lutz.
Including 21 species of tree recorded by both surveys, the density of large diameter trees fell from 45 trees per hectare to 34 trees, a decline of 24% in just over 60 years. White Firs (Abies concolor), Lodgepole Pines (Pinus contorta) and Jeffrey Pines (Pinus jeffreyi) were affected the most. Smaller size trees were unaffected.
Trees of this diameter are becoming more scarce (A. J. Larson).
"One of the most shocking aspects of these findings is that they apply to Yosemite National Park," says Lutz. "Yosemite is one of the most protected places in the US. If the declines are occurring here, the situation is unlikely to be better in less protected forests."The oldest and largest trees within California's world famous Yosemite National... more
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An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park has destroyed 12 homes and threatened thousands more as flames forced authorities to cut power to the park.An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park... more
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Yosemite National Park -- A Lafayette rock climber and his Japanese partner toe hooked, finger jammed and shimmied 3,000 feet straight up the nose of El Capitan Wednesday, taking from Germany the record for fastest time on the iconic route.
It means the American-Japanese climbing duo is once again in possession of a record that has become so difficult to break that some climbers think even trying for it is a reckless quest bound to eventually lead to tragedy.Yosemite National Park -- A Lafayette rock climber and his Japanese partner toe... more
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The great outdoors offers a wonderful escape from the daily grind. Emily Wolman of Lonely Planet takes us to the top three places for big wilderness escapes in this Bluelist pod.The great outdoors offers a wonderful escape from the daily grind. Emily Wolman of... more
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