Daniel Richmond

Gila River needs a butterfly effect

Julia Butterfly Hill chronicles the two years she spent living 180 feet up in the branches of an ancient tree, on a tiny platform exposed to the wind, snow, sun and rain in her book “The Legacy of Luna.” She went 738 days without ever touching the ground. One night in particular, during a fierce winter storm, as her 6 square-foot plywood home rocked and jumped around crazily, she clung to the great redwood’s center and prayed she might survive the night. Foot-thick branches snapped off all around her head. Are you wondering why on earth she was even up there?