This is a problem that has been building for generations. Our current green culture is dominated by those that Know little about ecology (not the movement but rather the science) or agriculture (not a garden but rather commercial production). We have serious environmental issues that need immediate attention, but like the frog issue (which was found to be caused by a disease), misinformation abounds. Our kids are outside right now, playing near restored wetlands on our farm. When the dew burns off, we will pick tomatoes to sell at the farmer's market. The buy-local movement is great for us!

Good article and nice comments.

BTW - I know an academic philosopher who claims that Las Vegas is natural, not essentially different from a robin's nest. There is some kind of a point in there, I think.

I forgot to mention that around four or five years ago a friend delivered a frog in a plastic container that his girlfriend had found. Near Oxford, Ohio. I took it to a biology professor I knew and he proclaimed it a "brown tree frog" and he released it on his property near Indian Creek. It had four legs and two eyes. The woodlands are better protected than the farmer fields.

Meanwhile, Memory can be a bitch. Not so much on the empirical side which involves actual personal experience, but on the social side, in which what we were taught in school turns out to have been organized deception that changes over time. Thus, what high school students are taught today is different from what I was taught in high school. Some might call this "progress," but I do not. Elitists are changing the Narrative. We are now living in a retrograding environment about which Consumerists want you to know nothing. Go out and SHOP!

Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" ought to be required reading in high school English classes (it is actually very literary), but I doubt that it is required reading.

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Last night I heard my first what I call Tree Frog for about 3 years. They are actualy I am told the Spring Peepers.and they are more toads then frogs.
But let me tell you I had tears in my eyes lisening to the few of them calling back and forth.
Yes, I remember the old times growing up and just lisening to them at night to put me to sleep.
By the way, I am sure you all know by now that almost all amphibians are becoming more and more scarce.
Oh ,do not worry once they are gone we will get much closer to our own extinction.

I want all you to put on your thinking caps and name me just one man made thing that nature does not start destroying the minute we build it?

That also include us .

HighCountry Colorado-the bonemarrow of the world (from Jeramiah Johnson)think I'll head out for a few days and get above treeline and into the alpine zone and maybe climb a 14ner !

The antidote to neocon-nation the WILDERNESS.

I live in Ontario, Canada in the Kitchener-Waterloo area where we are in the process of paving over and building subdivisions and big box stores on our wetlands. I get out into the world every day for a little while and I still see lots of frogs around here once you get out of the city. They are mostly northern leopard frogs and they have all looked 'normal' this year. That said, there are a whole lot less of them than there used to be and I don't catch them and examine them closely. Would the problem of hermaphroditic frogs, (caused by chemicals mimicking estrogen leaching from plastics) even be visible to the naked eye?
Thanks for the interesting article, Judy.

There are lessons to be learned in Winter as well!

Taking something Holistic and piecing it up is sort of silly.

The very Idea of "Nature" as someplace "out there" that we may or may not "visit" is the core problem here, not the failure of most people to "visit" it often enough.

We may have shaped large parts of the World in ways that will last beyond our lifetimes but this is nothing in geologic or "natural" time.

At the same time, there might be about five square miles of Minnesota that haven't been interacted with -i.e. messed with- by Humans, at least loggers, hunters, miners, fishermen, or Natives. There is almost nowhere to go that hasn't been at least partially or formerly shaped by Humanity, just as there is nowhere to go that hasn't been partially or formerly shaped by "Nature".

The desire to separate ourselves from the rest of the World by imagining "Nature v. Artiface" or "Man v. Beast" is merely a remnant of more ignorant and powerless cultural understandings from our History.

A good analogy would be "race".

Scientific observation and study has demonstrated that at the genetic -or structural- level "race"(as in skin color variation = big difference) is bunk. Single tribes in Africa have more genetic variation than whole continents of different "races", for instance, while at the same time we ARE more genetically close to our actual family lines than with anyone else. "Race" -as in melonin count- turns out to be BIOREGIONAL not Cultural. The "culture" bit of it was merely an accident due to the fact that before modern tansportation and communication people interacted (acculturated) mostly WITHIN their Bioregion, hence the mistake of "race".

Of course, this still leaves us with Ethnicity, but the good news is that it is Socio-Cultural not Inherent, and can therefore be adapted to and shaped much quicker and much more easily.

So, Knowledge and Ability have allowed us to begin to overcome the long obstacle of "race" -they can do the same for our mental separation from the rest of the World.

Now that we can worry about "losing" the lion, or tiger, or bear (oh my!) instead of being EATEN by them...

Now that we can -tentatively- "model" the Climate, now that we need not fear the Rath of the God of Thunder (we actually are able to debate the best way to adapt to the Dynamic Change that Storm will bring fer cyrin'-out loud!)...

And now that the man we "elect president" (one of whom is "mixed-race"! see? its a lame start but its starting) has the power to reduce the World to a lifeless ball of radio-active ash...

We can probably afford to stop fearing "Nature" and stop pretending that we aren't a part of the Whole and that the Whole is not part of us.

In Spring one may get rained on, in Summer one may sweat, in Autumn one may pick a berry, and in winter one may fall and crack a hip.

All without leaving one's backyard or city block.

Just as one may stand in a forest - that is the stunted regrowth of a clearcut, that is not allowed to burn or mature - and spot a deer -that is deseased and overpopulated because all its Predators have been run off or killed- and fail to catch a fish -because dams downstream have inhibited its migration.

Maybe if we stopped thinking of nature as something "out there" where we can "go" and "relax" and "get away from everything" we would stop allowing the places where we live to be such degrading, soul-deadening shitholes.

Maybe we'd find a way of Living that not only ceased to harm the Biosphere, but actually began to heal and even ENHANCE it -while at the same time making us Happier, Healthier, and more Free.

Stranger things have happened.

Have Fun,

-matti.

I live in a city with lots of creeks running through it. In neighborhoods built before the 1970s, the creek banks were left in a pretty much natural state and a lot of native vegetation was left as well - it wasn't the practice to bulldoze everything in sight back then. Those older neighborhoods have a lot more frogs and other wildlife than the post-70s neighborhoods, which had their creek banks shaped with concrete and all the vegetation replaced with sod grass lawn, a desert to wildlife like frogs.

And the separation from nature because of computers and other electronica is alarming. Recent studies show that the same phenomenon is happening among children in the UK, starting with the advent of computer games in the 80s. Doesn't bode well.

I loved this article and would like to see CD do more similar to it.

I came of age in Oxford, Ohio, then a small college town a few miles from the Indiana line. I now live on the Indiana side a few miles from Oxford in a very small town. As I grow older, the idea of "continuity of place" has become increasingly important. I have lived on both coasts and visited Canada and Mexico.

When I was in high school in Oxford, frogs, toads, snakes, turtles and salamanders were very common at Acton Lake, at Hueston Woods State Park about 5 miles north of Oxford. These days they are nearly nonexistent (I constantly check out the perimeter...). Back then garter snakes and black snakes were fairly common in yards and fields. No longer. Back then (around 1960) there were pheasants actually in town. These days I walk the fields and drive the back roads of rural southern Indiana and I have seen ONE pheasant in the past 15 years---probably an escapee from a pheasant farm (I parked on the road next to it at a corn field and it just stood there and watched me watching it, as though it was familiar with humans...).

A few miles from my home is Whitewater State Park with a huge Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Whitewater River. I visit it regularly and did so on a Moped around 1960. Its watershed is essentially separate from that of Ohio's Hueston Woods. Yet here the reptiles and amphibians have also disappeared.

In high school I was taught to hunt for mushrooms and to identify them. The common field mushroom (virtually identical to store-bought back then) was common every July on the Miami campus (absent a serious drought). Free food! None on campus in the past five years at least. Back then there were secret places at Hueston Woods where morel mushrooms grew in spring. No longer!

A decade ago there were fish and tadpoles in Hannah's Creek between West College Corner and Liberty, Indiana, an important tributary into Brookville Reservoir. Today, they are GONE. It used to be that crawdads (crustacians) existed in every local stream. These days I have found them in only one stream in four Ohio/Indiana counties.

None of this is due to global warming: it is due to agricultural non-point-source big Pharma government subsidized pollution. Our government/corporation system is killing off the environment that sustains us.

As for frogs... Last weekend I visited a wetlands place west of Liberty, Indiana, west of Brownsville, Indiana, along Philomath Road, a bottoms next to the East Fork of the Whitewater River. It is very rural. There is an evidently spring-fed rivulet next to the road that has duck-weed and water cress and other plant species very rare in this area elsewhere. As I walked along the road there, next to the rivulet, frogs in front of me would croak and jump, but I never saw them. So I cannot tell you how many legs or eyes they had. What I can tell you is that back around 1960 frogs were so common that we high-schoolers used to visit a friend's farm pond and go out with flashlights and shoot them with our .22 revolvers for fun. We were young then, and stupid.

The reptiles and amphibians around us are our canary in the coal mine. To say nothing of the fish.

Great article.

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Great piece! As a Jr. High teacher, I'm saddened by the electronic youth culture. Even on a field trip to Glacier Park, just a few miles north of our school, students feel it neccessary to be "plugged-in."
One comment though...nature doesn't "hunker down" after summer. It simply changes its form. It transforms into a vibrant and living wonderland here in Montana.

Last night as I was driving home from a meeting, I was amazed at the number of frogs hopping across the road. I haven't seen a frog migration like that for years. I was happy to see them. Children do need time to hang out outside and do nothing. I am happy that my grandkids and their parents go camping. I wish all kids had the opportunity.

Normally we go into wilderness areas to get away but thought we'd give Yosemite valley a try for a change. The campgrounds were packed, the lodging full, but we were able to camp at camp4, the walk in camp. A few hundred yards away from the camp we crossed the river and found a nice sandy area to hang out. We spend our days there, mostly alone with an occasional family or couple walking by. We were amazed that here we were on the banks of a beautiful river with the most gorgeous views in all directions, El Cap, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, green lush fields, and we were alone throughout the day. I think it is the most beautiful place I have ever been, and there we were, midsummer, no one around.

Going to the store or the cafeteria was quite different. That's where everyone was, waiting in lines, shopping and eating.

What did one lesbian frog say to the other?

"Hey, we really DO taste like chicken."

There is nothing new here. I am 62 years old and I remember reading science fiction in my childhood where people lived inside domes because the environment was so toxic it would kill you to venture out. Now we know that such a picture is optimistic - when the planet reaches that point, it dumps us.
I miss seeing the butterflies (and the clean air that you could actually see through without all the pollution making the "picture" all hazy). As we have more and more of our human virus never seeing the natural world, I guess we just get more and more happy, fat and stupid - for awhile. Enjoy the trip!

You're guilty, I'm guilty, we're all guilty together. City slicker, country bumpkin, it doesn't matter. Unless you happen to be living in a cave or hovel, with no electricity or running water, no telephone, no computer, no car, no plastics, no chemicals, no modern pharmaceuticals. Which of course is the way good number of people around the world are living.

Heh, I pride myself in not owning a car or a cell phone, but in the greater scheme of things, that's just small change. What in tarnation?

I've been a monk for over 35 years and hitch-hiked around the world more than once. One quote and a few observations:

"Nature is the Body of God"

Studies have shown that people in hospital rooms with a window looking out on nature: get well faster and die less.

The most Peace-full group of human beings that I have met were not yogis in India -- but rather, shepherds who go out into nature with their herds/flocks for weeks/months at a time.

The happiest/most-emotionally healthy people I have been among in the world have lived in certain third world villages on at least three continents. What they shared in common was an organicly-loving community (depending on: no bad past political/social karma, no arrogantly selfish elites, and no stifling-of-Spirit religious beliefs/practices) -- and, a continual closeness and harmony with Nature.

Bless

Everybody read Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv (winner, 08 Audobon medal). You might also want to read Paul Shepard's classic Nature and Madness.

Then buy extra copies and send them to everyone you know with children, every psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist and social worker and tell them to push to get this disorder listed in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM, the Bible of diagnosing emotional conditions). It won't happen this time, but maybe the one after that, if we push hard and long. Then send one or both books to your Senators and Representatives, city council and school board members. Then when you've finished that go out for a walk in the woods.

If you can find any.

When you get home, make a plan with a friend to go out more. Take a course on tracking or nature awareness. For example www.regenerativedesign.org/ or www.trackerschool.com/. Go to your local Nature Center, Watershed Association or Ecology Center. Start learning and then volunteer.

anbaric - you're welcome. stay tuned . . . .

I live in a rural area, and when I go walking for my health, though many new houses have been built around here and more are coming up, I often see deer, rabbits, and the occasional fox. Toads and snakes live close to my house.

goodwordswan August 13th, 2008 4:45 pm:

I just read your article and loved it--thanks!

Yes, Judy. I'm out here and I'm looking. I've always been very plugged in to nature. It comes from having grown up in the sticks without even another house in view for at least a mile's radius and having an old-fashioned mother who limited my TV watching to a couple of hours on Saturday morning and an occasional special show during the week. I read books and explored the natural world--this is what I did all summer when school was out and every weekend when school was in session, and I was never bored.
When I got out of undergraduate school and moved to Chicago to work, I couldn't WAIT to get back to the country. I remember riding the bus north on Lake Shore Drive toward my apartment during winter when it was already dark by 5:30-6pm and seeing the blue glow of TV screens stacked vertically and horizontally as far as the eye could see and thinking what a sad, empty existence that had to be. Even though I'm from the South, I loved the Chicago winters, and true to my inner child, there were several nights when I would dress like a bear and pack up my ice skates for a couple of hours' skating at Oz Park—all by myself, not another body in sight. I also spent a lot of weekend time and prework dog-walking time in Lincoln Park and at Foster Beach in both summer and winter (and I always, always, always cleaned up after my three dogs). So there are many things about urban living that I liked, but I couldn't survive for very long without my heart and soul. The constant roar and queuing and the choking press of people and the seeming shortness of time pushed me back to my roots in nature, and I am now as happy as a person can probably be with all the shit that's going on in the world.
When I finally got back to the woods, I knew I was home for good, and, yes, I notice the same blue glow spilling from the windows of my neighbors' houses when I happen by at dusk. I work online now, so I admit to my windows emitting a blue glow late into the night sometimes too, but nature is just outside--a couple of feet away. I'm constantly looking at it through the big window that my desk fronts. Right now, I can tell you that there are three noisy hummingbirds flying around the huge polk plant that has been growing up all by itself outside my window for the last couple of years. The polk berries are still green, but in a few weeks' time, they'll be a deep black-red and packed with juice, and the hummingbirds will drink from them before they leave again for their winter haunts in Central America.

Thanks for the article. How important this is! I just wrote an article about the edible wild food I used to find when I was a child and how to turn your backyard into a certified wildlife habitat at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com/2008/07/09/eating-wild/

Keep up the good work.

"Us nature mystics got to stick together" - Edward Abbey

And how about getting BIG GOVERNMENT off our backs and quit allowing them to subsidize Big Oil and Big Agri.

the wetland canary has croaked

Frog legs taste good.

This is no different than the article about meat or the torture of millions of animals on the altar of Science.

The problem is the same-human supremacy beliefs/stupidity.

"The more we plug in, the more we shut nature out."

And the more we shut everything else out as well. Which is the way it's meant to be, I'm sure. We won't be noticing, or caring what is happening the the world around us. We won't hear that honey bees and birds are disappearing in huge numbers, or that the oceans are plastic soup that are now the watery graves for untold millions of life forms living there or that depend on it for food. They won't hear, or care that our mountains are being blown apart and leveled, or that the artic ice is nearly gone.

It's been a long, long time since I've heard the word subliminal. Maybe not since there was talk of a Beatles (I think it was theirs) album having sublimimal messages in it. I've had the thought running around in my mind a lot lately of what might be being programed into peoples' minds through cell phones that seem glued to so many ears these days. Maybe even through the other electronics gadgets that have flooded the country. Who knows where the darkness flows.

I've seen a few frogs and they look fine up here, 50 miles south of Canada border in Minnesota, but then they always did. I'd say there are fewer frogs but then we had drought for 3 years before this year.