Back to Basics

I remember a story a few years ago about a man who was hired to paint a water tower. Anxious to get back home, he ignored the forecast and sprayed the tower even though it was a windy day. Everything downwind got coated with tiny blue dots including all the cars that were parked in a nearby lot.

Others had to suffer because the man was inflexible to environmental conditions.

This is the kind of story that plays out everyday ... but with much less notice. One example involves energy production, an outdoor sport, and bats. Yes bats, those creepy flying mammals in the night sky. Brace yourself because this post isn't pleasant.

It seems that North America has at least five billion fewer bats than just a few years ago. These creatures are struggling now, and they need us humans to be a little flexible in order to help them. The consequences otherwise are not just sad, they could be downright painful.

Like vampires, bats are mysterious. Scientists simply don't know a whole lot about them because they aren't easy to study. Here in Pennsylvania, we know that there are two kinds of bats: ones that migrate and ones that hibernate. Windmills are killing ones that migrate and a pathogen is killing hibernators.

Because we don't know for sure how many exist, we can't determine the percentage lost, but the studies have suggested a 98% decline in some hibernating species. Unlike the paint story, the situation is not just a matter of inconvenience, it's tragic. However, like the paint story, a little flexibility on our part could go a long way in preventing more hardship. Here's why:

A Windmill's Impact on Migrating Bats

I've been told that the blades on today's high-tech, industrial strength windmills turn at about 160 miles per hour. We've long wondered how many birds would get hit since these colossal towers are positioned in the same windy pathways used for travel; however, when scientists began to look for bodies at the base of the towers, they found a lot of bats among the birds.

They also found...

•...more dead bats in late summer and early fall – migration seasons.

•...bats that seemed to be in perfect condition among the beheaded and cut up ones. Dissection revealed evidence of barotrauma – they exploded internally due to the sudden drop in air pressure within the turbine zone.

Desperate to find a solution, researches determined that, since bats don't typically fly on windy nights, mortality rates could be reduced if the blades didn't start spinning (a.k.a. cut in) until the winds really kicked up. A slight change in the angle of the blades would change this cut in threshold, and since windmills only work when it's windy, it is estimated the change would cost only a .3% loss in power generation. Meanwhile, it is believed the action could prevent about three quarters of the bat fatalities.

The industry in PA remains inflexible to the idea.

A Disease's Impact on Hibernating Bats

A cottony white growth was found on the faces of cave bats near Albany New York in the winter of 2006. The cause: a cold-loving fungus (Geomyces destructans) that spread rapidly, both among the colony, and now among caves in North America. Once exposed, each cave population is nearly decimated.

European bats have been dealing with this White Nose Syndrome for years, but they can survive it for reasons scientists are still trying to figure out. Meanwhile, no one knows for sure how it came to America, but the general consensus is that human cave explorers accidentally and unknowingly carried it here on their clothing or equipment. Cave visitors have since been warned extensively that they could spread the disease. The community refused to stop exploring and instead decided to instruct visitors how to disinfect equipment and clothes to prevent the spread.

One inflexible person could spoil the whole cave.

What Bats do for us.

People may feel these creatures are just one letter away from rats, but the reality is they play a big, quiet role in our quality of life.

Ask yourself which would you prefer to have more of: bats or mosquitoes? Bats or pesticides? One bat can eat up to 6,000 insects each night or 25 percent of their body weight. They also pollinate plants and contribute to medical research. You don't have to like them to appreciate their existence.

To make matters worse, a bat can live for 30 years, so their reproductive rate is low. The losses we are witnessing right now will be felt for decades to come.

And windmills and White Nose aren't the only threats. Bats have long been suffering with habitat loss from chopped down roosting trees and boarded up caves, etc. as well as health problems from interrupted hibernation.

Alter a few blades? Disinfect when visiting a cave? Allow visitors to live in your belfry? These actions wouldn't seem absurd if your life depended on them, which I think it does when you consider pollination and prevention of insect-related disease. There are many creatures in life that make the average person squeamish, but we owe them -- and ourselves -- the flexibility needed so that they can continue to live. Doing otherwise is as foolish as spray painting in the wind.

Visit the Organization for Bat Conservation.org for more information on how you can help the bats in your neighborhood.

Here it is. The debut post for the new "One Thing a Week" series in which I plan to offer suggestions for simplifying life in order to slow down, reconnect with Nature, and live in a way that is in better harmony with our surroundings. It wasn't easy to pick the first tip, but I had to start somewhere.

And the winner is...

Smile and Say "Hello"

I'm an adult now; I can talk to strangers. I can offer them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are not going to hurt me because, having lost childhood naivety, I am armed with enough good sense to know when danger is present. Since it's very likely that the people I pass also prefer kindness and grace, I resolve to be the one brave enough to say hi first. And who knows, this simple act might make someone stranger's day.

Now of course there are some parts of the U.S. that don't need this tip so much; saying hello is already the norm. But the place where I live is sandwiched between New York City and Washington D.C., and the people here tend to keep their noses down, mind their own business, and hurry up. Greeting strangers is not a priority.

Admittedly, there are many places where it is just too crowded to greet everyone. However, my immediate neighborhood remains rather quaint. When I walk down the street, the strangers who drive past will at least will lift a few fingers off the steering wheel and nod with a smile. They've found a way to hold on to their cherished privacy without forgotting what it means to be friendly, and it makes it feel like home.

There is just something special about a stranger's acknowledgement that you and they have crossed paths, even if just for a fleeting moment. Without intention, it says "hey were all in this together so we might as well smile and enjoy each other's company."

In some cases, "hello" can be an important matter of homeland security. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, leaders told us to watch for strangers in our hometowns. I didn't like being asked to suspect my neighbors, but I understood the reason for the instruction. But how was I to know if anything or anyone was strange in this world of privacy and isolation? Even then, since I've been wrong about people I thought I knew plenty of times before, I scrapped the whole idea of vigilance and suspicion. I went back to following my instinct, letting go of apprehension, and addressing people as I liked to be addressed. In the end, I felt my community would be safer from terrorism that way anyhow.

There will always be strangers out there who are evil. But I'm not one of them. You're probably not too. And no matter where you live, most of the people you come in contact with are starving for kindness and a sense of belonging. So take the first simple step: be the one to smile and say "hello."

It's that time again. The latest SOS Signal has been published, this time with a positive message for 2012.

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In order to better feed your hunger for solutions, I have decided to add a regular Friday post to this Back to Basics Blog.

The post will be titled, "One Thing a Week." It will include one small thing I do to simplify my life which in turn allows me to slow down, reconnect with Nature, and live in a way that is in better harmony with my surroundings. You will not find the latest, greatest technological advancements here; instead you'll find old-fashioned ways ... no purchase necessary.

I hope the posts spark ideas of your own - ideas that you can share with the rest of The Write Beat community by leaving a comment at any time.

We don't have to overhaul our habits all at once; we can just take one small step a week. Join me?

"We can always change it later," the client said to me as I was waiting for his decision on whether or not to print the piece we'd been working on for days. I sighed. It was his money, his time, and his frustration that would be wasted if we didn't just stay focused and do it right.

I live by the "ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure" philosophy. Time and time again that has proven to make my life easier ... maybe not during the moments of indecision or impatience or laziness that seem to creep in just before a project is officially finished, but later, when I don't have to revisit, repair, repaint, revise, or even remember what I was doing. It makes me sad when people can't see how, by scoffing at the last ounce of effort, they add pounds of work in the end.

If we didn't get the language right, the man was inevitably going to have buy the printing all over again someday. The paper. The ink. The folding. And it wasn't like we had reached a stalemate; he had just lost interest. However, since the customer is always right, I had to accept his decision and deliver something that was wrong. I hit the print key with objection and explained that the project's contract had concluded. Future versions would cost extra. I doubted our hard work would ever result in something either of us could be proud of.

How often do we push things aside, rush the job, jump to something else, and give up instead of just doing it right the first time? They say patience is a virtue, and that's just one tick away from stick-to-it-ness. Sure, we all deserve the compassionate opportunity to fix our mistakes, and the quest for perfection can be crippling as well, but when "deal with it later" becomes a general rule, the game gets very, very complicated. Plus it's like spreading thistle seed in your vegetable garden. It doesn't make sense.

Even so, I'm guilty too. Once upon a time the office secretary had to accurately press every key on the typewriter to generate a letter. One mistake meant she had to start all over or painstakingly paint on the correction fluid. Today, I probably hit the delete key more than all the others combined. Imagine how much less energy it would take if I slowed down and typed the message in a fluid motion instead of an erratic one. Blame it on technology, age, or society, I am losing my ability to follow my own virtuous philosophy.

So, that is one mistake I intend to correct. I have made a commitment to slow down and give proper attention to each task at hand until it is complete. If I feel rushed, I will stop and ask myself if there is good reason for the feeling, or if it is just the devil on my shoulder trying to bring me down. I may not have the luxury of fixing my life later; living is something I've got to get right the first time.