essays | Page 44 | Andy Arthur.org

Are Conservation Easements an End-Run Around the State Constitution?

Andy | October 27, 2010

In the Adirondack Park there are several parcels of timberland that are so-called Conservation Easements that are privately owned and logged, but allow public use. Many of these Conservation Easements were entered into about a decade ago under the George Pataki Governorship, as an effort to increase public access to Adirondack lands but still allow timber companies to log existing Adirondack timber areas.

Perkins Clearing Road, an easement road in Perkins Clearing, owned by International Paper/Lyme Adirondack Timberlands, LLC

Many conservation easements:

Are actively logged by timber companies.
Allow the public to hike on and explore.
Have road-side campsites for people to camp.
Allow hunting, fishing, paddling, and public enjoyment.
Give timber companies lower taxes and better protection of their lands by regular ranger patrols.
High quality roads maintained by a unique partnership between Timber Companies and the State.

Outside of the Adirondack Park, most State Forests are regularly harvested and actively managed for timber resources by the state. Inside the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, the state constitution specifically prohibits the taking and sale of timber on public lands. Therefore, if the state wants to keep using existing timber lands for continued timber harvest, the only way they can do it is keep the timber lands privately owned, but managed by state for a public purposes of conservation and recreation alike.

Looking at the Perkins Clearing Easement from Pillsbury Mountain.

One can argue that the forever wild provisions of the state consitution are outmoded, a byproduct of the degregation of our forest lands from the mispratices of the industrial revolution. Many of the early timber harvests tragically did not consider the impact of errosion or inappropiate clear cuts in sensitive areas. Some areas should have been off limits, but at the time our state nor did industry follow good practices. We are now stuck with the state constitution we have.

A selectively logged parcel, made into several meadows that will eventually revert back to hardwood forest and become a future timber crop.

It is good to see our state is protecting important pieces of timber land, yet also allowing economic development associated with responsible timber practices and recreational use of these parcels. Yet, it does seem like an end run of constitution’s forever wild doctrine, to have essentially public lands (although on paper privately owned), and allow timbering on them by private companies.

Designated Road Campsite inside of the Perkins Clearing.

It is unlikely our consitution will be amended for true public ownership of working timber parcels in Adirondacks. The high level of protection for true public lands in the Adirondack Park will continue, and while Conservation Easements might allow an end run around the consitution, they do benefit all parties — those who want the jobs and profit from logging and those who want more public lands for recreation.

Lighting & Appliances

Andy | October 23, 2010

This is third in a series. First read about generating power using the inverter.

Lighting System Wiring.

For wiring in my system, I use two sets of surge strips. One is plugged in the cab of the truck, directly to the inverter. This is used for charger and cords I want in the cab. When parked and camping, I then use a 12 foot extension cord / lead lamp cord, to run power out to the bed. There is another surge strip plugged in there. From there, is were I plug in all the appliances to the bed, along with the two other lead lamps that I use when camping.

Compact Florescent:
My Set Up & What You Need to Know.

Whether or not you believe in global warming or the price of your utility bill, compact fluorescent are a technology you want to embrace when truck camping. Truck battery technology — whether or not you have a deep cycle or starting battery is limited in the amount of current it can retrieve, prior to requiring you to start up the truck and generate more current.

Low-cost, high-efficiency compact florescent lighting (CFL) is the most important invention when it comes to truck camping. You can get a lot of light on your campsite using CFL technology, with minimal battery drain. For example conventional incandescent bulbs versus florescent lighting:

40 watt incandescent = 9 watt florescent
(50 watt incandescent estimated output of camp lantern)
60 watt incandescent = 12 watt florescent
100 watt incandescent = 24 watt florescent

You can therefore, produce a lot of light using compact florescent lamps compared to camp lanterns. You can have the best lit campsite around town! I swear any time I camp at Moose River Plains, people wonder why my campsite has so much light.

I typically use two lead lamps I bought at home depot for $9 with 24 watt florescent bulbs. The fixtures are rated for 75 watt incandescent bulbs, but with the cooler and lower energy consuming florescent bulbs, you can get more light output out of these fixtures then you normally would. Moreover, your saving your battery by the lower electricity consumption.

For inside the truck cap, I use a desk/reading lamp outfitted with a 9-watt compact florescent light. I have used bigger lamps, but under in the intimate space of the truck cap, you don’t need more light for reading other activities. Why waste energy, that you can conserve, and avoid having to start the pickup on up?

Other Electrical Appliances.

When I’m camping, I always bring a portable (desk) fan, a clock radio/alarm clock. I also often bring my laptop, charger, along with chargers for things like my mp3 player, cell phone, and portable weather radio. I could also bring more devices, and indeed I have plenty of current with an 800 watt inverter (remember 742 watts = 1 horsepower) to power almost anything within reason I could bring camping.

The Truck Radio:
One Other Appliance Not to Forget.

While the truck’s radio is built into the truck, it can be a great source of entertainment. Just roll down the windows, and crank up the tunes up! Be aware however that the radio uses a lot of electricity compared many of the appliances you might plug into your inverter.

ou might find it more energy efficient (meaning less idling the truck), if you get a portable boombox that you can plug into the truck. Many use a lot less wattage then a conventional car radio, and you can direct the sound where you want.

Taking an Anti-Vacation

Andy | October 18, 2010

When I was younger, I tended to take more anti-vacations then vacations. Vacations, as least as I conceived in years past, are more about getting out and doing things. They are about days of hiking up mountains, kayaking, exploring new lands. They are about rush and hussling to get as much possible into a short period of time.

In contrast, an anti-vacation is about relaxation, camping, and doing as little possible. It’s about not watching the time every minute, but instead just de-stressing and allowing the time to fly by without care. It’s about sitting back, reading, drinking beer, and watching the wind blow through the trees.

An anti-vacation is not about new experiences. It’s not about going to great places, or doing remarkable things. It’s about being lazy, and just enjoying oneself without doing a lot of work. It’s a cold beer, it’s a campfire in the woods. It’s a true vacation, even if it seems more like an anti-vacation then a vacation.

Are Cities Green?

Andy | October 14, 2010

To answer that question, I’ve taken three cities and three rural areas in New York State and brought them up on Google Maps.

You can draw your own conclusions on what living arrangement is more “green”, although I think this orthoimagetry from Google speaks louder then words alone.

Fall at Green Lakes State Park

Andy | October 10, 2010

Green Lakes State Park beautiful and unique state park featuring mineral rich waters, meromictic ecosystems, and old growth forest outside of Syracuse, NY. I went out for a 1.5 hour walk along these lakes on a beautiful fall morning around 7 AM.

It is a three mile walk around both Green Lakes and Round Lake, and is very popular for crazy suburbanite joggers, which will try to run you over when you go for an early morning walk. In the day time in the fall it’s even more crowed, though there is no entry charge after Labor Day Weekend

Watching the sun rise across the lake.

The colors along the trail as the sun rose where spectacular.

As I walk along the very colorful tree line along the lake.

As the fog rises on Green Lake and over green lake.

Walking over to Round Lake and watching the colors of the trees reflect on the lake’s surface.

On a brightly lit trail around Round Lake as the sun filters through the colors of fall.

And dozens of color reflect upon Round Lake.

Then I walk over to Green Lake with the colors at peak on a very beautiful fall morning.

From the southern edge of Green Lake, there is this pretty little point jetting out into the Lake.

I proceeded to walk along to the western Edge Of Green Lake to see the bright colors across the lake. This is from the point shown in the previous photo.

One last view of the colors, as I return back to my truck.

The Old Administration Building at Green Lakes (taken the previous afternoon).

The New Administration Building at Green Lakes.

Note: The best time for peak folliage at Green Lakes State Park is during the Columbus Day Weekend in October. This is when I was out hiking here. If you want to visit it during the most pretty part of the day, make sure to get here right at the crack of dawn, which occurs about 15 minutes later then surrounding areas, due to the low elevation of the lakes.

Here is a map of the walk around Green Lake and Round Lake. If you are doing it in the morning, it’s best to walk around the Eastern Shores first for the sunrise, and the Western Shores second to see the colors on the leaves.

View Green Lakes State Park in a larger map

Summer Too Short? Blame the Democrats.

Andy | October 5, 2010

It’s obvious that the summer is too short. Despite the fact that Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress, the White House, and the state legislature, they have failed to extend the summer months into the fall.

It’s not like it’s impossible to extend summer. All they would have to do is pass a law stating the summer extended past the fall eqiunox, and maybe change the days that school starts along with changing the date of elections.

To counter the shorter colder days, the Democrats could have created a second daylight savings time, that would kick in for the first three weeks of fall, along with offering tax breaks for the purchase of warmer clothing, such as insulated swim suits.

This could be of great economic benefit. It could create jobs and extend summer fun. But of course, the Democrats despite being in power chose not to extended summer another month or two.

Therefore, we must vote them out of office.

My Truck’s $1.50/kwh Electricity

Andy | September 15, 2010

I was wondering about how expensive it is to generate electricity with my pickup truck to power my accessories in the evening compared to the 16 cents a killowatt hour electricity I have at home from National Grid (including the 1.8 cent a killowatt hour surcharge for wind-hydro power).

Figuring…

The inverter and wiring has a maximum output of 800 watts. In an hour, it can produce up to 0.8 a kilowatt hours of electricty.

The truck battery has a reserve capacity of 120 minutes at 50 amps draw at 12 volts.

Gas is $2.75 a gallon. A Ford Ranger uses approximently 1/2 oz of gasoline per minute idle, and it takes 256 minutes or 4 hours, sixteen minutes idling per gallon.

Idle the truck 20 minutes an hour to keep the battery charged. That means each hour it uses 10 oz of gasoline, or 1/12 a gallon of gasoline.

Adds up to…

About $1.50 a kWh for electricity. While it takes more then hour to produce that killowatt hour energy, that’s what the net cost is. It’s 10 times the cost of utility plant, but that’s to be expected.

A pickup truck’s engine and alternator is not designed as a dynamo to efficently generate electricity. The primary goal of the alternator is keep the battery charged up, and the battery is designed mostly to provide a high amperage output to the starter, to quickly spin a cold engine with significant resistance from congealed oil in the winter.

Alternators are at best 50-60% efficent at converting engine power to electricity, and that’s on top of an engine that is probably about 20% efficent at putting power to drive line. That means the entire system is about 10% efficent, far below the 30-40% that most utilities can create electricity at.

Lighting System Wiring.

Compact Florescent: My Set Up & What You Need to Know.

Other Electrical Appliances.

The Truck Radio: One Other Appliance Not to Forget.

A City: Rochester.

A City: Manhattan.

A City: Ithaca.

A Rural Area: Preble.

A Rural Area: Moose River Plains.

A Rural Area: Coventry.

Compact Florescent:
My Set Up & What You Need to Know.

The Truck Radio:
One Other Appliance Not to Forget.