LA MONTAÑITA CO-OP’S 25TH ANNUAL AT THE NOB HILL CO-OP!
EARTH FEST
servation, food self-sufficiency and so many related issues. Come meet and lend your energy in support of the efforts of the many dedicated people in our communities who are working on these and other issues. We firmly believe that with the same cooperative spirit that for forty years enabled the Co-op to thrive and become the community hub for a sustainable future it has become, we can and will overcome the challenges we face. Again this year, the festival will cover the two blocks on Silver Street between Carlisle and Tulane behind the Nob Hill Shopping Center. You can expect an inspiring day filled with information, education, and action booths from dozens of environmental, social, and economic justice organizations from around the state. Meet local farmers, pet baby goats, and purchase seedlings for a sustainable food supply, drought resistant plants, and beautiful art from fine local artists and crafts people. And of course you’ll get to eat great Co-op food and dance in the street with friends and neighbors new and old.
Coming together for
Environmental ACTION! Sunday, April 19, 10am-6pm BEHIND THE NOB HILL CO-OP, ON SILVER STREET BETWEEN CARLISLE AND TULANE, 3500 CENTRAL SE BY ROBIN
SEYDEL his, the twenty-fifth year of our Co-op Earth Fest, is both joyous and poignant. We are deeply moved by and thankful for the support from all of New Mexico that has made our Earth Fest into one of the most beloved of spring events. We at the Co-op are overjoyed to once again be able to offer this opportunity to bring together friends old and new, for environmental action and to dance in the streets in celebration of our beautifully diverse community.
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Recent unusual weather patterns, not only here in New Mexico when we had three weeks of spring in February ending with the ninth biggest snow fall on record, are an undeniable reminder of the work we have do to restore and sustain our little planet. And what better way to get involved in the effort to heal and honor our Mother Earth than to come to the Co-op’s 25th Annual Earth Fest behind the Nob Hill Co-op. Cooperation and collaboration for a healthy sustainable future for ourselves, coming generations, and the planet is our twenty- fifth Earth Fest theme. There is still much work to do on climate chaos, renewable energy, water quality, and con-
Ride a Bike! As the many of you who have attended the Co-op Earth Fest know, due to the popularity of the event and Nob Hill parking realities, it’s best to hike, bike or carpool to the festival site. Given that, we are once again honored to be working with the City of Albuquerque’s Bicycle program, Bike ABQ, and the Albuquerque Police Department on a wide variety of bike safety and education activities. Thanks to Commander Whisonant of the Southeast Area Substation, you can get to know our southeast area Bike Officers. Special thanks to the City of Albuquerque’s Chuck Malagodi for his help on all things bicycle! This year we will once again have a Kids Bike Safety Rodeo and other bicycle education.
EARTH Love the Earth as your mother Who with your father gave you life. Love the Earth as your sister and brother Love the Earth as a beloved husband, wife, lover, partner. Love the Earth as your precious child Whether born of your body or embraced in love. Love the Earth as your favorite dog or cat, bird, fish Or all other species that add joy to your life Love the Earth more than money, Success or celebrity… More than that new electronic device! Love the Earth more than yourself, For we are dust and will return to dust But this sparkling gem that carries us through time and space She will remain, For us and all other species, who come after. If we love the Earth -Birde LaDanza
Entertainment Schedule 10am: Ehecatl Aztec Dancers 11am: Adobe Brothers 12pm: Alma Flamenca 1pm: Jeeze Laweez 2pm: Baile Baile Dance Company 2:30pm: Adama African Dancers and Drummers 3pm: Soul Kitchen 4pm: Bandwidth No Name 5pm: Baracutanga
See the full entertainment schedule above, so you don’t miss any of this great local FREE music and dance! Space goes quickly so reserve your space today. We give first priority to non-profit environmental, social and economic justice non-profit organizations, farmers, gardeners, and farm education organizations. Due to space considerations and Fire Department regulations, NO CANOPIES OR POPUP TENTS will be allowed. For more information or to reserve your free booth space, please contact Robin at 217-2027 or toll free at 877-775-2667 or at robins@lamontanita.coop. We are praying for a beautiful day, and with Mother Earth's blessing we will once again take time to celebrate "Her," and reaffirm our commitment to restoring and sustaining our beautiful blue/green planetary gem.
Women’s Voices for Mother Earth This year it is a special pleasure to offer a musical theme Join your friends and neighbors as we educate of women’s voices for Mother Earth with up-and-coming ourselves for paradigm shifting action and joymusicians as well as some of our favorites. Enjoy the harously dance in the streets at Albuquerque's monies of Jeez Laweez, the powerpacked soul of Hillary favorite spring gathering. MARK YOUR CALENSmith and Soul Kitchen, the hip hop/funk of Bandwidth DAR! THIS IS ONE EVENT YOU DON'T WANT No Name’s Mary Stockton and the Latin jazz beat of TO MISS. Baracutanga’s Jackie Zamora. As always, you can count on seeing festival favorites like the National Institute of Flamenco’s Alma Flamenca with Eva Celebrate Encinas Sandoval, Baile Baile Folklorico and Adama Africian Dancers and Drummers on the little stage under the big tent, in the middle of Silver Street.
EARTH DAY
IN STYLE
LOVE
Love the
Earth Fest
YOUR
MOTHER
The Earth's Last Supper is an environmental sculpture which has representations of endangered species, air, and water, as well as representations of healing figures. The Apronista Project will bring their healing dolls to the table. Also, there will be puppets which represent various aspects of nature and birds for children of all ages to enjoy.
Our Westside and Gallup stores want you to be able to shop the Co-op in style. On April 22, when you spend $10 or more at either location, you’ll receive a FREE re-usable Co-op shopping bag. Bring in the bag on your next shopping trip and participate in our Donate a Dime program. We sponsor a different local non-profit organization each month. Reduce your carbon footprint and support a community organization!
Pre-school children from A Child's Garden designed and their teacher implemented a ceramic art piece. Other community children made small representations of animals. Make a Seed Pot At the Earth Fest celebration, children of all ages can make seed starter pots from newspaper and fill them with compost and a seed. Stop by and sign our guest book in which you can state your concerns about climate change and tell us about some of the simple things you have done to address these concerns. Look for the Earth’s Last Supper art installation at La Montañita's 25th Annual Earth Fest in front of Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Carlisle.
the earth’s
LASTAnSUPPER Environmental Sculpture
CELEBRATE EARTH WEEK AND ARBOR DAY AT THE SANTA FE CO-OP
APRIL 25/11am-2pm GREAT FOOD: Burgers, Burgers, Burgers: your choice of grassfed beef, turkey, or veggie with chips and a beverage, only $7! All profits from BBQ sales go to Gerard’s House. Gerard’s House is a safe place for grieving children, teens, and families, where healing happens through acceptance and peer support. Gerard’s House offers long-term, free, peer-based grief support for children, youth and parents, ages 3-21. For more information go to www.gerards house.org/. GREAT MUSIC BY KITTY JO CREEK! Check them out at www.facebook.com/KittyJoCreekBand.
growing for the
earth
La Montañita Cooperative A Community-Owned Natural Foods Grocery Store
April 2015 2
VETERAN FARMER PROJECT
Nob Hill 7am – 10pm M – Sa, 8am – 10pm Su 3500 Central SE, ABQ, NM 87106 505-265-4631
PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H
Rio Grande 7am – 10pm M – Su 2400 Rio Grande NW, ABQ, NM 87104 505-242-8800
FARM GROWING
Gallup 8am – 8pm M – Sa, 11am – 8pm Su 105 E Coal, Gallup, NM 87301 505-863-5383 Santa Fe 7am – 10pm M – Sa, 8am – 10pm Su 913 West Alameda, Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-984-2852 Grab n’ Go 8am – 6pm M – F, 11am – 4pm Sa UNM Bookstore, 2301 Central SW, ABQ, NM 87131 505-277-9586 Westside 7am – 9pm M – Su 3601 Old Airport Ave, ABQ, NM 87114 505-503-2550 Cooperative Distribution Center 9am – 5pm, M – F 901 Menaul NE, ABQ, NM 87107 505-217-2010
RIO GRANDE COMMUNITY
ROBIN SEYDEL
Next Community Work Day April 11
Administrative Staff: 217-2001 TOLL FREE: 877-775-2667 (COOP) • General Manager/Terry Bowling 217-2020 terryb@lamontanita.coop • Controller/John Heckes 217-2029 johnh@lamontanita.coop • Computers/Info Technology David Varela 217-2011 tech@lamontanita.coop • Operations Manager/Bob Tero 217-2028 bobt@lamontanita.coop • Human Resources/Sharret Rose 217-2023 hr@lamontanita.coop • Marketing/Karolyn Cannata-Winge 217-2024 kcwinge@lamontanita.coop • Membership/Robin Seydel 217-2027 robins@lamontanita.coop • CDC/MichelleFranklin 217-2010 mf@lamontanita.coop Store Team Leaders: • Valerie Smith/Nob Hill 265-4631 valeries@lamontanita.coop • John Mulle/Rio Grande 242-8800 jm@lamontanita.coop • William Prokopiak/Santa Fe 984-2852 willpro@lamontanita.coop • Sydney Null/Gallup 575-863-5383 sydneyn@lamontanita.coop • Joe Phy/Westside 505-503-2550 josephp@lamontanita.coop Co-op Board of Directors: email: bod@lamontanita.coop • President: Ariana Marchello • Vice President: Martha Whitman • Secretary: Marshall Kovitz • Lisa Banwarth-Kuhn • Jeff Ethan au Green • Leah Roco • Jessica Rowland • Rosemary Romero • Tracy Sprouls
we will have the funds to move the hoop house and re-erect it at the Field 4 section near the VFP area.
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he Veteran Farmer Project (VFP)/ Rio Grande Community Farm (RGCF) partnership has been fruitful for both of us and is growing by leaps and bounds. Thanks to all veterans and Co-op community members who most graciously volunteered their energy on our three March workdays. A special thanks to John Shields and Sarah Grandy of the VA for bringing folks from the VA campus to the work days. Our next scheduled community work days are: Saturday, April 11, from 9am to noon, and Thursday, April 16, from 9am to noon. We look forward to seeing folks there. If you are a Co-op volunteer and would like to help out, please contact JR at 217-2016 or at j.riegel@lamontanita.coop.
Administration Offices 9am – 5pm, M – F 901 Menaul NE, ABQ, NM 87107 505-217-2001
Recycled Hoop House Thanks to Sean Ludden, RGCF manager, we will have access to a commercial-sized hoop house this year. The hoop house was on another field at the Los Poblanos Open Space and was not going to be used. Thanks to our good friends at New Mexico Department of Agriculture,
This hoop house will enable us to do multi-season food production and to grow our own seedlings for planting in our fields and for sale. While it will take several months to get it taken down, moved, set up, and prepped for planting, we are looking forward to learning this aspect of food production. Having access to this equipment adds another dimension to our program in both educational and production capabilities. The added skills will serve both our individual veterans well as they move into the agricultural community and the project as a whole. The Growing Season While we expect to have plenty of veggies in the ground this year and to be able to sell at both the VA Growers’ market and at other venues, we recognize that this year will be a year of transition for us with lots of prep work to realize full production in the coming seasons. We are looking forward to the many opportunities in our beautiful new space. Join us there! FOR MORE INFORMATION contact Robin at 217-2027 or at robins@lamontanita.coop. To volunteer contact JR at 217-2016 or j.riegel@lamontanita.coop or go to our website at: www.lamontanita.coop.
GROWING FOOD AND COMMUNITY:
THE DESERT OASIS TEACHING
GARDEN
BY KAREN TEMPLE BEAMISH AND TIANA BACA ife tastes good,” says Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan in Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods — and the members of a new community gardening and learning center couldn’t agree more. The Desert Oasis Teaching Garden, affectionately called the DOT Garden by its team of teachers, students, farmer-growers, and volunteers, is a developing community resource for sharing traditional growing methods, testing new ideas, and teaching locally adapted, water-wise land stewardship.
“L
Drawing insight and inspiration from Nabhan’s work Growing Food in a Hotter Drier Land and with guidance from local and regional experts, the initial phase of the DOT Garden is flourish-
EARTH WEEK AT THE
APRIL 22-25
Membership Costs: $15 for 1 year/ $200 Lifetime Membership + tax Co-op Connection Staff: • Managing Editor: Robin Seydel robins@lamontanita.coop 217-2027 • Layout and Design: foxyrock inc • Cover/Centerfold: Co-op Marketing Dept. • Advertising: JR Riegel • Editorial Assistant: JR Riegel j.riegel@lamontanita.coop 217-2016 • Editorial Intern: Katherine Mulle • Printing: Vanguard Press Membership information is available at all four Co-op locations, or call 217-2027 or 877-775-2667 email: robins@lamontanita.coop website: www.lamontanita.coop
Enjoy special activities at the Zoo, Aquarium, Botanic Garden, and Tingley Beach to learn how our actions matter when it comes to helping animals and plants. At Tingley Beach, there will be guided hikes and fishing guides available all day. Join us for the Children’s Seed Festival on April15 at the Botanic Garden from 10am-2pm.
BIOPARK!
FREE with admission. For information go to www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/bio park/events/
earth DAY UNM’s 7TH
SUSTAINABILITY
ANNUAL
EXPO
Come celebrate Earth Day at the University of New Mexico’s 7th Annual Sustainability Expo. The event will be held on Cornell Mall— just east of the Student Union Building—on Tuesday, April 21, from 10:30am to 2:30pm. Everyone is invited to join in the festivities.
Membership response to the newsletter is appreciated. Email the Managing Editor, robins@lamontanita.coop Copyright ©2015 La Montañita Co-op Supermarket Reprints by prior permission. The Co-op Connection is printed on 65% post-consumer recycled paper. It is recyclable.
BY
CO-OP
YOU OWN IT
UPDATE
The Expo offers an opportunity to interact with sustainability-minded organizations at a variety of engaging displays and activities. There will also be a growers’ market, food trucks, live entertainment, crafts fair, bicycle auction, and much more! Learn about sustainable initiatives on campus and in the community, grab lunch, connect with
ing. Pesticide-free fruits and veggies, harvested from the garden by students, are making their way into the school dining hall. Soil improvement and restoration projects are underway and preparations are being made for a fruit and nut orchard. Additionally, the DOT Garden has a plethora of upcoming community-oriented events, including creative upcycle workshops, plant sales, and skill building Learn-Work Days. “It’s about creating generations of students and citizens who have the skills and passion to address the extreme climate and environmental issues that we are facing. Really, it’s about saving the planet.” - Minor Morgan, local farmer and DOT Garden team member. And while we think globally, we act and eat locally... so join us for our April Learn-Work Day! The focus is creating sunken beds for our grain crops and planting our raised beds and perennial pollinator space as part of the Bernalillo County Beyond Bees Program organized by Tess Grasswitz. We also thank all of our advisors, including Dr. Nabhan, Estevan Arellano, Brad Lancaster, Sandra Postel, Joran Viers, Cheryl Kent, Gordon Tooley, Christian Meuli, Sam Smallidge, and Jim Brooks. Leslie Buerk of Kalyx Studio, is our landscape designer, architect, and permaculture guide. What: April Learn-Work Day Where: The DOT Garden located on the Albuquerque Academy Campus When: Saturday, April 18, noon-3pm Contact: Tiana Baca, Garden Manager, bacat@aa.edu www.thedotgarden.org
potential employers, meet local farmers, and enjoy the fun, energetic atmosphere. The Expo is organized by UNM Sustainability Studies students. To learn more about sustainable food and agriculture in particular, check out the class blog, ABQ Stew: New Mexico’s Food for Thought (http://abqstew.com). During the weeks leading up to the event, students will post interviews of local foodshed heroes, describe successful New Mexico-based food businesses, discuss agricultural challenges and solutions in our state, and provide “how-to” guides on various sustainable topics. Please join us for the Expo and get connected to our local sustainability community at this festive and educational event! More information: sustexpo@unm.edu or call 505-277-3431.
APRIL 2 1
agua es
vida
April 2015 3
THE WATER
ALLIANCE TO PROTECT OUR WATER
GROUPS!
NEW ALLIANCE TO PROTECT OUR
WATER
EDITED
BY JANET
GREENWALD
Kirtland Air Force Base The jet fuel spill, recognized by the Air Force in 1997, is estimated at 24 million gallons by the NM Environment Department (NMED). The liquid plume of jet fuel is one mile long by one half mile wide and is more than 450 feet below the surface, poised above the groundwater aquifer. Included in the plume is Ethylene Dibromide, a carcinogenic chemical which has migrated more than a mile to the north towards Albuquerque's Ridgecrest wells and forty-plus other municipal drinking water wells. The Air Force still has no effective plan to remove the liquid jet fuel or dissolved plume. Toxic contamination could reach the wells in as few as five years (Jim Davis, NMED). The City of Albuquerque is on the verge of authorizing a subdivision for one half million people without considering possible water shortages from extensive contamination of the groundwater aquifer and reductions in San Juan/Rio Grande water due to the many claims on New Mexico Surface Waters.
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he Water Groups is an alliance of Albuquerquebased community groups and individuals who have been working on three ongoing threats to Albuquerque's drinking water: aquifer contamination by Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories, and inadequate filtration of Albuquerque's tap water coming from the Rio Grande. Sandia National Laboratories For more than a half century Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) disposed of radioactive and chemical wastes, both solid and liquid, in unlined pits and trenches above Albuquerque’s drinking water aquifer. Disposal sites of current concern are Tech Area-V (TAV) Tijeras Arroyo, and the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL) where canisters containing metallic sodium and highlevel nuclear waste were disposed. Metallic sodium in contact with moisture could explode, spreading radioactive contamination and starting fires in the depleted uranium at the site. There have already been two uranium chip fires at the MWL. The New Mexico Environment Department has detected dangerous substances in the soil hundreds of feet below the surface of Tech Area-V, at Tijeras Arroyo sites and the Mixed Waste Landfill including Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), both of which are carcinogens, and can cause both Parkinson’s disease and organ damage. For more information about the contamination at TAV and Tijeras Arroyo, see Paul Robinson’s research at www.sric.org. For more information on the Mixed Waste Landfill, see Dave McCoy's research at www.radfreenm.org.
ACTION ALERT: What You can Do Contact the NM Congressional Delegation and ask them to protect our aquifer: Sen. Tom Udall 505-346-6791, Sen. Martin Heinrich 505-346-6601, Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham 505-346-6781; Ben Ray Lujan 505-994-0499. Drinking the Rio Grande About forty percent of our tap water comes from the Rio Grande. Unfortunately the Rio Grande is contaminated and Albuquerque's current filtering system is leaving many contaminants, including plutonium from Los Alamos National Labs runoff, in the finished water. On Nov. 12, 2014, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (WUA) began releasing treated Rio Grande water into Bear Canyon Arroyo. Though the Water Groups would have preferred that this contaminated water not be released into the aquifer, Agua es Vida Action Team takes the position (and advocated for this position during the decision making period) that infiltration through layers of sand and dirt is preferable to direct injection into the aquifer, WUA's original plan.
Sandia Labs has covered the wastes at the Mixed Waste Landfill with a layer of dirt, but that does nothing to prevent contamination from seeping into the ground and down into the aquifer. Sandia Labs has proposed that their state permit for the MWL be modified to “Corrective Action Complete with controls.” If the state accepts this proposal there will be little chance that the many contaminants at the MWL will be disposed of properly. Secretary of the Environment, Ryan Flynn, has promised to hold a public meeting concerning TAV and Tijeras Arroyo contamination in 2015. At this time there is no commitment to clean up any of the SNL sites that threaten our aquifer.
ACTION ALERT: What You can Do Ask that a better filtering system be installed at the Alameda plant where water is taken in from the river and treated: Maggie Hart Stebbins, Chair of the Water Utility Board: District3@bernco.gov.
ACTION ALERT: What You can Do Thirty faith-based and community groups as well as businesses have requested that the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) hold a hearing concerning the Mixed Waste Landfill so that experts and the public can testify to the need to excavate the landfill from above Albuquerque's aquifer and dispose of the waste in a safe and legal way. Contact NMED with a request for a public hearing before April 13, 2015. Would you consider attending and/or speaking at the hearing? If so, please e-mail contactus@cardnm.org; we will put you on a list to be notified when we know the date and time of the hearing. Also, stay tuned to the Co-op Connection for more information.
This article is a collaborative effort of the Water Groups: Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, Agua es Vida Action Team, Citizen Action, Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping, Our Endangered Aquifer Working Group, and Southwest Research and Information Center. For more information contactus@cardnm.org, 505-242-5511. EDITOR’S NOTE: The quality and quantity of our southwestern water supplies is one of the most critical challenges we face in New Mexico. While the Water Groups is a new alliance, many of these groups have been waiting their turn on the bag donation list. We bumped them up to this month to both honor their cooperative pooling of material and creative resources for greatest impact and to help them strengthen their alliance with some start-up funding. Individual organizations will not lose their place in the bag donation organization queue.
JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA AND THE
personal connections to the river and its cycles on April 12, from 12pm in this FREE reading.
Albuquerque Museum of Art and History: April 12, 1-2pm FREE!
APRIL
12
The Rio Grande is a metaphor of the contrasts we experience in Albuquerque. The river is both an endangered river and abundant habitat for cranes and other birds. It is a place to experience nature in the midst of the city but it is also a resource at risk of being depleted by the city. Jimmy Santiago Baca will explore his
CO-OP PROGRAM
DONATE your BAG CREDIT!
The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is located at 2000 Mountain NW in Albuquerque.For more information call 505-243-7255 or go to www.cabq.gov/cultural services/albuquerque-museum/events/.
BRING A BAG... DONATE THE DIME! THIS MONTH BAG CREDIT DONATIONS GO TO: THE WATER GROUPS: An alliance of 6 non-profit organizations, working cooperatively to address three ongoing threats to our water quality and quantity. IN FEBRUARY your bag credit donations totally $2,401.55 went to Explora Science Center and Childrens’ Museum.
WESTSIDE 3601 Old Airport Ave. NW 505-503-2550
Alamed a Blvd. Coors Blvd.
RIVER
Jimmy Santiago Baca is the author of several books of poetry, including Spring Poems along the Rio Grande, which explores the inextricable links between the human spirit and the natural world, and his most recent Singing at the Gate, a collection of new and previously published poems that reflect over four decades of Baca’s life.
COOP
SINGING THE
Old A irport Ave.
RIOGRANDE
Old Airport Ave. Co-op Values Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Co-op Principles 1 Voluntary and Open Membership 2 Democratic Member Control 3 Member Economic Participation 4 Autonomy and Independence 5 Education, Training and Information 6 Cooperation among Cooperatives 7 Concern for Community The Co-op Connection is published by La Montañita Co-op Supermarket to provide information on La Montañita Co-op Supermarket, the cooperative movement, and the links between food, health, environment and community issues. Opinions expressed herein are of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Co-op.
earth day special TIME OF
IMPORTANT CHOICES
BY JR RIEGEL e have the privilege of living in an extremely important time for the world. What we do now will determine our lasting impact as a species, and unlike most other significant moments in the planet’s history, we can decide how things go from here. It’s an exciting, challenging time, but the pressure is on! Like any organism, humans have always influenced the ecosystems they live in. However, as we spread across the planet, industrialized, and became big-time consumers, this influence has grown wildly, gone unchecked, and caused all sorts of imbalances.
TAKING ACTION FOR
LIFE
What we do NOW
WILL DETERMINE our LASTING IMPACT on the PLANET
W
There have been five mass extinctions throughout Earth’s history. In each of these events, over half of all species on the planet died out. Our impact on the planet is so great that our Holocene era is predicted by some to join this list as the sixth mass extinction. Harvard professor E. O. Wilson forecasted in his 2002 book The Future of Life that at the current rate of human-caused disruption of the biosphere, half of Earth’s higher life forms will be extinct by 2100. Since 2002, per-capita carbon emissions in the US have dropped. While this is certainly a good sign that our efforts are starting to work, the increase in per-capita carbon emissions in China over the same time period more than offset our decrease. Our impact on the climate is only one of the factors in this extinction event, and so there are multiple ways we can try and fight the forecasted 50% loss in species. Mindful Consumption: Deforestation and development have damaged habitats across the globe, with the damage to the Amazon rain forest being the most iconic. Much of the rain forest’s deforestation is the result of increased demand to lower prices at all costs. Current laws,
CITIZENS’CLIMATE LOBBY: HOW WOULD GANDHI APPROACH THE CLIMATE CRISIS? BY MARIA ROTUNDA, SANTA FE CCL here is a story that Mark Reynolds, Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Executive Director, tells to all new Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) groups that might offer some insight. This story encompasses the essence of CCL’s philosophy and core values.
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The story takes place in the early 1900s when Gandhi was living in South Africa and battling apartheid. He visited General Smuts, the leader of the Transvaal Government and Gandhi’s adversary. After a long discussion, Smuts said to Gandhi, “Is there anything more you want to say?” To this Gandhi replied, “Yes, I am going to win.” “How will you do that?” Smuts inquired. “With your help,” Gandhi told him. And years later, that is exactly what happened. At its core, CCL is all about coalition-building and reaching across the aisle, asking individuals to embrace their humanity, evolve, and work together. Creating the political will for a livable world isn’t something we can do alone.
April 2015 4
regulations, and consumer habits allow businesses to hide the true cost of goods by pushing expenses off onto the environment and powerless communities. One of the best things we can do to minimize our impact on ecosystems is to educate ourselves on the products that we buy and the practices that went into making those products. Mindful consumption can even be restorative in certain cases. Healing Habitats: In the case of infrastructural development like roads, housing, and urban environments, involvement in local government can go a long way. New projects cut ecosystems into smaller and smaller pieces, but citizen action and government regulation can help maintain habitat
without compromising our ability to live and work. Wildlife corridors can heal broken habitats, and careful planning of public works can prevent environmental degradation that an area might otherwise experience. Effective zoning laws can allow housing developments that maintain habitat instead of eliminating it. In these cases, the value of civic engagement cannot be understated. Learn From Mistakes: Sometimes damage to a species has already been done. This is sad, but we can still respect that species by learning from our errors and not repeating the mistake again. We had no idea that importing chestnut wood from China would bring about the chestnut blight. Scientists now fight the blight in the last remaining stand of American chestnut with all sorts of innovative methods, but they can’t undo the loss of our previously vast chestnut forests. Fortunately, we’ve learned from the many cases of invasive species over the years. We’re much more careful now, but it’s still important to encourage native species when possible in order to preserve local ecosystems. One great place you can do this is in your own garden, and in our climate growing native species can significantly reduce your water usage as well. Tip of the Melt: This is just the tip of the melting iceberg! Modern extinctions are influenced by so many factors of human activity. Keep an eye on future issues of the Co-op Connection—in the coming months, I’ll be going into detail on various human-caused environmental stresses with an eye toward ideas and solutions to tackle them. We’ve made more than our fair share of messes, but one of the greatest things about being human is our ability to reflect on ourselves and strive to do better than we did the day before.
CCL’s proposal is based on what climate science and economics tell us is the simple, most efficient first step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: place a gradually, predictably increasing fee on carbon. A steadily-rising fee—starting at $15 per ton of carbon-dioxide—is placed on fossil fuels at the point of import or production, increasing by $10 per ton of CO2 each year. Revenue from the fee is divided up equally and returned to all households. Border adjustment tariffs are placed on imports from nations that do not have an equivalent carbon-pricing mechanism in order to maintain a level playing field for American businesses. Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI), a firm that corporations, governments, and academic institutions turn to for economic forecasting, conducted a study on the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal. Here’s what REMI found: After 10 years, CO2 emissions would be cut 33 percent and 2.1 million jobs would be added to the economy, primarily because of the economic stimulus of recycling tremendous amounts of revenue into the pockets of people who are likely to spend the money. We believe citizens who are well-trained, organized by Congressional district, and with a good system of support can more than influence the political process. With respect, we build long-term relationships with every member of the House and Senate, regardless of political party, to lobby in support of a Carbon Fee and
Dividend. We know that we will not see this policy implemented without the support of a majority. We write letters to the editor and op-eds, and meet with editorial boards to gain their editorial endorsement. Action Alert If you are looking to do actual work with an organization that is punching far above its weight, there are a number of ways to become involved. We meet on the first Saturday of every month in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe. Find contact info for your local group here: www.citizensclimatelobby.org/aboutccl/#Chapters If you live outside of these areas, you can join our weekly introductory call, which happens every Wednesday. Calls begin at 6pm Mountain time and last about 1 hour (see information on CCL’s website). BOTTOM LINE: we can adopt policies that will mitigate the climate crisis, if we are willing to work, willing to work together, and willing to stay focused on a good goal. We have a lot of work to do. If you’d rather work than just click; if you’d rather work than just opine on Facebook; if you’d rather work than do anything else, we would love your help. We can get this done, with your help. Maria Rotunda and John McAndrew are coleaders of the Santa Fe CCL Chapter. FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact them at santafe@citizensclimatelobby.org.
WASTE IS NO BARGAIN!
KNOWASTE BY JOHN “SKI” SHASKI The historical record is littered with examples of lost cultures and ruined landscapes. Competition for dwindling resources proves the most likely cause. Archaeologists are familiar with the pattern, having documented repeated examples of collapse following extended periods of affluence.
As business owners and community leaders we benefit when we plan and budget for sustainable waste management. Getting educated is the first step. Waste audits and local infrastructure will help you define value for specific materials that you may be discarding without much thought. Thankfully, there are a growing number of recycling pros qualified to assist with this first step.
Convenient collection point design facilitates participation... but still allows for cross-sorted (contaminated = devalued) product. Clever source-separation strategies (sorting materials at the point of generation) transform an individual act of waste to that of recovery and edification. Finally, revised purchasing standards that prioritize reduced packaging and progressive “end-oflife” product design complete the picture. Waste isn’t simply a nuisance, something to be efficiently and invisibly entombed. Waste is a valuable resource, and when handled properly, it can propel economic growth and community health. LOOK FOR KNOWASTE, AT EARTH FEST to help make this event as close to a zero waste event as we can! For more info and consultation on waste recovery, contact John at j.shaski@gmail.com.
concern for community A PATH FORWARD: BOSQUE RESTORATION BY MICHAEL JENSEN n February 9, work began on a wide crusher-fines trail in the Bosque from the Central Avenue bridge north to the I-40 bridge. The trail is one of two components of what originally was called the Rio Grande Vision, part of Mayor Berry’s “ABQ The Plan,” and then became the Rio Grande Valley State Park Improvements Project. The other component is made up of a number of targeted Bosque restoration projects in the same area.
A TRANSPARENT
O
The onset of activity in the Bosque immediately polarized what appeared to be an evolving and improving relationship between City Open Space and Parks & Recreation and those in the community who had come together in 2013 to propose alternatives to some of the more extreme proposals in the original Rio Grande Vision. These included suggestions or “concepts” that indicated possible restaurants in or cantilevered out over the Bosque, large truck and trailer access to fully equipped boat launching facilities at numerous points along the river, and vague suggestions that the Bosque and river would be opened up to more general private sector development. Many of the suggestions coming from community members were put into motion by the City. The City scaled back its proposed near-term activity to the east side of the river from Central to Montaño (although generally speaking from Central to I-40). There were four Bosque Educational Forums held in the Summer of 2014 that were well attended and that received high marks from the public for how informative they were regarding the history, culture, and ecology of the Bosque. The City hired a consulting firm to carry out baseline environmental monitoring of the proposed project area and opened the report to public comment; the final report is expected soon. The Open Space Division also led a couple of small walks through the project area with trail and restoration experts. It also held two public walks through the entire project area to discuss possible trail alignments, the pros and cons of wide multi-user trails, the nature of proposed restoration work, and the constant need to balance the complicated relationship between conservation and public access. The goal of the project—trail alignment and restoration work—was to use the two components in concert with each other. Some trail consolidation and a likely multi-user trail would be done with projected restoration work in mind so the two would promote both more focused access and better ecosystem function.
PUBLIC PROCESS NEEDED
April 2015 5 whole project descended into renewed mistrust and politicization. A year’s worth of slowly building consensus evaporated. Beyond the short-circuiting of the public process, the Mayor’s office also bypassed long-established and, in some cases, legally required processes with a variety of local, state, and federal agencies, including its own Open Space Advisory Board review. Most of the agencies involved would have asked for nothing more than consultation beforehand in order to know what was being done. However, any entity doing work in the Bosque has an obligation to inform the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the US Bureau of Reclamation and see if they need a permit (generally issued by the Conservancy District). In addition, given the scope of the work, the City’s contractor was under an obligation to submit an online “Notice of Intent” with the Environmental Protection Agency (Dallas office) that they would be disturbing more than an acre of land. This is something that any contractor would have to do at a subdivision, for example.
Unfinished Process When the work began, the public process was not quite complete. The baseline monitoring report’s final version was still being worked on, to incorporate responses to public comments and perhaps some adjusted conclusions as well. The first public awareness that work would start soon came in a front-page editorial in the Albuquerque Journal on the Friday before work began. This editorial, as well as one the following Monday on the inside editorial page, sought to both telescope the impending work and criticize beforehand the expected protests from those in the community who would object to work commencing before the public process was complete. The sad irony is that those members of the community who had been most focused on creating and carrying out the public process had met on the evening before (February 8), to look at maps of the two alternatives presented to the Mayor’s Office earlier in February, and first revealed in the Journal, and to come up with a response. The response was to propose a hybrid plan to the Mayor on Tuesday. The hybrid would use “Option 1” for the trail in the northern project area and “Option 2” in the southern section. This hybrid would keep the trail away from the sensitive riverbank area for more of its alignment and provide more separation between the wide multi-use trail—mostly bicyclists, but also horses—and the narrower main “pedestrian” trail that already exists. So, instead of being able to announce a compromise solution that would meet the goals of both sides—more access, more restoration and conservation, and a more integrated implementation of these two needs—the
WIPP UPDATE WHAT IS KNOWN, WHAT IS UNKNOWN
BY DON HANCOCK, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH AND INFORMATION CENTER t has been more than a year since the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was shut down because of an underground fire and a radiation release. No one knows what caused the release, so it is not possible to know if another incident could occur.
I
What is known is that the more than 8,000 feet of underground tunnels are radioactively contaminated, although the precise amounts have not been disclosed. To go into the contaminated underground area workers must wear personal protective equipment, including respirators, so they look much like health workers treating ebola patients.
A Path Forward As a result of community and agency protests over the City’s actions, a path forward is taking shape. Community members have been in discussions with the Mayor’s Office in order to develop a clear public process that the City will commit to follow for any additional work on the current trail and restoration project between Central and I-40, as well as any future work on the wider Vision. There is also work being done by some community members and agency representatives to develop a permanent public process for sharing information about all work being planned for the Bosque and river. The process would bring together all of the local, state, and federal agencies that do work in the Bosque or on the river, or that have any regulatory or consultative role in such work, on a regular basis to discuss their planned work and the timeline for relevant public and agency process that the work will go through prior to commencement. When the modern environmental movement started back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, marked by the passage of landmark Clean Air and Clean Water legislation and creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the goals of environmentalism were mostly met through litigation, legislation, and protest. Those are all still necessary tools in dealing with threats to the environment and public health. But it has also become clear over the years that another tool is equally important: open, transparent processes that engage the community in decision-making. That process was started over plans for the Bosque—because the community protested enough to get it—but then cut short. We now have a chance to not just restart that process but build a better and more transparent one that engages the whole community.
Also known is that on December 6, 2014, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez personally handed US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz two Orders that proposed fines of $36.6 million on Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) and $17.7 million on WIPP because of numerous violations of the permits issued by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). DOE and the LANL and WIPP contractors have refused to pay the fines, even though they had previously paid fines of much lesser amounts. They maintain that NMED now does not have authority to issue such fines and that the Order “unconstitutionally discriminates against the United States.” If the fines are not paid or a settlement is not reached, the WIPP fines will go to a hearing on July 27 and a hearing regarding the LANL fines on September 21.
The plan is to begin “limited operations” in April 2016, even though they admit that they will continue to violate various provisions of the NMED permit. They hope to be fully operational by 2018 or 2019, even though they are likely to still be violating permit provisions. NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn has informed DOE that WIPP cannot re-open until the state approves. Whether WIPP will comply with that requirement is unknown.
A Plan to Re-open
DESPITE VIOLATIONS!
Despite what is known and not known, DOE and its contractors do plan to reopen WIPP and put more waste into the contaminated areas underground.
Join KNOWASTE at EARTH on April 19!
FEST
Help make it a ZERO waste event! Look for waste sorting guides.
ACTION ALERT! TELL GOVERNOR MARTINEZ that WIPP SHOULD NOT REOPEN until the cause of the release is known and changes have been made to prevent another such accident. People can also tell Secretary Flynn that he should take further action to require compliance with the permit.
MAKE TRASH A THING OF THE
PAST
WIPP UPDATE
RESOURCES: • Governor Susana Martinez www.governor.state.nm.us/Contact_the_Governor.aspx • NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn call 505-827-2855 • DOE WIPP website special section on the radiation leak www.wipp.energy.gov/Special/ • NMED WIPP website www.nmenv.state.nm.us/wipp/index.html • SRIC nuclear waste homepage www.sric.org/nuclear/index.php
TAKE A C T I O N FOR S A F E T Y ’ S SAKE!
co-op news
April 2015 6
OUR CO-OP: RESTORING THE
EARTH
BY KATHERINE MULLÉ s a community-owned consumer cooperative, La Montañita believes in the shared benefits of healthy food, a strong local economy, and sound environmental practices with results that justify the resources used. In honor of Earth Day, here are a few of the ways La Montañita is working to give back to our environment and help restore the earth.
A
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Donating our Dimes: Every month La Montañita sponsors a local community-based organization, as part of our Donate a Dime program. You reduce your carbon footprint when you bring your own bag, and to encourage you to do so, we give you a dime that you can choose to either put towards your purchase or donate to a worthy organization. Thus far, 957,180 bag credits have been donated, which totals $95,718 in donated dimes given to a wide variety of awesome community organizations! So whether you have designated shopping bags or some spare plastic grocery bags lying round, please do bring them with you when you shop; for both our community and our environment, it truly adds up! Check out page 3 to learn about Water Group, this month’s bag credit organization. Recycling: Although it’s not a new concept, recycling remains as important as ever. All La Montañita locations have recycling bins at the front of each location so that shoppers can recycle the glass, cardboard and plastic from their deli purchases. Additionally all our cardboard boxes, paper, glass, and
COOPERATION AMONG COOPERATIVES
PRINCIPLE 6 M A P L E VA L L E Y C O O P E R AT I V E BY PHIL SPIEGEL, MAPLE VALLEY CO-OP a Montañita Co-op and Maple Valley Co-op really cooperate. In 2007, Maple Valley made a shift in its business practices to better align ourselves with our intrinsic beliefs and vision. At the forefront of those is our commitment to “family farms, fair, and organic.” That shift took us from being a standard, forprofit business to a cooperative, and not just any cooperative. We are the only organic maple syrup cooperative in the US, and our members are made up of producers, customers, investors, and employees, with producers being the dominant stakeholders.
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The cooperative model makes perfect sense for mapling (maple syrup production) because just like in any other type of farming, crop yields fluctuate; some years, there are bumper crops, and some years are a bust. The Maple Valley producers have found that by working together to help each other, they create sustainability, and that is a central point for their cooperative—sustainability for the farmers, for the land, for the employees, and for the consumers who rely on consistency in the product. There are roughly 14 farmers from Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, and the Appalachian regions of the US who produce and contribute to the
reducing waste and saving money as you do. You can’t find a better deal than that!
plastic is picked up and recycled each week, by both local recycling companies and our amazing volunteers. Mark Lane, La Montañita’s Project Manager, is currently working with local recycling companies to expand our current efforts to reduce waste as much as we can. To reduce daily food waste, La Montañita produce departments set out multiple compost boxes of produce that’s not in selling condition but may be perfect for another use, like feeding to chickens! Keep an eye out for them the next time you shop!
Supporting local and organic: La Montañita is a strong supporter of organic farmers, with whom we share the firm belief that our food should be produced using sound environmental practices that work with the earth, not against it. To take this support one step further, we’re passionate about supporting local farmers with these same beliefs, which keeps New Mexican dollars in New Mexico and reduces our carbon footprint by decreasing the amount of products that come to us from miles away. Our Co-op stores, with help from the Co-op Distribution Center, carry over 1,100 local products from over 400 producers by way of our local foodshed, which we define as within 300 miles around Albuquerque.
Carrying Bulk: La Montañita’s Bulk Department offers a selection of over 400 items, including everything from your favorite varieties of rice and oatmeal to those specialized flours and nuts that can be difficult (and expensive!) to find elsewhere. No matter what products may catch your fancy, buying bulk not only allows you to stretch your dollar but also helps the environment. Less packaging means less waste that ends up in the landfill, fewer dioxins released into the environment from manufacturing plastic and bleaching wood pulp, and fewer trees cut down for that unneeded cardboard box. You can also bring your own jars, bags, and bottles to fill up,
Our support of the local community doesn’t end with the products—we also support many of the producers of these products via the La Montañita (LaM) FUND, a member-funded grassroots investing and micro-lending program designed to grow the local food system and strengthen the local economy. In the four years of its existence, the LaM FUND has made over $175,000 in loans to nearly 20 local producers. These loans are supported by over 60 investors, for everything from buying seed to putting up a new hoop house. Is your interest piqued? You can read and learn more about these wonderful programs at www.lamontanita.coop.
Maple Valley syrup production, though that varies from year to year, depending on harvest levels. The cooperative model is democratic. Each member gets a vote, and when it comes time to make decisions on product lines, distribution options, production changes, etc., they each have a voice and can participate in guiding the direction of the operations. Maple Valley’s Board is made up of four members elected by producers, and three more elected by the customers, investor, and employee groups. Cooperatives are for-profit businesses, but the difference is that for them—and especially for Maple Valley—profit is not the bottom line. We consider the business holistically to ensure that it is balanced and sustainable. For that to happen, we believe employees must have fair pay, fair trade practices must be followed, the environment and the trees have to be nurtured, and consumers need the best price possible.
And now Maple Valley Cooperative is a proud member of the P6 Cooperative Movement. P6 was named in the spirit of “Cooperation Among Cooperatives,” the sixth principle (P6) of seven cooperative principles established by the International Cooperative Alliance. Business is one thing, but most certainly, all members involved with Maple Valley do so for their love of mapling. It is a unique and amazing process. Be sure to watch the videos linked below—they are short, and offer the insider perspective on how maple syrup actually comes to be. This year, Maple Valley Co-op will once again be sampling our absolutely delicious Organic Maple Lemonade at La Montañita Co-op’s 25th Annual Earth Fest on April 19. Please stop by! You’ll be glad you did. To learn more go to www.maplevalley.coop, “Like” us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/maplevalley cooperative, and watch our videos at http://vimeo. com/89001105.
NAKED FOOD FAIR A P R I L 1 1
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major food movement is sweeping the country—a move to natural foods that are considered healthy and take people back to a time when we lived closer to nature. Albuquerque area foodies will have the opportunity to access a wide variety of those foods—vegetarian, vegan, glutenfree, and all natural—at the one-day Naked Food Fair. Held at the Albuquerque Rail Yards, the event will feature access to not just delicious foods, but seminars, workshops, and cooking demonstrations offering the opportu-
EARTH FEST
HAS GONE SOLAR!
Our stage and kids cooking demos are powered by our friends at Affordable Solar and Positive Energy Solar!
nity to learn much more about a natural food lifestyle, one that is becoming increasingly popular. A number of local restaurants, shops and chefs will offer samples of their food, including some surprising tastes. For anyone who thinks "natural food" equates to "boring," this is an opportunity to learn just how delicious fresh, healthy, and natural food can be. Stop by the La Montañita Co-op booth and sample some delicious local offerings. General Admission: $10, Tasting Tickets: $30. For more information call 505-510-1312 or go to www.nakedfoodfair.com.
APNR IL 1 9 OB HILL CO-OP
LA MONTAÑITA’S 25TH
EARTH FEST
FREE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
AND EDUCATION
LOCAL AND NATURAL FOOD SAMPLES SEEDLINGS AND PLANTS PET BABY GOATS DANCE IN THE STREETS EARTH’S LAST SUPPER SCULPTURE
AT YOUR CO-OP!
co-op news
April 2015 7
THE INSIDE During a normal day I will be in the office to start my workday by 7am. I check emails, track sales, visit stores, attend meetings, etc. After the day is completed I go straight to my gym for a workout. I find a workout is as good for the mind as it is for the body and also find the gym has much in common with our Co-op. I have been a member of various gyms for most of adult life. My first meeting with my beautiful wife Debbie was in a gym where she worked in the evenings as a receptionist and did billing after teaching school during the day. While many couples fell in love over dinner, movies, and conversation, our love began looking up at each other from a bench press with Debbie telling me her Grandmother could bench press more than me! I still laugh when I think about that moment! It was a great beginning and we are still going strong 23 years later. My favorite aspect of the gym is the people, as many of you already know if you go the gym at the same time everyday you will the same dedicated people day after day. After a time you acknowledge each other, small discussions will happen, and they become a welcome sight if the day has been challenging. I rarely know their names, what their jobs
SCOOP
are, where they live or what their views are on any subject. Most know me as the guy from Tennessee because I usually wear my Tennessee Titan football t-shirt. There is the LA Lakers guy, the lady who loves racquetball, etc. I have no idea if I am talking with a neurosurgeon or someone who works hard every day just to make ends meet. It doesn’t matter, we have the shared value and a common passion to keep ourselves in the best possible health. Shared values are what our Co-op was founded on. We have members who are in different places in their lives but share a love for healthy food, a love of community, and a love of doing our best to move New Mexico forward. Open to all, we are fortunate to have a Co-op in our lives that we can visit, see friends, and feel welcome. Our staff and I will continue to focus our efforts to enhance this experience so even if you don’t know the name of the person in aisle five, you feel welcome, and it is always good to see them when you shop. I can be reached at terryb@lamontanita.coop or by phone at 505-217-2020. Thank you for your continued support of La Montañita. -TERRY B.
P-6: NUSENDA CREDIT UNION Shared Successes! SHARED SUCCESSES GIVE US ALL THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE
communities. Our long-standing partnership has allowed for greater autonomy, cooperation, and member economic participation throughout those communities.
La Montañita Co-op’s mission states an intention to provide the entire community, through practice and education, a working model for a healthy sustainable future. At Nusenda Credit Union, formerly New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, we have a shared vision for our community; to invest in YOU, a memberowner, as well as in an exciting future for generations to come.
Our futures are bright. Together we will continue to build reputations as people who make a difference in our members’ lives. We are cooperatives helping cooperatives, people helping people, and dedicated to shared success.
Nusenda Credit Union, together with La Montañita Co-op, is committed to providing ethical financial alternatives and sound practices to members who live and work in our rich and diverse
Membership with La Montañita Co-op qualifies you for membership with Nusenda Credit Union. JOIN TODAY.
April Calendar
of Events 4/11 & 4/16 Veteran Farmer Project Community Workday, see page 2 4/19 Nob Hill store 25th Annual EARTH FEST! see page 1 4/21 BOD Meeting, Immanuel Church, 5:30pm 4/22 Earth Day at Gallup and Westside stores 4/25 Santa Fe store celebrates Earth Week/Arbor Day! BBQ benefits Gerald’s House .
CO-OPS: A Solution-Based System A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
salad
season
April 2015 10
Sseasonal PRING FOOD:
rhythms!
CREAMY AVOCADO-TOMATO SALSA (VENEZUELAN GUASACACA) FROM ADRIENNE WEISS Time: 15 Minutes / Serves: 4 This juicy salsa hails from Venezuela, where it's used as a condiment. It's not as much a guacamole as it is a cool, tangy sauce with a hint of extra richness from the olive oil. It's great with empanadas, but it's also stellar heaped alongside beans and rice or chips. In Venezuela, it's typically served with grilled foods. Try it with grilled tofu or tempeh. TIP: If you want a little heat, splash on a few dashes of bottled red hot sauce. 4 3 1 1 6 4 6 1
cloves garlic, minced avocados, peeled, seeded, and diced to 2 large ripe tomatoes, finely diced cup finely minced white onion tablespoons lime juice tablespoons olive oil tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro teaspoon salt, or to taste
Place all ingredients in mixing bowl. Using potato masher or fork, gently mash ingredients just enough to create a creamy texture, but still leaving some small chunks of avocado. Taste and adjust flavor with salt, lime juice, cilantro, and/or hot sauce, if desired. Serve immediately. KALE-SLAW WITH CURRIED ALMOND DRESSING FROM ADRIENNE WEISS Time: 40 Minutes / Serves: 6 This is a fresh take on a slaw salad with nutrient-rich kale, crunchy carrots, fennel, and a touch of sweetness from apples and cranberries or raisins. The dressing really brings this slaw to life. If fennel isn't your thing, substitute julienned jicama, thinly sliced celery (cut on a diagonal), julienned red bell pepper, or just about any combination of your favorite veg-
gies. This dressing will definitely cling to your greens and can easily be used as a dip as well. Kale-Slaw Ingredients: 1 small to medium-size apple, cored and julienned (1 cup) tossed in 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 1/2 to 3 cups julienned kale (leaves cut/torn from stems and stems discarded) 1 1/2 cups grated carrots 1 cup very thinly sliced or julienned fennel 1/4 cup cranberries or raisins 2/3 to 3/4 cup Creamy Curried Almond Dressing (recipe follows) 2 to 4 tablespoons sliced or chopped raw almonds Salt and pepper to taste Creamy Curried Almond Dressing Ingredients: 1/2 cup raw almonds 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave nectar 2/3 cup water (or more to thin as needed) 1 small clove garlic 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Freshly ground black pepper (optional) 1/8 teaspoon curry powder, or more to taste Kale-Slaw Directions: Place apple, vegetables and cranberries or raisins in a bowl and toss. Add dressing, starting with about 2/3 cup and adding more as desired. Toss to coat well, then let sit for 5 minutes or more to allow kale leaves to soften slightly. Serve garnished with a light sprinkling of almonds and extra salt and pepper, if desired. Creamy Curried Almond Dressing Directions: Using a blender or an immersion blender and a deep cup or jar, purĂŠe all ingredients (starting with 1/2 cup water) until very smooth. A high-powered blender works best to smooth the dressing. An immersion blender or regular blender will leave a little more texture. Add additional curry to taste and additional water to thin as desired. RANCH SALAD WITH RED POTATOES AND SMOKY CHICKPEAS FROM ISA DOES IT, ALTERED BY ADRIENNE WEISS Time: 35 Minutes / Serves: 6 Smoky, salty chickpeas, steamed potatoes tossed with crisp romaine, and a handful of arugula all smothered in a dilly avocado ranch dressing makes this a favorite spring dish. The flavors are equally at home with any number of cuisines. The cool creaminess is especially welcome with a spicy meal. A great lunch on its own! Salad Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 cups) or fresh if desired 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions 1/2 cup cucumbers, sliced into thin half-moons 1/2 cup sliced radishes 1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper 1 medium to large romaine lettuce, chopped
salad
season
April 2015 11
Handful of arugula (optional) 1 batch Avocado Ranch Dressing (recipe follows) 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
6 corn tortillas 1/2 cup canola oil Salsa of choice
Avocado Ranch Dressing Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled 1 cup vegetable broth 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon sweet paprika 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, if available, or dried dill weed
Preheat oven to 375 F. Heat oil; saute garlic and onion until golden. Add chard (in small amounts) until it is cooked down. Make a bechamel sauce: melt butter, stir in flour, add milk and cheese. Stir until thick, then mix into cooked greens. Fill center of each tortilla, roll up, place in lightly oiled baking dish. Spread salsa over all; bake in hot oven for 25 minutes.
Salad Directions: Prepare steamer, add potatoes, and steam for 10 minutes, or until tender. To instantly cool, dunk them in an ice bath immediately after removing them from steamer; otherwise just set aside in colander and refrigerate when no longer steaming. Prepare chickpeas. Preheat large pan over medium heat and add oil. SautĂŠ chickpeas for 5 minutes or so, until slightly browned. Turn off heat. Drizzle tamari and liquid smoke over chickpeas and toss to coat. Taste and adjust as necessary. Let cool in pan. Combine onion, cucumbers, arugula, and lettuce in a very large bowl. Beginning with 1/2 cup dressing and nutritional yeast, toss ingredients, adding additional dressing to desired consistency and taste. Toss in potatoes, top with chickpeas, and serve. Avocado Ranch Dressing Directions: Pulse garlic in blender to chop. Add avocado, broth, lemon juice, oil, onion powder, paprika, and salt and blend until completely smooth, occasionally scraping down sides. Add dill and pulse until dressing turns brilliant green with flecks of dill throughout. Season to taste. Seal tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.
FRIED LETTUCE FROM BARBARA THOMAS Time: 30 Minutes after potatoes are boiled / Serves: 2 2 cups shredded lettuce 1 small onion, sliced 1 potato, diced then boiled 1 egg Salt to taste Spanish paprika Garlic powder Cumin to taste Black pepper to taste 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup water Boil potatoes until soft. Drain water, and let cool. While potatoes cool, combine lettuce, onion, egg, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and one-half cup water. Stir well, and let stand 15 minutes. Dice potatoes into small pieces and fold into mixture, then add flour to thicken. Final mixture should not be too thick or too thin. With a large tablespoon, drop in hot oil and cook long enough to brown one side, about two minutes. Turn over, and brown other side, about two minutes.
savory
spring!
CHARD ENCHILADAS FROM BARBARA THOMAS Time: 45 Minutes 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 1 onion, peeled and chopped 4 cups chard, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
SPRING GARDEN AND SUSTAINABILITY FAIR
Music, Food, Talks, Booths! A CELEBRATION
AT THE SOURCE
April 25, 10am-5pm FREE TO ALL info www.thesourceabq.com
GMOs in the news Dude! GMO Extreme!
ITCHY GREEN T H U M B
money covers the cost of complications that can result from consuming too much Vitamin A, like birth defects, liver abnormalities, central nervous system disorders, and lower bone mineral density associated with osteoporosis. Any complication from the genetic modification itself is a bonus.
“SYNBIO”
BRETT BAKKER verything you know about GMO? Well, now you may as well think of that as “GMO-Lite.” The next step in what is euphemistically called progress is Synthetic Biology. Rather than merely cutting and pasting genes found in nature, “synbio” is creating DNA in the lab. Read that again please: creating, as in artificially constructing DNA in a lab, the artificial synthesis of genetic sequences. Thus far, synbio products found in the marketplace include vanilla, saffron, “natural” dish and laundry detergents and everyone’s favorite-for-no-reason-I-can-understand, stevia. Some of these are being marketed as “natural” and “sustainable.” Expect coconut oils, ginseng, cocoa butter, and patchouli to follow. Currently, synbio is pretty far under the radar. The Non-GMO Project checks for it in their verification process (of course, those people are darn good!) but to date it’s barely been addressed in other forms of certification, including organic, biodynamic and the like. Lucky for me, I won’t be in any danger of using the synbio patchouli because as an ex-hippie I overdosed on the horrid stuff long ago.
April 2015 12
BY
E
No GMO in Zhong Guo? China has hardly been a bastion for the pure food movement (remember tainted pet food, tainted baby foods, nonorganic soy labeled organic, etc.?) but US exports of alfalfa have recently been turned away by Chinese authorities who cited GMO presence as the reason. No word on what has sparked the increase in scrutiny, but reportedly a previous 5% tolerance has now been replaced by a .01% threshold. I could make some unadvisable joke here about the wisdom of Capitalism vs. Communism but I’ll let it pass. Elementary, My Dear Watson! A recent analysis cited in Environment International (“A Journal of Environmental Science, Risk & Health”) finds that out of forty-seven “pub-
M A N D AT O R Y N O T V O L U N TA R Y
GMO LABELING
THE FIGHT CONTINUES BY ELEANOR BRAVO, FOOD AND WATER WATCH epresentative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) is expected to re-introduce HR 4432, or what we call the "Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act" any day now. If the DARK Act passes, the fight for mandatory GMO labeling is over.
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The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act sponsored by Pompeo will make labeling genetically engineered (GMO) foods voluntary, which would then become the national standard. This bill would enshrine in federal law a failed policy that has kept consumers in the dark about what they are eating for two decades. The bill would also allow GMOs to be misleadingly labeled as “natural.” But most importantly, this bill would strip away consumers’ right to know by preempting state efforts to require labeling of GMO foods. Pompeo’s act rests on the false tenet that there is a broad scientific consensus that GMO foods are safe. This is not the case, since the approval process relies on studies conducted by the companies seeking to sell new GMO crops rather than on any independent review. Simply making the current voluntary review system mandatory, as the DARK Act would, does nothing to address the inadequacy of the pre-market review system. For over a decade the FDA has allowed companies to voluntarily label GMO foods and none have chosen to do so.
B E E S + S E E D S F E S T I VA L A N D MARCH AGAINST
MONSANTO! BY CHRIS PERKINS n Saturday, May 23, people all over New Mexico and the world will gather as part of a Global March Against Monsanto. The intention of this march is to raise public awareness and bring increasing political pressure to bear regarding Monsanto’s corporate farming and business practices and to fight for labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered and/or modified materials.
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The march in Albuquerque begins at the Downtown Growers’ Market and ends at Tiguex Park in Old Town at The Bees + Seeds Festival.
Mary Alice Cooper, MD
“NATURAL” is predictably
MEANINGLESS
lished” studies for GMO crops approved by government regulators, thirty-eight of these papers are nowhere to be found. If that’s not bad enough, thirty-five studies (your typical feed-it-to-the-rats deal) were performed after the crops had already been deemed safe to eat. And half of those were published nine years after the actual studies were conducted. To quote Sherlock Holmes (okay, okay, actually his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” Go Bananas (Part II) A few months back, I reported here on tests that featured plantain-like GMO cooking bananas with elevated Vitamin A levels being fed to humans for study. It’s now been revealed that the test subjects are twelve students from Iowa State U who each get a cool ninehundred bucks for their participation. Let’s hope that
GMO Hide and Seek Consumer Reports (CR)—long a bastion of dedicated reviewers telling which toasters are the best deal (really, though, they rock)—recently completed GMO testing in eighty food products containing corn and soy. The project’s results were not too surprising. CR’s GMO threshold for “not GMO” was (for some unknown reason) .9% or less. Most organic or NonGMO Project Verified products passed the test, as it should be. The products that make no natural, organic, or non-GMO claim at all were found—as expected—to contain high levels of GMO. This includes products that may have “natural” or even “organic” in the company name (for the record, there is no regulation here. Through a federal loophole, a company could legally call itself Joe’s Organic Foods and not sell an ounce of certified organic food). The term “natural” is predictably meaningless. I mean, crude oil and uranium are natural, too, but that doesn’t mean I want either in my Fruit Loops or whatever. Close to 95% of products that made non-verified nonGMO claims (no third party certification in other words) were found legit but not all. You can read the report for yourself (www.bit.ly/CR-GMO) but I’ll say no more except be especially wary of tortilla chips.
AgroSciences and Syngenta. In 2013 alone, the GMA spent $14.3 million lobbying against country-of-origin Americans want mandatory labeling of GMO foods. A labeling, GMO labeling, any regulation of food market2013 New York Times poll found that 93 percent of ing to children, and other regulations respondents were in favor of a mandatoaffecting the food and beverage indusry label for genetically engineered food. ORGANIC TOO! try. The GMA and its member compaSince the Food and Drug Administration nies have poured over $80 million has failed to respond to the more than a into political action committees to million Americans who have asked the help block GMO labeling ballot iniagency to label GMOs, the momentum tiatives in California, Washington, on this issue has shifted to the states. Oregon, and Colorado over the past Since 2013, over 25 states have introthree years. The passage of the duced legislation to label GMO foods, Pompeo bill would ensure that the and these bills have passed in ConGMA and its member companies connecticut, Maine, and Vermont. tinue to profit by denying consumers basic information about how the food they feed their Mandatory labeling of GMOs is not a novel idea. families is produced. Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are among at least 60 ACTION countries that require some labeling on GMO foods. Nor is mandatory labeling an expensive proposition for the We OPPOSE the Pompeo bill and we urge you to United States. A study commissioned by Consumers Union SUPPORT HR 913, introduced by Representative reviewed research on mandatory GMO labeling and estiDeFazio (D-OR) or S 511, introduced by Senator Boxer mated that the median cost of labeling per person per year (D-CA), which would balance the needs of companies is $2.30, less than a penny a day. for a single labeling standard with the overwhelming demand by consumers for the mandatory labeling of The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is GMOs in food. responsible for this bill as well as other efforts to remove transparency from food labels. This trade organization TAKE ACTION! Tell Your Representative: Don’t represents the world’s biggest food and beverage compaSupport Big Food’s Bill to Kill GMO Labeling Laws: nies as well as agribusinesses like Monsanto, Dow http://orgcns.org/1ou6KBk
ALERT
threat to organic farming and loss of native March Against Monsanto plants. It is causing dependency on a centralized Monsanto is the largest producer food system. In aggregate, this is a recipe for of genetically engineered seeds global famine,” warns long-time activist and and, with its subsidiaries, owns member of the Gateway Greens, Daniel close to two-thirds of the world’s S AV E T H E Romano. seed supply. Its Roundup herbiD AT E cide’s active ingredient glyphosate “We’ve run the first 20 years of the GMO has been linked to a variety of experiment and now know that in fact GMOs human health disorders including require more herbicides over time. With even autism and Parkinson’s disease. more toxic compounds like 2,4-D and Dicamba Organizers of the March Against Monsanto also want to raise awareness about the links being approved for use on GMO crops, consumers to honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder, declines in should be able to make informed decisions about what other pollinator populations caused by agricultural food they’re buying,” said Mary Ellen Kustin, Enchemicals, and the health and environmental safety vironmental Working Group’s senior policy analyst. issues of GMO foods. Currently, approximately half of Bees + Seeds Festival all farmland in the US is utilized for growing GMOs. Pack a picnic and bring your family to celebrate pollinaThe March Against Monsanto and the Bees + Seeds tors, seeds, farmers, and the healthy local foods that Festival provides an educational and community nourish us. The event will feature classes on beekeeping, action opportunity in a family-friendly environment gardening, a kids corner, a seed exchange, the Seed that has many activities for children and adults. An Broadcast Truck, information tables, Seed Blossoms Art, estimated 428 cities spanning 38 countries and 6 con- Conchita’s Creations Food Truck, live entertainment, and tinents will be participating in the Global March special guest speakers. Against Monsanto in a peaceful, non-violent, inforWatch for more details in the May Co-op Connection mational protest. newsletter. Stay up-to-date on the event by following “Monsanto is bankrupting farmers, causing soil infer- GMO-Free NM on Facebook: tility, monocropping, loss of biodiversity, and beehive www.facebook.com/gmofreenm, collapse. Furthermore, their practices pose a very real or email mam.newmexico@gmail.com.
May 23
health & environment BONES &BROTH
April 2015 13
USE EVERY
A TRADITIONAL FOOD AND AN
E N V I R O N M E N TA L S T R AT E G Y
you easily have on hand and don't get gelatinous broth, you are still getting a great nutrition boost with your broth. 2. Cover with water. Use the purest water you can. Then add vinegar so that its acidity will help draw out the minerals in the bones.
great
BY AMYLEE UDELL any of my articles are about increasing nutrition on the cheap—tweaking what you already do to increase nutritional yield for minimal financial investment. It's no coincidence that these strategies also tend to be the most Earth-friendly and environmentally respectful. One of the first ways I began was by making broth.
NUTRITIONAL
M
BENEFITS
I was already eating meat with bones. Instead of throwing the bones away, I could squeeze every last bit of goodness from them. This makes us use of more of the animal that gives its life for our benefit and decreases waste considerably. Think about how much of the weight of an animal is its bones. From a time and personal energy perspective, it took very little effort for me to throw our bones into a pot, top it off with water and a few vegetable scraps, along with a little vinegar, and then simmer for a day. I then had a delicious base for gravies, sauces and soups that would give nourishment beyond what I ever imagined. According to Sally Fallon and local author Kaayla Daniel, PhD, CCN, authors of Nourishing Broth, An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World, traditionally made broth feeds our bodies with and helps our bodies make collagen, "the glue that holds the body together." It also provides cartilage to help us move, bio-available minerals such as calcium phosphate, marrow for healing and rejuvenation at the deepest levels and what the authors call "conditional protein power," meaning broth improves protein digestion and assimilation, decreasing our protein needs. Finally, broth provides key amino acids, ones that our bodies theoretically can make, but in reality struggle to produce. So in taking broth, we get a quality source of proline, glycine and glutamine. The benefits of these are too numerous to mention. In their book, they outline how broth helps with immunity, joint health, digestion, and so much more. My final reason for continuing to make broth was that it is so EASY. While there are many steps and tricks to make your broth darker, lighter, roastier, clearer and, the ultimate goal, gelatinous, you don't have to take any of those. You simply need to follow a handful of simple steps:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
PART
3. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for hours. I cannot take credit for this great description of how to simmer broth, but I love it. If a rolling boil is a hearty laugh, you want your broth to giggle. And the authors suggest about 6 hours for chicken broth and a full day for beef stock. Too long, too short, or too high a temperature can all result in non-gelatinous, but still healthful, broth. 4. Strain out bones. Pour everything through a metal colander. If it's just a big bone and few to no vegetables, I just pour it into the storage container.
Put bones in pot Cover with water and add a bit of vinegar Bring to simmer and let simmer for hours Strain out bones Enjoy broth
1. Where do you get the bones? I typically use bones left over from our meals, often a whole chicken. If I don't have enough to fill a pot, I freeze bones until I've collected enough. I also keep my eyes open for bags of bones at La Montañita. Read the label to know if the bones are organic or not. I keep them in my freezer if I'm not ready to make a batch right away. I also have no problem mixing and combining different types of bones. You can also add any vegetables you like to the pot. I usually like to add onion ends and other odds and ends that I keep in my freezer, ready to dump in a stock pot at any point. In the book, Fallon and Daniel discuss finding the right combination of bone types and even using chicken, pig or calves feet to get the most gelatinous and healthful broths. They also include other great tips to improve your results. But even if you just use what
5. Enjoy broth. It's ready to go. If the broth is too oily for your liking, refrigerate it and the fat will rise and solidify on top. You can easily remove it then. I find that if I let the fat sit on top, it creates a nice seal and keeps the broth fresh longer. How many ways can you get those great broth benefits? Here are a few: • SOUP. Use broth in all your soups. • GRAINS. Cook your rice, millet or quinoa in broth. • BEANS. Cook your beans in broth. • PASTA. Cook your pasta in broth. • SAUCES AND GRAVIES. Broth makes the BEST sauces! You can even add some to your spaghetti sauce for a little nutritional boost. • MASHED POTATOES. Add some to cooking water or during the mashing. • STEAMING VEGETABLES. Steam veggies over boiling broth. • SAUTÉ OR STIR FRY vegetables in broth. • MISO IN BROTH. Get the benefits of broth and miso by combining them into a delicious tonic. • “CUPPA” BROTH. Add ginger, garlic, curry paste, lemongrass, lemon squeeze, or turmeric. Or all of them. Toss in an egg and call it breakfast.
SAFE USE OF
TECHNOLOGY CRITICAL FOR HEALTH!
BY JOHN MCPHEE here are now an estimated 6,000 studies demonstrating the damaging health effects from cell towers, antennas, and Wi-Fi technology. In spite of this, there has been nonstop installation of wireless technology in homes, schools, public agencies, and private businesses. World-renowned physician Andrew Weil, MD, says,"Electromagnetic pollution may be the most significant form of pollution human activity has produced in this century, all the more dangerous because it is invisible and insensible." Over the past decade, there has been a consistent lack of media attention paid to scientists and doctors worldwide, calling for more stringent regulations regarding the random deployment of cell towers and antennas throughout our communities.
T
Sounding the Alarm The World Health Organization, in the May, 2010 “Interphone Study,” found a 40% increase in the incidence of glioma tumors among those who used a cell phone an average of only 30 minutes per day for a decade. Note that this study was completed before the introduction of the more powerful 4G technology and the introduction of smartphones.
The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote an official letter to the Federal Communications Commission specifically about the lack of cell phone safety in August, 2013, stating that “Current FCC standards do not account for the unique vulnerability and use patterns specific to pregnant women and children.”
reduce RADIATION EXPOSURE
In 2015, the French Parliament passed ground-breaking legislation that imposes limits on the marketing of cell phones, the use of wireless technology in schools (including a prohibition in preschools), mandated access to technical and locational information for transmitters, and mandated measurement of exposure (that would also require reduction of high levels). Members of the Canadian Parliament are now introducing legislation to require that the risks of radiation exposure from cell phones and routers be clearly displayed on packaging and the devices themselves. Basic Precautions Even the most basic precautions for using wireless technology are not widely publicized. Here are some
ALLERGIES? YOU MIGHT HAVE
CEDAR FEVER! BY JOE FRANKE f you’re like many thousands of people who suffer from nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose, red, itchy watering eyes, achiness, and even low grade fever during the winter and assume that these symptoms are the result of dry air and dust, you might in actuality be one of those unfortunates who suffer from “cedar fever,” the result of inhaling the pollen of one of our four species of junipers.
I
Our four most common species are the Utah Juniper, a bushy-looking tree with a single trunk less than 15 feet in height that grows from 3,000 to 8,000 feet in elevation, commonly in association with Piñon; the One-seed Juniper, which likes the tops of dry mesas and similar habitats and is found from 3,500 to 8,000 feet elevation; Rocky Mountain Juniper, a more substantial tree with a heftier
• Turn off Wi-Fi modems when not in use, and always before bed. Wireless systems penetrate walls for an average of 600 feet in all directions, impacting not only you, but your neighbors, as well. • Do not place laptops directly on the pelvic area of the body. • Do not carry a cell phone anywhere directly on your body in the “on” position. • Do not make calls with a cell phone directly against the ear, but use the speaker mode instead. • Use wired technology utilizing fiber optic cables and Ethernet connections instead of Wi-Fi to safely ground emissions from electromagnetic fields. To learn more about the Safe Use of Wireless Technology, including monthly presentations and products to protect yourself, contact Jennifer at 505-780-8283.
Websites to Visit: • National Association for Children and Safe Technology at www.nacst.org • Environmental Health Trust at www.ehtrust.org • Canadians for Safe Technology at www.c4st.org • Baby Safe Project at www.babysafeproject.org
trees have two periods of pollination each year, usually starting in January and then lasting until March, with a second season from September to October.
trunk than the previous two species; and lastly the so-called Common Juniper, which is very shrubby, never getting beyond three feet in height. The term “cedar fever” is somewhat of a misnomer. Even though most New Mexicans mistakenly call all four of our juniper species “cedars”, the latter produce woody cones, while junipers, which are actually more closely related to cypress trees, produce seed in a tough, berry-like structure. Junipers are dioecious, meaning that a tree is either male, producing pollen, or female, producing the seed-bearing berry-like fruits. They’re also anemophilous, meaning that they rely on wind to carry pollen from male trees to female trees in order to produce viable seeds. While we normally associate pollen allergies with periods in which flowering plants are evident on the landscape, juniper
JUNIPERS: FOUR NATIVE
easy ways to decrease your daily exposure of damaging electromagnetic radiation:
SPECIES
Junipers can be extremely long lived. There are many specimens of the Alligator Juniper in northern New Mexico that are demonstrably over 1,000 years old. The illegal cutting of these ancient trees is a problem on public lands in the state. While permits are given out by the Bureau of Land Management to cut dead trees for firewood, many cutters prefer to take the live, green junipers, leading to the destruction and further desertification of the landscape. Juniper stands provide important cover for wildlife, food for many species of birds such as waxwings, robins, and turkeys, and it’s been demonstrated that many species of birds take refuge in snow-covered juniper thickets in the winter where the temperature can be 10 degrees warmer at night. These microclimate-producing stands also shelter wildlife from winter winds. Cedar berries are edible to humans. Those of the Rocky Mountain species are the best tasting of the species found in New Mexico. They have medicinal properties and a wide variety of traditional uses. The berries of the Common Juniper are the main flavoring for gin.
protecting true
treasures
April 2015 14
NOT 1 MORE ACRE! PROTECTING WESTERN SHORTGRASS PRAIRIE FROM
WAR GAMES
MILITA RY MADNESS
BY JEAN AGUERRE AND BOB EWEGEN itizens preparing to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 can celebrate a rising tide of public awareness about the need to protect the land, air, water wildlife, and food producers that sustain the special quality of life in the American West. While much attention is rightly devoted to the “purple mountain majesties” in the Rocky Mountain states, many citizens are working to reverse a century of folly by the Federal government that is desecrating and endangering the largest native shortgrass prairie remaining on Earth.
It is time for the federal government to stop its century of mismanagement of the shortgrass prairie. Department of Defense Joint Force Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site should be closed to begin the century or more of healing that will be necessary to recover it from the military madness that threatens the Great Plains.
threatens Great Plains
C
In particular, the citizen watchdog group Not 1 More Acre! with other friends of the Great Plains are calling for the closure of the US Army’s 236,000-acre Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS)—located in southeastern Colorado near the New Mexican border—to halt any further ravaging of the sensitive grasslands located in what has been described as the critical “Headwinds” region of the 1930s Dust Bowl. Spurred by Federal land giveaways and other bad government policy, temporarily high wheat prices and land promoters, settlers plowed millions of acres of once stable grasslands. When the region suffered one of its recurring droughts in the 1930s, the result was the Dust Bowl—a globally destructive environmental catastrophe.
family ranching practices—dooming land practices that support an ecological system, where for over 10,000 years, grazing animals such as buffalo, antelope, elk and, later, cattle formed an indispensable, grazing-dependent grassland, with their droppings nourishing the same lands that nourished them.
action
ALERT:
fragile grasslands in a highly destructive way. Numerous other military weapons and the extensive infrastructure necessary to support electronic air-ground military operations are rapidly degrading the largest and most biodiverse shortgrass prairie remaining on Earth. And it doesn’t stop there; opening the grasslands to military operations means losing mother-calf
Eventually, the federal government was forced to reverse course and bought back some of the decimated grasslands, setting them aside as National Grasslands to recover. Large generational ranchlands—the only lands that didn’t blow away in severe wind and drought—and intense attention to soil conservation practices with a return of rainfall helped rein in the Dust Bowl, though even today, seventy-five years later, scientists say soils have stabilized but the shortgrass is still not fully recovered.
Help Not 1 More Acre! raise awareness and support to CLOSE Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. Stay informed and spread the word! Learn more about the Not 1 More Acre! and how citizens can make themselves heard. Sign up up for news and action alerts at www.not1moreacre.net/stayinformed or contact: Bob Ewegen at news@not1more acre.net or call him at 719-252-5145.
F R A C K I N G A W O R L D H E R I TA G E S I T E ? N E W M E X I C O W I L D I S
PROTECTING
partial paving and management of the dirt road that leads to the Park has fallen through.
CHACO CANYON
C
haco Culture National Historic Park, (ChacoNHP) a major center of ceremony and trade for the prehistoric Four Corners area, is one of the most spectacular areas in New Mexico. Its combination of natural beauty and cultural significance justifies its World Heritage Site status.
Starting in 1983, when the US Army condemned area ranchland and acquired the 236,000-acre Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, much of the “Headwinds” area of the Dust Bowl has been subjected to a renewed and even more serious assault. The Army’s Abrams tank weighs 63 tons, and in order to train under realistic conditions, it is driven through the VETERAN FARMER PROJECT Grow the Farm Community Workshop April 11 and April 16 At Rio Grande Community Farm, Co-op Volunteers call 217-2016
Oil and gas drilling on New Mexico State lands within view of the Park’s Visitor Center continues to be a significant threat. In addition, development threatens Chacoan ruins to the north on Bureau of Land Management lands. These lands are part of a connective corridor to the Bisti / De-Na-Zin Wilderness through the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area. It is also clear that oil field dust, air pollutants and noise will reduce visibility while threatening the health of people living downwind from the development as well. Widespread publicity pressured Cimarex Energy to delay any immediate plans for developing leases visible from the Park’s Visitor Center. The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NM Wild), has met with the State Land Office and other agencies to forestall development. A carefully crafted agreement between San Juan County, the Navajo Tribe, and the Park that addressed
NM Wild continues to work on protection for Chaco NHP. Introduction of congressional legislation is vital to accomplish: • Designation of approximately 20,000 acres of Wilderness. • Transfer adjacent state lands into the Park. This requires trading BLM lands elsewhere to the State Land Office and adjusting the boundary of the park. • Revision of the boundary of the Pueblo Pintado Outlier to transfer jurisdiction to the park including the large ruin and other significant sites and transfer of jurisdiction to the Park. The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NM Wild) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), grassroots, environmental organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s wild lands and Wilderness areas. The primary goal of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance is to ensure the protection and restoration of all remaining wild lands in New Mexico through administrative designations, federal Wilderness designation, and ongoing stewardship. For more information on NM Wild Hikes, to make a donation to help protect Chaco Canyon or support its other wilderness conservation efforts, go to www.nmwild.org.
SHOP CO-OP AND BUY LOCAL SHOP CO-OP
GRAND CANYON ? SUPERMALL
ENVIRONMENTAL TRAVESTY! SumOfUs roperty developers want to build a super-mall smack dab in the middle of one of America's most breathtaking world heritage sites, the Grand Canyon. The mall would include an IMAX, shops, hotels, and fast food cafes. The National Park Service has called the plans “a travesty”.
BY
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Developers are hoping to start the building of the mega mall as early as the spring of 2017. Local activists are planning to put up a tough fight, and they need our support now.
The ludicrous project is being proposed by property developers Confluence Partners as a way to make more money from the millions of people who want to see one of nature's greatest marvels. The company is already facing huge outrage over the plan from many sides.
SumOfUs was created in part to stop corporations from destroying our precious natural environment. We've been fighting hard to end the vast deforestation caused by unsustainable palm oil. Just last year we forced Kellogg's and palm oil producer Wilmar to change their rainforest destroying ways. Now we're called on to take the power of our movement to protect the Grand Canyon.
Besides destroying the beautiful, untouched landscape of the canyon, the plan tramples all over the rights of indigenous people. The site for the proposed development is called “the Confluence” and is a sacred place for the Navajo. This is the place where their people first emerged, as told in their creation story. It's not just the Navajo whose sacred sites are being threatened by the development; Hopi people and the Zuni tribes are also fighting for their spiritually significant sites in the area.
We need to speak out and show Confluence Partners that the public will stand up for indigenous rights and stop one of the most horrendous of ideas; shopping malls in the beautiful, unspoiled nature of the Grand Canyon! We simply cannot let them get away with this. Sign the petition to Confluence Partners: We don't want a SUPER MALL in the Grand Canyon! Sign the petition at www. action.sumofus.org.
sustaining
community
ALAN IMAI ON
NATURAL AGRICULTURE BY FATHER SERAPHIM step closer to nature than the organic approach, Nature Agriculture is a simple and unique approach to farming and gardening that recommends the cultivation of crops matched to the local environment; no fertilizers, no manure compost, no aggressive pest control, and no crop rotation. The results are safe and nutritious food, abundant yields, and no negative environmental impact. Created by the Japanese spiritual and social visionary Mokichi Okada in Japan in the 1940s, it has been successfully applied in every setting from the smallest backyard gardens up to large commercial farms, mostly in Japan, the USA, and Europe.
April 2014 15
SIMPLE, SUSTAINABLE, COOPERATIVE WITH International Empowerment The wide-ranging advantages of Natural Agriculture have been shown time and time again around the world. It has provided an environmentally sustainable approach to food production, prevents the pollution of
A
Alan Imai has spent the last eleven years widening the scope of Natural Agriculture, helping indigenous people in Zambia, Nepal, Brazil and other countries to break free of the economic burden of GMO seeds and fertilizers and to develop sustainable local farming based on local crops. Director of the Shumei International Natural Agriculture program, and Executive Director of the Shumei International Institute in Crestone, Colorado, Alan will speak on Natural Agriculture and tell amazing stories of its success on Monday, April 13, at 7pm at the First Unitarian Church at 3701 Carlisle Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. The presentation is free of charge. Natural Agriculture’s core principle is an overriding respect for nature— honoring the cycle of life and the integrity of the Earth’s ecosystems. It encourages continuous cropping rather than crop rotation, since experience has shown that each generation of seeds improves and adapts to the particular soil and environment, and the soil also adapts to the particular crops. Farmers are encouraged to experiment to see which crops work well for the soil, rather than trying to force the land to produce an unsuitable crop for their own economic designs. Insects are not considered “pests” in the natural world, nor are weeds. The excessive appearance of insects that damage plants indicates an imbalance in nature. Rather than trying to control insects with harmful pesticides or even natural ingredients, farmers following the Natural Agriculture method pay close attention to the cycles of nature, harvesting crops prone to infestation slightly earlier or growing them in greater quantities to allow for losses.
NATURE!
Working with women farmers Alan developed a program of Natural Agriculture workshops which included seed saving methods. He trained local community members as demonstration farmers so that other women would have access to local help centers where they would be able to learn. The success of Natural Agriculture in Zambia has inspired more and more farmers to turn to this method. And this approach has positively transformed the local culture, encouraging pride as Africans and confidence in their own abilities, the empowerment of women (“the key to rural development,” says Alan), and promoting education and health programs.
April 13
the soil and groundwater, promotes biodiversity and healthy soil, and provides a viable alternative to a centralized “mega-farming” industry by supporting and empowering small local farm holders. Alan Imai knows better than anyone that all this is not just theory. At the invitation of the Mbabala Women Farmers Cooperative Union, in 2004 Alan travelled to Zambia, where he found small-scale farmers struggling with the high cost of fertilizers, pesticides, and hybrid seeds. It was a cycle of dependency that seemed unbreakable; the hybrid seeds required fertilizers and pesticides for growth, and the results were undependable. The periodic droughts meant famine and dependency on international aid to stave off famine.
Ona Brow n O W N YO U R
DREAMS A PR I L 6
5:30-7pm www.onabrown.com
In 2008 Alan spoke at the United Nations about his Zambia experiences and how Natural Agriculture, as an integrated approach, can address the current food crisis and help eradicate hunger and poverty in Africa and elsewhere. “Growing cash crops and biofuels is not the answer to the hunger and poverty eradication in Africa. We must support sustainable agricultural methods without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that are further damaging an environment already ravaged by drought and other shortsighted agricultural methods.” His presentation earned him a standing ovation. For more information about ALAN IMAI and NATURAL AGRICULTURE, visit www.shumei-na. org or contact: FATHER SERAPHIM, at 281-4888, seraphim@ocoy.org.
Equipped with more than 20 years of dedicated research and work, Ona Brown delivers recipes for success. She specializes in identifying the missing ingredients that are required in order to live… a yummy life. FREE TO THE COMMUNITY, this talk will be held on April 6 from 5:30-7pm at the First Unitarian Church, 3701 Carlisle NE. For information contact smshabazz@gmail.com.