Oh, this discussion is rich in irony. Ha ha ha.
So hypothetically, what would be the most reckless way to endanger cave access
and control? Well, it's not really hypothetical. It seems to me the absolute
worst thing to do would be to maliciously bury rival cavers inside a cave not
once, but twice. That might injure or actually kill the cavers thus buried, and
that would certainly bring about a pretty nasty scandal. The public in general
would be fairly shocked at the weird motivations of the actor(s) committing the
burial that no layman would be able to fully explain. So the cave in question
would be closed and sealed forever.
Now, who would go and do such a thing?
-Tim
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Airman's Cave Videos:
Caves should be part of public knowledge. The public cannot be
expected to protect or value caves if they don't know they exist.
Cavers are a force for the good in protecting the karst, and without
public awareness of caves, in the future there will be no cavers.
This will be a loss not only for the potential cavers who will live a
less fulfilled life, but also for the caves that suffer without the
support form their friends. But not all types of publicity are
helpful. Good publicity provides information and directs people to
organized caving, bad publicity presents the cave as a challenge and
says come and conquer, if you can. Unfortunately, the Airman's
videos tend to be more of the second type. They do provide some
information on safe caving, but there is no mention of organized
caving, and the cave is presented essentially as a physical
challenge. This type of publicity tends to attract extreme sport
thrill seekers. The here-is-where-the-cave-is focus of the video
undercuts the message to go with someone who knows the cave. The
producers of the Airman's video might intend to appeal only to the
best, but they have essentially issued a challenge to everyone. To
put this in perspective, think of what the video would be like if the
producers actually owned the cave. And, the City of Austin does own
the cave, and the people in charge do worry about abuse of the cave.
The recent Airman's video will increase their desire to have positive
control over who visits their cave.
The cost of cave "rescues" has long been an item for discussion,
especially after newspaper reports of a rescue. While much of the
discussion is about how one does the accounting, cave rescues
actually are expensive. In the last Airman's Cave "Rescue" there
were at least ten city employees who worked an additional day of
overtime. These were the most necessary and cave-worthy of the city
employees who could not be replaced when their shift was over. Not
to mention the use of equipment and supplies. And, if someone were
to say that it did not cost the city anything to fight a fire because
the fireman would have been paid even if there weren't a fire, most
people would think this was not productive thinking. If fires are
not considered cost fee, neither should cave rescues. But, the real
problem is that our society is so risk adverse that any problem, as
lost in a cave, is apt to be met with drastic solutions -- close up
those dangerous caves. Cavers know better, but private owners and
the city are likely to take the easy way to solve the "problem" of
caves.
Bill Russell
--
William Hart Russell
4806 Red River Street
Austin, TX 78751
H: 512-453-4774 (messages)
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