The Boondocks blog, No. 46 for the week starting December 2, 2007.
Monday
Thursday
Energy looks at high energy prices and our future.
Enviroman looks at man and the environment.
Hayseeds looks at politics and life in our nation.
Individual looks at myself and how I'm changing
Outblog is all about my outdoor experiences.
Transit looks at the changing ways we get around.
Truck gives you stories and trips in my Ford Ranger.
Whitetail Deer Take Over. It looks like if you live in New York State, you have odds of 1 in 186 people of hitting a deer, elk, or moose within the next 12 months with your car.
That's really not all that bad odds, especially when that considers all the cars in New York City that never leave the city. In Vermont, your chances are 1 to 133, in Pennsylvania it's 1 to 100, and in West Virgina it's 1 to 57. That's pretty scary, particularly if that means in West Virgina or other largely rural areas your odds of getting in an accident with deer over ten years is 1 in 6.
Not that it's surprising for anybody whose ever lived in rural area for more then a little while. Deer populations are exploding, doubling in the past 20 years from 16 million to 32 million. While deer accidents aren't that bad often, particularly with larger vehicles, people die or seriously hurt in deer-car accidents. To say nothing of moose or elk accidents.
I've been in two different cars that have been in collisions, though neither time I was driving. One time it took the grill off the Plymouth Sundance. The other time, it panel next to the door where I was sitting—a few inches forward it would have likely killed me. I knew a friend who was in a wheelchair for weeks after he hit a deer in his compact car.
My advise is just scan the road while driving, sound your horn if deer are nearby (headlights confuse them at night but have good hearing), slow down, and if one goes in front of you, brake firmly and steer straight (do not swerve or you could be in a bad accident !!!).
The only upside is that deer accidents are covered under comprehensive line on your insurance, which typically has a lower deductible (mine is $250 versus $500), and is not individual experience rated, but instead based on the zip code where you park your car at night. In New York, this means that the benefit of lower vandalism in rural areas is easily balanced out by higher chances of deer-car collisions.
It seems hunting and is up with 6.5 million taken last year versus 4.7 million taken this year. Yet, that's a drop in adjusted numbers, with 20% taken last year versus 28% taken in 1987. 1 in 20 Americans hunted by deer or bow in 2001, the most recent years that numbers where done. But they aren't really keeping up or making much of a dent in the deer population.
Even if the Southern Tier offering riffle hunting, it seems unlikely much will change. Deer still will eat about a ton of foliage a year, times their population.
See the NYT Week in Review for more. P'Link
King Corn Documentary. It looks like tonight there will be an interesting film down at Time and Space Limited called King Corn that will look at agribusiness and the role of cheap corn both on our economy, farms, and out waistlines.
I may be going, depending on what I decide on doing. I have another conflict at that time, and it's a long trip to Hudson so I'm starting to lean against going there to see the film. I'm sure I'll be able to view it elsewheres in a few months. P'Link
Copyright ©1999-2008 Andy Arthur.
All mistakes are intentional or otherwise.
Mind where you step in a cow pasture or legal mindfield.