Sometimes we will stand on trees and pollinate each blossom extra

Maoism got it to kill the bees. Capitalism will soon get the same. Shall we congratulate us to this victory?

The sparrow was a beloved motive for Chinese landscape painters for centuries. But a sparrow is not only lovely to watch. It picks corn, eats the seeds from fields and damages the harvest with this. So it was logically based, when Mao Zedong let his experts work out this damage. With this result: If a sparrow eats corn of 4.5 kilo per day, a million of sparrows ruin the annual portion of corn for 60.000 people.

Mao believed in scientific socialism and in progress, and so in the fact that human will can defeat wildlife, if only enough people try hard. At 13th December 1958 he sent his 600 million subjects to war. All at the same time started to shoot with slingshots and with guns, to wave flags and cloth about wildly, to strike on pots and tops of pots that the sparrows could not land anywhere that they could not come to rest as long as everywhere in the land they fell from the sky. The war was successful. Hundreds of millions dead animals were swept away and tipped to the garbage.

But some weeks afterwards, China had the next problem.The pests were spreading out. Worms, maggots and grasshoppers became excessive. - Insects that former had been eaten by sparrows. Due to Mao´s belief in progress and in victory of the human will, he let spray poison and pesticide onto the fields. This also was successful. The insects were soon killed. But at the same time the rice on the fields was destroyed. Thirty million Chinese were being killed at the famine of 1959. And with the rest of the insects also the bees were killed.

The last chapter of this story can be seen in Markus Imhoof´s documentary "More than honey" presently running in the cinemas of Graz. This way it works: As soon as in warm southern China the fruit trees come into blossom, clever businessmen hire day-laborer..They go to the fields, put up a ladder, pinch the stamen out of the blossoms, harvest the pollen and fill this stamen carefully into tiny paper bags.

Then the whole company starts off to cooler northern regions. As soon as here the fruit trees are flowering, the day laborer again start to lean a ladder against each of the fruit trees. A paper bag in one hand, a brush in the other, they pollinate every single blossom.

Hundred thousands of Chinese do this in modern China. They carry out the work of the bees, because bees don´t exist any more. O yes, this can be done. If you strongly believe that the human will can defeat the wildlife, if only a certain number of people try hard enough.

Presently in the rest of the world the bees are likely to die aut soon. Completely without Mao, without the great jump forward, without Communists, plot clattering and slingshots. Market economy has other methods. It has farm subsidies, farmer lobbies, stamen patents, EU - quota systems. But concerning the bees, market economy has the same result as Maoism.

Let´s watch, who will do the job with the manual pollinating, every single year, when spring is coming. (My translation of: Sybille Hamann in Die Presse, edition of 14.11.2012, 27)

The measures of the EU against overfishing during Irish presidency.

The fishing grounds for the Irish are not only in the Atlantic Ocean. Between Ireland and Cornwall is the Celtic sea, between Dublin and Scotland is the Irish Sea, and between these two seas is the Saint Georges channel. All these are the fishing grounds for the Irish.

But industrial overfishing has endangered those fishing grounds for the future. The cod as the main fish in those grounds has declined 70 % in the last 10 years. Generally 75 % of European stocks are overfished. For many years NGOs like Greenpeace have fought against overfishing of the cod and the tuna in these international seas.

There was already and international agreement, the “Cartagena Convention” against industrial overfishing in these seas, but no institution to control the implementation of this agreement. 

Now in February 2013, during Irish presidency of the EU council the European Parliament has backed reforms to end overfishing and restore EU sea stocks to healthy levels by 2020. But this alone will not help. The final agreement must be approved by the European Parliament and endorsed by the European Union's 27 governments. The Irish Government, as holder of the rotating EU presidency, has said it hopes to get a political deal on the proposed reforms by the end of June.

A new way up to Schöckl plateau

Schöckl is a well known and popular mountain for one-day-trips north of Graz. St. Radegund - a small village on the foot of Schöckl - can be reached from Graz by car or by bus. There is a big parking area. From St. Radegund you can take the cable car up to the plateau of Schöckl. If you are in a good shape, you could hike up to the Schöckl-plateau at 1440 m above sea-level from here. But the plateau is another 665 m higher up, so the routes from St. Radegund are strenuous and may take more than an hour and a half.
Other well-known routes start at the Schöcklkreuz. They are shorter, but they follow the north side of the mountain for the most part of the way, so they can be cold, shady, and unpleasant.
Some years ago the storm “Sophie” has blown down many trees in the woods of Schöckl. Afterwards a new forest road at about 1150 m was built along the south side of the mountain. Here is the road along the "White wall":

Since then you can take an unmarked way up to the plateau with the following advantages:
- Since you start at about 1000 m, the plateau is only 400 m above, so the way up does not take much more than an hour,
- the route follows the south side of the mountain all the time, so it is warm and sunny,
-the trail alternates between comfortable forest roads and attractive small paths.

Here is the way:

Don´t park at the valley station of the cable car, but continue on the “Landesstraße” (the main road) towards “ Passail, Plenzengreith, Schöcklkreuz”. At first the road ascents steadily up to the north east of Schöckl. After about 2.5 kilometers and at the height of about 1000 m, turn left, into the beginning of the former toll-road, which is now normally closed. I marked this point on the map above with a big red circle on the yellow road. You can park your car there. Hike along the forest road, as I marked it on the map with a red arrow. Almost at the end of the road, you will come across a small path, which leads directly up the hill. It takes you through a rather open area with meadows and rocks around you. After this attractive ascent taking you up about 100 m, you will reach the new forest road, which was built after the storm Sophie at 1150 m. Follow this comfortable and flat road to the west (arrow on the map). On a clear day you will enjoy your view to the east, to the south and to the west; in the south you might even see the mountain range Pohorje in Slovenia. After about 650 m along the road, you will reach the route of the cable car. If you are in a good enough shape I recommend following the route of the cable car for the last 180 m up to the peak.  After 100 m on this sunny path with a glorious view, you will reach a restaurant with a nice garden, the Halterhütte. But I recommend passing it, if you can, and walking the last 80 m up to one of the restaurants on the plateau. There you will have no further effort ahead of you, and can enjoy the highest point of your tour.

     January 2009, afternoon: View from Stubenberghaus to the stratus over Graz

Variations: From the new forest road at 1150 m you have other options for the rest of your ascent too:

250 m before the road crosses the route of the cable car you can take a nice but steep path up to the peak without the cable car above head (red circle in the map).  

If you are walking on the forest road engrossed in conversations about language matters such as the use of tenses or idioms, then stay on the comfortable road for other 650 m after the cable car until you cross the main path up to the plateau, which is marked on the map in green with “GUW 06”. From there follow this main path with a gentle rise to the plateau.

One of the described ascents will also take you back down to your car.

Schöckl is a well known and popular mountain for one-day-trips north of Graz. St. Radegund - a small village on the foot of Schöckl - can be reached from Graz by car or by bus. There is a big parking area. From St. Radegund you can take the cable car up to the plateau of Schöckl. If you are in a good shape, you could hike up to the Schöckl-plateau at 1440 m above sea-level from here. But the plateau is another 665 m higher up, so the routes from St. Radegund are strenuous and may take more than an hour and a half.
Other well-known routes start at the Schöcklkreuz. They are shorter, but they follow the north side of the mountain for the most part of the way, so they can be cold, shady, and unpleasant.
Some years ago the storm “Sophie” has blown down many trees in the woods of Schöckl. Afterwards a new forest road at about 1150 m was built along the south side of the mountain. Here is the road along the "White wall":

Since then you can take an unmarked way up to the plateau with the following advantages:
- Since you start at about 1000 m, the plateau is only 400 m above, so the way up does not take much more than an hour,
- the route follows the south side of the mountain all the time, so it is warm and sunny,
-the trail alternates between comfortable forest roads and attractive small paths.

Here is the way:

Don´t park at the valley station of the cable car, but continue on the “Landesstraße” (the main road) towards “ Passail, Plenzengreith, Schöcklkreuz”. At first the road ascents steadily up to the north east of Schöckl. After about 2.5 kilometers and at the height of about 1000 m, turn left, into the beginning of the former toll-road, which is now normally closed. I marked this point on the map above with a big red circle on the yellow road. You can park your car there. Hike along the forest road, as I marked it on the map with a red arrow. Almost at the end of the road, you will come across a small path, which leads directly up the hill. It takes you through a rather open area with meadows and rocks around you. After this attractive ascent taking you up about 100 m, you will reach the new forest road, which was built after the storm Sophie at 1150 m. Follow this comfortable and flat road to the west (arrow on the map). On a clear day you will enjoy your view to the east, to the south and to the west; in the south you might even see the mountain range Pohorje in Slovenia. After about 650 m along the road, you will reach the route of the cable car. If you are in a good enough shape I recommend following the route of the cable car for the last 180 m up to the peak.  After 100 m on this sunny path with a glorious view, you will reach a restaurant with a nice garden, the Halterhütte. But I recommend passing it, if you can, and walking the last 80 m up to one of the restaurants on the plateau. There you will have no further effort ahead of you, and can enjoy the highest point of your tour.

     January 2009, afternoon: View from Stubenberghaus to the stratus over Graz

Variations: From the new forest road at 1150 m you have other options for the rest of your ascent too:

250 m before the road crosses the route of the cable car you can take a nice but steep path up to the peak without the cable car above head (red circle in the map).  

If you are walking on the forest road engrossed in conversations about language matters such as the use of tenses or idioms, then stay on the comfortable road for other 650 m after the cable car until you cross the main path up to the plateau, which is marked on the map in green with “GUW 06”. From there follow this main path with a gentle rise to the plateau.

One of the described ascents will also take you back down to your car.

The right of moving in the woods

Many people in Austria like to take a walk in the environments, and they may ask: Is it allowed to leave the marked trail in a privat forest? Is it allowed to ski in the woods or to climb over a fence around a mountain pature over the tree line? Or it may be asked theother way round: Is it the right of the owner to close his wood with a fence to the public?

Here is the answer:
This matter is regulated in the Austrian Forstgesetz, this is a Bundesgesetz, that means it applies to all of Austria:
§ 33 Forstgesetz says: “Everybody is allowed to go through the woods and spend time there, exceptional the cases of the next two sentences and the case of § 34.
These exceptions are:
special places for storage
forestations with young trees not taller than three meters
§ 34: temporary closures of the woods are only allowed in the following cases:
for building sites
for areas of forest blowdown (windthrow)
for scientific purposes
for pest control.
and these temporary closures must not last longer than four months, or a permission from the authority is demanded.
Permanent closures are only allowed in the following cases:
a) for special cultures like Christmas trees
b) for animals in zoos
c) around the residence of the wood-owner in an area of maximum 5000 m² or 5 % of the woods.
Other permissions to close woods to the public are only given in cases of special dangers like avalanches or fire.
An allowed closure of the woods has to be published with special boards (signs) on all roads and paths entrances. In case of a temporary closure the beginning and the end of the closure has to be written on the board. In cases of a closure for more than four months also the number of the notification (official permission) must be written down there.
These regulations apply also to skiers with one exception: It is not allowed to ski in forests immediately surrounding ski-lifts.
Unfortunately these regulations do not apply to horse-riding, mountain-biking, and to camping overnight.
Similar regulations exist for pastures over the tree line.
So summarized in Austria hikers and skiers on tour are generally allowed to leave marked trails in public and private woods, and on pastures over the tree line. So the public is also allowed to climb over pasture fences - on their own risk. Furthermore an owner of woods is not allowed to close his woods for the public besides the legally permitted cases that are named above.

Yes we can: cradle to cradle

Today I will present you “Cradle to Cradle (C2C)”, this is a concept for production that does not focus on making less bad (environmental damage) but focus on making good (products). The C2C product Innovation Institute in San Francisco and partner institutes in Hamburg and Rotterdam promote an innovation-oriented model for eliminating toxic chemicals and other negative environmental impacts from production and consume. The aim is to create sustainable products that after their usage are the raw material (nutrients) for another use in an endless circle, either in a technical circle or in a biological circle.

Founders of this concept are the German University professor for chemistry Michael Braungart and the US-american Architect William Mc Donough.
 
They say, it should not be the aim of humans to reduce their waste almost until zero, because in this case it would still be better for the environment, if we would do nothing at all or even not exist. In contrast our aim should be to produce things that are the nutrient for the next generation of products. This enables intelligent wasting. Though presently still the majority of articles pollutes our environment sooner or later, there is also a way of intelligent production and they show the way how it works: They claim either to have the know-how or to investigate, how to produce for instance plastic, that can be the source (the cradle) for other products of quality in an endless circle.
So the “cradle to cradle products innovation institute” awards the “cradle to cradle certification” for products that fit into a perpetual use cycle. For instance they constructed a prototype of a car that after the end of its usage can be completely the “nutrient” for another technical or biological use. Here is the certification:

The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard

For me it´s not so very important, if the system of sustainable production will once be realized completely, but it seems to be a step in the right direction and a vision that is worth while paying attention to. And it makes people not feel as bugs of our planet but maybe even useful inhabitants.

Preber: One of the most satisfying ski-tours in styria

                                                           Photo of Preber, taken from the east

Preber is an impressive mountain in the Schladminger Tauern with an altitude of 2740 m above sea level. Due to its southern slope with a difference in height of 850 m above the tree line it has  to be mentioned doubtlessly for its qualities for skiing. It is situated on the border between Salzburg and Styria a bit south of the main mountain ridge of the Alps. In winter the peak can only be reached from the south, so from the Murtal.

Because of the height of the peak, I recommend this Ski tour only for the early spring.  But at this season the sun is already strong, and so it changesthe consistence of the snow crucially  during the day.  So, if you want to make this Ski tour, first inform about the danger of avalanches, because this differs on the various conditions, and can also be zero. But even then, on a sunny day at the end of March, in the afternoon you may have sticky snow that should be avoided. So drive to the foot of the mountain already the day before your tour, and spend the night in a guestroom of one of the typical farmhouses between Krakau and Prebersee.

On the day of your tour at seven o clock in the morning, you should have already reached the car-park of Prebersee at an altitude of 1520 m after having finished your breakfast. Also the seal skins should have been put on your skis the day before. At Prebersee strap on your skis and move up on your furry seal skins. Due to your flexible binding that allow for free movement on the heel, you can walk up in deep snow and on steep slopes. Up to Preberhalterhütte in 1862 m, you walk through coniferous forest.  (This cottage is only used in summer for alpine dairymen.)

Here ends the wood, and now you have alpine pastures almost until the peak. As you go up, your sight is widening more and more to the mountain range of Hohe Tauern, where the highest mountains of Austria are situated.

                                going up the slope

You will enjoy your ascent to the peak, if you go slowly and regularly, below your limit, so that you can sometimes take a photo of the environment or of your gorgeous view, and sometimes drink a cup of hot tea carried in your rucksack. 100 m before the peak you leave your skis and go the further distance on foot.

                                the peak of Preber

 From the peak you have a glamorous view in all directions, especially to the close Dachstein. So enjoy your deserved rest on the peak with some snack, before you start the slope. If you had a good timing, you will have firn for your slope. A good firn arises from the sunshine on frozen old snow. The sun first soften its surface and then softens deeper and deeper layers of the snow, before the sun makes the snow sticky. The best firn has a soft and smooth layer of 10 to 30 cm over the still frozen layer of snow. On this firn, you can ski down, as if you were skiing on a cloud in heaven or on a bed of feathers. With this feeling you can now ski down the slope over a difference in height of 850 m until the “Preberhalterhütte”. On a sunny day you will sure make a break there,  sitting on the wooden bench and leaning on the wall, taking a sunbath.

                                Photo of the Preberhalterhütte

The last part of your tour leads you on the forest road back to your car. Due to the shadow, there is normally  enough snow for skiing until the end of April.

The orienteering horse

On Sunday, October 31^st , 2010, a single horse without a rider galloped through the streets of Graz. Here is the whole story.

At this time in a stable in the south of Graz, there stood Pegasus (name changed), a slim white horse with grey spots. Pegasus was said to be an English thoroughbred (also called an Arab) and a gelding (a stallion after castration). His owner Manfred (name changed) bought this six year old horse in the early spring that year and rode him so far only in the area of the club. So the horse was mainly used to dressage exercises in the square of the club.

Before it was too late in the season, Manfred wanted to take his first ride with Pegasus to the countryside. In lack of a companion on this peaceful Sunday he planned to ride out on his horse alone. The next countryside eligible for his ride seemed him to be the riparian forests of the river Mur between Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf. For his chosen way he had to ride across the Mur to reach the west banks.

So on this sunny Sunday morning with only little traffic on the streets of Graz Manfred started his first country ride. He rode along some streets in St. Peter and reached successfully an underpass of the highway A 2. From here he rode on several small roads passing one roundabout and ten further crossings and arrived at the Puntigamer Brücke.

He passed the bridge “Puntigamer Brücke” on the back of his horse in concentrated walk and afterwords turned to the left, this is the south, and stayed for the next section of the way to the woods alongside the banks of the river. The path soon becomes a road and after at least five other crossings the rider proudly reached the first his first destination, the riparian forest Feldkirchen-Au. After this success Manfred decided that he and his Pegasus deserved a rest. So he dismounted, relaxed, and let his thoroughbred graze.

Knowing that horses in general and Pegasus especially get well together with dogs, he had no suspicion as a walking woman with two free dogs approached from the woods. There was no sign of trouble when the two dogs sniffed at the forehand of Pegasus. Now a third dog approached to the hindquarters of Pegasus and sniffed there. This was too much for the Arab in this unknown environment. Pegasus suddenly pulled on the reins, which were held by the hands of his owner standing by, with a sudden muscle power that the metal parts of the reins tore apart, and the horse galloped from his standing position panic stricken with his highest possible speed away from the dogs and from his rider. Manfred stood there with the left part of his reins and could only watch his horse fleeing in the direction of the city of Graz.

Next Manfred thought about the dangers that encounter the horse and the car drivers in Graz and his reliability for this. So he took his cellphone and called the police and told them the story. The police next ordered a helicopter to look for the fleeing horse from the sky. Furthermore they called the radio station of  “Österreich 3” in Vienna, and these traffic news broadcasted a request to the listeners, to look for a white horse with an empty saddle and loose stirrups all down the country and to report it to the police.

And actually a car driver heard the news and saw the white horse in the streets of Liebenau trotting at a steady speed in eastern direction – so the horse must have passed the Puntigamer Brücke.

This listening and watching woman turned conscientious her car to the right and stopped transverse to the street, so the car formed an obstacle for the thoroughbred.

But instead of stopping in front of the car, Pegasus approached, blew with his forehand once against the metal sheet, passed the car at its tail, and continued his steady trot along the street.

Meanwhile the helicopter was rising over the town, and several police cars started in the streets of Graz.

From the helicopter Pegasus soon could be seen trotting the Neufeldweg in southern direction – correctly on the right lane. So Pegasus meanwhile had passed several crossings including the roundabout in Liebenau and the underpass Bahngrabenweg under the highway A2. Soon afterwards he was seen by the members of the horse-riding club he belonged to. He was correctly trotting on the right lane to the entrance gate of the club. The members opened the gate for Pegasus and let him in. Before getting caught, the horse reached his box, trotted in, turned around and looked out of the window.  

Manfred was informed  by cellphone about the arrival of  Pegasus, and he reported the position of the horse to the police.

When I arrived at the stable on Sunday afternoon, the cause for the presence of the ten just departing policemen – they just had to log the story - was told me soon . It could be reconstructed that Pegasus trotted back exactly the same way, which Manfred rode on him before from the stable to the Feldkirchen-Au in the opposite direction.

As I have heard, this amazing sense of direction of a horse was well known in former days when horses were the usual means of transportation. In those days it was usual at the closing time of a pub to put a completely drunk  rider on the back of his horses, and let the horse go, knowing that the intelligent horse will ride the drunk home for sure.

The damage of the woman’s car in Liebenau was paid by Manfred´s  insurance. And Manfred was advised by his colleagues to take his second try for a countryside ride not alone but in company. In company of other horses the gregarious animal horse is far less shy than alone with his rider.