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UID:pretalx-nss-convention-2026-HPN9BW@talks.caving.dev
DTSTART;TZID=EST:20260707T100000
DTEND;TZID=EST:20260707T103000
DESCRIPTION:The NSS motto\, "Take nothing but pictures\, leave nothing but 
 footprints\, and kill nothing but time" admonishes us: "Cave softly." We s
 hould minimize human impacts while exploring\, surveying\, photographing\,
  or studying caves. Yet impacts abound. Cavers leave survey stations\, ins
 tall bolts\, leave footprints\, dig through sediments\, or set off charges
  to remove bedrock to enlarge squeezes. Ideally (but impractically) we mig
 ht aspire to leave no permanent trace of our presence\, other than impacti
 ng renewable features. So what counts as a renewable feature (or resource)
  in a cave? Are there any such things? To count as renewable\, features wo
 uld have to potentially be degraded or disappear and then reform again in 
 a minimally unaltered state through some physical\, chemical\, or biologic
 al processes. For example\, degradation of cave water or air through chemi
 cal or biological agents (pollutants\, viruses\, or fungi) may harm bats o
 r other organisms\, but there is hope that mitigation could allow ecosyste
 m renewal. Speleothems\, however\, generally form on a time scale much lon
 ger than that of human lifetimes. Consequently\, we are taught not to touc
 h speleothems because oils from our fingers could discolor them or inhibit
  their growth\, and touching might lead to breakage. In Snedegars Cave\, w
 hite drip hole rings form and disappear as a result of wetting and drying 
 cycles associated with condensation\, evaporation\, dissolution\, and prec
 ipitation cycles. Are drip hole rings renewable cave resources? Not really
 \, I would argue. And what can we ethically do in exploring and studying c
 aves? Come join an illustrated discussion.
DTSTAMP:20260826T233013Z
LOCATION:205
SUMMARY:Are There Renewable Resources in Caves? Do Drip Hole Rings Count? A
 nd What Can Cavers Ethically Do in Exploring and Studying Caves? - 
URL:https://talks.caving.dev/nss-convention-2026/talk/HPN9BW/
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