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Happy Earthday!

A recent poll found that fully one quarter of us believe that the environmental improvements that we have made since the first Earthday have been inadequate. We still have tens of thousands of people dying prematurely from environmental contamination such as fly ash from coal burning, photochemical smog and clouds of toxic dust and fumes from foundries, asphalt and even fumes from commercial products and their packaging. The first tier of environmental protection revolved around the lowest hanging fruit as it were. If we could put another layer of filtration, or perhaps something as minor as a finer screen on the point sources that abounded a few decades ago, we could claim that we were doing all that we could to clean up our mess. In fact, the most hazardous contaminants often are small enough that our immune systems are unable to detect them and therefore, unable to clear them from our bodies. Some poisonous compounds are integrated into our bodies in such a way as to cause their damage over the long term, some actually skipping a generation before causing harm to our children.

The long list of people who said that they wanted a cleaner environment has been dwarfed by the billions of dollars that have been spent by those who wish to continue polluting for the profit that it means to them. How this can be justified as a "responsibility to stockholders", I may never know, but even today, I saw a commercial that was touting fracking as "less polluting" than other methods of energy production. Conoco Phillips, the company that implied, through this morning's commercial, that our children would have jobs if we continue to extract oil at higher and higher cost, wasting vast amounts of energy to pump high pressure steam far below the surface to extract the last residues of natural gas from rock that has locked it away for millennea, completely neglected to posit that there are other, less damaging ways to meet our needs through conservation, efficiency improvements and rethinking our dependence on fossil fuel. I know that it is their business to bring to the market oil and natural gas, but they should not be allowed to use public airwaves to lie to millions of people for the purpose of fattening their wallets. Those who have had the freedom to risk the lives of others for profit will not relinquish that right without a fight. Just as the child who is used to getting their way, the corporations and businesses that have been spoiled in this way will throw tantrums each and every time that they are urged to clean up their act. These corporate giants do not care who they hurt, they have proven that by their actions.

The economic terrorism that corporate business leaders employ in each and every case, is treason. Their commitment to inaction, and willingness to pay fines rather than do the right thing show that they are happy to operate outside existing law because they can. There has never been a study proving that effective environmental regulation leads to reduction of jobs, wages, profits or economic activity. In fact, when government regulations have reduced environmental hazards, it has increased jobs, created even higher profits (through waste reduction), created more higher skill jobs and bolstered economic activity. Then, why the morass between what we know is necessary and what industry is willing to do? The common knowledge that most parents come to find is operating on an international level with corporations, virtually worldwide. The more you bend and sacrifice to "get along" with a tyrant, the more often and more violently they will protest conventions of civility. Spoiled brat is a term that has come to be known because we all have seen them. It is completely possible to stop bad behavior, but yet, many parents think that by giving in, "peace" will be arrived at sooner and at lower "cost". What stops this tragic cycle is when a parent, or in this case the government, (which is, after all, the people) stops ameliorating the spoiled brat and makes them tow the line with regard to socially acceptable behavior, developing awareness of the rights of others and in the most tragic cases, developing the listening skills required to understand the needs of others, rather than only attending to their own.

The din that has erupted from the general public has been toned down, padded if you will, through the inaction of decades, leniency on the part of regulators, an extremely well-funded opposition to real and meaningful change and the contempt that polluting industries continue to have for our right to clean soil,  air and water. I continue to encourage my readers to check out the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). This is a national network that requires polluters to self report their emissions and document them with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This tool allows the average citizen to type in their zip code or location and find out who is pumping what into the air around where they live. It was an eye opener for me and I assume others will be equally interested in who the corporate outlaws are in their neighborhoods. We humans often have to carry an inter-generational legacy that we are ashamed of. In the case of how we treat our environment, we have the power to set things right for the generations that follow, but it will require taking measures that have not been used yet. We can no longer afford to sit idly by, waiting for the world to change. We need to turn our voices and wallets to the task of changing the world from the grass roots up. If the government refuses to protect us from foes who are killing off the population from within, then we have to step outside the realm of their influence and change things without their help.

Dollars seem to be the only language that corporations understand. When you get wind of who the sources of toxic compounds in your community are, use your voice to educate others about the real and despicable actions of those bad neighbors. If there were a pedophile living next door to a local single mother of two, who worked dawn to dusk every day to keep her family off welfare, you would let her know, right? The same holds true for the devilish money-grubbers who seek to make their profits by sacrificing our health and our welfare. We need to let others know, through social media, heart-felt discussions with our loved-ones and even with people we don't know that well. This behavior is wrong and must not be tolerated. With the spoiled child, a mere look might be enough to stop their bad behavior. Corporations only have eyes for cash, so as their profits fall and eventually dry up, the vast pools of money that they have used to convince us that we cannot get along without their bad behavior will dry up as well. This Earthday, make it your business to know who is operating in your community, recognize the spreaders of poison for what they are. There was a time when we were not even treated as well as slaves. Those who profit from our pain and the premature loss of our loved ones need to bow out. We are the only ones with the power to change what we spend our dollars on. Do not treat your decisions lightly, every dollar spent or invested supports a cascading series of events that allows each and every thing we use to be made and come to us. This goes for energy, products, foods and even our sources of entertainment. Learn as much as you can about this complex world and act according to your conscience, this will improve the environment more than government regulations. It will help more than you can measure, perhaps more than you can imagine. It may help just enough to save your life, the life of someone you love, or maybe even the life of a stranger. We are well past the point of cleaning up trash and telling one another that this is enough, or all we can hope for. Now is the time to remove the bad actors, stand up for our right to clean soil, air and water, and to invest our own time in making lifestyles that keep our hard-earned dollars out of the hands of rogues and scallywags. 

Earthday at 40

I remember my parents not allowing me to attend the first Earthday. They said it was part of the conspiracy to placate the masses and distract the public from what was really going on. The river in our backyard was a colloidal suspension, (like mixing milk and orange juice, but it was green) After forty years, dredging toxic compounds that accumulated all those years ago has begun. The fish are still not safe to eat, nor the waters to swim. I have seen a vast improvement in the look, but not the smell of our river. As a child I wondered how large must the Great Lakes be, to be able to handle the incredible volume of toxic waste that flowed past our door.

In 1987, I got a chance to ride bicycle around all five Great Lakes and all I can say is that they are not very big! Even now the water that we drink contains prescription drugs. We didn't even know about the possibility of these contaminants being able to "make it" into the environment back then. I was able to get the message of sustainability , though we called it living better for less back then, to about ten million people. Six million on a single day through CBC radio during a morning commute. Cheap and simple ways to "Go Green" like substituting baking soda for chlorine tainted cleansers, combining trips, carpooling or bicycling rather than firing up the old fossil fuel burner unnecessarily. Back then, a family could save about seven thousand dollars per year by going from two cars down to one.

The air when I was a child was terrible, and is no better today, in spite of effectively cutting new lead emissions, sulfur dioxide and dry cleaning compounds many other contaminants have increased. We did score a noteworthy victory when the local electric generating station wanted to raise their smoke stack to "protect local air quality". Public interest groups said in court that the air farther away should not be negatively impacted to keep our air cleaner, so the stack raising project was put on hold. The courts interpreted the clean air act rules to mean that pollution should be reduced, not just diluted and to this day, the stack remains unfinished.

Burning of fossil fuels has increased exponentially at times in the last forty years. Each time we increase mileage standards, we increase the fleet size to offset any ecological gains. Infrastructure improvements have created millions more miles upon which people can now drive. Current government incentives go to larger and larger interests who more and more people drive farther to patronize.

Soils are still under attack. Mega-farm agribusiness is not concerned at all about naturally stable and ecologically diverse micro-climates. Drive through any agricultural land and you will see the stark reality that nearly every farmer has sterilized the soils and tilled wet and /or erosion prone areas to the point of having only dirt where a complex relationship of organisms once existed.

I truly hope that in forty more years my children won't say "Things are as bad as they ever were." At least when the first Earthday happened, there were still old timers who had not given up the old ways of farming that respected the earth, understood stewardship and at least rotated crops and left fallow land that "needed a rest." Farmers are under such pressure today that they can't possibly do what is best for their land. It would cost billions to reestablish hedgerows, intersperse forest cover to protect the fields from the ravages of wind and extremes of hot and cold as well as wet and dry.

We have had forty years to make a difference, but have mostly chosen to look the other way. If you are a child reading this, hold your parents to a higher standard. If nothing changes, protest like we did against the Vietnam War. If you are adults, hold your elected officials to the task of cleaning up the mess, stabilizing the cities and allowing local areas to support themselves. No one is served when the cities collapse. Before the next Wal-mart is subsidized, we need to make sure the urban core has decent food, water, shelter and air. If that means mass transit, so be it. If that means high speed rail, lets step up. We are living in a country whose people were told that the Erie Canal was just a pipe dream, The Mississippi could not be tamed, that they would never be able to lay railroad track over the Rockies, that a Trans-Atlantic cable was impossible, and other things that could have limited us, or what we could do. If anyone can reclaim a mutually beneficial relationship with Earth, it only makes sense that it should be us.

We have been lucky to have people looking out for us through the last forty years, but the lack of effective action to reign in the destruction of our planet has been staggering. Our efforts need to be more than redoubled. Effective action is much more than fair-trade coffee and reuse-able shopping bags. It lies in a complex matrix of relationships with one another, with community and with resources. As we learned as children about the water cycle, we need to look at the cycles of capital, of energy, of nutrients and of all the gifts that the natural world provides each discreet location. The give back needs to be reintegrated into our daily lives. That is what enriches community and raises our quality of life while reducing costs.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit

Initially I wanted to write Earth week entries about each of these forces separately. Each deserves an entry to explore more deeply it's significance to our culture this Spring, but for lack of time and the busy nature of my schedule, I am going to have to combine these elements into a single post. Much like in our own lives, we must balance and integrate forces like these daily. It is time that we reevaluate what we are willing to call reality and reassess the value and meanings behind our relationship with these forces. In spite of the brief introduction to each of these natural forces that I will attempt here, remember that a lifetime of study and awareness is required to begin to understand fully the part these forces play in our lives.

Happily, the Earth is getting lots of attention this week, but we often allow our connection with Mother Earth to slide out of focus, or drop off our radar completely. As you may have noticed, my own focus, in life and blogs is on the Earth and her gifts, sustainable development and patterns that connect us with the planet, her resources and our relationship with Starship Earth, our fellow passengers on our flight around the Sun, and the island mentality that must come to light if we are to survive here without poisoning ourselves or tearing at the web of life that sustains us until it can no longer hold the weight of our species.

With gardening season upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere, many millions will be turning the soil, many for the first time. This simple act can grow within us new respect for creatures that share their space with us, as well as the life that goes on all around us on this miraculous planet. In a single cup of healthy soil more organisms can live than the number of people we typically meet in a lifetime. Protecting the earth and her soils from the harsh effects of sun and rain are paramount in the gardener's mind. Mulch your gardens to conserve moisture, retain fertility and protect soil life. If anyone has ever laid in the sun too long, or been stuck out in the rain with no shelter, they know that nature can be harsh. Single celled critters and soil microbes are even less able to cope with sunburn or direct hits from raindrops than we are. Protecting the Earth takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that soils are alive. Once sterilized, it is just dirt.

Air too must be integrated and available in healthy soils. When planting, be careful not to destroy soil tilth or texture. Turning soils that are still wet, treading on planting beds, or killing off beneficial organisms can lead to difficult conditions for many plants. Even roots like to "breathe" and compaction rates as a number one cause of declining fertility in soils. Again, mulch can act as a shock absorber underfoot, protecting delicate structures that plants form to sustain their lives as well as our own. This invisible element, Air, swirls and flows around us all the time. The atmosphere is 1/6 as viscous as water, but has incredible power nonetheless. Just as we understand watersheds, the basins that collect the waters that flow together into local waterways, the air too comes from far away locations bringing substances and qualities with it. Here in the Western Great Lakes Region, we normally get most of our air from Canada in Winter, the Pacific Northwest in Spring and Fall, and the Southwest in Summer. Of course the daily changes that occur in the atmosphere are much more varied than that, but learning to feel the changes and understand them gives one greater insight to weather, pollution issues and intimacy with the vital fluid that we breathe to sustain life. Just this spring, I had a bought with pneumonia that was a direct result of a stagnant bolus of air that stayed over Northeast Wisconsin for ten days. During this time, the air quality continued to be degraded by transportation, energy and industrial contaminants. Lungs are not designed to handle this sort of onslaught. Air is to be revered and Creator intended for us to be blessed with pure and unadulterated air to breathe.

Fire as we know has the unique ability to warm us. The burning of calories in our food are fire on a microscopic level. Metabolism, even of tiny organisms creates heat and this is a by-product of life itself. The most available source of energy that we know is the Sun. The solar furnace that bombards the earth is responsible for most of the swirling winds on our planet, virtually all of the life as we know it on the earth's surface, and for the vast reserves of fossilized carbon which we are burning at rates never imagined in generations past. the fire that burns within each of us is just a chip off the old block. The sun creates virtually every calorie we take in. Even the lowly mushroom, growing on dead roots, or trunks of trees makes it's living from plants that have had their day in the sun. We often use phrases like "burning desire" or "flames of passion", "hot blooded" or "fired up" we all know this force, but often we overlook the ubiquitous nature of fire in our lives. We must learn to honor and respect this powerful energy within us and surrounding us to begin to treat it with the respect it deserves.

Water too has an undeniable place in our existence. Our bodies are made up of roughly the same percentage of water as the rest of the planet's creatures. Without it, we cannot survive. Without clean water in abundant supply, all forms of life must either adapt or perish. This lowly molecule has amazing characteristics that we still do not fully understand. It is an awesome solvent, requires large amounts of energy to change phase, solid to liquid, liquid to gas. it helps moderate temperature because of it's ability to absorb and give off energy slowly. It is made up of only two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen, and it is extremely tightly bonded, even though each chemical in isolation is highly reactive.

My own fascination with water began as a child. Surface tension, adhesion, cohesion, solubility, the addition of surfactants to this fluid and fluid dynamics absorbed my attentions as far back as I can remember. For many, the commodification of this vital fluid creates vast wealth and destroys the environment. Rather than respecting the power of this element, man has sought to harness the waters that flow, utilize their energies for man's benefit and to not consider what riches lie in the fluid itself, or the watercourses that surround us. Mankind's ability to survive and thrive depend on clean water being available to all people in relatively unlimited quantity. As you look around the planet, there are large areas whose future is being called into question because of this dwindling resource. The first Earthday was brought about because of the gross neglect and poisoning of vast bodies of water. The public got enraged and called for better protection of this essential resource. Now, forty years later, the threats that water faces are much more occult (hidden), mush more pernicious and far more complex than sludge belching out from pipes, draining industrial waste into the local creeks and rivers. We have done a pretty good job of going after folks who desecrated water in that way. What we face now is the withdrawal of trillions of gallons of water from below ground, infiltration of harmful materials into the water table, and deposition of dangerous chemicals that are falling from the sky. A life out of balance harms all creatures great and small, the wisdom of this lies in the waters that make all life possible.

Spirit too is being commodified. It is becoming harder and harder to find communities that are not burdened by mega-churches. Fortunately there are many good folks involved in the reawakening of spirit amongst the people, but the rise of fundamentalists of all flavors is a disturbing trend in World Spirituality. As we grow mentally and emotionally, we need to grow spiritually as well. When you study these relationships, or those facts, it is well to realize that they tie into spiritual practice as well. The Spirit which guides us is not the exclusive domain of any religion. Spirit is like the magician's assistant who climbs into the box, only to be "pierced" with skewers. Each faith tradition thrusts it's way into the box. As we watch, we can be sure that this or that dagger has inflicted the death blow. As the container is run through with more and more skewers, we cannot help but know that the space inside, as we know it can no longer contain a living breathing person. One of the pieces of steel must have surely found it's mark. To our horror, the assistant keeps right on smiling. Then, as if by magic, the daggers are removed and she springs unharmed from the case. The religious leaders of today, many of them, are claiming to have a fast track to salvation and that being a member in good standing of their church will assure us eternal life and favor with "the lord".

Spirit cannot be bought, sold, bartered, renewed, cleansed or in any way destroyed or harmed by human activities. It may be the spark of life, but life is just a mirror that reflects spirit. Coming to know spirit the way that I have begun to, it can be undeniably seen in all living creatures, in each element, in every facet of every action taken by every creature. We speak of spirit of the age, spirit of giving, holiday spirit and the like. What is most profound for me is that as we pass through life we know when our spirit has been touched, but explaining that to anyone else is virtually impossible. Each of us must make peace with the spiritual realm on our own terms. Those who claim to "know the way" at best can only tell you what seems to have worked for them. I heard an analogy once that holds true for many parts of our lives. "We determined what we put into our bodies by the people giving it to us. Once a guy came to the door in a large cowboy hat, silver belt buckle and boots. The first thing he did when he came in the house was to close all the curtains, lock the doors and all the while he was there he kept getting up and pulling back the blinds to look out with obvious paranoia. He put a large bag of pills on the coffee table and said that they were for us. We decided that if they were what he was, we wanted no part of them."

All of our lives must be spent looking critically out into the world for relevant data that can help us along our own path. The idea that someone else can find our personal truth in matters of spirituality would be laughable if so many of us had not been misled into thinking that religions have things figured out. Spirit is alive within us and as such need not be contaminated by any other being or their version of truth, or their understanding of what they have been led to believe. Creator gave us each gifts that we cannot fathom. Many of us go through life never even understanding our full potential. Spirit is ours to explore, it does not belong to anyone else. It is not for others to even understand or dictate. Our souls are ours to "save", and in truth cannot be "sold", "spent" or "squandered". Our spiritual life, as well as the spirits of everything that surrounds us are far too important to trust to others. When God/ess is alive within us, great things happen and no one can mediate our experience with the eternal except our own self.

This Earthweek, challenge yourself to study your own relationship with these five elements. Let me know what you learn. I'm always interested in finding other seekers along the path to enlightenment.

Namaste', Tony C. Saladino

Guidelines for Fire Tenders

With the summer camping season approaching and the weather making a turn for the better, it is time for some basic fire tending review. First off, be aware of your surroundings. Many areas here in Northeast Wisconsin have had burn bans in place already this Spring. Local ordinances govern where, when and how fire may be used. Please heed them, because nothing ruins a good bonfire like a bunch of guys arriving on a fire truck! Try to use good judgment as well as (pardon the phrase) common sense. A friend once melted all the newly installed vinyl siding off the south face of his house by burning way too much fuel in relatively close proximity to the house. Normally, twenty feet is a good guide between the fire pit and any combustible material, but in his case, fifty feet was not nearly enough! Also keep in mind that in forest conditions, leaf litter that has been long covered, or root fibers can extend great distances below ground and the possibility of fire escaping out of control exists both above and below ground.

Another good rule that I like to follow is to keep a five gallon bucket of water close at hand for, not only any errant sparks or fires that escape the fire ring, but for the inevitable burnt fingers, hands, or other items that get too close to burning embers. Having ice on hand for immediate first aid in these cases works well, but can be impractical miles from a trail head.I also like to make a trip to the nearest water source to make sure there are no low branches, rocks in the trail, or other obstacles that would create a hazard in case the bucket needs to be refilled in a hurry. Remember, it is always better to be safe than sorry in the case of fire. Taking these precautions will assure the best experience possible with the least hardship involved.

Many places that you might camp have fire rings established. When you are lucky enough to have one, use it! Be advised, many poor fire tenders exist who will trow trash and other items that will not burn into fires. Before you start your fire, take the time to scrape the hearth out, remove offensive items, and dispose of non-flammable materials and trash that may have been left behind. This is a good time to explain why it is always a bad idea to throw anything but fuel into the fire. BECAUSE IT STINKS! Wax coatings on cups or plates, plastics, metals, rubber, etc. all create hazardous by-products during combustion. I have never been able to understand why someone would travel into the Great Outdoors, only to degrade the quality of the environment once they get there. Dioxins, Furans, Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and other carcinogenic compounds are unwelcome guests anywhere, but especially in the wilderness or your local campground. All plastics need to be packed out, never burned.

Remember, the only limitations to getting fire started are your creativity and understanding of what fire needs. Remember the three legged stool analogy. All fire needs heat, fuel, and oxygen. Heat can be provided using any one, or any combination of sources. Several folks I know have mastered the Wood Drill method. It always looks easy in the movies, but don't rely on this method until you have proven your skill in conditions that don't require you to depend on making fire with this method alone. Similarly, the flint and steel method work quite easily with a bit of practice, but I would not want to embark on a trip depending on that skill alone unless I had proven my ability in the comfort of a non-survival situation.

Fuel can be readily available, limited, or virtually non-existent depending on where you go, for how long, or again by regulation. Even areas that allow wood to be carried in are often limiting where the wood comes from to limit the spread of disease and the insects that are vectors for several tree diseases. One often overlooked fuel source, especially for the starting of fires is what I have heard called Witches Wood. Often on pines, or other oily trees, there will be tinder-dry sticks that burn easily, even after a heavy rain, because they are inside the growing canopy of the mature tree. Be aware that "punky" wood (notable for it's lightness when dry, and relative heaviness when wet) will fight you in two ways. For one, the air trapped inside will insulate deeper layers of the wood from burning, or worse yet harbor moisture which will have to turn to steam and boil off before it will burn. Worse yet, there will be far less heat value in it to begin with and will be unlikely to sustain a good burn even if it is dry. If the wood is that close to going back to the soil, let it. It will make a wonderful home for bugs.
Oxygen is one of the most frequently overlooked parts of the fire. You can't see it, but you can see the results of it. If you have fuel and adequate heat, but no real fire, boost the oxygen. Let air work it's way through the pile of wood. Many poor excuses for fires have been cured by the judicious stir, or a well placed prop that allows the fire to "breathe". This is why so many bad fires use dimensional lumber. The flat sides go together, and even though the wood is bone dry, the air cannot get to the surfaces. Remember as well that the air coming off the fire can be up to six times the size of the air coming into it. Like most fluids, hotter is larger. The hotter the fire gets, the more likely there will be no problem with smoke. The increasing size of the air will push the smoke up and away from you!

One of the best ways to prepare for a good fire is to separate your fuel into three piles, so you can have appropriate fuel for any size fire. Tinder, which has a diameter smaller than a pencil, is usually good for starting from scratch or re-stoking the fire from coals make sure that this material is as dry as possible. Impatience has stymied many, because it takes way more tinder than one might think to start and maintain a fire that will ignite the next larger size of sticks. In this pile, or perhaps if it is raining, over the top of your tinder pile, make a roof of birch bark, if you have it. Birch bark will burn even after being completely immersed in water. The resinous quality of birch makes it resistant to decay and very flammable. Small stuff, usually from about the diameter of a pencil up to about an inch needs to be at the ready as soon as the tinder is lit and able to withstand the loss of heat that the mid-sized wood will need to get going. Lastly are the larger chunks that will have staying power as your fire grows. Tinder needs to be fed or checked every few seconds up to a minute. Mid-sized fuel can occasionally be left without having to coax the flames for several minutes, but to be able to sit back and enjoy the fire, you will need considerably larger chunks of wood.

Knowing your wood species and how long it has been drying can make all the difference in the quality of the fire that you can produce. Although most wood can be made to burn, if your fire is hot enough, dry wood is always best. Moisture in the fuel makes lots of smoke, absorbs most of the heat that keeps the fire going, and is nearly useless in most instances. The best wood has been cut, split and dried for a full year, but when you camp, you have to do the best you can with what you can find. Many natural areas are fragile enough that fires should be for food only and those needs can be effectively accomplished by bringing a cook stove and fuel with you. Check with Rangers or local officials before you go, especially if you are not familiar with the area.

No Trace camping involves disappearing your fire ring. carefully choose stones for the ring that can be put back where they were, preferably with the smoked side down. When cooking needs to be done, selecting three stones large enough to balance your cook pot on, while leaving space for the fire underneath can be most effective. No trace aficionados also remove the vegetation where they intend to make fire, replacing the "plug" once the coals have been soaked, stirred and soaked again, cooling the soil so as not to cook the native turf. Google Leave No Trace for insights on camping invisibly. As the numbers of people who are looking for remote camping opportunities increase, there is more and more need for practicing no trace camping. Lasting damage, even from temporary campers has lasting negative effects on the enjoyment of others who seek to enjoy the wilds. Be respectful, try to leave no trace as much as possible. Others will appreciate your consideration.

Lastly, when the time comes to put your fire out, don't take chances. The old douse, stir, douse method has worked well for generations. You will be surprised at how much heat will invade the soil. Especially if you have had a raging fire for a couple days, don't expect to just dump the left over ice from your cooler on it. If there are any unburned chunks of wood, douse them, let them rest, and douse them again. If there is no forest duff to worry about, you can also smother fire with dirt, but don't rely on this alone. Many times I have been able to re-kindle fires that were "banked" the night before. This process involves covering the coals of the fire with dirt to slow the burn. It slows the oxygen from getting to the hot coals, saving them for a very long time.

Enjoy, enjoy!