I Just Love Rnning Water

“I just love running water”

Scientist:
John Schade
Assistant Professor Biology and Environmental Studies
St. Olaf College

Date:
October 18th, 2009

Location:
Minnehaha Park

We are just a stop. Have to stop thinking about the human as a discreet entity. Things go in, things come out.

Just a stop.

It was great to approach a stream with a river ecologist, and just see that utter fascination with running water, transcendent glee over an action. I have seen this gaze in many artists over materials and processes before, another distinct sign that these worlds are very similar. We look and stand in wonder.

“I just love running water”

There was talk about the nitrogen cycle and though it was a great description, this is so complex that I am awaiting a good diagram that John stated he would give me. Of the three elements he is interested in (phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon) Nitrogen strikes my fancy. It is in abundance based on agriculture, or more over monoculture’s need to augment the soil. It is creating dead-zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Oddly, I have been thinking that people are not getting on the river enough, and now I find out that water is getting there too fast…

When one tries to maximize one aspect of a system, there will always be repercussions.

So it boils down to the system, we need to see systems and not discreet objects. Based on an evolutionary thought, I assume we are hard-wired for the immediate. Fixing a problem is right there; it helps for day-to-day survival. In a way, since we have become distanced from our environment and so abundant, we must push past the immediate and think in systematic ways.

On a practical note, John talked about a filter that filters out nitrogen that is made of wood chips. These chips have to be changed out periodically, but it does work. I am interested of course, but how does one use this “band-aide” approach, yet educate that even this nifty thing is replacing a lost system, or trying to patch a broken system? This seems to be a key. Yeah, short-term fixes can be used, but they must also work toward a long-term solution. I like this idea, it seems to offer great aesthetic potential.

We plan on another walk…