When I arrived at the site, there was a solitary crane sitting on the nest. Shortly thereafter, the mate arrived. Without further ado, both cranes broke into song for about 45 seconds, as if they were celebrating being together again. Then, as best as I can tell, they switched places on the nest. Before sitting on the egg, the newly arrived crane took time to adjust the egg.

Thanks to my friend, Rick Hintze, for telling me about the nest.

I’ve never seen a sandhill crane on a nest before, so I was pleased to see the birds interact like they did.

Phoebe – 2012

You know that guy, Adam Lanza – the one who they said killed all those children in Newtown. Well, I think he was set-up. I think the government did it. You know governments kill more people than anyone. And now the government wants to take away our second amendment freedoms.

Isn’t it refreshing to know that in our democracy, the person who made these remarks gets to vote.

I’m surprised that a turkey flew onto the roof of my house. I’ve seen many wild turkeys, but not once have I seen one fly.

Wild Turkey Visiting the Neighbors 1

Wild Turkey Visiting the Neighbors 2

Photos by Georgia Kestol-Bauer

If you want to see the great grey owl in Middleton, take a look at Ricky L. Jones’ beautiful shots at flic.kr/p/e5u5JF.

The Super Big Gulp

When is the government justified in making laws that have no purpose other than to protect us against ourselves? Mayor Bloomberg of New York City ran headlong into this question last week when a judge struck down the New York City ban on the sale of “large sugary drinks.” For those who don’t follow U.S. local news, in September 2012 the New York City Board of Health, at the urging of Mayor Bloomberg, adopted a ban of the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 oz. in restaurants, theaters, and food carts on the grounds that they encourage the over-consumption of sugar, hence obesity.

Even though obesity has become a major health epidemic in the United States, Mayor Bloomberg’s edict was met by strong opposition from the soft drink industry and vendors as well as by civil libertarians who maintained that the law was an unwarranted infringement on personal freedom. Last week a New York State Supreme Court judge agreed with the civil libertarians and issued a stay of the mayor’s ban on the sale of the large drinks.

John Stuart Mill

The debate about the limits of governmental intrusion into the personal lives of its citizens is an old one. Actions of the state designed solely for the purpose of protecting us against ourselves are known as “paternalism.”* In the Anglo-American tradition it was the 19th century British political philosopher, John Stuart Mill, who formulated the most influential argument against paternalistic legislation. It was Mill’s view that unless the state can demonstrate harm to another, then it cannot justify the restriction of any citizen’s actions. In his own words from the essay, “On Liberty,”

. . . the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.**

Mill’s argument is now known as the “harm principle” and it is the libertarian’s best friend in the fight against the “nanny state.” Paternalistic legislation is everywhere and libertarians, by definition, are against it. Examples of paternalism are the laws and ordinances that:

1. prevent us from swimming when lifeguards are not on duty;
2. require us to wear seat-belts when in a car;
3. wear helmets when driving or riding on motorcycles;
4. require us to seek legal or medical advice only from licensed professionals;
5. buy only drugs that have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration;
6. enforce and maintain morality by the restriction of certain commercial and entertainment activities at certain times (often referred to as “blue laws”); and,
7. prohibit moral vice such as laws against prostitution or the consumption of illicit drugs.

At first glance it would appear that the prohibited activities listed above harm no one except possibly the person who engages in them. But there are a number of philosophical arguments against Mill’s harm principle that undermine its initial clarity. The only argument I will raise here is simply that Mill nowhere adequately defines “harm.” Once we begin to examine the types of harm that can be inflicted on others, even if unintentional, the application of the harm principle becomes murky. The financial harm to another or to the community, for example, that can result from risky behavior on the part of a few of its members is evident. The loss of community property values that results from the presence of “moral vice” is also harmful, even though those engaged in the illicit behaviors argue that what they do is no one’s business but their own.

If Mill’s harm principle is not an adequate protection against paternalistic legislation, then what about the Big Gulp? Can its consumption be viewed as behavior that harms anyone besides those who drink it? It can be argued that  any community in which a large number of its members engage in unhealthy behaviors will ultimately adversely affect the entire community. Obesity has the potential to raise everyone’s health insurance rates, whether everyone is obese or not. Is that potential harm enough to justify the legal prohibition of large sugary drinks? Probably not.

At one time cigarette smokers claimed that smoking harmed no one but themselves, but empirical evidence supporting the dangers of second-hand smoke eliminated that argument. Consequently, smoking was no longer protected by the logic of the harm principle. The consumption of large sugary drinks is not in the same category as the smoking of tobacco. Unless there are immediate second-hand adverse effects associated with the consumption of large sugary drinks (What would they be?), it is unlikely that the courts will support Mayor Bloomberg’s appeal of the recent judicial decision against the ban.

This is a difficult issue. Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to improve the health of his constituents is admirable. Large numbers of people increasingly make poor dietary choices that will ultimately adversely affect their communities.  Nonetheless, a program of health education directed toward consumers coupled with appeals for cooperation from vendors may be the more effective course to take.

No one likes being told what to do.

* “Parentalism” might be a better term.
**John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty,” in Cohen, Marshall. The Philosophy of John Stuart Mill: Ethical, Political and Religious (New York: The Modern Library, 1961), p. 197.

Coffee Country – The View from Pluma Hidalgo, Oaxaca

In the mountains of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, farmers grow some of the best coffee in the world. The altitude and humidity there are perfect for the cultivation of a mellow, low-acidic premium Arabica coffee. This is the kind of coffee that coffee lovers can drink all day long. I include myself in that group. Whenever I visit the city of Oaxaca, I look forward to each new day, in part because I can drink more of their wonderful coffee. Yet, the conviviality of the open-air restaurants in the city of Oaxaca and the palatable nature of the coffee itself tend to obscure the living conditions of coffee farmers who live in the mountains only a few hours from the state’s capital city.

Ripe Coffee – Oaxaca 2011

A major center of coffee production in the state of Oaxaca is the village of Pluma Hidalgo which is located about 25 miles from the Pacific coast. Situated on the top of a mountain, Pluma Hidalgo overlooks a region that produces a coffee known as Café Pluma, claimed by those who grow it to be the best in the world. This is not an idle boast. Café Pluma is undoubtedly a fine coffee. Though the coffee is excellent, the economics of coffee production are not encouraging.

Over the past several years I have visited several coffee farms in the region. Most recently I visited El Refúgio, a fairly small coffee farm, similar to many in the area. Unlike most coffee farms, the owner has built a motel and swimming pool to accommodate guests who might be attracted to eco-tourism, or to those who might simply wish to get away from it all. The setting is attractive and remote. A cursory glance reveals, however, that the motel business is not flourishing. I have been to El Refúgio four times and only once did I see any guests other than those I was with.

Picking Coffee – El Refúgio

In 2011, the owner of El Refúgio received $136.00 (all amounts are in U.S. dollars) for each 46 kilo bag (costál) of raw coffee. (For purposes of computation, it is important to note that each costál contains 39 kilos of coffee. The bag itself weighs seven kilos.) Unlike the previous year which produced 150 costales , 2011 yielded only 60 costales. Thus, the entire 2011-12 harvest for El Refúgio was sold for ($136 x 60) or $8,160. Workers who picked the harvest received $.257 per kilo. An able-bodied worker might pick 50 kilos in 10-12 hours, thus earning $12.85 for the day. Harvesting coffee is, of course, seasonal work that lasts only a month or so.

Calculating the wages earned for the 60 costales of coffee harvested reveals that the owner paid his workers a total of $601.38 for their labor (39 kilos x 60 costales x .257 per kilo picked). Thus, the owner’s net was $7,559 for the year  – if the cost of the harvest is listed as his only expense. The annual harvest goes quickly each year. It begins in December and may go into January. The owner of El Refúgio hired some 25 workers to pick his coffee 2011-12 harvest. With 25 workers the bulk of the harvest would have been completed in two to three days, the workers then moving on to another farm, and another, until the harvest for the region was complete.

New Coffee Drying in the Sun- Near Pluma Hidalgo

Besides the harvest there are other expenses. Coffee production in the mountains is a year round process. Seedlings must be purchased, green-housed, and planted. Existing plants have to be cleared of underbrush. Compost must be prepared and spread. Plants have to be protected from insects. All this work is done by several families who live year round on the grounds of El Refúgio. Although they are paid little, their wages constitute additional costs of production. This arrangement is the same that I have seen at other farms. I estimate that the heads of household in these families earn $400-$500 annually in coffee farming. As coffee farms in the mountains are isolated geographically, there is little additional work.

It is clear that no one at El Refúgio is getting rich growing coffee. For the 2011-12 harvest the owner was paid $3.48 per kilo. In 2011 the United States imported medium grade roasted coffee for $10.38 per kilo from the wholesale international market. The U.S. retail price for premium coffee such as that from Pluma Hidalgo was approximately $9.00 per pound or $19.80 per kilo. Looking at who got what portion of the retail price, the workers who picked the coffee received 1.29 cents of the U.S. retail dollar or about 1/78th of the retail price for roasted coffee by weight. The grower made about 17.6 cents. The rest (more than 80 cents of the retail dollar) went to middlemen, roasters, transportation, marketing, retailers, and so forth, with the roasters getting the lion’s share.

Measuring coffee dollars by the cup instead of by weight reveals more extreme disparities in the distribution of profits. Assuming that each cup of coffee sells for $1.50 on average, and that each pound of coffee will make at least 50 cups, the value of a pound of coffee is $75.00. For that pound the coffee picker received about 12 cents, thus 1/625th of the retail price. The grower received $1.58 or 1/47th of the retail price.

Schooling for children in mountainous coffee growing country is difficult to obtain, and most children will only finish grade school, even though Mexican law dictates that nine years of schooling is mandatory. Medical services in the region are either scarce or non-existent for most rural residents. Other than first aid, emergency medical care on coffee farms does not exist. To complicate matters further, many of the residents in this region of Mexico speak only indigenous languages, and do not speak Spanish. My guide in the town of San Agostín Loxicha told me he felt he had an advantage as a coffee broker when compared to his peers because he could speak Spanish, and they could not.

So, how much does a cup of coffee really cost? The price we pay supports the price structure and dismal living conditions briefly described above. Most of us who drink coffee easily spend more than $1000 a year on coffee we order in restaurants and make at home. One thousand dollars is more than many families make in an entire year cultivating the coffee we drink.  As a matter of survival, many people from Oaxaca and Chiapas have migrated from coffee country to elsewhere in Mexico or to the United States. Everything is connected. In the long run the real cost of a cup of coffee is not sustainable.

My Backyard View – February 19, 2013

Project: How can you make your backyard look like mine in the featured photo?

Instructions: Start with an evening temperature of 54°F.  Cover with water for three hours. Next, reduce temperature to 36°. Cover with an inch of sleet for about one hour. When the layer of sleet is complete, reduce the temperature again to 32° and cover with an inch of wet snow. Finally, to solidify the layers so they can’t be removed from you driveway or sidewalks, gradually reduce the temperature overnight to 12°F.  For good measure, you may throw in some winds with gusts up to 35 or 40 miles per hour. That’s it.

Alternatively, move to Wisconsin where all this will be done for you automatically.

Drive carefully.

Maestro Juan Alcázar – Oaxaca 
August, 2011
Photo: Charles Cottle 

Last week Mexico lost a great artist and art educator. Maestro Juan Alcázar Méndez passed away on Thursday evening, February 7, 2013 due to progressively deteriorating complications of diabetes. Born in 1955 in the state of Oaxaca, Alcázar’s prodigious artistic talent propelled him to an early career in the arts. He entered the School of Fine Arts at the Autonomous “Benito Juárez” University of Oaxaca at the age of 13 to study graphic arts with a specialty in print making. At 17 years of age he was giving classes. Later he studied in Mexico City with various prominent artists. He was, by all accounts, one of the best students of the great Oaxacan painter, Rufino Tamayo. At 27 he founded the Free Graphics Workshop of Oaxaca at the Casa de la Cultura in Oaxaca. Later he was to be the principal founder of the Rufino Tamayo Workshop for the Visual Arts. In the last decade he was the founding director of the Museum of Oaxacan Painters. In the latter 1970′s Alcázar established himself as a premier print maker. It wasn’t until the 1980′s that he turned to painting, whereupon he became a leading exponent of magical realism in Mexico. His work has been exhibited in many countries around the world, both in single person and group shows.

In addition to his legacy as a painter and graphic artist, Juan Alcázar will be remembered for his educational mission to take art to young people across the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Among a number of  leading artists from Oaxaca, it is he who has done the most to promulgate the visual arts to the next generation. In this grand educational project Alcázar was able to establish five graphics workshops in different regions of the state. These workshops are in operation today. Over the years, he tirelessly organized and coordinated art related projects and activities across the state of Oaxaca.

Maestro Juan Alcázar Reviewing Student Art
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
September, 2011
Photo Credit: Hildebrando Gómez

It was in his role as art educator that I had the good fortune to work with Maestro Alcázar. I met him on a trip to Oaxaca with a team of artists from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who were presenting an exhibit at the Benito Juárez University. On seeing the work of the Whitewater artists, Alcázar invited them to give a series of workshops at the Museum of Oaxacan Painters. The Whitewater artists accepted the invitation and over the next year and a half they presented workshops for young adults and professional artists in monotype, artist books, digital imaging, and museum studies at the Museum and in the city of Oaxaca. I accompanied the artists on these trips as translator and coordinator. During this time I came to understand and appreciate Alcázar’s vision of art education.

In September, 2011, even though his illness was at an advanced stage, Maestro Alcázar and his colleagues made the trip from Oaxaca to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to celebrate the opening of a show with an environmental theme. The show was entitled “Surviving” (Sobreviviendo). Coordinated by Alcázar, the show portfolio featured the work of twenty eight graphic artists from Oaxaca. During this visit, Maestro Alcázar and his colleagues generously participated in art classes with lectures and presentations. For the students, and for me, it was an enriching experience.

On his passing, Juan Alcázar was just 58 years old. He will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.

Maestro Juan Alcázar teaching a graphics class at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
September, 2011
Photo Credit: Hildebrando Gómez

I took these photos in 2002, 2003 and have just reworked them for high resolution monitors that are now commonplace. This is the first of several galleries that I will be moving permanently to WordPress from my photo site at cecfoto.com. If you haven’t already seen these photos, I hope you enjoy them.

Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church – Oaxaca de Juárez
Photo by Charles Cottle

Following the rules of photographic composition usually renders idealized versions of reality. Anyone learning to produce pleasant looking photographs will consider the “rule of thirds,” the importance of lighting, the importance of the foreground and background, the elimination of clutter, and so forth. Yet, as beautiful as many of the resulting photographs might be, they fall short of a more representational view of reality. Compare, for example, the picture above of Santo Domingo de Guzmán church in Oaxaca with the picture below of the same church. The image above is similar to almost all those you will likely see that promote the tourism of Oaxaca. The image below is one you will almost never see. The one above follows the rules of composition. The one below breaks a number of those rules, but gives you a better feel of what Oaxaca is like and the church’s place in it.

Which photo is better? Many would rush to say it is the one above. I’m not so sure.

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Versión en español -

Siguiendo las reglas de composición fotográfica por lo general resulta en versiones idealizadas de la realidad. Cuaquiera quien aprenda a producir fotos agradables considera la regla de tercios, la importancia de la luz, la importancia del primer plano y el fondo, la eliminación del desorden, y muchas cosas así. A pesar de la belleza que resulta en muchas de estas fotos, ellas pierden una vista de la realidad más representiva. Compare, por ejemplo, la foto arriba de la iglesia Santo Domingo de Guzmán en Oaxaca con la foto abajo de la misma iglesia. La imagen arriba es como casi todas que se ven para promover el turismo de Oaxaca. La imagen abajo es una que casi nunca se ve. La de arriba sigue las reglas de composición. La de abajo rompe muchas de las reglas, pero le da a uno un sentido mejor de como es Oaxaca y como se ve la iglesia en su contexto.

¿Qué foto es mejor? Muchos van a decir que la de arriba es mejor. ¿Yo? No estoy tan seguro.

Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Oaxaca de Juárez
Photo by Charles Cottle