Berkeley grad studies Tahoe’s clarity
Battles are raging all around for the future of Lake Tahoe. As we are finding out, to preserve the lake’s clarity is to sustain all of those who live, work, and play at this monumental water body.
Although Lake Tahoe is severely threatened, we now hold the key to making a difference. This journey has led me to believe that conservation at Lake Tahoe means far more than just protecting this water’s phenomenal optical qualities; it is something critical to the survival of the human race.
— Dylan Eichenberg, a recent UC Berkeley grad who studied conservation and resources studies, grew up in Tahoma
Hey Dylan baby, you left off the sky is falling. Get a life.
*left out.
Left off would imply that they were in the middle of something, and stopped abruptly.
Thanks for your insight, Earl.
Wow Earl Zitts. That reminds me, Einstein always contended that great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Also, you’ll find that inevitably more people care than not. I have a great life living by Lake Tahoe and pursuing my passions.
On a side note for LT News, my major is called Conservation and Resource STUDIES, (not management, though management is one central theme). It’s an honor for me to find this here, though of course there is a lot more editing to do and important omitted info. This version isn’t even close to what I want it to be in the end.
“Critical to the survival of the human race.” Oh brother, Dylan. Have some perspective. And did you seriously just compare yourself to Einstein? That’s a lot of hubris even for a Berkeley student.
Want some perspective – bro? The human race may already be globally screwed, economically and environmentally … but if Lake Tahoe is left in ruin, humanity is surely lost. It wasn’t even D who said those words, he was repeating someone else’s wisdom. If you watched even the first 3 minutes of the film he made, you would know that.
Dylan, meet the local conservative trolls. Trolls, meet Dylan.
Dylan, Your effort is appreciated by most of us that read the Lake Tahoe News but there are those that get most of their info from foxnooze and hate radio so they’re science deniers, creationists and generally fact-free idealogues. Don’t be dismayed.
Good work Dylan! Keep at it. I could tell you SO many things I’ve seen over the years about people polluting the lake either thru indifference or stupidty.
Take care,Old Long Skiis
Old long skiis, the biggest polluting thing I ever saw was a guy in broad day light, out on his boat, dumping a body in black trash bags.
My fishing buddy and I both looked at each other holy carp was that a bag trash or a body,turned out a body from bad drug deal.weird stuff I’ve seen around here.
Nothing surprises me,do know lot the bigger boats dump chem toilets out there all the time,the east shore rocks from around glenn Brook on down are loaded with Baby Ruths.
PEOPLE ARE SO LAZY, DON’T GIVE A DARN.
I heard of a similar body dumping from I guy I know. Same scenario, they radioed Coast Guard and I think the guys got caught that dumped the body. The 2 guys that saw this were Marty and Bob I think(?).
Seen lots of stuff being dumped or pumped into city drains that flow right into the lake.
In my opionion the biggest offender is tahoe keys. When it was first dredged for the canals you coud see a HUGE plume of silty muck flowing out into the lake, clearly visible from the top of Heavenly Valley.
I’m guilty of compliance to this mess as thats where my boat is docked. Went fishing yesterday ,no luck.
Take care, Old Long Skiis
Your video discusses the problem of dust and fine particles but environmentalists continue to turn their heads away from the Lodge Pole pines which produce tons of pollen and are not indigenous to Lake Tahoe. They have a short life span and are no longer needed here now that the Jeffery Pines have grown back after clear cutting.
I happened to know some very intelligent scientists, who are creationists Tea. They’re far from fact -free, and/or deniers.
Civil discourse, though often missing here, is the high road.
Dylan if you happened to read this, are you on board with the latest science that Lahaton Water Board has put out on lake clarity?
I was able to hear a brief summary of their analysis, and found it compelling. Your thoughts?
Sorry Dylan, didn’t notice the video till after posting. Oops.
Clearly you know the Lahanton view as well.
Teatotal, Civil discourse with people that think that dinosaur fossils from millions of years ago are the devil’s way of tempting cultish followers to deny their faith in invisible cloud beings is just a waste of time.
Pine Tree, we have a local variety of lodgepole pine that is Pinus contorta Murrayana. It is absolutely local to the Sierra and Tahoe. It is also one of the few kinds of lodgepole that does not have a serotenous cone that requires fire in order for the cones to open. So they are rapacous breeders. Like all lodgepole Sierra lodgepole is an even aged species and requires stand replacing fire or clearcutting in order to grow in healthy stands.
I’m on board with the EPA’s scientifically backed LID (low-impact development) design strategies: reduce the amount of directly connected impervious surfaces and allow maximum infiltration from directly connected sources. That’s going to make a big difference at Lake Tahoe, both for near shore quality and deep water transparency. Easier said that done, but this is a long time frame which makes it totally doable. Of course, there’s a lot of job creation potential as well as a chance to perk up the towns around the lake. Also, I know there are people who are ready and able to take on the task of engineering the systems we need. Like it was said in the video, we need more collaboration, to get all on the same page.
I like all the colorful comments, there’s so much to look into on this issue, thank you for providing me with more questions. I’ll be sure to find out more about toilet-dumping boaters and also pollen near shore. It’s been pretty yellow this week in the beaches along McKinney Bay. Also, you made a great point about the keys… an interesting example is when a TERC scientist found an enormous goldfish there from people who dumped their aquarium. All the impacts from the development of the keys to this day are enormous. We can never expect to FULLY restore Tahoe, but we can still make a big difference with the time we have, I think that’s the moral of the story.
Great job, Dylan! Proud of you for sharing your work and insight with the community.