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11/14/06
Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --
They were here first, but Blue Herons aren't always the best of neighbors. How far should we go to save wildlife?
Gary George>> Well, the reason they are where they are is because there is nowhere else. This is the where else. This is the last place they have. Where else are they going to go?
Denny Lund>> Well, my customers have a right to sit out in the sun and enjoy this as much as the birds do.
Val Zavala>> And then, red states and blue states. A candid talk about the issues that divide us and the ties that bind.
These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times.
Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.
And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.
Val Zavala>> It's a case of humans versus herons, Great Blue Herons, who have taken up residence in trees along the coast after being forced out of their native wetlands. Now some people believe they should be moved again. As Hena Cuevas found out, the herons are creating quite a flak.
Hena Cuevas>> When customers come to the Schooner or Later Restaurant in Long Beach, they're always greeted with a smile, but sometimes their dining experience is hampered by something else.
Denny Lund>> We have a lot of customers that don't want an umbrella out here on the patio and we have to explain to them that you need to have the umbrella for your own protection.
Hena Cuevas>> Denny Lund is the restaurant's owner. His biggest problem? Herons, more specifically, what comes out of them.
Denny Lund>> With the height of the tree and the prevailing winds, it absolutely rains down on the patio itself. People say, well, put something right below the tree. Well, the defecation doesn’t fall straight down. It comes as a slant like a rain would.
Hena Cuevas>> He's put up umbrellas and, once a week, he hoses down the area. He says the problem began about six years ago after a flock of Great Blue Herons took up residence in these four palm trees on the edge of his patio. These are pretty big birds. I think they're about four feet tall, so I'm sure --
Denny Lund>> -- yeah, I would say three to four feet. When they release, I would say that it's probably about a cupful. It's quite a bit and it's a very milky looking substance and quite disgusting.
Hena Cuevas>> And it splatters pretty far.
Denny Lund>> Yeah, yeah.
Hena Cuevas>> And sometimes the herons drop parts of their meals and they eat more than just fish.
Denny Lund>> We've experienced dead rats and other dead animals that, as they're flying in toward the nest, they inadvertently drop those right in the middle of the patio.
Hena Cuevas>> And that's why Lund wants to relocate the palms to another spot away from his customers.
Denny Lund>> I've counted the number of palms in this marina and it exceeds one thousand palms. What we're suggesting is moving four of the one thousand to another location where hopefully the birds will choose that location to breed in the palms.
Hena Cuevas>> Lund's problem is one that's being repeated all along the coast as more and more areas are developed.
Gary George>> The issue, of course, is urbanization of southern California.
Hena Cuevas>> Gary George is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Audubon Society. He says that, as human demand for oceanfront property increases, animals are being displaced. Great Blue Herons, for example, live near swamps and marshes and, of the wetlands in southern California, more than ninety percent are gone.
Gary George>> They're adapting to cypress trees, eucalyptus trees, melaleuca trees, palms, for nesting and roosting habitats because their natural native habitat is gone.
Hena Cuevas>> That's the case of these herons in Marina del Rey. They've moved into these cypress trees.
Dusty Crane>> They just like high trees.
Hena Cuevas>> Dusty Crane works for the Department of Beaches and Harbors.
Dusty Crane>> Any tree will do for them. They just want to be able to look down.
Hena Cuevas>> I also heard that they also like palm trees quite a bit.
Dusty Crane>> They do, but there's not as much protection in a palm tree as there is in these.
Hena Cuevas>> The cypress trees are near this 1960s apartment complex that's targeted for destruction. As part of the development plans in Marina del Ray, two hundred new condominiums and three thousand square feet of retail space will take its place. But residents are worried about what will happen to the birds when the trees are cut down.
Dusty Crane>> There's a lot of different ways you can look at it, but we've talked about it and have considered trying to relocate these trees so that there will be trees over there for them to build their nests in.
Hena Cuevas>> But George sees a problem with moving trees that serve as nesting sites.
Gary George>> They won't do it. They're native birds. They're wild birds. They won't go. You can try to attract them somewhere, but they're faithful to their nests. They're going to come back to the same nest every year.
Dusty Crane>> They're pretty versatile in their approach on relocating, so we really don't feel that there is going to be a problem with them moving, especially if it's in the locale.
Gary George>> If there was the same kind of planting and the same kind of vegetation, they would adapt. But Great Blue Herons especially are nest-faithful, so they'll return to the same site and the same nest every year.
Hena Cuevas>> George believes these herons are outcasts from the Ballona Creek Wetlands located between LAX and Marina del Rey. For fifteen years, this land has been at the center of a battle between environmentalists and developers. In 1999, construction of the Playa Vista development began, but environmentalists were able to save a small portion of the wetlands which are now protected by a trust.
Gary George>> And as the Ballona Wetlands shrank, especially with the development of Playa Vista, I believe those birds were displaced from that wetlands.
Hena Cuevas>> His fear is the Marina del Rey birds won't be able to adapt to yet another move.
Gary George>> It's the conflict of humans versus animals and which one takes the precedent.
Dusty Crane>> We certainly like the birds and feel that they are an important component to our area and community and want to make sure that any development is going to preserve their healthy lifestyle.
Hena Cuevas>> The development company declined an on-camera interview, but told us their plans include working with the Department of Fish and Game in relocating the trees. Approval of construction is still pending.
The Great Blue Heron isn't considered an endangered species, but at one point, it was. In the early 1900s, its feathers were very valuable, so the government had to put limits on the hunting and capture of the birds. The species has proven to be so adaptable that now its numbers are back to the original levels. But even though the birds are resilient, George argues that eventually they will run out of places to live.
Gary George>> The reason they are where they area is because there is nowhere else. This is the where else. This is the last place they have. Where else are they going to go?
Hena Cuevas>> And that's the question confronting restaurant owner Lund back in Long Beach. The city has agreed to let him move the four palm trees, but he's still facing opposition.
Denny Lund>> Some people are a bit extreme and they don't want that to happen. They say no, no to everything. "Denny, if you want anything done, cover your patio." Well, my customers have a right to sit out in the sun and enjoy this as much as the birds do.
Hena Cuevas>> His problem months are coming up. December and January are the primary breeding months for Blue Herons, so any relocation would have to take place after that.
Denny Lund>> I love the birds. They're beautiful. I just see that there has to be a certain level of protection afforded to places like mine, restaurant owners and other businesses that are being devastated by this.
Hena Cuevas>> According to George, this debate will go on as long as urban areas continue to encroach on wildlife habitats.
Gary George>> We have to learn to appreciate the fact that they're here instead of wishing they'd get out of the way. They're certainly not any messier or noisier than human beings.
Hena Cuevas>> Well, maybe, except for the defecation part. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times.
Val Zavala>> We'd like to know what you think about the heron question. You can post your opinion on our Blog. Just go to kcet.org and click on the Life and Times Blog.
Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times".
Val Zavala>> A couple of years ago in the middle of a bitter presidential election, an independent filmmaker grabbed his camera and headed out on a road trip through red states and blue states exploring our political landscape. He discovered that, no matter what their politics, Americans can be terribly honest. He called his documentary "Divided We Stand" and it screened recently in two Riverside County towns, two very different towns, and that gave him another chance to meet some very real southern Californians.
Tom Drew>> On the cusp of another election, I traveled to Hemet and Idyllwild. Though distinct in character, the neighboring towns had one thing in common that day, the theatrical release of my documentary, "Divided We Stand".
>> You can tell a Democrat's yard by the fact that they don't even fertilize it. It looks like a weed patch.
Tom Drew>> Although the mayor missed the big premier, she was on hand around the corner at the opening of this business.
Robin Lowe>> Originally Hemet was a farming community. Today we went through a transition of a retirement community to what I think is a city in progress. We put our flags out on Memorial Day and they'll stay that way through July 4. We have great pride in our country and, whatever the decision that's made, whether we agree with it or not, we'll certainly stand behind our men and women in uniform.
Shawnee Miller>> How do we in Hemet vote? Is this a Republican town? Red or blue?
Rhonda Hooper>> Older Americans are more conservative than younger Americans, so I would say that this has tended to be a more conservative town.
Shawnee Miller>> That's why I keep my mouth shut.
Rhonda Hooper>> Oh, no. I'll just tell you to wall up San Francisco.
Shawnee Miller>> No, it's very extreme right now, but that's just because of the last year, the Bush administration.
Rhonda Hooper>> Oh, wait a minute.
Shawnee Miller>> I think that we have always had extremes right back to the founding fathers. They were an extreme. We know that we're divided and that we have different opinions, but we don't want to live it every day and we don't want somebody to jump on top of somebody else just because they express an opinion that was different.
Don>> Back when I was in school, they allowed prayer groups and prayer meetings, stuff like that. There'd be special times for it. We were free to gather. As far as the direction that our country is going, I feel it's going downhill because they're taking God out of school. It's real upsetting, but you need to address that. You know, get God back into schools, get prayer back into schools.
Tom Drew>> On the outskirts of town in the direction of Idyllwild was Hemet's oldest bar, the OK Corral.
James Davis>> You know, I know a lot of eighteen, nineteen, twenty year old kids that are out of work, you know. They would work at a McDonalds. They would work at a Del Taco. There's no room for them there. They're fighting for the same jobs that we're giving the immigrant workers. Everybody says we're letting them have the jobs that we don't want.
Well, I don't really go along with that. You can't fight a war on terror and have open borders. I mean, they go hand in hand to me. September 11? They act like it didn't even happen. They've totally forgotten about it. The nation is in a scary state of affairs as far as I'm concerned. Worst I've ever seen it.
Tom Drew>> Though close as far as the crow flies, Hemet and Idyllwild couldn't be any further apart, which was certainly evident after the screening of "Divided We Stand".
>> The people who are in the religious right and who are involving religion in the government, that's not what our forefathers, that's not what the founding fathers did. They did not try to find a religious country. It was exactly the opposite.
>> I think it's about to implode. I think we're on the verge of a collapse of our civilization, but what I'm very encouraged by is I'm not concerned about when this government, whether it's Democratic or Republican, implodes because I know there's people all over the country that are just ready to go on and actually create a true democracy.
Sarah Oates>> My name is Sarah Oates and I grew up up here. Not far from where we are up here in the lower elevation, there's an area where there's a lot of people that ride motorcycles. The environment, the land, just looks like powder. I mean, there's nothing growing. People just need to be educated. They need to see what's around them and visit the national parks and the state parks.
I don't think our country is going in the right direction because we have more animals added to the endangered species lists. It just can't go on like this. We aren't going to have many years left if this continues and the animals have even less. I don't know. I want my grandchildren to be able to learn about all the good things in the environment because it's wonderful.
>> This is the American Legion. We're not allowed to talk politics.
>> Okay.
>> We don't do politics in the American Legion, although I know the country's going to hell in a hand basket.
>> I think the president shouldn't send all our guys to Iraq and kill them for no reason, all right?
Thomas Vore>> That's the most ignorant statement I ever heard.
>> You're an ignorant man. You're my big brother and I don't think you should have gone either. I just think it's stupid.
>> I wanted to go.
>> Why?
>> Because people like you and you and my mom and the people I care about and love didn't have to go. That's why.
>> Nobody should have gone at all. That's the whole point.
Thomas Vore>> We didn't invade this country to take over and claim it as ours. We invaded this country, took back the good out of and handed it back to them on a silver platter. Now whether they choose to abuse it or not is not up to us. I have no political view on it because I've been there. I've seen firsthand the reason why we're there, not because of what people off the movies, CNN, you know, listening to some congressman talk about something.
>> I think Bush is doing a great job and I don't want the Democrats taking over.
>> It really doesn't matter, Democrat or Republican, anymore because, once they're all in there for a few years, it's all about getting re-elected and then you've got the contributors and the lobbyists and the media and they come in and we don't have a two-party system anymore.
Thomas Vore>> Everybody has their own opinion. Just because they're on television and they're wearing a suit doesn't mean they're right or wrong. I don't know. A lot of that bothers me. I could really care less who becomes the president. I would just -- I mean, to me, government's corrupt, but you know what? I'd rather have the lesser of the two evils.
>> You know what's good about the United States? I am a registered Democrat and I will be voting for many Democrats. Elaine is --
Elaine>> -- I'm an Independent.
>> Not voting for Republicans, but we are dear friends and we can sit next to each other and discuss this because we live in the United States.
[Film Clip]
Tom Drew>> Despite our nation's division, I like to think a period of finding common ground is on the horizon.
[Film Clip]
Val Zavala>> Our thanks again to filmmakers Tom Drew and Michael Bloecher. If you'd like more information on their full-length documentary, "Divided We Stand", you can go to their website for information on previews and screening at dividedwestand.net.
Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address:
Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027
You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.
Val Zavala>> If you want to be pessimistic about the future of civilization, you certainly have plenty of reasons to be. But even potential disasters like global warming have a silver lining and leave it to Life and Times commentator, Cris Franco, to find it.
Cris Franco>> Is our planet warming up? Al Gore seems to think so and so do I. There are tons of indicators. The melting ice caps, increased hurricane activity, higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air, but the biggest indicator is called a thermometer. Whoa, that is hot! There's no denying this place is getting hotter.
Some choose to look at this reality as distinct as a scream, but I say let's get ecological. If you agree that it's time for a little fahrenhype, let me hear you say amen.
>> Amen.
Cris Franco>> Thank you, brothers and sisters. If Mother Earth is having a hot flash, let's focus on the up side. First, those crazy Dominos delivery guys can start driving a lot slower since now the food isn't really getting cold. In fact, all delivery meals will arrive fresher than ever because of right there in the car, thanks to global warming. That's a good, good thing, isn't it?
Second, you'll have lots more closet space because you can toss those winter clothes. It's tube tops and flip flops year round. Party! Burn, baby, burn!
Third, Dad will be able to show off his patio prowess at starting the barbecue because he won't need matches or lighter fluid. As the planet heats up, just about anything you put outside in the open summer sun will be very easy to ignite. Dry brush, furniture, pets, almost pretty much spontaneously combust.
Fourth, when fall arrives, no need to scoop the leaves out of the pool. Please! The sun will brew your pool's autumn leaves into a giant bowl of sun tea. Hot tea all year for free! Thank you, global warming.
As for those ecologists who fret that global warming will trigger a worldwide deluge, perhaps causing hurricanes right here in the southland, that is a bunch of malarkey because in tenth grade science class, Brother Joseph Connell taught us that hurricanes begin as a tropical depression. We're not in the tropics and this is Los Angeles, land of Prozac. We haven't been depressed since 1986 (laughter).
More good news. Once the polar ice cap melts, the world will be free from icebergs and accidents they cause like with the Titanic, meaning thousands of lives will be spared from being in a bad disaster flick. Then you won't have to buy a vacation out in Palm Springs because everywhere will be as hot as Palm Springs.
Finally, we're the world's biggest producers of greenhouse gases, so you could say that global warming is "made in America". Oh, we should love global warming because it's patriotic. "For the land of the Freon and the home of the braised." Air, air.
Val Zavala>> Do sharks get a bad rap? Well, consider this: four humans were killed by sharks last year, but millions of sharks were killed by humans. But one lucky shark has ended up at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It's a Bull Shark, but don't be fooled by the name. This bull is a female.
Eric Castillo>> Hi, everyone. My name is Eric. I work here at the Aquarium of the Pacific as an aquarist in the husbandry department. Here at the Aquarium of the Pacific, we're really pleased to go ahead and announce our newest addition to the Shark Lagoon here, our resident Bull Shark.
Our Bull Shark is about a three and a half year old individual. She weighs roughly at about sixty pounds and right about four feet in length. She's going to go ahead and mature up to be about eight and a half feet, three hundred pounds, a very, very large shark and reported to be twelve feet, five hundred pounds.
The reason why we have her here is to kind of educate the public about really the shark's food chain that is out there. Here at the Aquarium of the Pacific, we're really trying to educate the public that these are beautiful creatures and, unfortunately, because of the undue reputation sharks have, we're currently killing worldwide about a hundred to a hundred fifty million sharks.
There are a couple of things that the public can do in their everyday life to help sharks out in their natural habitat. First and foremost, we really want people to stay away from shark fin soup as well as shark cartilage products and shark liver oil. We hope by educating the public to stay away from these types of products, it will in turn help the sharks out in their natural environment.
Bull Sharks are reported to be in all tropical Pacific oceans, warm water. In northern American waters, you can find them anywhere from about New York all the way down south to Florida. Very, very common in southeastern Florida and all around the Gulf. Also very uncommon for them to be here in southern California, but there is a potential for them to be around here.
These animals are often going to be coming very near shore. Quite often, one of the adaptations they have is to transfer from saltwater to freshwater. You can find these animals in very shallow waters where freshwater rivers meet the ocean in an estuary habitat.
Well, last year there were fifty-eight unprovoked shark attacks with four fatalities worldwide. People have much more of a chance to be struck and killed by lightning than to be attacked by a shark, and it's important to note that.
Now one of the things we have here at Shark Lagoon, which is really very special, is that we allow an opportunity for the public to actually touch sharks and rays. We have over a million people come to the Aquarium of the Pacific. All of these people are allowed to touch at the Aquarium, basically, the two finger touch.
You go ahead and touch along the backs of all the sharks and the rays and really get a sense of what we call the dermaldenticals on the shark. You can feel that rough texture as opposed to the very smooth texture that the rays have. We encourage everyone to come down to the Aquarium of the Pacific, touch our animals and really get an up-close and personal sense of how awesome these animals are.
We have a lot of different species of sharks and rays here at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Kind of our featured creature is obviously our Bull Shark right now. It can transverse from that freshwater to saltwater habitat. Another animal that we have for that environment as well is our freshwater Sawfish.
Through these saltwater exhibits, we're able to house several different species of other sharks and rays, including Sand Tigers, White Tip and Black Tip Reef Sharks. We have Zebra Sharks that we do on our encounter where people can actually get in the water with these animals and feed our sharks with conks. It's a really cool opportunity. We have Reticulated Riptail Rays, Thorny Rays here, so lots of different species of sharks and rays, as well as Bony Fish in the environment right here.
Our Bull Shark here at the Aquarium of the Pacific is fed about one to two percent of her total body weight in food every single day here at the Aquarium. This happens every day at two o'clock. There is only one feeding, so if you want to see her feed, you will have to come to the two o'clock feeding presentation.
She eats a mixture of mahi-mahi or dorado, sardines, clams and squid. It's important to note that all the food that we are feeding her is restaurant quality food, the highest quality food we can get for our animals.
So we're really happy to kind of show her to the public so that people can get an up-close and personal view of her and realize that they're not these mean, malicious creatures. They're beautiful animals, adapted for their environment, well over four hundred fifty years of evolution on her. So we're really, really happy to show her to the public.
Val Zavala>> If you'd like more information on the Bull Shark and other exhibits, you can go to the Aquarium's website which is aquariumofpacific.org. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.
Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.
And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.
Sponsored in part by:
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