It also went on to list the beaches or dune areas where one can actually "tear it up" with an ATV. That is like giving terrorists maps of prime locations of where to plant bombs and giving them instructions of exactly how to do it. But here a so-called "media giant" newspaper is helpfully informing polluters and environmental destroyers how to do more damage to the fragile environment - just so they can have a good time.
The writer of this horrible story, Cindy Loose, should definitely be ashamed of herself. Check out this excerpt:
"The section of the [Oceano] dunes [within the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve] and beachfront open to ATVs and other vehicles is a point of controversy. The Santa Lucia chapter of the Sierra Club won a lawsuit in 2005 that increased the size of the area fenced off for nesting birds. The environmental group is now pushing to make the nesting area off-limits year-round, so that the habitat on which the birds depend is kept in good shape for their annual arrival...Congratulations Cindy on writing one of the least-environmentally responsible travel articles ever.
Hiking the dunes would certainly have been better for my health, but I confess a tendency to see an inverse relationship between what's healthy and what's the most fun. And riding the dunes definitely falls into my "most fun" category."
Read the full story: Hey, Dune
(response from Cindy Loose via email)
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Shroeder,
On learning about this beach the first thing I investigated were
environmental issues. These are not the fragile little dunes you see on the East Coast, and I was assured there is no permanent damage to them---and there is no physical evidence they have eroded. Air quality samples are
taken regularly and show air quality is good.
While I can't prove this with statistics, I think it's reasonable to assume that the family that camps at this beach and has some fun on an ATV does
less damage to the atmosphere than the family that flies to Italy for
vacation, or takes a cruise. The perfect environmentalist would stay
home and go to bed at dark, but all of us draw lines somewhere. I was persuaded not to draw the line in the tiny section of sand enjoyed by ATV riders.