Making Sense of Collapse

Making Sense of Collapse

Location: In the northern part of the state of Guerrero, camped next to a mangrove. Two river mouths form a broad delta in this area. In a palapa near the beach, women prepare tamales over a wood-burning oven.

Conditions: The lovely mangroves unfortunately spawn lots of mosquitoes, which force a decision: whether to use chemical repellent DEET, hide under long-sleeve clothes in the sweaty heat or be bitten and risk the possible dengue fever advertised in warning posters around local towns? Perhaps I should seek higher ground.

Discussion: Perceptive readers have probably wondered about the strange mix of topics we've covered — ranging from floods and fisheries to tourism development and drug production. What is the relationship between these issues and their significance to this voyage's theme of "exploring the effects of climate on Mexico's coastline?" This might be a good opportunity for a bird's-eye view, using island examples and past societies for perspective.

The original inspiration for this trip came from low-lying atolls, such as Kiribati.  In those atolls, climatic pressures including sea-level rise and reduced rainfall are turning decades of poor resource management (e.g. freshwater extraction and waste disposal) into a full-blown crisis. Many small island states such as Kiribati, Vanuatu and the Maldives are talking about evacuations of their populations as "climate refugees" in the next 50 years. Are they simply victims of the First World's thirst for fossil fuels, or do they bear responsibility for putting themselves in a precarious condition?

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Exploring the Effects of Climate on Mexico's Coastline
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The Barricades of Michoacán's Bandito Alley

The Barricades of Michoacan's Bandito Alley

Location: At Rio Nexpa, in the southern end of Michoacán, where muddy water from recent rainstorms dirties the turbulent ocean. Under coconut trees, palm thatch huts line the perimeter of the riverbank.

Conditions: The northerly breeze covers everything in salt spray. The air is pleasantly cool after the sporadic downpours.

Discussion: As I drove south, the landscape kept changing in surprising ways. Around Puerto Vallarta, the dense jungle and verdant coastal mountains rising out of Banderas Bay is like a perfect capsule of the tropics. It inspired Hollywood producers to shoot movies like John Huston's The Night of the Iguana (which put the nonexistent Vallarta on the map), the pirate movie Swashbuckler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Predator. Along the way, I asked about road conditions south and got various reports ranging from "OK" to "rough" to "dangerous."

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Photo Slideshow of Colima & Michoacán...

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Exploring the Effects of Climate on Mexico's Coastline
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The Big Friendly Giants of Escuinapa

The Big Friendly Giants of Escuinapa

Big projects — one to preserve and one to promote coastal Mexico — bring with them both dreams and nightmares.

In mid-May of this year, an entire town moved to the beach for five days of partying. School was canceled and work was deferred for the thousands attending the annual Fiesta de Mar de las Cabras. They came mostly from Escuinapa, a town located one hour south of Mazatlán and 20 minutes inland from Playa Cabras.

According to organizers, it is the 105th year of the event, which had roots as an indigenous "pagan" festival to celebrate the sun god Yequi. Kids, parents and grannies listen to live music on the isolated beach. There is nothing around for miles except coconut trees and two impressive neighbors: the biggest wetland on the Pacific coast of Mexico, called the Marismas Nacionales; and the largest tourist "mega-project" in Mexico, which is about to hit high gear.

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The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 2

The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 2

Beyond the human carnage of Mexico's drug conflict, another innocent bystander — the environment — has long been a victim.

"When I grew up in Mazatlán, I'd hear people say, it's better to live five years rich than a lifetime poor," I was told by Daniel, who is studying law at a university in Mexico City. "Sometimes it would even be written on walls."

In a different context this phrase might be promoting righteous work for personal progress. But since we were talking about the drug cartels in Mexico, I knew the meaning was shady – it is a justification for what decent men resort to while dancing to the seductive song of the drug trade.

As the drug war escalates, more civilians are caught in the crossfire. There have been innocent bystanders for decades, far from the gun battles in cities: the damage of drug production to the land, water and air. The environment has been the forgotten victim, raped and pillaged without notice.

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The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 1

The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part 1

Location: Near the Zona Dorada in Mazatlán, the hub of tourist pleasure.

Conditions: The breeze and cool ocean water wash off the hot, muggy air of the city.

Someone asked me in California, "You're writing about the environment in Mexico? I bet people are more worried about the drug war and staying alive." I would come face to face with this issue once I arrived in the mainland. Like an absurd nightmare, the guy's face appeared everywhere you looked in Mazatlán — on every street post, plastered on cars, billboards and buses. Like it was relentlessly stalking you, the advertising campaign for candidate Jesus Vizcarra, running for governor of Sinaloa (the elections were July 4th) gave new meaning to the word omnipresent. "As you eat lunch at the restaurant, you might discover his face on the plate through the rice and beans," laughed Edgar, a surfer I met on the beach. How in heaven is so much money spent on ads?

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The Pearls of La Paz

The Pearls of La Paz

Location: Near the beach at Balandra, southeast of La Paz; a bay and wetland complex that was submitted for protected area status by La Paz residents.

Conditions: Hot and dry winds are gusty at night and calm during the morning. The water is cool and pleasant for swimming. Isla Espiritu Santo glimmers in the horizon as sailboats go by.

Discussion: La Paz was once rich in pearls. Expeditions financed by Hernán Cortés in the 1530s came back with tales of pearls worn by indigenous tribes, who also had an unfortunate tendency of attacking the intruders. Only 60 years later during a voyage by Sebastián Vizcaíno was he able to make peace with the locals, naming the area as the "Bay of Peace" or Bahia de La Paz.

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Sustainable or Sick: The Growth of Loreto

Sustainable or Sick: The Growth of Loreto

Location: Hotel San Carlos in Loreto, southern Baja, two blocks from the waterfront.

Conditions: Outside, the sun is shining, but I'm lying in my room feeling nauseous, suffering through my first stomach bug this trip.

Discussion: Imagine saying, "Honey, the water truck is coming!" Then your husband puts down the breakfast cereal and bolts out the door to catch the truck, waving money to indicate he is worth the driver's time. Pamela Bolles, a Loreto resident for 11 years, explained: "The truck used to come three times a week, now it's every 10 days, if we're lucky. We need to be on our toes to get water."

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Childhood Dreams in Playa El Coyote

Childhood Dreams in Playa El Coyote

Location: Near the calm blue waters of Bahia Concepcion, an hour south of Mulege.

Conditions: Under the canopy of a few highly prized trees, sheltered from the hot sun, with just the slightest breeze over the water.

Discussion: I nudged Alyssum, saying, "You've got to see this." I had to interrupt my co-pilot's power nap to see the string of bays below us, shining in impossible colors. Each turn of the road winding along steep cliffs drew gasps. We finally chose our destination, Playa El Coyote.

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Are We Making Bigger Hurricanes

Are We Making Bigger Hurricanes?
In the south of Baja and mainland Mexico, summertime means tropical storms and hurricanes. In Mulegé, an unprecedented three floods occurred in four years, caused by rain-heavy hurricanes. People are claiming it is “global warming.” But is it?

After the 2005 record-breaking season of monsters like Katrina, Wilma, and Dennis, hurricanes became the poster child of climate change. An Inconvenient Truth’s image of a hurricane spewing out of a smoke stack seems to say: we are fueling our own self-destruction.

But I have to wonder, could my tailpipe emissions really create mega storms?  Read More...




 

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The Great Floods of Mulegé

A picturesque Baja town has been hammered repeatedly by the escalating tempo of flooding from tropical storms.

Location: At the river mouth in Mulegé, a town on the fourth largest oasis in Baja. The green river winds past palm trees before opening into the Sea of Cortéz.

Conditions: Humid with the buzz of crickets and mosquitoes. Bougainvilleas and trees filter the morning light.

Discussion: "The water was up to here," said Saul Davis, pointing above his head at a mark on the wall. "There was mud everywhere." Davis is the charismatic owner of a small market in Mulegé, a town completely flooded in September 2009 by Hurricane Jimena.

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The Wealth and Decline of Mangroves

Location: An estuary near Punta Abreojos, on the Pacific coast of Baja.

Conditions: A full moon is rising to the east.

Discussion: The wind and dust were unrelenting. It had become an impish presence...  Read more  Photos

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Success of Vizcaino's Fishing Cooperatives

Location: In Punta Abreojos, in the southern part of the Vizcaíno Peninsula, on the Pacific Coast of central Baja.
Conditions: The wind never stops. The car is dusty, inside and out.
Discussion: "No fishing today," said Daniel matter-of-factly, his pseudo-bloodshot eyes fixed on the ocean... Read more
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Whales and Angels in Marine Protected Areas

Mexico's Sea of Cortez has always had a wealth of whales, but even protected areas can't stave off other pressures on the leviathans.
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Exploring the effects of climate change on Mexico's coastline and watersheds
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The Ghost Harbor at Santa Rosalillita

Foundering development plans for a yachters’ paradise in remote Baja have created opportunities for conservation groups.  
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