Don't throw your cigarettes out the window!!!

There must come a point in time when people, young and old alike, will start to take care of their surroundings.

When they will stop littering and look for a trashcan.
When they will stop spilling their oil into the ocean.
When they will do everything that they can to convince lawmakers to approve of and enforce clean energy laws.
When they will realize that we don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children (old Indian proverb).

We are the only ones who can take care of this land. Stewardship must be on our minds at all times - simply because our happiness and well-being depends on the happiness and well-being of the earth!

So, tonight, I address myself to the young brunette driving the Silver Toyota Corolla S, with the Laguna Beach parking sticker in the left corner of her tinted back window, CA license plate 5RFA827, who threw her burning cigarette out of her window while driving north on Laguna Canyon road right after turning around Big Bend, just one week after the big Fire Alerts in the canyon.

Miss, I do acknowledge that using the ashtray in your car might stink your car up a bit. It might mean having to clean out the ashtray once you're back home. Or getting on some kind of smoking schedule where you don't smoke in the car but before/after your trips. But chucking your well-lit cigarette out the window in the canyon isn't worth it - you're putting an entire community of people, plants and animals at risk of death, destruction, and long-lived negative consequences. And frankly, that's a situation that I don't appreciate being put in.

Which is why I tried my best to extinguish your cigarette under my car's two left tires, why I wrote down your license plate, and why I am writing this post tonight.

Let us truly answer the call of responsibility - think before acting - and protect to our best ability the natural resources that we are so blessed to have.

All OC Parks Reopened; Red Flag Warning Remains

From the www.ocparks.com website: http://www.ocparks.com/newsroom/default.asp?Show=1001885&subshow=A

All Parks Reopened; Red Flag Warning Remains

Four parks closed due to high winds on Monday.

by Marisa O'Neil, Public Affairs Manager on 10/14/2008


Four OC Parks facilities that closed due to high winds reopened to the public on Tuesday morning.

Rangers on Monday closed Laguna Coast and Aliso & Wood Canyons wilderness parks and Irvine and Santiago Oaks regional parks as a fierce Santa Ana windstorm blew across Orange County. Though the parks reopened on Tuesday morning, the County remains under a red flag warning, meaning a high fire danger, until 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

Park visitors are asked to exercise caution and to remain aware of their surroundings. Report any wind damage, smoke or fire to the Park Ranger.

Rangers will be keeping a close eye on areas of dry brush.

Monday's windstorm damaged trees and signs in some OC Parks.

Check your park of choice's page on this site for the most up-to-date information on conditions and closures.

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park CLOSED - RED FLAG WEATHER

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is closed until further notice due to adverse weather and red flag warning conditions. For more information: http://ocparks.com/lagunacoast/

Please be vigilant when driving through the canyon - there is a high risk of Fire - no throwing your cigarettes out of your car window! (Why would you throw anything out your window, anyway?)

How many cars drive through Laguna Canyon daily?

Have you ever wondered just how many cars pass through Laguna Canyon daily, on Laguna Canyon Road?

CAHighways.org says the following:

"There are 29,000 cars that use the road each day in 2006; in 2020, that number will swell to 32,000 to 56,000 cars a day. The road was originally a stagecoach route."

(http://www.cahighways.org/129-136.html#133)

A PDF showing data from 1990 to 1998 shows daily averages of around 39,000 cars... as we can see here: www.lagunabeachcity.net/community/visionlaguna/ataglance/vlgl-pg13b.pdf

While these numbers shouldn't surprise me (considering all those cars that I see in the canyon) THEY DO...

Who wants to carpool?

How to Get Involved - Adopt-A-Park Program

Ok, so you're driving past the parks of Orange County, walking on the beaches, or just watching the grass grow in your front yard, and then it hits you - you feel the need to get involved in the natural community! You're not sure when, where, or how... but you know that it would feel great to meet new people, discover the natural history of your surroundings, and help promote an increased awareness of OC's resources.

If you turn to the internet for guidance, I suggest visiting Adopt-A-Park, OC Parks' Volunteer Program, which serves over 30 OC Parks facilities in Orange County. Here are a few Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Adopt-A-Park, taken directly from the Adopt-A-Park Volunteer Manual:

What does it mean to Adopt-A-Park?
As an Adopt-A-Park volunteer, you can assist with beautification of over 39,000 acres of spectacular resources. We want you to help in preserving and maintaining the natural beauty and allure of these distinct landscapes and facilities, striving to maximize the outdoor experience for locals and visitors alike.

What can I do as an Adopt-A-Park Volunteer?
There are many ways you can be a part of our Adopt-A-Park Volunteer Team. From being a trail monitor, to creating a new trail; Planting gardens to maintaining present ones; Staffing an interpretive center to leading nature walks for visitors, the possibilities are endless.

There are many perks in being an Adopt-A-Park Volunteer - besides the obvious joy in working in/for nature with other like-minded individuals, you often get free access to the parks (no parking fees), expense reimbursement, formal and informal recognition - and the Adopt-A-Park program carries Volunteer insurance.

If you are looking to make a difference in your community, to add more joy into your life, and to connect with nature in Orange County, this is an excellent way to go!

(All information has been taken from the Adopt-A-Park Volunteer Manual; the author of this post is, as of the posting date of 1 Oct 2008, not affiliated with Adopt-A-Park in any way. Please contact Adopt-A-Park directly for more information on their program. Thanks!)