Print this in your memory: 350 parts per million is the very top limit of carbon in our atmosphere for a safe climate for humans. Many scientists say we are already at 385 ppm or thereabouts, but there is time to drop the [level] down if we take it seriously, focus, and work at it. … Read more
On the very same day as the earthquake in China, the president of that country was on the ground telling people who were trapped: “Hold on, the army is coming to rescue you.” The army was on the scene the same day also, and they were working on rescue operations. Now compare that to our … Read more
In all matters of security on my Granville County, N.C., farm, I consult my Shetland sheepdog, Gretchen. She’s the first line of defense here, meeting every visitor with a ferocious bark or a wag of the tail. She also monitors the airways for rogue hawks, buzzards, geese and other possible threats: A passenger jet at … Read more
Mr. Scott McClellan has been asked to testify under oath before the House Judiciary Committee and all of America, to answer the grossly belated questions concerning the allegations of criminal abuse of power by the president, the vice president and other Bush administration officials. The truth must be allowed to be spoken plainly and with … Read more
Having decided to vote consistently against zoning on every level, I looked up McCain’s and Obama’s residences in Phoenix (C-2 zone) and Chicago (RM-5) respectively and figured out how much could legally be built next door to them. According to my research, it turns out that Obama’s next-door neighbor can legally build a 45-foot-tall condominium … Read more
The short, hard history of Camp Summerlane
Tomm Friend was snoozing in his cabin when gunfire and the whoosh of flames pierced the night quiet. “I was awakened by a blast,” Friend remembers 45 years later. That summer, the 15-year-old was attending a camp on the outskirts of Rosman, N.C., a small mountain town about a dozen miles southwest of Brevard.
Dressing quickly, Friend bolted into the dark. “I ran down in the direction of the blast, and a woman dropped out of a tree with a machete, right in front of me,” he recalls. Recognizing her as a camp counselor, a relieved Friend blurted out that they knew each other—that he was with the camp, not the mob that was assaulting it.
“She was basically hiding in a tree, protecting children. She had a machete because she didn’t have a gun,” Friend explains; the camp’s few firearms were in other hands. “Then she told me to be careful and climbed back into the tree.”
The camper pressed on, as shouts and gunshots split the hum and gurgle of crickets and streams. Down a hill, in the cove near the camp’s entrance, Friend came upon a surreal scene: A small lake was on fire, the flames wafting across the water.
The attack on Camp Summerlane was under way.
In 2006, The M’s had the buzz. You know: a new album on taste-making label Polyvinyl, choice slots at the South by Southwest festival, gigs opening for Wilco and indie love from Pitchfork Media. Even filmmaker Jonathan Demme was getting all fanboy about the group, aiming to shoot a video for the Chicago quartet. Near … Read more
Alcan Packaging, Inc. employees planting trees along the Swannanoa River in celebration of Earth Day. Quality Forward is a volunteer-based Keep America Beautiful affiliate that works to achieve a clean and green Asheville and Buncombe County through community organizing, education, stewardship development and partnerships. Emphasis is placed on project-oriented work through cleanup events and beautification … Read more
