People wonder why I would put myself at risk to go into the deep back country, flying over harsh and difficult terrain in order to capture images of wilderness areas.
Mojave Desert Mountains in Winter large view
This is the reason why....Some of following these images I took in my travels and some have been set to me by various friends of my project over the past couple of years.
These images are glaring examples of the wanton destruction of our planet that is occurring every minute of every day. This is reason of why I do this. They are stunning examples of what is happening to our planet.
These scars last forever
Clear cutting a forest hillside - note the damage from mudslides
Toxic tailings ponds
Select clear cutting in the forest
Select clear cutting in the forest
Clear cutting the entire side of a mountain
Clear cutting a forest
Strip mining and entire top of a mountain
Huge pit mine on the edge of the desert
Fracking wells across the landscape as far as you can see
Fracking wells
Clear cutting the edges of the mountains
Clear cutting deep in the middle of a huge forest
Strip mining and entire mountain
Strip mining a bunch of mountains
Fracking across the countryside
Gigantic pit mine
Another huge pit mine
Taking all the trees from the mountain
gigantic pit mine
Decimated forests and mountains
Strip mined the entire mountain
Strip mined and pit mined an entire mountain
As is clear to see, it is not always beautiful images I see from up here. Sometimes I will fly over an area and come back only a couple of short months later to find huge swaths of forest cut out in the middle of nowhere.
My goal through my wilderness photography is to raise awareness to the beauty of our planet and to focus attention on the need to dramatically alter our approach to the treatment of our planet. We are tearing it apart to enrich only a very small handful of people at all of our expense!
It is sad to see this damage and unnerving to realize that left unchecked, there are people that would do this haphazardly to the entire planet. It is scary to think of!!
We only have one planet - and we have to live here. These damages last forever.
To view images from the project Where Eagles Fly - The American Wilderness Expedition please view my other posts. I am on a mission to raise awareness of our Iconic Natural Heritage Treasures of North America.
And if you would like, press the button to automatically follow my stories! Love to have you on board.
I wonder if you imagine things from up above when you look at them on the ground
I actually do! It is how I plan my shots....when I am camping I will watch the weather and when it gets to just the right conditions I jump in the airplane and scramble into the sky to get the shot!
I am speechless...your photos are awesome..!!!!
thank you aliceworld, I appreciate you taking time to check them out. If you get a chance go take a look at my project website as well on www.whereeaglesfly.com
This is quite disturbing. As someone who cherishes wilderness, it scares me to think of how widespread these detrimental practices are. But I am left wondering: What are the safest, most environmentally friendly methods of logging and mining? There will always be a demand/need for these resources, so it seems some forests/mountains will need to be selected for "harvesting". It's not a pleasant thought, but I'm trying to be realistic. Are there better ways of keeping this contained while still providing the necessary amount of resources?
muttonchoppers, I agree! The thing is, there are sustainable resource solutions for lumber in either composite materials for construction, and hemp for pulp / paper. Just using those alone would dramatically reduce stress on the environment. Then the obvious uses of alternate energy sources reduces the need to destructively mine, especially strip mine! We live in an interested era where soon enough the necessity to conduct these practices will be rendered obsolete. The goal is to move the public to demand these practices cease before too much damage has been done. And that is accomplished by raising public awareness, everyone can help simply by spreading the word!
I m not the photografy type.. but i love the feeling transmitted in your pics... congrats
Thank you raxitto!! I appreciate the sentiment.
That is very alarming to see those mountains stripped bare. I would think that reforestation would be a common practice in these areas, although the land would take decades to recover.
I agree it IS alarming... and yes reforestation can recover these areas, though there are no such things as rebuilding mountains.... once they are gone, they're gone. But if you look at the area around Angles Camp and Columbia, California.... that was all sluice or (placer) mined heavily during the 1800's gold rush and they absolutely tore the land to shreds. And now it looks beautiful... on the surface...but if you get off the trails and look around you see the remains everywhere. It is horrible. So yes, on the surface they can be rebuilt but not even 50% back to normal.
The point really it that it is patently unnecessary to do this sort of destructive mining. With modern technology, alternate energy resources, composite materials, alternate materials like hemp...and in the event mining is necessary for some particular uber needed resource....then modern mining techniques can be used which make a world of difference.
The problem is these things are expensive... whereas most of the time companies would rather get in, dig it out and leave. They only care about enriching a small number of people at the expense of the rest of us. Sad really.
You show the world I didn't know before.
😩 Tears fill my eyes.
I have for a long time made conscious choices to protect our naturally abundant mother as much as I can... But I have never personally been affected by clearcutting before. This weekend I experienced the worst kind of pain related to our nature.
They cut down my magic spot.
I feel a huge urge to engage in something to rais awareness of some kind. I really enjoy your post and commitment to this subject.