Gary Noy-Sierra Nevada

Gary's knowledge of the Sierra Nevada really impressed me. It was hard to fathom that this "hunk of granite" has been constantly changing for 600,000,000 years! The numbers he went over, including: the number of plant/animal species, the amount of water, and the population of Native Americans, was astounding. I thought that his regularly six hour speech was very ell condensed into one, especially considering the amount of information he covered. I was unaware of how much, as Californians, we rely on the Sierra Nevada for water and agriculture, and how dependant we are on the Sierra Nevada from an economic standpoint. Gary's questions such as: "With the economic and social behavior being so great, what does the future hold?" and "How has the range influenced us" VS. "What have we done to the Sierra Nevada? really put my mind to work. It seems as if the Sierra Nevada has influenced us in ways unimaginable, supplying us with water, soil, plants, animals, and even economic value' whereas we are constantly polluting and taking advantage of its resources. This can be seen more frequently through as a global issue, but with it happening right in our backyard is even more reason to start doing something about it. Overall I though Gary's stories of the tidal wave in Lake Tahoe, the first ski race, the gold/silver savvy tales, hydraulic mining, Woodriff VS. North Bloomfield and "The Chip", made me realize how much we do rely on the Sierra Nevada for almost daily life. The Conservation/Preservation ethics would be something interesting to look into, and by the end of Gary Noy's speech, I was knowledgeable enough to start spreading the word, and hopefully get something done to stop the harm, which maybe wasn't necessarily his objective, but I definitely learned more than I though I would and am looking forward to tomorrows speaker!