What Mars says about the Earth

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Mars has much to teach us about running a planet.  What a lovely home we have--with its deep blue sky, sparkling sun, mostly clear air, and clean green landscapes!

In contrast, the dust of Mars is everywhere--turning the sky red, casting the landscape into a reddish gloom.  Dust would fill your vehicle, your spacesuit, and your habitat.  We could live there, but we'd have to manufacture every last resource--even the air to breathe.

Dust to the horizon on Mars.  NASA.

Findorff Construction spreads litter on L. Mendota

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On Sunday March 10, Findorff was again unprepared for rain and thaw.  The rain amounted to .93 inches, augmented by melting snow.

The area furthest from the lake had been recently excavated, but no erosion controls were visible along the fence.

Out on the ice of Lake Mendota, Findorff had been dumping snow excavated from the construction site.  The dumping of snow was intentional--it was in large piles dropped by a power shovel.

Ordinance proposed to legalize gardens on street terraces

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A "terrace" is City-owned land next to the street.  Usually, it's the portion between the street and sidewalk.

According to Isthmus, an ordinance amendment has been proposed "to make it possible for residents to plant gardens in their terraces. Part of the motivation for this amendment is to make legal what in many cases is already being done -- planting gardens and other edible or decorative landscaping in the city-owned land between the sidewalk and the street.

Living lightly--Halley research station

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In Madison, erosion from construction sites is responsible for 19% of the phosphorus in our lakes.  Construction is a major cause of Madison's poor air quality.

Nationwide, a recent study shows the industry causes $14.7 billion in economic damage a year.*  Those costs are paid by all of us.

So there's a need to find greener construction techniques--to build and live lightly on the land.

Credit: British Antarctic Survey

Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica is a striking example of what's possible.  The buildings were built from prefabricated modules, placed on legs above the ice.

Construction at the Edgewater, Jan. 29, 2013

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On January 29, temperatures reached 54 F, with rainfall of 1.84 inches. Findorff Contruction wasn't prepared for the rain.
 

There was a sediment spill to Lake Mendota.

Construction at the Edgewater, Jan. 19, 2013

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View from the top.

View from the lake. 

A gap in the silt fence along the lakeshore, plus construction dirt spilling over into the lake.

Photos were taken on a Saturday, when temperatures were about 38 degrees.  I wanted to see if there was enough meltwater to cause erosion of sediment into the lake. Water erosion wasn't evident.

But when snow was cleared, a lot of dirt got mixed with the snow, which was dumped outside the sediment fence.  So some dirt is getting into the lake.

Dust fallout on Lake Mendota

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For dust, Madison's air ranks as the 24th most polluted, out of 277 cities.

Last Saturday during a thaw, I could see dust fallout on the surface of Lake Mendota.  The Lake has been ice-covered for only a few weeks, so you can see how rapidly dust accumulates.

The dust floated on meltwater, and blew into a row along the edge of this icy pool.

Early next spring, this surface dust will become water pollution.

One of the largest contributors to dirty air is construction in Madison--our largest industry.

Latest construction activity at the Edgewater

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Excavation at the Edgewater Hotel, for the reconstruction project, viewed on Dec. 29, 2012.

Almost no erosion control measures are visible.  Findorff is gambling that it won't rain.

On Dec. 30 in 2004, the peak temperature was 56 F.   On Dec. 30 in 1884, it rained 1.62 inches.

Solstice celebration at Glenwood Children's Park

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"Many stalwart folks showed up on Friday's official Solstice evening to defy Mayan doomsday talk and to thaw the longest coldest night of the year with good camaraderie, singing, hot cider, smores, and a blazing bonfire.

Neighbors organize cleanup team for construction mess

Neighbors on Monona Bay are fed up with the Ghidorzi Companies--a contractor that caused repeated plumes of muddy water into the bay, clouds of dust on windy days, insulation blowing about, and mud on the streets.

So two retired firefighters who live on the bay, Steve Vanko and Tom Ulrich, formed a team--to clean up the next mess--and DELIVER THE DIRT to those responsible.


The first "action" came Dec. 19, when a large "trackout" of mud from Ghidorzi on Fish Hatchery Rd was noticed at 4:30 pm.  Probably more than a hundred pounds of mud, much of it in large clods, was spread about a block south of the construction entrance.

The "rapid response team" of three was ready to go by 7:00 pm, with one "backup" on call.  The rush was to get the mud before the blizzard started. But to our as surprise, Ghidorzi had already cleaned it up!

Possibly they saw me photographing, and beat us to it.  Or even better, perhaps they had a change of heart--after six months of pollution.