Richard Mahler
Writer, Radio Producer, Teacher, and Media Consultant

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Earth Notes: Exploring the Southwest's Canyon Country from the Airwaves

Summary of Earth Notes

The collection of short essays originally broadcast on the Earth Notes radio series was published in fall 2005. These pieces, of which eight were written by Richard, profile the natural wonders of the Southwest's Colorado Plateau while also describing how people past and present live among them. The essays often present creative and effective solutions to modern environmental problems that are based on tradition as well as innovation. These inspirational segments point the way to a healthy future that maintains the region's physical grandeur. The book was published by the nonprofit Grand Canyon Association, in cooperation with Northern Arizona University's Center for Sustainable Environments, which sponsors the radio series. For more information, go to www.earthnotes.org or www.grandcanyon.org.

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Excerpt from Earth Notes

"Sandstone is not the only rock in the Southwest, but picturing the Colorado Plateau without it is like imagining Seattle without rain, or Minneapolis without winter. It is one of those natural features that immediately puts places into context, and sticks fast in the memory. The region's sandstone is composed of ancient sand that eroded from other rocks eons ago. It povides a record of long-vanished climates, some of them wetter and some even drier than today's. Much of the reddish Entrada Sandstone exposed at Arches National Monument was deposited on the beaches and tidal flats of a shallow prehistoric sea. In contrast, the cream- or orange-colored Navajo Sandstone that forms massive cliffs in Zion and Capitol Reef national parks forms a record of a Sahara-like desert, the huge dunes of which once covered a wide area." [from Richard Mahler's "Sand and Slickrock," p. 7]

Radio Stations Broadcasting Public Radio's Earth Notes

Tune in the two and one-half minute radio version of Earth Notes on the following public stations in the American Southwest (unless noted, all are in Arizona). Times vary, but are often embedded within NPR's Morning Edition or All Things Considered programs: KUNM 89.9 Albuquerque, NM; KUYI 88.1 Hotevilla, KNAU 88.7 Flagstaff, KNAQ 89.3 Prescott, KGHR 89.5 Tuba City, KNAU 89.7 Kingman, KNAG 90.3 Grand Canyon, KNAA 90.7 Show Low, KPUB 91.7 Flagstaff, KNAD 91.7 Page.

Reviews of Earth Notes

"I loved it. Richard has really captured the essence of the special people and places of America's Four Corners."

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