{mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: How safe are the fire retardants that are used to quell forest fires across the American West?

-- Barbara, Minneapolis, MN

So-called long-term fire retardants - those usually dropped from airplanes over forest fires - are comprised of water mixed with a slurry of chemicals, thickeners and corrosion inhibitors designed to prevent plants on the ground from igniting, keep the ingredients from separating and dispersing during targeted drops, and ensure that the harsh chemicals on board the plane don’t endanger the flight’s safety.

Firefighters sometimes add iron oxide to make the fire retardant turn red when applied so they can see where they have already covered. Ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate, known for their use as agricultural fertilizers, are also often added to provide nutrients to help the forest regenerate after a burn.

In recent years, where global warming and droughts have exacerbated forest fires across the American West, federal and state firefighting agencies have upped their cumulative annual use of long-term fire retardants to some 20+ million gallons a year spread across tens of thousands of individual fly-overs. 

While such chemicals have been valuable in minimizing the damage of forest fires, their use comes with a price. The nitrogen in ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate can wreak terrible havoc on aquatic ecosystems, creating algae blooms that kill fish by choking out their oxygen. A 1998 study by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, found long-term fire retardants to be “very toxic to aquatic organisms including algae, aquatic invertebrates and fish.” The study also said that fire-fighting chemicals “could cause substantial fish kills depending on the stream size and flow rate.” 

These chemicals have also been shown to affect some plants’ reproductive capacities. One study found that spraying fire retardants in some cases decreased plant species diversity, as weedier species better adapted to make use of excess nitrogen in the soil tended to thrive while native species were not able to compete.

In 2000 the U.S. Forest Service issued guidelines for use of fire retardants by aerial fire fighting crews. While the focus of the document was fire control and safety, it encouraged pilots to avoid applying retardant within 300 feet of waterways or other sensitive areas. The Forest Service acknowledges the risk of using retardants, but believes that their use in moderation is a net gain; as fewer “ground troops” need to be sent in to risky situations while more property can be saved from the ravages of a fast-moving fire.

Fires are actually an essential part of forest ecology and many species of trees and plants thrive in part because of the natural occurrence of fires (sequoia trees, for example, depend upon the high temperatures of forest fires to pry open their cones so new seeds can spring forth and take root). The main reason that such catastrophic, news making fires occur in the first place is that humans have sprawled too closely to the forest edge. This has lead to forest management policies that suppress natural fires, causing large build-ups of tinder-like woody debris that eventually ignites and burns out of control.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

 When I get on my bike in the morning I ask myself “Who’s going to try to kill me today?” I say this to get my focus on business. We all know that riding is dangerous not so much because of our skills but because someone else isn’t watching out for us or we don’t see them. No matter what the cause is, if an accident occurs, as riders we have responsibilities which go beyond our riding.

 I wish this was a cool article about riding, but this one is on responsibilities of the worse type. In my wallet I have a piece of paper wrapped around my driver’s license that reads “If you are reading this, I’ve screwed up. Please call╔..”and I give contact information for my family members. I printed this up after seeing a few wrecks and wondered how hard it was for first responders to track down someone’s relatives or next-of-kin. At first I just had it in my wallet but my cousin Jerry, who is a fireman in Raleigh, suggested that I wrap it around my license. That was a great idea.

My letter goes on to give addresses, home, cell and work numbers where these people can be found. I give them an alternate person to contact, as well as my blood type. I also tell them I am a donor and my last sentence reads “Thank you for scraping me up.”

 It’s pretty funny and my hope is to tell my last joke if this happens to be my final publishing. I’m a funny guy like that, but seriously I don’t want a policeman or first responder spending the day trying to figure out my life story. We live in a military town and because so many people have their licenses and tags registered at their home-of-record it could make finding a loved one difficult. No one would like to see anyone wasting a day trying to find your wife or husband in Biloxi, Miss., only to discover that they actually live off Owen Drive.

 It is also important to have your legal affairs in order in the event of something tragic occurring. Many of us ride with our significant others and if something happens to both of us, it is our responsibility to make sure that our family is taken care of. If you don’t have a will, living will or durable Power of Attorney, you will want to speak with an attorney to make sure that you have your affairs in order. Oh, did I ask you if “there is any unfinished business” before I go? 

motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

Have we come to a time in this country when we are ready to deal upfront and honestly with our grievances and hopes concerning the burden of racial misunderstanding that is woven into the fabric of American society? 

Our recent public discussion of portions of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons reminded us that race can still pop up anywhere when we are thinking about politics and national leadership decisions. Then Barack Obama’s speech on race in America last week gave many of us hope that we can face these complexities and emotional minefields more openly and positively. But others, with despair or cynicism, assert the hopelessness of ever dealing with this confounding national burden. 

Coincidentally or providentially, I have been reading book about the struggle of another group of Americans to overcome discrimination and suspicion to find a secure and welcome place in this country. 

Durham native Eli Evan’s classic memoir and study of Southern Jews,The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South, was recently reissued in an updated and expanded version by UNC Press. (Evans is returning home this weekend to appear at the Triangle Jewish Film Festival in Cary. 

Originally published in 1973 when the Civil Rights revolution was still painfully readjusting the legal framework of southern race relations, Evan’s book chronicled the special challenges that Jews faced throughout their history in our region. More specifically, his personal memoir deals with the North Carolina experience of his family. 

Evan’s parents were the children of immigrants from Eastern Europe who came to North Carolina as house-to-house to house peddlers, then storekeepers, then successful business owners and finally respected civic leaders. 

His father, Mutt Evans, eventually won election as mayor of Durham, crafted a role as a progressive and gained respect and affection from his community. His uncle, Monroe Evans, served as mayor of Fayetteville. Other members of the family took on important community leadership positions. 

Eli Evans also achieved political success in high school and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1957 he won election as president of student government. 

The political and civic contributions and successes of the Evans and of other Jewish families in North Carolina could be compared to the later political successes of African Americans. Similarly, those successes did not bring with them total acceptance or complete inclusion in southern society. 

Jews continued to be viewed as different, and barriers to acceptance as “one of us remained.” 

Evans’ poignant descriptions of his struggles to find a comfortable place in his Bible Belt homeland evoke tears and laughter. As a youngster, he joined his non-Jewish friends at the numerous revivals that were important social events in his growing up years in Durham. Enjoying the music and rhythms of the service, he was caught in a panic when the preacher called for uplifted hands to signify salvation. “Lift it high,” the preacher said. “Lift it high as you can. Lift it and say ‘I am saved.’ Higher. You can do it. Let Him in your heart. If you can’t lift it, something is wrong.” 

When someone lifted Eli’s hand, “Wild-eyed and afraid, I jerked my hand away and bolted out of the tent as fast as I could, heading for home.” 

Christmas and Easter seasons presented special problems for the young Eli, seeking acceptance but trying to remain true to his family’s religious heritage. What was he to do during the Christian devotionals in his public school classrooms? How was he to participate in the Christmas pageants? When a teacher assigned him the “best” part, Joseph, he respectfully and firmly declined, only to be given the part of the evil tax collector, “the heartless representative of King Herod.” 

Constantly having to explain to his non-Jewish contemporaries why he was a little different from Christians, he acknowledged his uncomfortable confusion. “Deep down, Jesus still worried me.” 

Like Obama’s recent speech, Evan’s book is an open and personal invitation to step into the shoes of others, to discuss and explore our real divisions, and then to find in those differences a basis for respect and celebration of the kind of unity that is the best of America’s potential č and promise.

The Ruins (Rated PG-13/R)

Rated 5 Stars

{mosimage}Every PG-13/R movie released in the last three months showed the trailer for The Ruins (91 minutes). At first, this movie looked intriguing, then after the sixth time the trailer flashed on the screen, it started looking a little cheesy. Last week, when the trailer appeared in front of Doomsday I yelled at the screen. Of course, for such an overexposed movie, internet buzz and hype from people who read Scott Smith’s novel (he also scripted) guaranteed that I would at least give this one a try. Since the only other movie that looked promising this week was Stop-Loss (and I love Kimberly Pierce╔but that does not look like a movie a reviewer can sum up in 500 words), I wandered in to see The Ruins somewhat reluctantly.  

Once I got past the slow start (why spend so much time watching the leads drink tequila?  Let’s get chopping!) I was pleasantly surprised to discover a somewhat original, fast paced, horror movie filled with above average characterization. Remembering, of course, that the average horror movie characterization involves creating obnoxious one-note characters the audience is glad to see mutilated.  

Medical student Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and his girlfriend Amy (Jenna Malone), along with Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and his girlfriend Stacy (Laura Ramsey) head for an archaeological dig with Mathias (Joe Anderson) and Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas) on the last day of their Cancun vacation. Once at the site, creepy non-talking Mayan children fetch even creepier weapon-wielding Mayan adults, and the group is forced up a vine-covered pyramid. At first, they decide to conserve their supplies and wait for rescue, but supernatural attacks sow panic and dissent among them. Their cell phones prove useless, and various injuries are sustained by several members of the group as they search for a way off the pyramid. Gradually, they realize that help will not arrive in time to save their lives, and the group is slowly whittled down one by one.  

The usual horror movie desperation occurs, but it occurs alongside some effective character development. Take bets on who will survive, and you may end up surprised, as characters that initially appear strong quickly crack under pressure. For a movie I expected to dislike, I was pleasantly engrossed (with the emphasis on “gross”) with the story. The special effects on the mutilation shots made me groan, and there is nice attention to detail on the antagonists and the dead bodies. The lighting is superb, with the sunlit top of the pyramid creating a nice contrast to the dark inner chamber. Unlike many movies, only one or two bits slowed down the pace, and it felt more like 45 minutes than 91. However, with such a strong original plot, it was disappointing that the female leads spent so much time half naked. The male leads get to wear long shorts and shirts, but at least one of the female leads spent most of the movie stripped down to her panties and covered in dirt and blood.  

Overall, a nice little movie that made me forgive Jenna Malone for the self-indulgent travesty that was Corn. The Ruins will play well with Stephen King fans, and anyone who liked The Mist, Day of the Triffids, and Hostel. Bravo director Carter Smith, Bravo.

{mosimage}One of cable’s deadliest traditions is the interview with a faded old star, conducted by a starchy James Lipton type. The only drama in such shows is waiting to see if either interviewee or host lapses into a coma.

Alec Baldwin’s interview with Gene Wilder inRole Model (Tuesday, 8 p.m., TCM) is altogether different. This isn’t a stiff hour of hero worship, but a lively conversation full of anecdotes and insight. Baldwin is masterful in the interviewer’s role (someone please sign this man up for his own talk show immediately), and Wilder responds with candor and eloquence.

 He admits to being “a very mixed-up fellow” as a young man. Years of therapy straightened him out, and years of training in the Actors Studio and Broadway productions prepared him for a career in movies. Wilder tells memorable stories about makingThe Producers,Blazing Saddles,Willy Wonka andYoung Frankenstein, the latter featuring his own script. It’s startling to hear this gentle man admit that he worked up Dr. Frankenstein’s maniacal frenzy by tapping into “rage at my first wife.”

Remind me never to marry Gene Wilder.

Miss USA

Friday, 9 p.m. (NBC)

At last year’s Miss Teen USA, Miss South Carolina babbled incoherently in her Q&A and became an instant airhead celebrity. She appeared on talk shows, news shows and awards shows as America paid tribute to her formidable stupidity. Meanwhile, the articulate young woman who actually won the pageant was forgotten within seconds.

I’m sure the lesson was not lost on the current Miss USA contestants. Don’t expect any of them to make a lick of sense in the interview segment.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Saturday, 9 p.m. (Lifetime)

This TV movie lives up to its dumb title. Based on Kim Edwards’ bestseller, it’s an over-the-top melodrama about a doctor (Dermot Mulroney) who delivers his own twin babies in a howling snowstorm. He’s horrified to see that one of them has Down syndrome, so he orders the nurse (Emily Watson) to take it to an institution, then tells his wife (Gretchen Mol) that the baby died during the delivery. But the nurse smuggles the baby to another city and raises it as her own.

The movie takes itself very seriously, with an abundance of tears, rain, flashbacks and accusing glances. There’s not a hint of laughter, unless you count your own.

American Experience

Monday, 10 p.m. (PBS) 

Walt Whitman’s words still leap off the page, but Whitman himself doesn’t leap off the screen in PBS’s profile. It’s a solid enough introduction, but when the subject is America’s first great poet, would it be too much to ask for a bit of poetry in the filmmaking? And, no, shots of floating swans and waving grass don’t count.

We get conventional talking heads discussing the stunningly unconventionalLeaves of Grass, and it’s kind of a letdown. You sense that the filmmakers were afraid to take off their shoes and roll around in the mud, ł la Whitman. Not me, though č I’m sitting naked in the forest as I write this blurb.

{mosimage}Whether it’s somewhere in the search for an AIDS cure, fighting the extremes of global poverty or taking a stand against widespread violence and aggression around the world, the David Crowder Band acknowledges that the need for major change is evident and growing.  Knowing that in recent history, popular music has been used to motivate the masses and bring about change, this Contemporary Christian band has decided to lend its voices to a movement of hope and peace.

The band, originally from Waco, Texas, recently released its sixth full-length albumRemedy, which addresses the need the band sees for an ultimate remedy. Acknowledging that ordinary words and songs can only do a little to create lasting change, the David Crowder Band hopes this newest offering will truly inspire listeners to action.

“It seems there is always music attached to social change,” said Crowder in a recent interview withChristianity Today. “Music allows a community and individuals within the community to express themselves; and then turn minds to social action.” He said that the band developed the songs forRemedyaround what they felt this “music of change” would sound like in their own church, since movement was an undercurrent there as well.

“When music finds its way to people who attach readily to lyrics, it pulls on them and they can’t help but participate,” Crowder added. He hopes that this attachment will move people beyond buying products from companies that give to charitable organizations, to actually stepping out and getting involved in the process.

Remedy, is comprised of 10 of the band’s most pop-centric tunes including their fastest charting single to date, “Everything Glorious” which cracked the Top 10 on its Christian AC Indicator chart in just seven weeks.  The music dives deep into the theology of worship and talks about what it means to be a part of the remedy that people around the world so desperately need. “What we were after here was to make songs that move you to act, rather than present more ideas and dialogue,” Crowder concluded.

Some other highlights on the album include a special guest appearance by the Motor City Madman Ted Nugent on “We Won’t Be Quiet,” the energetic and driving tune “Neverending” and the synth-laden dance track “Can You Feel It?”

The David Crowder Band will take center stage at the Crown Arena on Sunday, April 13, at 6 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $38 and may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 223-2900. The Crown Center’s main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  For more information, visit www.atthecrown.com.

Twenty-four hours after viewing Good ‘Ol Girls at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, I found myself heading out to a wedding with my version of good ‘ol girls č my friends Becca and Suzy. They were beside me in the audience the night before watching the play. The whole way to the wedding, we were quoting lines from the play. That says a lot about this{mosimage}{mosimage} play. Not only did it have us in stitches throughout the performance (and sometimes in tears), it kept us in stitches hours later. So, with that in mind, we’re telling you, “Run, don’t walk to see Good ‘Ol Girls.”

Having seen our share of plays at the CFRT, we’ve seen some that we loved, and some of them not so much. But this play takes the cake. Written by Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, Good ‘Ol Girls knows women intimately. It speaks to our past, our present and our future. It dives into our hopes, our successes and disappointments. More importantly, it celebrates all of them. Unlike other stories that demand perfection from women, Good ‘Ol Girls treats us gently. It acknowledges our faults, our wiggly pieces, our quirks and weaknesses; and then it celebrates them. Instead of beating us up, it lifts us up. And for a modern woman, that’s quite a change.

The story, told through monologues and music, touches on many aspects of a woman’s life: her teen years; her yearning for love; her yearning for a spiritual connection; her ability to excuse the faults of others, while beating herself up over her own. It celebrates the iron hidden beneath the velvet of a woman’s character. We don’t think Bo Thorp, the CFRT artistic director, could have found six actors any better to tell the story than Pamela Bob, Kendra Goehring, Libby Seymour, Gina Stewart, Cassandra Vallery and Liza Vann.

In most plays, there is usually some member of the cast who shines a little brighter than the others. That wasn’t the case. Each of the women brought a unique and important part of themselves to the production. From Pamela Bob’s wild child to Cassandra Vallery’s birthing scene to Gina Stewart’s nursing home resident, each character portrayed resounded with “realness.” It didn’t seem as if they were acting, but rather that they were living the life of their characters. And, that’s when theatre shines.

The audience was enthralled. Throughout the evening you could hear whispers and giggles as members of the audience identified themselves in the characters. The four “good ‘ol girls” sitting next to us were hugging each other in laughter. The two in front hooting when a line struck a chord. And even the men in the audience found something to laugh about č whether it was the attention they garnered when the actors singled them out or the eye-opening insight they gleaned to the secret parts of their spouses.

If a play can ever truly be called a masterpiece, this one comes close. Were their some issues with sound? Yes. Did it matter? Not one bit. Did an actor occasionally stumble over a line? Once or twice č but that’s the heart of this play. For all that society expects us to be perfect, we’re not. We, like the play, are perfect in our imperfection.

So grab your mother, your sisters and your best friends and RUN to get tickets to this play. But leave your children at home. In addition to having big hair, good ‘ol girls also speak frankly about a lot of things č things your children just aren’t ready to talk about yet. 

Step right up! Its almost time… the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will present their big top family production  that has been touring the nation for more than 100 years. And on Thursday, Feb. 28, the Crown Coliseum will come alive when the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, “the Greatest Show on Earth,” comes to Fayetteville.Starting out as a small circus, in no way distinct from a throng of small shows that traveled regionally by wagon, the seven Ringling brothers quickly transformed their traveling act into one of the largest and best-run circuses in the country. With John and Charles at the helm, they gave their tour the official title: “Ringling Brothers United Monster Shows,Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals.” The Ringling Brothers distinguished their circus from the others by being honest and fair in their attitude toward the public; never allowing ticket sellers to short change customers or gambling on their lots. Their success resulted from a reputation of clean dealing and good value. It wasn’t long before they were able to begin touring the country by railroad.In 1907 the brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey circus and ran the two circuses separately until they merged them into one unit in 1919 when they also moved the winter quarters to Bridgeport, Conn. Today the circus travels around the world bringing joy to the faces of children of all ages. When the circus makes its stop in Fayetteville, it will bring its Gold Show to the stage. This intimate, interactive event brings you so up-close and personal to the live action that you’ll experience a day at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey you never imagined possible! Audiences are just a few feet away from six white Bengal tigers. The aerialists walk, fl y and jump through the air on a high wire, while the Wheel of Steel act leaves you questioning the forces of gravity. The circus also offers an all access pre-show to meet the animals and performers, teach circus tricks and give audience members a taste of the circus before the show even starts! Join the circus for a special opening night performance on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the pre-show are $12.50. This price is not valid on VIP fl oor seats and cannot be combined with any other offer. Tickets to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus are on sale now and can be purchased at www. ticketmaster.com. The Crown Center box offi ce also offers tickets by phone at 223-2900. For fl oor seats, tickets are $33.50, lower bowl tickets are $19.50 and upper bowl seats are $15.50. On opening night, Feb. 28 all tickets (except VIP fl oor seats) to the 7 p.m. performance are $12.50 at the door. There will be a 7 p.m. show on Friday, Feb. 29; a 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. show on Saturday, Mar. 1; and a 2 p.m. show on Sunday as well.