March 2016 Green Fire Times

News & Views

from the

S u s t ai n ab l e S o u t h w e s t

C e l e b r at i o n o f t h e L i f e and A rt o f L l o y d K i v a N e w E a r l y C o ll e ge O p p o rt u n i t i e s Applied Science School The Magic of New Mexico’s B u i ldi n g V e r n a c u l a r

March 2016

Northern New Mexico’s Largest Distribution Newspaper

Vol. 8 No. 3

2

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

3

Beneficial Farms Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA) Serving families, farms, and communities since 1994

• Eat FRESH Local and Regional Food • Support Family Farms • All year long • Convenient weekly delivery www.beneficialfarm.com Shares@beneficialfarm.com

4

Green Fire Times • March 2016

505-470-1969

Can’t sell your home?

Alan Ball, expert on Santa Fe real estate will help you

www.SantaFeRealEstateConsultant.com phone or text: 505-470-7153

AlanBall2@Gmail.com

• Free Initial Consultation at your location • Outstanding professional help Over 30 years of business success in Santa Fe Alan Ball is a licensed NM real estate broker and is affiliated with Keller Williams Realty of Santa Fe, NM • 505-983-5151

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Vol. 8, No. 3 • March 2016 Issue No. 83 Publisher Green Fire Publishing, LLC

Skip Whitson

Associate Publisher

Barbara E. Brown

Editor-in-chief

Seth Roffman

Art Director

Anna C. Hansen, Dakini Design Copy Editors Stephen Klinger, Susan Clair Webmaster: Karen Shepherd Contributing Writers

Bineshi Albert, Rachel Conn, Bob Dunsmore, Sarah Ghiorse, Jaida Grey Eagle, Fatima van Hattum, Japa K. Khalsa, Nichoe Lichen, Alejandro López, Serina Padgett, Kelly Phillips, Dana Richards, Seth Roffman

Contributing Photographers Bob Dunsmore, William Green, Anna C. Hansen, Japa K. Khalsa, Alejandro López, Elliott McDowell, Jennifer Case Nevarez, Seth Roffman

PUBLISHER’S ASSISTANT Cisco Whitson-Brown

Advertising Sales

John M. Nye 505.699.3492 johnmnye@yahoo.com.au Skip Whitson 505.471.5177 skip@greenfiretimes.com Anna C. Hansen 505.982.0155 dakinidesign@newmexico.com Lisa Powers, 505.629.2655 Lisa@greenfiretimes.com Gay Rathman, 505.670.4432 GayRathman@yahoo.com

News & Views

from the

Sustainable Southwest

Winner of the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Outstanding Educational Project

Contents

The Magic of Simple Vernacular Building in the Context of New Mexico’s Long History of Building – Alejandro López . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 7 Keeping Our Heritage – The Francisca Hinojos House – Seth Roffman . . .. . .. . 9 Belmont del Norte: A Solar Straw Bale House . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 11 Radiant New Mexico.– Bob Dunsmore . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 12 Solar Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 13 New School Combines Sustainability, Closing the Achievement Gap and Free College for Santa Fe Public School Students – Dana Richards . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 16 Go Green and Get Outside – .Kelly Phillips . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..18 Love Where We Live – The Youth Ambassadors Program and Community Learning Network – Serina Padgett . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 18 Op-Ed: Living Feminism: Leading with our Values – Sarah Ghiorse and Fatima van Hattum . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 20 Celebration of the Life and Art of Lloyd Kiva New . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 23 Indigenous Climate Justice at the Institute of American Indian Arts – Bineshi Albert and Jaida Grey Eagle . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..24 The Longest Walk 2016. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 25 Protecting New Mexico’s Wetland Gems – Rachel Conn . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 27 Healing Allergies from the Inside Out – Japa K. Khalsa . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 29 Op-Ed: A Public Bank for Santa Fe – Nichoe Lichen . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 31 Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . .. . ... . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 32, 37 What’s Going On. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 38

Distribution

Linda Ballard, Barbara Brown, Susan Clair, Coop Dist. Services, Nick García, Leo Knight, Niki Nicholson Andy Otterstrom (Creative Couriers), PMI, Daniel Rapatz, Tony Rapatz, Wuilmer Rivera, Andrew Tafoya, Skip Whitson, John Woodie

Circulation: 30,000 copies Printed locally with 100% soy ink on 100% recycled, chlorine-free paper

c/o The Sun Companies P.O. Box 5588, SF, NM 87502-5588 505.471.5177 • info@greenfiretimes.com © 2016 Green Fire Publishing, LLC Green Fire Times provides useful information for community members, business people, students and visitors—anyone interested in discovering the wealth of opportunities and resources in the Southwest. In support of a more sustainable planet, topics covered range from green businesses, jobs, products, services, entrepreneurship, investing, design, building and energy—to native perspectives on history, arts & culture, ecotourism, education, sustainable agriculture, regional cuisine, water issues and the healing arts. To our publisher, a more sustainable planet also means maximizing environmental as well as personal health by minimizing consumption of meat and alcohol.

Green Fire Times is widely distributed throughout north-central New Mexico as well as to a growing number of New Mexico cities, towns, pueblos and villages. Feedback, announcements, event listings, advertising and article submissions to be considered for publication are welcome.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

© Anna C. Hansen

Green Fire Times

Sunrise at Peña Blanca bosque on the Río Grande

COVER: Fabric designs by Lloyd Kiva New at IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (page 23). i nset: Alejandro López works with adobe (page 7); Students at the Academy for Sustainability Education, which is transforming into the Early College Opportunities Applied Science Magnet School (page 16)

Green Fire Times • March 2016

5

Free Solar Power!

• “Zero Cost” solar possible ➜ Loan payments = reduction of your utility bill • “40% off” with solar tax credits!

• Call for Free solar advice for homes and businesses • Increase the resale value of your home!

Solarize Santa Fe! A Santa Fe County Campaign Call Craig O’Hare for Free Solar Advice: 505.992.3044 cohare@santafecountynm.gov www.santafecountynm.gov

Anna Hansen County Commission ★ Dist. 2

A passionate community organizer, working for you Anna Hansen ★ Vote ★ June 7, 2016 Hosted by

★

Join the campaign for tea & pastries!

March 13 at 3pm ★ Revolution Bakery

1291 San Felipe Ave. .

RSVP: AnnaHansenSantaFe@gmail.com

www.AnnaHansenSantaFe.com

Paid for by Anna Hansen for Santa Fe • Treasurer: Brad A. Gallegos 1301 S. St. Francis Dr., Suite A • Santa Fe, NM 87505 • 505.920.0957

6

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Adobe-domed well-house, Santa Cruz; Latticed adobe wall by Anselmo Jaramillo, Chimayó; Two views of the Turtle Amphitheater built by the National Indian Youth Leadership Project of Gallup, at the Sacred Mountain campsite near Mt. Taylor

The Magic of Simple Vernacular Building in the Context of New Mexico’s Long History of Building

Article and photos by Alejandro López

A

rchitecture is often referred to as the “Queen of the Arts” because the buildings and the spaces it encompasses accommodate all other arts: music, theater, oratory, dance, sculpture, painting, ritual and ceremony. It can safely be said that the ideals of a society are embodied in what and how a society chooses to build—with what materials and to what ends. A people’s architecture can be evaluated by how well its buildings fulfill their function by their design, craftsmanship and aesthetics. It will also be judged by the effect its buildings have upon the natural and manmade environments, as well as on the individual and collective human body and psyche.

Throughout history—and perhaps against all odds—humans have given form to their deepest thoughts and aspirations in the form of gigantic pyramids, mammoth temples carved out of stone, spires that reach to the high heavens, as well as through fabulously domed buildings that

www.GreenFireTimes.com

mimic the sky. We have also built lesser but equally intriguing forms such as the hórreos, or elevated, chapel-like granaries of Asturias, Spain; thatched cottages of Ireland; temascales, or sweat lodges of México; Buddhist stupas of Asia; yurts of Mongolia; and the tipis of North America.

In Territorial times, fired brick, milled lumber, iron, glass and dressed stone was evident.

Closer to home, we can appreciate the great buildings of the Pueblo people—large communal, multistoried apartment complexes like those of Chaco Canyon and Taos Pueblo. Their designs echo the ascending elevations of the land, from valley to foothills, to mesas and mountain peaks. In these communities, people built multiple kivas, underground ceremonial chambers that serve as a focal point

for an all-encompassing spiritual and religious life. Here, the people were and are in communion with the creative energies of the Earth—the source of all of life’s beginnings—including their own emergence through successive underworlds.

The Diné of Arizona and New Mexico, on the other hand, chose to build simple, isolated, hexagonal- or octagonal-shaped hogans that, with their doorways oriented toward the east and the morning sunrise, also embody profound cosmic understandings.

Significantly, this lived-in space can also be where elaborate, lengthy ceremonies take place, sometimes with the creation of detailed sand paintings on the floor and all-night chanting and recitation of prayers and sacred stories, carried out by the hatathli, or medicine man. Although the hogan is but one enclosed space, areas within it can be designated to serve highly specialized functions, reinforcing a strict order in the lives of the Diné.

The Nakai Diné, or Españoles Mexicanos, brought to this land from central México and distant Spain the above-ground, monumental Christian churches that thrust upward toward the skies of Middle Eastern-derived faiths. Cruciform in shape and notably spacious, they could accommodate an entire village for religious functions and the celebration of sacraments.

The massive, earthen, San Francisco de Asís Church, in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, is the epitome of this type of regionally adapted Old World architecture, as is the San Esteban Church at Acoma Pueblo.

The frontal positioning and elevation of the altar reflect the hierarchical and authoritarian nature of a society that also built torreones, or defense towers, and enormous governmental buildings such as the Casas Reales, the Palace of the Governors, in Santa Fe. In contrast, the houses of the common people—the vast majority of the population—tended to be simple, continued on page 8

Green Fire Times • March 2016

7

The Magic

continued from page

earthy and welcoming, a true reflection of the humility and humanity of the genízaro, or mestizo (synthesis of Spanish and Native American) society that evolved in Nuevo México over the course of 300 years of relative isolation.

Among the first buildings constructed by the Americans in this region were military forts such as Fort Union and Fort Sumner, which employed a combination of stone, adobe and timber. The tradition of military defense architecture has persisted to this day with New Mexico’s many military bases, which are off-limits to most citizens and, therefore, mainly invisible.

In Nuevo México, nearly every generation was able to participate in the vernacular construction of homes and other structures.

Aside from this, the Anglo-American culture has been prolific in the introduction of building materials new to the area, including, in Territorial times, fired brick, milled lumber, iron, glass and dressed stone such as is evident in the St. Francis Cathedral, in downtown Santa Fe. The effects of

Jo-jo Williams and child from North Philadelphia building a public bench with recycled materials American-manufactured corrugated tin on Nuevo Mexicano village architecture cannot be underestimated.

Contemporary American architecture

8

7

has specialized in massive steel, concrete and glass buildings to house the state’s leading financial, governmental, medical and cultural institutions. It has also built land-use-defining road and freeway systems with colossal bridges and overpasses. And, it has supported the construction of modular suburban houses, big-box retail stores and enormous shopping malls, rickety f ranchise buildings, fortress-like public schools, and ostentatious hilltop mansions for the rich and famous.

A response to this, but in the opposite direction, has been the relatively recent development of ecological, low-impact Earthship Biotecture, such as those northwest of Taos, and straw-bale and modern adobe houses, which are scattered throughout the state. Part and parcel of this conscientious effort to reduce humans’ carbon footprint have been myriad attempts to construct toxin-f ree, energy-efficient green buildings. The most recent edifices on the campus of Santa Fe Community College are prime examples, as are numerous homes that employ solar panels, radiant heating, water catchment and systems for recycling, along with many other beneficial technologies.

As promising as the tide of green building might be, what tends to be lacking from this scene are significant opportunities for low-income residents, especially youth, to experience the magical and rewarding process of creating unique and special spaces out of living, breathing materials imbued with the makers’ own energies. The urge to build is so deeply entrenched that, especially as children, it is thought to be an innate and nearly irrepressible instinct on a par with exploring one’s surroundings.

So much building is now done for us by the so-called “experts” that all we have to do is to move in or adjust our vision to a subdivision that popped up seemingly overnight in a field across the street. Because of this, we have much less investment in our communities, in the landscape or in each other. Too often, we no longer feel attachment to or creative pride in our buildings or our increasingly featureless villages, towns and cities. In Nuevo México, particularly, nearly every previous generation was able to participate

Green Fire Times • March 2016

Pre-1940s adobe home in Santa Cruz, Española Valley

in the vernacular construction of h om e s a n d other structures.

These creations distinguished Nuevo México f rom every other state and saturated the landscape with points of beauty, interest and warmth.

Youth engrossed in adobe horno construction project

As a child, I remember constructing corrals and barns for our animals with the help of my brothers, as well as assisting while roofs went up on buildings on our homestead. On our own, my brother Joe and I dug warrens through the mountains of piñón wood brought down from the forests and built forts out of assorted logs and posts every chance we got, especially after watching an inspiring television episode of “The Rifleman,” with actor Chuck Connors.

In the last few years, it has been my pleasure to work with inner-city youth in North Philadelphia in the creation of entire parks featuring massive benches made from recycled discarded brick and stone. Back in New Mexico, I was fortunate to participate in the construction of the all-adobe Dar al Islam mosque, in Abiquiú, designed by the late Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, author of Architecture for the Poor. The project was, to a great extent, masterfully crafted by his then-80something assistant, Alah Aladin.

With the help of friends and informal, spontaneously assembled teams, I have also built many adobe ovens, a huge banco in the foyer of Plaza Resolana, a small domed building, a circular

shade house from felled Chinese elms and a two-foot-thick adobe wall that incorporates Mesoamerican-inspired bas-relief sculpture.

The height of my vernacular building experience, however, coincided with the design, supervision and construction of a large amphitheater in a forest redoubt near Mt. Taylor. The structure, which comfortably accommodates 100 or more people, was built around a small, circular, central plaza and in the shape of a giant turtle, replete with an expressive head and legs. Hundreds of native youth, who participated in its construction, were ecstatic at having the opportunity to co-create a space that incorporated their own ideas and energy. In so doing, they gave expression to the ideals of our time: learning directly from nature, honoring the sanctity of life, exploring a creative hands-on approach to building and, perhaps most important, building community. i Alejandro López is an educator who employs the art of building with natural materials.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Keeping Our Heritage Fire-gutted Francisca Hinojos House Is Being Rebuilt Seth Roffman

O

ne of Santa Fe’s most unique and cherished historic houses, the Francisca Hinojos House, built in the 1880s a few blocks from Santa Fe’s plaza, is being rebuilt. The Territorial-style house, which preservationists have said “…adds more to that streetscape than almost any other building on Palace Avenue,” was substantially damaged in 2013 by what is believed to have been arson. A plaque from the Historic Santa Fe Foundation remained embedded in what was left of the front wall. Demolition had been proposed. John Wolf, owner of Wolf Corp builders, bought the property and is carefully restoring the house to its original appearance. It will become his residence.

The house was designed and constructed by French artisans brought by Archbishop Lamy.

According to Fr. Angélico Chávez in Origins of New Mexico Families, Doña Francisca Hinojos owned the property between 1856 and 1872. She had moved from Albuquerque after trading land on the Old Plaza in Albuquerque with a priest for property in Santa Fe. Hinojos, born around 1836, is said to have descended from Aparicio Alonso de Hinojos of Zacatecas, who came to New Mexico early in the 18 th century as a soldier. Her father, Blas de Hinojos, was el comandante principal of New Mexico at the time he was killed in the Navajo campaign of 1835.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

In 1887, Doña Francisca bequeathed the property to her son, Don Alfredo Hinojos, a prominent political figure who was the Cathedral’s organist for almost 50 years. At that time, the lands adjacent to the plot where the house was built included what are now Martínez Street and the grounds of La Posada Hotel. The house was occupied by Francesca Hinojos’ granddaughter Frances Hinojos until shortly after the property was purchased by Lois Field in 1948. At that time, it had fallen into disrepair and was hardly habitable, as Frances had lived there with 27 cats and no electricity, water or heat. An early preservationist, Lois Field, along with sculptor-turned-building-contractor Agnes Sims, restored and remodeled the house, making it livable.

Other distinguished members of Santa Fe’s community have been housed in that building as well: the North American Institute, the Native American Prep School, several attorneys, the advertising agency Creative Images, and the offices of photographers Elliott McDowell, and William Field Design. Field took over the house in 1974 and owned it until after the fire. Fortunately, the building will now have a future, perhaps to make more history. i Seth Roffman is editor-in-chief of Green Fire Times.

Green Fire Times • March 2016

9

© Eliott McDowell

Historical reports state that a small rear building with a hutch roof formerly served as the kitchen for the main house. Due to excessive summer heat and cooking odors, it was a common custom in New Mexico, as well as the Southeast, to have an unattached kitchen.

© Seth Roffman (3)

The Hinojos House is a good example of the Americanization Period in Santa Fe’s history, when Eastern architectural styles were consciously imported in order to “look American.”Subsequently, those efforts led to the successful plea for statehood. An adobe residence with unusual architectural details, the house was designed and constructed by itinerant French artisans brought from Louisiana by Archbishop Lamy to build the St. Francis Cathedral. The exterior is more typical of Southern architecture during the period of French occupation than of Santa Fe’s indigenous building styles. Built on a brick and stone foundation with stone buttresses, it has plastered adobe walls, a bay window, an ornate portal and a pitched and multigabled terneplate roof, punctuated by four corbelled brick chimneys. A retaining wall in front of the house is made of stone left over from the Top: The Hinojos House in 2008; at the start of renovation, Feb. 2016; Bottom (r): just after the fire in 2013; Feb. 2016 (above) building of the church.

SEVENTH RAY SKIN CARE

C

utting edge technology customizes every facial to help you look your best!

We specialize in:

• non-invasive anti-aging facials • acupoint facial & micro current lifting • microderm abrasion • LED light therapy In Business Since 1992

2019 Galisteo St. N8 SantaFe, NM 87505

www.seventhrayskincare.com • 505.982.9865

10

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Belmont del Norte: A solar Straw-Bale Vacation Rental House in Southern Colorado his unique mountaintop home in the San Luís Valley is offered as a vacation rental or space for family reunions or business getaways. It has five bedrooms, two living areas, large eat-in kitchen, separate dining area and two and one-half baths.

It is located near the town of Del Norte, on 45 acres that have been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a sanctuary for nurturing and protecting elk, deer, mountain lions, coyotes and many species of birds. Some amazing rock formations are scattered around the area.

The house, even with no heat on, never gets below 58–60 degrees.

This straw-bale, sustainable, off-grid solar house was built by artist/builder Bill Green, who says that the climate and conditions for straw-bale buildings are near perfect in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, with more than 300 days of sun per year. Green learned straw-bale building techniques from a man named Evan Crawford, in New Zealand (strawbuilthomes.com).

Technical Details

The photovoltaic system—2kW of solar panels and one Outback Mate inverter with 16 Rolls Surret batteries—has served the house well as its only source of electricity.

The house has no electrical, water or sewer bills and only minimal propane bills.

If you’re interested in renting a house with a view of the Great Sand Dunes National Park that leaves a minimal carbon footprint, contact owner Stan Tucker: 214.505.9955, Tuckerstan@aol.com or visit www.belmontdelnorte.com i

© Stan Tucker (5)

The house was designed for a family of five, with the intention of being able to accommodate many visiting guests. Green decided to push the envelope in terms of

area space and volume (3,330 square feet) to really see what this type of construction could achieve, both in energy efficiency and design. Even at 8,500 feet elevation, where the outside temperature sometimes drops to –15 degrees, with highs in the teens, the house, even with no heat on, never gets below 58–60 degrees—a testament to the insulation qualities of local, certified barley straw bale construction, radiant floor heating and a modified, fully engineered frame. He used 15-gauge stucco wire on both sides of the straw walls, pinned with sod staples every square foot. All wood members have Tyvek and diamond lath installed over them, as well. He used three coats of white portland/lime custom-blend stucco, inside and out. After curing the stucco, he stained the exterior walls with iron sulfate.

© Construction photos © William Green

T

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

11

Radiant New Mexico

Article and photos by Bob Dunsmore

W

hen our early ancestors first discovered fire and learned how to manage its energy, the fire’s radiant heat cooked food and heated water, rocks of a fire ring, people and pets very efficiently. But radiant heat—from a fire or from the sun—does not heat air. Instead, air is warmed by moving across surfaces that have been radiantly heated. You have likely noticed that a single cloud can force you to suddenly become chilled on a day of abundant sunshine. On a cold night, enjoying the warmth of a campfire, you may suddenly become cold when someone walks between you and the fire.

For tens of thousands of years, air was not heated for warmth. Cliff dwellers and pueblo dwellers of the land that would become New Mexico allowed the sun’s short-wave light to strike adobe and rock surfaces, which stored energy that would be released into living spaces as long-wave radiant energy, or heat. Radiant energy warms living spaces efficiently and cleanly without heating the air.

In tipis, an opening at the top allows air to escape, exhausting smoke from the fire below. Wood fire heats rocks, which radiate heat for many hours after the fire has died out. Native Americans used radiant heat from rocks in diverse structures, while European groups built heavy fireplaces that, even in castles, heated massive walls. Builders in Asia heated floors.

Blessed with abundant, free, radiant energy from the sun, people of the Southwest discovered early on that the north adobe wall of a plaza, or

12

resolana, having absorbed solar rays, would release luxurious radiant energy far into the night.

Subsidized, dirty oil and gas encouraged us to forget about radiant energy’s value and usefulness. Forced-air furnaces expel heated air into living spaces. As we know, warm air rises. The warmest air in our homes is not where we are.

Pueblo dwellers allowed sunlight to strike adobe and rock surfaces, which stored energy that would be released into living spaces as heat.

Julie and Bob Dunsmore’s home in Vallecitos was built for about $40 per square foot, before installing solar electric panels and batteries. Its walls are R40 straw bales, for which they paid $4 per bale, including delivery from the San Luís Valley. The metal roof is a 36 foot-by-22-foot heating and cooling system, created by raising the metal above the roofing plywood using 2-by-2s. Air allowed to escape the attic vents cools the building in the summer. Closing the vents and running a fan brings solar-heated air from under the roof into the living space of the house.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, I became interested in finding a solution to the phenomenon known as the “heat-or-eat dilemma.” Many families living in manufactured homes in economically depressed areas of the Río Grande Valley attempted to heat their homes with firewood. They couldn’t afford propane, nor could propane adequately heat poorly insulated trailer homes. Many families have lost their lives attempting to make it through cold winter nights in highly flammable manufactured homes.

During the energy crisis of the early ’70s, Bill Yanda of Santa Fe, the inventor of the now-famous Yanda greenhouse, came to Alamosa, Colorado, where I was living at the time, to share his experience with radiant solar energy.

His design incorporated a massive adobe-wall resolana on the north side of a greenhouse. The roof of the greenhouse was insulated to catch the warm air trapped by the “greenhouse effect.” Short-wave energy from the sun passes through glass easily, but as soon as it heats an object, that object reradiates the energy as long-wave radiation. Long-wave radiation does not pass through glass as easily and builds up as heat. Plants in such a greenhouse will thrive, even in freezing air, if they are exposed to the resolana.

Bill Yanda showed us a slide that changed my life. It showed Bill swinging in a hammock in his greenhouse.

Green Fire Times • March 2016

Heating and cooling for free. Here you can see the 3-foot-high cement thermal wall on the south side of the house. Glass panels go to floor level so that the thermal wall is able to absorb solar heat during the cold months. In the summer, the sun reflects off the vertical glass, allowing the thermal wall and adobe floor to cool and become a heat “sink,” conditioning the air to a very pleasant cool temperature.

Outside, snow was deep against the greenhouse glass. Bill was reaching for a beautiful, ripe tomato.

We convened a meeting of neighbors to find a way to solve the heat-or-eat dilemma. Bill North, a rancher, shared his experience of building a simple solar collector to keep water pipes from freezing in his home’s crawlspace. The collector, made of black plastic stapled to his south wall with a layer of clear plastic spaced an inch or so in front of the black plastic, attracted and trapped enough solar energy to keep the pipes from freezing, once pumped under the ranch-house floor with a simple

blower. But the most amazing thing about this actually began a quiet energy revolution: The heat under his floor cut his home’s heating bill in half and paid for the solar system in one month!

Thousands of do-it-yourself solar collectors in Bill’s region, the San Luís Valley of Colorado, now pump heat into crawlspaces, turning floors into radiant heat surfaces. The solar heat from the collectors stratifies under the floors. Installed crawlspace insulation— much easier than insulating an entire house!—keeps the heated air under the floor. The solar-heated air is recirculated continued on page 32

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Solar NEWSBITEs Nevada Solar Fight Could Become National Issue

In December, the three-person public utility commission in Nevada, under pressure from the state’s largest electric utility, NV Energy, effectively threw a wrench into the state’s solar-power market. The regulators drastically rolled back a key financial incentive for rooftop solar installations. The decision could mean thousands of dollars of higher electricity costs for existing customers, who may see their monthly fee raised threefold by 2020 and their net metering credit reduced by 18 percent. The move has prompted a mass exodus of solar contractors from the state with the most solar jobs per capita.

Net metering is the policy most states have adopted that allows homeowners to sell the excess electricity from their solar panels back to the utility at set prices. It enables solar customers to defray their upfront costs. But utilities have opposed the policy because they lose kilowatt-hours from solar customers and then have to pay those customers for their power. Conservative utility allies such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are waging a nationwide battle against net metering to get other states to follow Nevada’s lead.

Two homeowners have filed a class-action lawsuit against NV Energy, and a coalition of solar companies is seeking a ballot measure that would reverse the regulators’ decision. Solar enjoys widespread support from Nevada voters in both parties: A recent Colorado College poll found that 75 percent of voters support tax incentives for solar.

Solar Industry Growth in New Mexico

Although other Southwestern states and several less sunny states have far surpassed New Mexico in solar power growth due to more solar-friendly state policies, New Mexico ranks ninth in solar jobs per capita, according to a new report by the Washington, D.C.-based Solar Foundation. The New Mexico solar industry is helping fill a gap in employment left by an idling construction industry, as well as layoffs in the coal, oil and gas industries. The solar industry employed 1,900 people in 2015 and has been a key sector for job growth, expected to reach a rate of 12.4 percent in 2016, compared to the state’s overall rate of 0.9 percent. Roughly 102 solar companies operate in New Mexico. The median wage for solar installers is about $21 an hour.

The foundation’s report projects that by the end of 2016, installed solar capacity in New Mexico—utilityscale installations and individual residential and commercial systems—will jump by nearly 65 percent in just over a year, to 595 MW, enough to power about 139,000 homes. The report, cosponsored by the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, was based on direct telephone and email surveys with businesses around the state.

The fight for energy freedom and energy choice could become an important issue in the presidential election.

New Mexico Solar Tax Credit Extension Bills Tabled

Two bills in the 2016 Legislature aimed at extending New Mexico’s solar tax credit and a memorial calling for adding solar panels to state buildings did not survive. The fiscal reality of falling oil and gas revenues, as well as politically divided legislators, impacted many sectors. After the solar tax-credit extension proposal was tabled in committee, Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) attempted to tack it on as an amendment to a Senate bill, but that was rejected by a vote of 20–19. Stewart said that there are still “climate change deniers” in the Legislature.

Many customers are expected to take advantage of the state’s solar tax credit before it expires at the end of the year. Particularly for individuals and small businesses, the credit has been seen as an essential complement to the federal tax credit for solar

www.GreenFireTimes.com

projects. In December, Congress voted to extend the 30 percent Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for commercial and residential installations for another three years, at which point it will ramp down incrementally through 2021 and remain at 10 percent beginning in 2022.

New Solar-Power Systems Installed with USDA/Rural Energy for America Program

USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has provided grants to qualifying businesses in New Mexico in recent months to facilitate installation of renewable-energy (RE) systems.

H.A.W. Farms, LLC, in Belen, received $134,092 to offset the $748,144 installation cost of a 990-solar-panel system that is now saving that enterprise $3,000 to $4,000 per month on its energy bill. REAP funding in the amount of $18,067 went toward construction costs for a $72,270 system for the Super 8 Motel in Santa Rosa. When installation of three high-efficiency water heaters and solar collectors is completed, the system will produce enough savings to offset most of the cost of electricity needed to run the business. Silverleaf Family Farms in Corrales received $4,522 toward an $18,090 photovoltaic (PV) solar array. The system has replaced 33 percent of the farm’s energy usage. Sedillo Hill Route 66 Travel Center was provided a grant of $41,720 toward a $166,878 solar system that generates 80,504 kW of electricity, enough for 67 percent of the store’s power needs.

The REAP program was created by Congress to help farmers, ranchers and small rural businesses access funds to purchase RE systems and to make energy-efficiency improvements. The program is not available for residential use and is available only for businesses in communities of fewer than 50,000 people; however, there is no population limit for agricultural producers wanting to apply for the program. To obtain information on the REAP program, visit www.usda.gov/energy or call the Rural Development State Office in Albuquerque: 505.761.4957.

SunPower® by Positive Energy Solar Recertified as a Benefits Corporation

Benefits Corporations (B Corps) are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Having demonstrated high-integrity business practices, SunPower® by Positive Energy Solar (SPPES), a New Mexico-based company, was recently recertified as a B Corp. The company also received B Lab’s Best for the Environment award in 2014 and 2015.

The employee-owned company’s distinction was earned for providing good wages, benefits and growth opportunities for its team members and for contributing to schools and nonprofits. SPPES has also become known for its community and volunteer work. Close to 1,000 hours of employee community service were completed in 2015.

SPPES touts the equipment it selects for its residential, commercial, governmental and nonprofit customers for its long-term performance and low environmental impact. Positive Energy Solar joined the SunPower® Master Dealer network in January. Visit www.positiveenergysolar.com

Sol Luna Solar Manager Earns Certification

Zacarias Johnson, project manager of Sol Luna Solar, has earned certification as a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners Certified PV Installation Professional. The certification required documentation of relevant education and experience related to photovoltaic (PV) system installation and passing a rigorous exam covering knowledge, skills and abilities required to design, install and maintain PV systems. The exam assesses knowledge on electrical and mechanical systems design, the National Electrical Code, roofing and construction techniques, system maintenance and troubleshooting.

Sol Luna Solar, based in Dixon, New Mexico, provides solar PV integration for residential, commercial and utility-scale projects. The company, known for its competitive pricing and customer service, has operated in northern New Mexico for more than 40 years, installing systems in Albuquerque, Taos and Santa Fe. For information, call 575.770.7042 or visit www.sollunasolar.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

13

Š Anna Christine Hansen Signs of Spring

James H. Auerbach, MD and Staff support Green Fire Times in its efforts to bring about a better world by focusing on the people, enterprises and initiatives that are transforming New Mexico into a diverse and sustainable economy.

Some of the topics Green fire times showcases: Green: Building, Products, Services, Entrepreneurship, Investing and Jobs; Renewable Energy, Sustainable Agriculture, Regional Cuisine, Ecotourism, Climate Adaptation, Natural Resource Stewardship, Arts & Culture, Health & Wellness, Regional History, Community Development, Educational Opportunities James H. Auerbach, MD provides dermatology services in Santa Fe, NM (Sorry, we are no longer accepting new clients.)

14

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

New Mexico’s ReplaceMeNt wiNdow expeRt

Our Energy Quest Vinyl Windows by Glass-Rite are made in New Mexico for New Mexico.

A

t Glass-Rite, we tailor our products to New Mexico climate and conditions. Our area gets very HOT, very COLD, and very WINDY. We have designed our replacement windows to take these unique climate factors into account, so that you can have a quality window that is suited to OUR climate.

ADVERTISE IN GFT Support our work for a more sustainable world.

Call Skip Whitson at 505.471.5177 or Anna Hansen at 505.982.0155

www.GreenFireTimes.com

We are a local manufacturer that is nationally certified. We manufacture and install Glass Rite Energy Quest windows as well as Jeld Wen wood clad windows and doors. Window replacement has been our specialty for 30 years!

808 Gibson SE, Albuquerque, NM Phone: 505-764-9899 • Toll free: 1-800-824-1005 www.glass-rite.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

15

New School Combines Sustainability, Closing the Achievement Gap and Free College for Santa Fe Public School Students

Dana Richards

O

n a cold evening in January, the Santa Fe Public Schools’ Board of Education gave the Early College Opportunities School proposal a warm reception.

After a 5–0 vote to approve the district’s newest high school, director Steve Carrillo said, “It feels like this might be one of the greatest things we’ve ever done. The legacy of this could turn out to be of historic significance.” Thirty students, parents and community partners testified to the value of the new school during a lengthy public forum that brought many of those present to tears.

ECO, the Early College Opportunities Applied Science Magnet School, is ramping up for an August 2016 opening, with students in grades nine, 10 and 11. Early College is a nationally trending model that allows students to pursue certifications and associate degrees while they complete their high school diplomas.

Cultivating literacy in the intellectual and hands-on aspects of sustainability The school will occupy the 25-acre site now known as South Campus or Vo-Tech, between Zia Road and the Arroyo Chamiso, adjacent to Santa Fe High School. The site includes woodshops, automotive shops, welding, construction, greenhouse and aquaponics facilities. In partnership with Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), classrooms and other space at the nearby Higher Education Center (HEC) will also be utilized. Rebecca Estrada, executive director of the HEC, has been key in coordinating SFCC leadership and staff to facilitate alignment between the two institutions.

The genesis of the new school reflects interrelated efforts. Superintendent Joel Boyd and SFCC President Randy Grissom collaborated to advance the school as a critical piece of SFPS’s secondary reform plan and as a way to develop a bridge to SFCC’s world-class Sustainable Technology program and facilities. The idea of a magnet school of sustainability was also pitched to the district multiple times during the last seven years as a result of collaborative efforts on the part of Santa Fe High teachers (including Marcia Barton and Ty Middleton), educational consultants and community partners Paul Gibson, John Graham, Seth Biderman, Kim Shanahan and Kenneth Francis. Lynn Bickley of the Interfaith Coalition, Janet Bailey and Miguel Acosta were also key to helping move the effort along while making sure it has depth and is accessible to all sectors of the community.

Mariah Martínez, Dakota Tórrez, Morelia Cuevas, Elvis Corado and Kenia Ontiveros, release trout in Ty Middleton's ASE Wildlife Biology class

The school is an outgrowth of the Academy for Sustainability Education (ASE), a 300-student program of study at Santa Fe High. Tammy Harkins, a dedicated sustainability educator and a guiding force behind ASE, has demonstrated how important rapport, personalization and relevance are to student motivation and achievement. Her ability to employ emotional intelligence, reach deeply into students to tap their hopes and aspirations, and create a joyous community of engaged learners has been a primary factor in launching the new school.

Student Dylan Ramírez says, “I’m moving, along with many other ASE students, into the new ECO School. I have been very lucky to be part of this kind of learning, with its many projects and field trips. My mentorship and all the tools will definitely serve me in the future. This school provides all kinds of green opportunities, like solar power and aquaponics.” Student Irie Charity says, “I’m excited about the challenge of getting college credit and learning serious skills and content through projects. I am a visual and hands-on learner. I want to be in a school where motivated students tackle serious projects that make a difference in the world.” Current ninth-grader Annette Salas Morales said, “I love handson learning. I’ve learned so much about solar energy, sustainable agriculture, aquaponics and how important it is to lower our carbon footprint. I look forward to building my own Tiny Home.”

The school has six main goals:

• Close the achievement gap • Increase literacy in the intellectual and hands-on aspects of sustainability • Provide free, dual-credit certifications and applied science degrees • Build workforce readiness and create human and practical connections between school, mentors and the world of work • Make the learning community a vital and welcoming center for students, educators, families, business partners and social service providers • Use innovative pedagogy, scheduling and leadership norms to attract and retain world-class educators and partners, and become a national model of what can be done within public school districts

Closing the Achievement Gap

Vicky Gutiérrez Ochoa, Mariela Erives, Dakota Tórres and Sam Jacquez build benches for a Río Grande Restoration project

16

Green Fire Times • March 2016

The achievement gap is shameful, personally degrading to many youth, and one of the reasons local economies and the national economy cannot keep pace with the needs and norms of the new millennium.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

ASE student Yadira Brugger works with volunteer woodturning instructor Alan Becker.

Dakota Tórres works the Kubota tractor at ASE South Campus during his summer job.

Big schools often take a certain amount of failure, segregation, violence, vandalism, burnout and alienation for granted. Teachers and students are left to figure out how to fit into the cookie-cutter. Some enjoy school and do well. Some do well, as measured by GPA and test scores, but don’t really connect with the learning process. A large number of students neither do well nor engage in the process. Day after day, they walk the edge of despair, self-loathing, indifference and misplaced emotion. They are frequently absent, tuned-out, dropping out, and unable to plug into constructive local, state or national communities and economies.

ECO’s school design flips the dynamic. Instead of kids stressing to adapt to the cookie-cutter, ECO’s network of educators is taking on the design and implementation challenge of adapting learning experiences to the needs and wants of the students. The same students who are disengaged and disruptive in a conventional learning environment often prove to be a motivated leader if given opportunities to tell their story, learn their way and engage with activities they find relevant.

In a small, personalized learning community, it is not accepted or assumed that there will be a 50 percent truancy or failure rate. The ECO School will demonstrate that public school districts are capable of delivering a relevant and effective learning culture to underserved and underutilized youth.

ECO-Literacy

Is it possible to have a 4.6 GPA, ace your ACTs and SATs, nail the PARCC, kill on your AP exams, be deadly on your DEAs, eviscerate the EOCs, rout the SBA and still be ecologically illiterate? Alas, the answer is yes. While a state education department might be able to accept that disconnect, the biosphere and local economies cannot. We are in the middle of an ebbing tide in public education funds. Why? Because the capricious nature of the fossil-fuel economy is out of our hands. This is just one reason why a planned new-energy, sustainability economy is critical to the health of our communities, especially in New Mexico, where

www.GreenFireTimes.com

ASE students learn about waste and recycling at the Santa Fe Recycling Center

economic strength is not about a few large corporate employers but rather about a resilient network of small businesses and public institutions.

The ECO School is committed to cultivating literacy in the intellectual and hands-on aspects of sustainability. Good education is by nature revolutionary, or at least evolutionary. Even though we still test for the thinking that produced the problems students will inherit, we don’t have to keep teaching with it.

The educators who are lining up to be part of this new school are “thought partners” when it comes to figuring out how to infuse sustainability into all aspects of the curriculum. SFCC partners like Camilla Bustamante, Amanda Hatherly, Luke Spangenburg, Xubi Wilson, Shawn Miller and Adam Cohen are especially wellsuited to provide coaching in cutting-edge theory and practice, when it comes to sustainable technologies. In the ECO School, sustainability will apply equally to technology, modes of thought, leadership, teacher stress, wrap-around and interdisciplinary approaches to project-based learning.

Everyone is College Material

Even by those with compassionate intentions, I’ve heard it said many times: “Some people just aren’t college material.” In ECO, we want to redefine and recontextualize the idea of “college material.” Through SFCC and other accrediting postsecondary institutions we are happy to offer all ECO students free dual-credit, certifications and two-year associate degrees. This is both an equity issue and a way to ground college in applied science, with powerful connections to careers and real-world problems. We want ECO graduates to be leaders, entrepreneurs and equipped thinkers about complex problems, and we know that engaged college can play a key role in the process of developing those capacities.

Workforce Readiness Revisited

If we are not careful, workforce readiness means technical training for cogs in an impersonal and overly hierarchical factory system. In fact, many have argued continued on page 30

Green Fire Times • March 2016

17

Go Green and Get Outside

Kelly Phillips

The Outdoor Club, a Capital High School (CHS) club focusing on public service and environmental issues, began in August 2015. The club consists of 20 motivated students, led by teachers Kelly Phillips, Jen Bakevich and Reid Burgess.

Throughout the 2015–2016 school year, students have raised school and community awareness on environmental issues. The club is improving school recycling efforts, maintaining local neighborhood trails, raising native trout and revitalizing the campus greenhouse for food production.

Capital High’s Outdoor Club helps preserve outdoor spaces and serves the community.

School-wide recycling has dramatically benefited through the club’s efforts. The number of recycling containers tripled. The club made “How to Recycle” posters and placed the Santa Fe Recycling Guide on each bin. Environmental Science students are investigating the decomposition rate of compostable lunch trays.

Our goal is to have students composting their food waste and lunch trays for use in the greenhouse.

The teachers have reinforced the importance of serving the environment, as well as the community. The club has been involved in a variety of “Get Outside!” activities.

Trout in the Classroom is a program that allows students to raise native trout for release into the Río Grande. The club cares for baby trout, known as alevins, as they mature to the fry and juvenile stages. The students are responsible for feeding the fish, cleaning the tank and completing weekly water-quality tests to maintain the appropriate level of nutrients. The club has learned about the trout’s habitat in preparation for a release party in April. Teachers and the club will camp prior to the event in celebration of a local forest biome.

Last September, the club learned about trail maintenance in the Tierra Contenta neighborhood. Through trail restoration, the students demonstrate to the community the importance of preserving outdoor spaces. In October, the club hiked the Norski Trail in the Santa Fe National Forest to observe trail-system design, identify foliage and take in the magnificent vistas. In January, the club

snowshoed Aspen Vista Trail to further witness seasonal trail usage and benefit from healthy exercise.

At CHS, the greenhouse has sat vacant for nearly a decade. The club’s plan is to repair structural damage, beautify the space and plant vegetable starts. The club wants to donate extra starts to families in need, so that they can have fresh, homegrown vegetables. This is a large project that the club would like to improve upon over the next five years. We are looking to expand our growing space by building small hoop gardens. Ideally, the club could be growing fresh greens for the CHS cafeteria and continue to support students and families who would like to volunteer in the garden in exchange for fresh food.

The Outdoor Club has made great strides in its first year to get students excited about being outside and living a healthier lifestyle, for themselves and the planet.

At a school of 1,300 students, we will happily continue to promote environmentally responsible choices and attitudes. i Kelly Phillips, M.A.T., is an environmental science teacher at Capital High School in Santa Fe.

“Love Where We Live” The Youth Ambassadors Program and Community Learning Network

By Serina Padgett – 7th Grade Student, St. Michael’s High School, Santa Fe Learn, explore, volunteer, train. These are things the Community Learning Network’s Santa Fe Youth Ambassadors program offers as part of its “Love Where We Live” initiative. The New Mexico-born, locally based nonprofit is dedicated to “building stronger communities through real-life learning in real-life places with real people.”

The program demonstrates that young people can make a difference, too.

CLN provides opportunities for small groups of middle-school, highschool and college students to learn about Santa Fe’s unique and amazing

18

qualities. This helps students discover what is valuable about our community and the people who live here. The program helps students understand why certain things that often go unnoticed are important.

In addition to a walk-about in Santa Fe’s historic district or along Canyon Road, CLN facilitates diverse offthe-beaten-path learning experiences that focus on regional history, cultural heritage preservation and issues such as water conservation. CLN works with other community organizations to coordinate opportunities such as learning about food security through a visit to the Food Depot, where volunteers prepare to deliver donated food supplies to the needy.

Green Fire Times • March 2016

As we’ve often heard, “The best way to learn is by doing.” Other interesting, off-the-beaten-path learning adventures CLN offers include hands-on activities and interactions with community

Learning about traditional food gardening at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Youth participate in the annual Ranchos de Taos enjarre and help the community replaster the old adobe church

educators who are engaged in issues and projects in our region such as growing food or replastering an adobe church. These kinds of activities are fun for students and can also be a way of bringing people together to strengthen a sense of belonging and connectedness as a community.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

and supports passing on traditions and cultures to future generations. We can learn important life lessons, meet new people and get to know fellow community members better. The program values the participation, voices and opinions of young people and demonstrates that we can make a difference, too.

Students volunteer at the SF Horse Rescue Shelter While participating in these adventures, students keep personal learning logs, take a regional history survey, and create a culminating project that reflects what they have learned.

Upon the completion of the program, they receive a certificate stating that they are official Youth Ambassadors.

I am interested in this program because I enjoy learning about and preserving our culture.

I believe that is very important. I believe this program will benefit future generations because our community will grow stronger.

The program inspires a desire to keep Santa Fe’s oldest buildings and artifacts preserved

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Santa Fe has a rich history, and there is much to learn about our city. The Youth Ambassadors program encourages students to get involved in the community. Adults are also invited to participate and may want to volunteer, make a donation or help sponsor the development of Youth Ambassadors in Santa Fe. To learn more about the program or get involved, visit www.sfyouthambassadors.org or www. communitylearningnetwork.org i EDITOR’S NOTE: Serina Padgett is 13 years old.

She has dedicated this article to her English teacher, Roseanne Noedel, who passed away from kidney cancer last month. “In the short trimester I spent with her, through her various ways of teaching, she taught us many things we couldn’t see for ourselves,” Serina said.

“I really can’t thank her enough. She was very motivational to many of us.”

New Mexico Leaders in Mindfulness Conference

april 22–23 at santa ana pueblo and albuquerque

New Mexico educators, innovators, health-care providers, business leaders, therapists and policymakers statewide will gather at Santa Ana Pueblo’s Tamaya Resort and the FatPipe business incubator in Albuquerque for the second annual New Mexico Leaders in Mindfulness Conference on April 22 and 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On April 22, the New Mexico Mindful Business Intensive will take place at the FatPipe business incubator in Albuquerque.

Participants will learn how to increase their impact, profits and sense of meaning through applying practices based in both mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Nationally known speakers will include producer/director/screenwriter Lee Zlotoff and Catherine Bell, author of The Awakened Company. More than a dozen New Mexico-based business and entrepreneurial leaders will explain how they are applying these practices locally.

On April 23, at Santa Ana Pueblo’s Tamaya Resort, attendees will discuss how to bring socially conscious choices and mindfulness into workplaces, classrooms and social-service agencies. They will explore the day’s theme of crossing boundaries to expand inclusion and diversity in purposeful ways that foster collective impact.

Focus areas will include Mindful Governance, From Mindful Self-Compassion to Mindful Community Compassion, as well as Mindfulness and Social Action.

For information and registration, visit www.wisdompreneurs.biz and www.newmexicomindfulness.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

19

Op-Ed: Living Feminism: Leading with our Values Sarah Ghiorse and Fatima van Hattum

D

© Anna C. Hansen

uring the month of March, when International Women’s Day is celebrated, we at NewMexicoWomen.Org, a program of the New Mexico Community Foundation, often pause to reflect on our commitment to gender equity and the rights of women and girls. We find ourselves discussing how to balance work, life and families; that is, how to do it all. This broader conversation then moves into self-reflection about how do we, as a women’s fund and program, embody our feminist values? Does our organization provide paid parental leave? Do we enable flexible and fair working practices that promote family well-being? Is childcare available at our events? We know that many women across the country and even across the world are having this same conversation every day.

In fact, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY ) recently wrote: “Let’s stop talking about ‘having it all’ and start talking about the very real challenges of ‘doing it all.’ We need our economy and our workplaces to support our working families. We need equal pay for equal work. We need quality daycare that doesn’t bankrupt a family. We need genderneutral paid leave in this country Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Jill Cooper Udall because, eventually, all of us are going to have those moments when we need to miss work to take care of our families—or those moments when we need them to take care of us.”

International Women’s Day is celebrated in March

Do these kinds of spaces exist in the American workplace? If so, where? In a societal context where the term feminism is embraced, reviled and variously paired with presidential candidates and pop stars alike, what does it really mean to lead with feminist values? And how do we best uphold those values in our lives, workplaces and ways of being? Here, we would like to propose two core themes—of many—that are essential to leading with feminist values.

Speak uncomfortable truths

Speaking truth to power can be difficult and uncomfortable. To challenge institutional structures, gender norms or the status quo is rarely an easy thing to do, in the workplace or anywhere, for that matter. Many women, even those in positions of leadership and significant power, have to navigate deeply held notions of internalized sexism that can keep them from speaking out. When women do articulate dissent or critique, whether in a manner that is gentle, unapologetic or even aggressive, they have historically and often continue to be relegated to the position of the witch, the hysteric and, more recently, the bitch. This unfortunate default often undermines important conversations that have the potential to lead to real change.

About NewMexicoWomen.Org

NewMexicoWomen.Org (NMW.O), a program of the New Mexico Community Foundation is the only fund of its kind in the state. It is an initiative that advances opportunities for women and girls statewide, so that they can lead self-sufficient, healthy and empowered lives. NMW.O works to fulfill its mission via a threepronged strategy to educate, lead and invest. NMW.O educates through research and communications, seeking to bring public attention to issues affecting women and girls, with a goal of influencing policy. NMW.O leads through facilitating alliances among nonprofits, funders and other sectors in order to concentrate resources, foster collaboration and build capacity. NMW.O provides philanthropic investments to programs serving women and girls through donor education and strategic grant making. NMW.O’s ongoing Take a Stand for New Mexico Women and Girls campaign aims to raise one dollar for each of the 1.04 million New Mexican women and girls.

20

Green Fire Times • March 2016

Patricia Trujillo, Ph.D., associate professor of English and Chicana/o Studies at Northern New Mexico College

For example, when is it the right time to bring up paid parental leave in your workplace or to speak out against violence against women? Never and always. When you hear a pop song in exercise class with lyrics promoting violence against women, how do you respond?

One strong woman we know brings it up with the instructor and management every time; to date she has brought it up more than four times. And it’s always uncomfortable. Not nearly as uncomfortable as it is, however, for the one-in-three New Mexican women who will be victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives1 and the 21 percent of New Mexican women who will be raped at some point in their lives. How do we change culture if we don’t first articulate what the problems are and speak out?

Similarly, raising questions around paid parental leave or equal pay in the workplace is generally not an easy task. The oft-quoted statistic remains true: the United States is the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid parental leave to employees. In the United States, the “job-protected” unpaid leave via the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is only for mothers and fathers who have been full-time employees for at least 12 months at a company with more than 50 employees. Here in New Mexico and across the country, this is little help to the many families who can’t afford to take time off without pay or who do not fit within those narrow stipulations. Coupled with the reality that women in New Mexico are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an average yearly income gap of $8,789 between full-time working women and men in the state, the result is an untenable burden2 —one that is further compounded for women of color. For example, Native American women have to work nine extra months to make the same salary that white men made last year and then, on top of that, potentially have to take unpaid pregnancy leave or no leave at all.3 The Make it Work Campaign4 reminds us to “Stop being polite. Start asking questions.”

And use unapologetic hash tags such as #PAYGAPWTF. Yet, it is important to note that the context and implications vary for different communities and individuals speaking truths to power. For an undocumented or low-income woman of color, questioning management around pay levels involves very different stakes and power dynamics than for a middle-class, white-collar woman working in an office. To fully acknowledge these important differences, an intersectional feminist analysis is critical.

Adopt an intersectional analysis

An intersectional analysis contends that people, and particularly women, experience oppression in different configurations and with varying degrees of intensity. An intersectional feminist analysis extends beyond gender to include race, class, ability and environment. It recognizes that systemic structures, patterns of oppression and identities 1 Caponera, Betty. Incidence and Nature of Domestic Violence in NM XI, August 2012.

2 http://www.swwomenslaw.org/our-programs/equal-pay-for-women/ 3 http://www.aauw.org/2015/09/03/native-women-gender-pay-gap/ 4 Make It Work is a three-year education campaign uniting a community of people who believe that Americans shouldn’t have to choose between being there for family and earning a living. http://www.makeitworkcampaign.org/about/make-it-work/

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Top (l-r): Poet/family advocate Isabel Ribe; Women’s Funding Network panel; Bottom: Tewa Women United staff and associates; artist/farmer/researcher Roxanne Swentzell; Feb. 2016 NewMexicoWomen.org's “Power and Possibility” speakers, attendees, left end: Fatima van Hattum and Andrea Serrano; right end: Ms. Foundation CEO Teresa Younger, Sarah Ghiorse, Patricia Trujillo

are not only interrelated; they are bound together and influenced by each other.

This intersectional approach acknowledges that for some, such as our partners at Tewa Women United, their work to improve the lives of women is inextricably connected to working for environmental justice and community health. Similarly, Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico believes they must integrate healing historical and intergenerational traumas in their work to address sexual assault and gender-based violence.

For our partners at SPIRIT of Hidalgo, in rural Lordsburg, women’s empowerment means creating viable economic opportunities such as cooperatives or farmers’ markets. Finally, for Respect New Mexico Women, improving women’s lives is fundamentally tied to reproductive justice and respecting a woman’s right to keep decisions about reproductive health care between the woman, her family and her medical provider.

Ultimately, an intersectional feminist analysis allows communities and individuals to articulate the multiple aspects of identity and experience that both enrich their lives and potentially compound and complicate them.

Keep it up, keep it up

To lead with feminist values can be uncomfortable. It can also make those around us uncomfortable. It means being nuanced and requires asking questions such as whose voices

www.GreenFireTimes.com

are missing from the table. It means reflecting upon how we can do better and tangibly working to get there. It also means acknowledging that we will sometimes be wrong or might disagree with colleagues and friends—and knowing that is OK. Discomfort is and has always been a part of any effective movement building or culture change.

Finally, leading with feminist and social-justice values ultimately demands a commitment to stay the course. As Teresa Younger, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation, recently said at our legislative reception, “Tonight, I remind you that no battle has ever just been won and walked away. I know that’s what the history books have us believing.

We have to remain vigilant to the issues that are most important to us on a daily basis.

We do not get to get tired, we do not get to say, ‘I fought that battle, now you fight it for me.’ No, we are in this together, we are in this for what is happening in New Mexico, in every part of the rest of this country.” At NewMexicoWomen.Org, we do get tired. Still, we keep having the conversation all year long because we are committed to “remaining vigilant” and to holding our leaders and ourselves accountable to our values, even when it cuts close to the bone. i Sarah Ghiorse is program director of NewMexicoWomen.Org, a program of the New Mexico Community Foundation. Her background is in post-colonial anthropology, philanthropy and social change. Fatima van Hattum is program manager of NewMexicoWomen.Org. She has a background in gender studies, international development and food justice.

Green Fire Times • March 2016

21

4

You can now pay fo r a d ve r t i s i n g in GFT by using PayPal or credit card. Call Skip at 505-660-0704 or email: Info@ GreenFireTimes. com

Lloyd Kiva New: Art, Design, and Influence

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe 505.922.4242 Anne and Loren Kieve Gallery, Fritz Scholder Gallery, North Gallery Through July 31, 2016.

(North Gallery will remain on view through Sept. 11)

A New Century: The Life and Legacy of Cherokee Artist and Educator Lloyd Kiva New Museum of Indian Arts and Culture 710 Camino Lejo (Museum Hill), Santa Fe 505.476.1269 Through Dec. 30

Finding a Contemporary Voice: The Legacy of Lloyd Kiva New and IAIA New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W. Palace Avenue Santa Fe 505.476.5072 May 20 through Oct. 10

22

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Celebration of the Life and Art of Innovative Native American Artist-Designer Lloyd Kiva New

T

his year, 2016, is the centennial of the birth of seminal Native American artist Lloyd Kiva New (1916–2002), and three Santa Fe arts institutions are celebrating the anniversary in style.

in an interpretive reproduction of the Kiva Studio, New’s successful 1950s showroom in Scottsdale, and features more than 40 printed textiles created

by IAIA students under New’s artistic direction.

New, a Cherokee, who arose from humble beginnings on a family farm in Oklahoma, became one of the first Native Americans to earn a degree in art education, at the Art Institute of Chicago, in 1938. He then taught painting at the Phoenix Indian School. After returning from Navy service on the Pacific Front, in 1941, New became a charter member of the Arizona Craftsmen cooperative, a group of artists that helped develop Scottsdale, Arizona, into a western center of handcrafted arts. There, throughout the 1950s, he earned national acclaim for handbags, clothing and printed textiles.

The “Godfather of Native Fashion” was appointed artistic director of the newly formed Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in 1961, and served in that capacity until 1967. He then became the school’s president, serving until 1978, returned to serve as interim president in 1988 and then became president

New was a pioneer in Native art, fashion design and culturally based education.

Fashions designed by Lloyd Kiva New at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

emeritus. He also served key roles in other institutions, including the National Museum of the American Indian, the Heard Museum and the Buffalo Bill Historic Center.

worked for two years to assemble items from their holdings, from his widow Aysen New’s collection, and from important private collections that have rarely been publicly displayed.

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC), the IAIA Museum o f C on t e m p o r a r y Na t i ve A r t s (MoCNA) and the New Mexico Museum of Art are each presenting an exhibition focused on key aspects of New’s significant contributions to contemporary Native art. The museums

In January, MoCNA opened Lloyd Kiva New: Art, Design, and Influence, an exhibition drawing on New’s pioneering concepts in Native art, fashion design and culturally based education. It includes paintings completed between 1938 and 1995, presents the artist as an innovator of Native Modernism

MIAC’s exhibition, A New Century: The Life and Legacy of Cherokee Artist and Educator Lloyd Kiva New, opened in February. It surveys New’s lifespan and works using his art, fabrics, fashion designs, photos, sketches and archival documents in six sections: New Lands, Ancient Stories; Student and Teacher; An Artist at War; A New Enterprise/ Clothes Make the Man; New Horizons; and The New Legacy.

New had a broad, humanistic approach to the arts, stressing creative links to the traditional arts but urging students continued on page 24

The Sound of Drums:

A Memoir of Lloyd Kiva New Sunstone Press, 2016

Written by Lloyd Kiva New himself and edited

by Ryan S. Flahive, archivist at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), The Sound of Drums is a personal look at the celebrated Native American artist, fashion designer and educator.

New inspired thousands of artists and students during his career. His humble beginnings in rural Oklahoma awakened an obsession with nature and a connection to his Cherokee roots—a connection he sought to strengthen throughout his life.

New’s story is one of inspiration, creativity and a lifelong search for meaning. The book offers a series of personal anecdotes, supplemented by historic photographs and appendices. New experienced firsthand the Great Depression, the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the struggles of a Native man in an assimilationist society. After helping put Scottsdale, Arizona, on the map as an arts-and-crafts center and becoming a successful commercial artist, he gave up fame and fortune to teach art at IAIA in Santa Fe.

© Seth Roffman (3)

The former Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the Honorable Wilma Mankiller, contributed a foreword to the manuscript before her passing in 2010. She remarked, “The Sound of Drums is an important book about a visionary artist who literally transformed the landscape of Native American art in the Southwest.”

Printed fabrics; Aysen New speaks about Lloyd at IAIA’s MoCNA exhibition opening.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The book’s release coincides with the 100th anniversary of Lloyd Kiva New’s birth and is part of a year-long celebration at cultural and educational institutions in Santa Fe. It is available at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and the IAIA bookstore, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Green Fire Times • March 2016

23

Indigenous Climate Justice at the Institute of American Indian Arts

I

ndigenous peoples are often overlooked when policy decisions are made and enacted regarding climate change. Yet, these communities, which often still live subsistence lifestyles, are the ones facing the frontline impacts of climate change.

They are having to deal with real changes to their food sources, as well as losing their homes. They are not facing a possibility of future climate change; they are being displaced today.

Just over a year ago, a ruling from New Zealand’s government created the country’s first climate-change refugees. A family left the island of Kiribati due to massive coastal erosion. Alaskan villages have had to plan for relocation because the ocean is starting to swallow up homes and coastlines. One tribal community, the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, in southern Louisiana, is losing its ancestral land to climate change faster than any other place in the world due to rising sea levels. Climate change is also impacting land-based peoples with changes in growing seasons, animal migration patterns, timing for gathering medicinal plants, extreme weather, drought and other changes. Indigenous peoples’ voices need to be included in today’s policy making when it comes to climate change in order for such policies to truly be responsible and effective.

At the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, students are engaged in hands-on climate-solutions work with projects in our campus climate-action

Lloyd Kiva New

24

plan. In the past two years, with the leadership of sustainability coordinator and faculty member Anne Haven McDonnell, IAIA has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Eco Ambassador grant, which has helped fund our work. Last year, we installed a water-catchment system with a solar pump and a passive overflow system of berms and zuni bowls, with native plants and fruit trees. We also worked on restoring eroded areas of our 140-acre campus using berms, check-dams and native grasses. This year, we are installing a solar thermal system in our greenhouse as a demonstration project and to take a bite out of our campus carbon footprint. We hope to learn from this project and scale up renewable energy on campus.

IAIA has been awarded the EPA Eco Ambassador grant.

As a Native arts college, IAIA has a unique voice to use to address climate change. Our students come from diverse communities, many of which are experiencing climatechange impacts. Native artists can draw on collective memory and creatively envision the future. To find real solutions to climate change and its impacts, we need memory of what worked in the past and vision of what is possible in the future.

Artists from Indigenous communities are uniquely positioned to communicate in this powerful way.

This spring, IAIA will host an art show

continued from page

During the recent COP 21 international climate conference meetings in Paris, many Indigenous people attended to have their concerns and rights heard by

the world leaders in attendance. It was an opportunity to share real-life stories of Native people being impacted by climate change. Native nations continue to struggle with making their concerns known to world leaders.

Bineshi Albert,an IAIA student with many years of organizing and environmentaljustice experience, is working to create a portfolio of short one-act plays, adapted

by Native playwrights, based on interviews from COP 21, featuring Indigenous peoples in this hemisphere who are on the front lines. Presenting these stories on stage will allow Indigenous communities, policy makers and other audiences to experience these voices in a direct way.

The ultimate goal is to create a portfolio of plays that can be shared with grassroots communities, so that they can produce and share their own stories. i Bineshi Albert and Jaida Grey Eagle are students at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Albert is Yuchi and Annishinaabe. She is an Indigenous Liberal Studies student. Grey Eagle is an Oglala Lakota tribal member who is studying photography.

23

not to be bound by them and to reject stereotypical notions of American Indian art and culture. He encouraged looking at innovative techniques and forms and envisioned IAIA artists in a dialog between two cultures: their indigenous heritages and the nonindigenous contemporary mainstream. He asserted that Native artists had a contribution to make to the field of contemporary art. In 1968, New wrote,“Given the opportunity to draw on his own tradition, the Indian artist evolves art forms which are new to the cultural scene, thereby contributing uniquely to the society in general.”

MIAC’s exhibition highlights how

Green Fire Times • March 2016

on campus, opening on April 21, 5-7 pm (public opening) called The Art of Change: Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice. Students and others on campus are creating work in diverse mediums to speak to issues of climate change and climate justice. We are also gathering interviews with Indigenous elders, activists and community members.

We are creating the Indigenous Narratives on Climate Change website on our campus library page, to archive all of these interviews and serve as a resource for learning about Indigenous experiences and perspectives on this topic. It is a unique opportunity for us, as students, to record these interviews.There is a deep knowledge about the Earth and the climate within each of our communities, and to share that knowledge within our IAIA community is very meaningful. Our oral histories are rich with knowledge that cannot be found in textbooks. Our stories are our ancestors, breathing their lives and wisdom into us.

Ancestral knowledge is a gift we do not often get to share in such a unifying way, and it is powerful to see these interviews being resourced as a learning tool.

Carmelita M. Topaha 2016

Bineshi Albert and Jaida Grey Eagle

New’s influence provided a foundation for today’s artists to map out their own artistic path and gain increased relevance in the global art world.

The artwork of the 1960s and ’70s began a conversation around these issues that continues to this day. The New Mexico Museum of Art’s exhibit, opening on May 20, Finding a Contemporary Voice: The Legacy of Lloyd Kiva New and IAIA, will showcase artwork by former and present IAIA faculty and alumni such as Fritz Scholder, Neil Parsons, T.C. Cannon, Melanie Yazzie, Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie and Will Wilson.

Additionally, in October, IAIA and MIAC will jointly present a symposium, The Lloyd Kiva New Centennial Convocation. This will be an interdisciplinary look at the contemporary Native art movement. Other planned activities include fashion shows, panel discussions, lectures, Veterans’ Day event and additional special programming in conjunction with Indian Market in August. This spring semester, IAIA will offer a class, Lloyd Kiva New and the Contemporary Native Art Movement, taught by IAIA archivist Ryan Flahive with various guest lecturers. i

www.GreenFireTimes.com

© Seth Roffman

The Longest Walk 2016

carried, along with other sacred items, across the country to Washington, D.C. The 2016 Longest Walk left California on Feb. 13. This year’s walk is part of a war on drugs, suicide and other traumatic crises that Native people are currently grappling with. The walkers will arrive at the Arizona-New Mexico border on March 15. They will cross into Zuni Pueblo and then proceed to Gallup and Albuquerque, stopping for rest at Laguna. Tentative dates for Santa Fe are from March 29 to April 2, then on to Pojoaque, Fort Sumner and into Texas. They plan on arriving in Washington, D.C., on July 15.

The walkers have invited community members to join them as relay runners or walkers. At each stop, they will

hold ceremonies and discussions with tribal leaders. They will participate in a conference with governors of the Northern Pueblos and health and behavioral-health professionals at Buffalo Thunder Resort, in Pojoaque.

The Walk is a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Donations of food, medical attention and supplies such as new socks, running shoes, water and energy snacks are needed .

To contribute or participate, contact Donald Pena of San Ildefonso Pueblo at 505.570.7508 or Judy Bell at 505.819.9357 or bellestarr99@yahoo. com. More information on The Longest Walk 5: War on Drugs and Domestic Violence can be found on Facebook. i

The Longest Walk in southern Colorado, 1978

W

hat started as a response to what was considered antiIndian legislation became a way for Native Americans to assert Indigenous sovereignty rights and change the way they thought about their responsibilities as Native people.

The Longest Walk was originally conceived of by American Indian Movement (AIM) co-founder Dennis Banks and Bill Wahpepah. “The issues

facing our people and the issues facing our Earth are connected,” Banks said.

“They both are from thinking that does not value people or the Earth. As Native Americans, we say that all life is sacred, and we will speak as the conscience of our Earth as we journey across the United States.”

In 1978, The Longest Walk began with a ceremony on Alcatraz Island, where a pipe was filled. That pipe was then

Your Confidence starts with a Beautiful Smile…

Introducing the all Inclusive® Tooth Replacement Solution

• Improved functionality with life-like esthetics •C omplete single tooth replacement, includes implant, abutment, and implant crown $2,799 • All-inclusive pricing with NO hidden Fees

Great staff and Dr. Valdez is very friendly and professional. They have been my dentist office for years and I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

-Kimberly A. Google Divine Dental of Santa Fe and see what our clients are saying

ECO-Friendly Office Divine Dental of Santa Fe Divine Dental Centre 550-B St. Michaels Dr. #2 Santa Fe, NM 87505

505-471-7000

2500 7th St., Suite H Las Vegas, NM 87701

505-454-8483

www.divinedentalofsantafe.com | www.divinedentalcentre.com

Hablamos Español • Interest free financing available www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

25

Radon Pro of New Mexico LLC

Saving Lives, Improving Property Radon testing, Radon Mitigation

Paul Smith, Owner 505-204-2580 paul@radonpronm.com

RadonProNM.com

26

License No. 107839 RMT

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Protecting New Mexico’s Wetland Gems

Rachel Conn

A

migos Bravos and Western Environmental Law Center are working to identify and protect important wetlands in the Carson and Santa Fe national forests in northern New Mexico. These “Wetland Gems” have been defined using recently mapped statewide wetland data. Working with GeoSpatial Services of St. Mary’s University in Minnesota, the data have identified specific wetlands types, wetlands significant for specific functions and wetlands meeting certain locational criteria:

• Headwater wetlands • Headwater wetlands that discharge to a stream • Spring-fed wetlands • Headwater wetlands connected to known cold-water fish-bearing streams • Wetlands that perform surface-water detention • Wetlands that perform streamflow maintenance • Wetland complexes considered to be important for wildlife habitat

Eight Wetland Gems have been identified and mapped in the Carson National Forest. An interactive pdf of these can be downloaded at http://amigosbravos. org/on-the-ground-restoration. A process is now under way to identify Wetland Gems in the Santa Fe National Forest.

Volunteers hiking down to do restoration work at Midnight Meadows, a Carson Wetland Gem

Wetlands are often called the “kidneys of the landscape” because of their functions as receivers of water and waste from natural and human sources. They have many attributes that help improve water quality:

1. Reduction of the speed of the water entering a wetlands allows sediments and chemicals in the sediments to drop out of the water column 2. A naerobic and aerobic processes that occur in wetlands promote denitrification, chemical precipitation and other chemical reactions that remove certain chemicals from the water 3. High rates of mineral uptake by wetland vegetation along with a high rate of burial in sediments when the plants die 4. High diversity of decomposers and decomposition processes 5. Large areas of shallow water leading to significant sediment-water exchange 6. Accumulation of peat that allows for the permanent burial of chemicals Wetlands are critical to the food chain and biodiversity; a significant percentage of terrestrial animals use wetlands for a portion of their lifecycle. Wetlands in New Mexico provide critical habitat for fish, fur animals and waterfowl and support recreational fishing and hunting.

Why Are New Mexico Wetlands Important?

Wetlands provide significant economic, social, and cultural benefits. For example, healthy wetland systems can help maintain sustained flows in rivers, streams and acequias. Wetlands, functionally, are the sponges of watersheds. They soak up floodwaters and snowmelt, and, then, when a stream begins to drop below its normal level, they drain back into the main stream and augment the flow. This slow release can provide crucial flow to downstream communities during dry times of the year.

As wetlands dry up, they no longer provide a myriad of ecosystems services.

Looking down at Serpent Lake, a Carson Wetland Gem

Wetlands can also help recharge groundwater supplies. Recharge from wetlands occurs primarily around the edges of wetlands. This means that even small wetlands, which have a high edge-to-volume ratio, despite being small in size, can provide important groundwater-recharge functions.

At the global level, wetlands contribute to the stability of global levels of available nitrogen, atmospheric sulfur, carbon dioxide and methane. They are also important sinks for carbon and are critical in increasing a landscape’s resilience and ability to adapt to climate change.

Wetlands also mitigate flooding. During the intense spring runoff that northern New Mexico experiences from the mountains throughout the region, wetlands moderate spring stream flows by providing natural storage for surface water.

New Mexico is the fifth-largest U.S. state, totaling an area of 122,000 square miles. However, less than 1 percent of these lands—482,000 acres—is covered

www.GreenFireTimes.com

New Mexico Wetlands Are Threatened

continued on page 28

Green Fire Times • March 2016

27

Wetland Gems continued from page 27 in wetlands and riparian areas. This is over one-third less than the 720,000 acres of New Mexican wetlands that existed in the 1780s. During the last century, the Río Grande, New Mexico’s major watercourse, was significantly channelized to minimize flooding and control the discharge of irrigation waters.

This channelization has eliminated the river’s natural course and flow and has severely limited the water-land relationship that would normally have allowed establishment of wetland vegetation along river corridors throughout New Mexico.

Instead, there are degraded banks that contribute to severe soil erosion, sediment buildup in rivers and reservoirs and the loss of habitat for fisheries, waterfowl and wildlife.

Many wetlands in our headwaters are suffering.

Impacts from climate change, roads, off-road vehicle use and ungulate grazing—cows, deer and elk—all contribute t o we t l a n d d e g r ad a t i on .

These stressors cause erosion in the form of headcuts and channelization that result in the draining of these wetland systems. As a result, many of the wetlands in the Santa Fe and Carson national forests are drying up and are encroached upon by dry-land woody species.

Kids standing in front of wet meadows in the As wetlands dry up, they lose Valle Vidal, northwest of Cimarrón, NM their ability to act as sponges and no longer provide the myriad of ecosystems services such as wildlife habitat, stream-flow maintenance and flood control.

Wetlands Provide Ecological and Cultural Resiliency

Resiliency is the capacity of an ecological or community system to maintain its function in the face of stress. A system with high resiliency withstands and bounces back from stress better than a system with low resiliency. Wetlands and other waters originating on national forests in northern New Mexico function as core, essential ecological elements of the broader Río Grande watershed. Emphasizing protection and restoration of these water resources can improve resiliency and thereby have significant, positive impacts on social, economic and ecological sustainability across the watershed and broader landscape.

New Mexico’s water supplies are severely threatened by impacts from climate change. Over the next few decades, snowpack is predicted to be smaller and to melt faster. In addition, weather events are predicted to be more extreme, resulting in increases of both droughts and floods. Wetlands are uniquely capable of providing resiliency in the face of both of these extreme weather events. In addition, wetlands, when well managed, have the best capacity of any ecosystem to retain carbon through permanent sequestration but, when not well managed, contribute to climate change by emitting methane to the Earth’s atmosphere.

Stopping further degradation and loss of New Mexico’s wetlands can decrease future methane emissions.

Get Involved!

If you support protecting Wetland Gems under the planning updates that are under way in the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, let the Forest Service know. Email carsonplan@fs.fed.us and santafeforestplan@fs.fed.us Amigos Bravos and Western Environmental Law Center are hosting a Santa Fe National Forest Wetland Gems Workshop on March 21, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Call 575.758.3874, or email membership@amigosbravos.org to RSVP. i Rachel Conn is projects director of Amigos Bravos. 575.758.3874, rconn@amigosbravos.org, www.amgiosbravos.org

28

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Healing Allergies from the Inside Out

Japa K. Khalsa

I

enjoy and bask in the warm weather, clean air and beautiful skies of New Mexico, but I feel for so many people here who suffer from seasonal allergies.

The pollen counts rise, and the winds pick up in the springtime, as do sneezes, runny noses and irritated eyes. The beautiful mountains of New Mexico have large forests of cedar, juniper and piñón trees. These gorgeous conifers pollinate twice a year, and the pollens can spread as far as 100 miles on a windy day. Pollination months are January to March, as well as September and October, but the dry winds of spring can continue to spread old pollen around well into summer.

endurance and flexibility. It is actually fairly easy to deplete Ojas in our lives because overwork, burnout and lack of balance are shared cultural tendencies in the United States. Rampant consumerism and attitudes of keeping up with the Joneses/Martínezes are breeding grounds for habits that lead to depleted energy or Ojas.

Luckily, Ojas can be restored in many ways. Bring the emphasis back to selfcare, and curb the mind’s tendency to compete and compare by teaching oneself to calm the internal.

Breathe for Relief

The Basics

Awakening the body’s self-healing mechanisms

The Magic of Ojas

Ojas is the precious internal substances of our bodies: the hormones, neurotransmitters and cerebrospinal fluid that flow together and give us adaptive competence and the ability to respond to life’s challenges with

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Hey, it’s Free!

Dr. Andrew Weil often speaks of how breath exercises are free, available to anyone, easy to do and have a generally beneficial effect on all kinds of chronic complaints. He believes that patterned and repetitive breath exercises recondition the endocrine and nervous system messages in the body.

So what can be done to help relieve allergy symptoms? You may already know the basics: Cut down on inflammation-producing foods like wheat and sugar, and increase your veggies and fresh fruit. Consider adding nettle leaf, quercetin and borage oil or other fatty acids. Or drop by Herbs, Etc. in Santa Fe and other locations, and pick up the all-encompassing wonder formula, Allertonic®.

The point is, there are many ways to address these problems, but let’s also contemplate the root cause of allergies.

The external pollen is an irritant, so how can we adjust on the inside so that our response is different? We can make external changes to our symptoms to provide some relief, but lasting relief comes from treating the root cause of the issue. Remember, all healing ultimately comes from within.

In Ayurvedic and Eastern medicine, the root cause of allergies is depletion of Ojas, also known as kidney Qi or Prana. Whatever name we call it, our essential life force must be replenished.

If we can restore our basic vitality, we can heal allergies from the inside out.

your body’s complex self-regulatory system. When you breathe through the left nostril you activate righthemisphere thinking, and when you breathe through the right nostril you activate left-hemisphere thinking.

Right-nostril breath activates the sympathetic nervous function and is considered warming and energizing.

Left-nostril breathing (great to practice before bed) is cooling and calming. If you consciously control this interlock through a breath practice, you can overwrite scripted nervous-system messages and guide your body in the direction of internal balance.

The heart of restoration of Ojas is a regular breath or meditation practice because this calms the mind and sets the direction towards self-healing.

Alternate-nostril breathing is a simple way to calm the breath, the mind and the entire nervous and endocrine connection to produce greater health.

Ancient yogis believed that an imbalance in the right and left cycle of the breath through the nose was the cause of disease. Your brain and nervous system automatically cycle through the right and left nasal passages as a way of maintaining balance between the two hemispheres of the brain. If you check your nose right now, there is one nostril that is dominant in terms of more airflow. Just place your hand underneath your nose and exhale. Feel which nostril has a stronger outflow.

Then, check again a few hours later.

Your body will have naturally switched to the opposite nostril. This is part of

There are many choices of breath patterns. If you have allergies and your nose is stopped up, just work with yourself. Usually, one nostril will still be able to tolerate airflow, so just breathe long and deeply through that side of your nose and close your eyes.

Do this every day, either the right or left nostril, breathing until allergy season is over and your nose clears up.

Then, pick up the daily habit of a few minutes of alternate-nostril breathing every day, and see how this helps you reduce your symptoms by the next time allergy season rolls around. Here is how to do it:

This is one full cycle of this breath pattern. Now, continue for several minutes and do this daily. It is the conscious repetition of this practice that creates the benefits.

The number-one way to benefit Ojas is through increasing rest and relaxation in the body because this is what allows for the body’s self-healing mechanisms to awaken. True rest and relaxation can be reinforced through a practice of breath work or pranayama, where healing can occur from the inside out.

If your nose is stopped up owing to a high pollen count, don’t blame the great outdoors. Instead, take yourself through some alternate-nostril breathing or long deep breathing (breathe long, slow and deep through both nostrils).

One Ojas-Boosting Recipe

Here is one easy recipe for selfhealing: tahini is a famous seed in Eastern medicine for restoring the

Alternate-Nostril Breathing

First, press your right thumb onto your right nostril to close it. Now, inhale slowly through the left nostril. Pause and suspend the breath for a second; now, switch and close the left nostril with the ring finger and release the thumb off the right nostril.

Now, exhale completely and slowly through the right nostril. Next, inhale through the right nostril. Pause for a moment as you press your thumb on your right nostril and lift your ring finger. Breathe out through the left nostril.

body’s energy, and the fresh fruits and vegetables are tasty. So, put one continued on page 35

Green Fire Times • March 2016

29

Early College Opportunities

continued from page 17

persuasively that our schools most closely resemble Industrial Age factories, with their emphasis on specialization and the isolation of learning. The green-collar economy is a movement toward a sustainable economy, but it is also a movement from dead-end blue-collar jobs for a permanent underclass to meaningful career pathways and life-long learner traits for valued members of society.

Workforce readiness in ECO means mentoring, apprenticeship, character development, rites of passage, self-reliance and a pragmatism that the world of work brings to the learning process. When I taught sustainable design and construction, I had a running segment called “What the Boss Is Thinking.” It was a kind of reality check for students to get a sense of how work can be radically different from abstract education.

Economic strength is about a resilient network of small businesses and public institutions.

Core ECO partner and executive officer of the Santa Fe Area Homebuilders Association, Kim Shanahan, says, “We don’t just need tradesmen and tradeswomen; we need young people with leadership and management skills, entrepreneurs and problem solvers, to grow and maintain Santa Fe’s aging but sophisticated green building sector.”

Learning Community as Extended Family

My most effective and meaningful school and work communities have functioned like extended families. When students, staff, parents and community partners feel a deep sense of support and belonging, great things happen. I’ve had students say they look forward to Monday, when they will be back in a supportive, safe and engaging learning community/family.

We will have check-ins, advisories, cohorts and regular rituals that are based on an asset rather than deficit approach to capacity building and belonging. Regular appreciation events, sharing food, service work and proactive norms around communication and conflict resolution, will be key to fostering the trust, joy and personalization that are essential to real belonging.

We will have a parent center on campus, a community garden and a series of workshops and skills exchanges for parents and extended family to share and network, using our gathering spaces and shops.

A student success triangle consists of 1) peer culture, 2) home life and 3) school.

The less healthy and supportive any leg of the triangle is, the higher functioning the others must be to maintain student health.

One of the factors leading to declining student health and success is the erosion of family and the ascent of a mass media-fixated peer culture. While connecting with families is certainly an important part of a vital school, sometimes a school becoming a healthy surrogate family and a center for the development of healthy peer culture is key to a child’s success.

The New that is Old that is New

ECO’s emphasis on sustainable technology is a big part of the innovation in what we teach, but equally important is the innovation in how we teach and learn. We complain about the lack of attention span that students possess, but we fragment education through an artificial schedule and through siloed subjects: a “do now” to control the restlessness at the beginning of class; an agenda on the wall because students don’t remember where they are at from one day or one class to the next; a staccato onslaught of bells and PA interruptions all through the day. They may create a superficial level of order and organization, but they don’t promote concentration or ownership.

The ECO schedule is based on two influences: losing track of time and the real world of the workplace. I’ve been fortunate enough to have numerous experiences with students in which we have lost track of time: planting trees, restoring ecosystems, building houses, listening to elders tell stories and teach practical skills, high-schoolers teaching younger students, building and maintaining community

30

Green Fire Times • March 2016

gardens, making furniture, installing solar panels, painting murals, reading a captivating book out loud, play ing teambuilding games, backpacking and cross-country skiing in remote areas, and going off in pairs or Luke Spangenburg, an instructor from Santa Fe Community alone to reflect, draw College, an ECO School resource or journal write. In ECO, we want the schedule and the methodology to promote that kind of deep learning experience.

As a rite of passage, we want students to sink their teeth into the learning and creating process and to develop endurance and concentration in ways that will serve them in a well-led workplace.

We want to bring mentoring and apprenticeship back into the mainstream of the educational process. Time and time again, we have seen students shine and flourish when they have one or more healthy adult relationships that anchor them emotionally, technically and intellectually.

These are, on one level, new and experimental ideas. They are also old practices that were abandoned when industrialization affected every corner of our modern lives. In this sense, we are building on three of the traditions that make New Mexico and Santa Fe so special and unique: valuing relationships, valuing place and balancing head, heart and hands.

Finally, a new twist on an old adage. Everyone is now familiar with the saying that “it takes a village to raise a child.” But, as we in ECO reach out to you, our fellow villagers, we want to remind you that it also takes a child to raise a village.

During the last year and a half, I have worked with more than a dozen volunteers, like Dave Wahl, Bob Siegel, Alan Becker, Bruce Kohl and Roger Miller, who have, in addition to making a difference in the lives of their mentees, been themselves transformed by the mentorship process. The work needed to close the achievement gap and to combat ecological illiteracy is the work that is needed to build a resilient and economically viable local community. With this in mind, I encourage you to partner up or volunteer within the ECO learning community and help us reach our quota of 100 partners and volunteers in our inaugural year. i To learn more, volunteer or enroll a student, call Dana Richards at 505.690.5500, email earlycollege@sfps.k12. nm.us or go to: http://www.sfps.info/index.aspx?nid=2227 Dana Richards is acting principal of ECO: The Santa Fe Applied Science Magnet School.

Supporting Local Business in Southern New Mexico

www.locallascruces.com 221 N. Main Street, Las Cruces, NM • 575-323-1575

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Op-Ed: A Public Bank for Santa Fe

Nichoe Lichen

T

he crash of 2008 just keeps on giving. We didn’t make it happen, but somehow it’s ours to fix. Historically, governments look to raising taxes and cutting jobs and services to “fix the problem.” So it goes in the city of Santa Fe this year. This may be a shortterm necessity, given the city’s current financial crisis, but Banking on New Mexico believes the time is right for a better long-term strategy that includes a public bank that will invest our public funds—interest earned from those taxes, fees and fines we all pay—back into our community.

The city has to deposit our public funds in a chartered bank somewhere, so why not in our own public bank? Our community would be the bank’s only shareholder. Bank loans would be to city and community projects, and the bank’s profits would benefit the public, not private shareholders. Our community’s cash might be safer too.

Toward that end, the city commissioned a public-bank feasibility study, which was released on Jan. 13. The study clearly establishes that a public bank would provide a strong economic benefit to our community.

In 2015, the Brass Tacks Team of Banking on New Mexico—a program of WeArePeopleHere!—completed a Five-Year Model Supporting a Public Bank for Santa Fe. We took some of the debt confronting our city council and staff and looked at what would happen if we used it to get a public bank up and running.

The public bank would open on July 1,

2017 by transferring $100 million of public funds, presently in a multinational bank, into Santa Fe’s own Public Bank.

The bank’s first act of business would be to refinance $45.5 million of the city’s loan and bond debt at 4 percent. This is a low-risk way to get a bank up and running, and it would benefit the public as a whole. Most newly chartered banks expect to operate in the red for their first three years, but not our Santa Fe Public Bank. It sounds counterintuitive, but the fact that the city has ample deposits and a lot of debt makes it possible to put a public bank on solid financial ground in the first year.

A source of revenue for the city that will not need to come from a tax increase

In year one, the bank would make a modest profit of $500,000, and, by year five, the bank will have increased its lending to $90 million and made a profit of $10.5 million. Profits will continue to grow as more debt is refinanced and new lending happens in the community. This is a source of revenue that will not need to come from a tax increase!

The public bank also will save the city $1 million in year one and reduce the city’s total debt for that portfolio by almost $5 million (9 percent) over five years. Annual payments also would be reduced, giving the city a little breathing room.

Also in the first year, the bank would work with local banks and credit unions to invest an additional $5 million to start growing community resources such as affordable housing, renewable energy or entrepreneurial s t a r t u p s . We anticipate that, as the bank grows in experience, this kind of participation with local banks will increase substantially.

The Brass Tacks Team: Dan Metzger, Nichoe Lichen and Elizabeth Dwyer

www.GreenFireTimes.com

The city typically bundles several public projects into a $20-million bond. Bonds get repaid over a 15- to 30-year period.

Often, the city has to start paying back the bond debt before projects are even ready to start. Bonds are expensive because of required bonding fees, dividends and the impact of paying interest over a long period of time. They also can’t be paid off early in the bond contract. Long payment periods greatly increase the total cost. Interest from the bonds in our study added 33 percent to the original bond cost; that is, a $20 million bond becomes $27 million in total debt.

A public bank can make smaller, shorter-term, lower-interest loans as projects become ready. Interest owed would be less than half of what is paid

for bonds, and there are no bond fees or prepayment restrictions. We all know the miracle of lower-interest loans paid off over a shorter period of time saves money.

Cities across the United States are exploring the potential of a public bank for their community. They look to the example of the 97-year-old public Bank of North Dakota, founded by ranchers and farmers during some very tough times. They insisted their state follow a higher, long-term vision of fairness and a more just economy for the people of North Dakota. The BND has been turning a profit on behalf of the public for the past 40 years and has grown into a giant that outperforms most big banks. Its investment strategy is

continued on page 35

Green Fire Times • March 2016

31

Radiant NM continued from page 12

chickens roost and improve winter egg production with free radiant heat.

Plants absorb radiant energy directly from the sun and sun-heated earth. Radiant solar heat is healthier than forced-air heat, which dries the air and creates turbulence patterns throughout a home.

Radiant heat does not remove humidity from the air and does not use up oxygen the way forced air does.

through the collector, resulting in warmer and warmer temperatures under the floor, and transfers heat to the floor.

I learned that a radiant floor does not directly heat the air of a home. The air is heated secondarily through “scrubbing” radiantly heated objects in the home such as furniture and appliances. I also learned that wood can hold more heat than rock by weight. Wood has a higher “specific heat” than rock! So a home’s wood floor is a perfect place to store solar heat for radiant release.

That same year, 1976, I immediately built a collector onto my house. My wife, Julie, and I decided to first have the solar-heated air directed to a water tank through an inexpensive stovepipe.

Once the air heated our water, we could send the air back to the collector in the summer or, in the winter, channel it under our floor. Our $300 heating bills that first winter were reduced to no more than $30! We estimated the payback time on the solar system to have been two months.

I was hooked on radiant energy. Julie and I then built a Yanda-type greenhouse on the south side of our home. The radiant long-wave energy released by the adobe wall of our house kept plants alive all winter, while the air trapped by the fiberglass glazing of the greenhouse was allowed to convectively flow into our living room, bringing not only oxygensaturated warmth but humidity from the plants. Our children played in mud just feet away from windblown snow piled against the clear greenhouse walls.

By building a no-cost adobe wall in your yard, you can extend your garden’s growing season by four months. On the north side of the wall, you can have

32

Julie and I have 20 tons of soil compacted over a 1-inch layer of insulation in our home. Not only does this incredible massive flywheel heat our home for days without sun in the winter; in the summer, shaded from the sun, it cools our home magnificently—for free. We don’t need to heat the air in our home, and often on winter days, we have the doors open to the outside enchantment.

One rancher, in the early ’80s, built a collector that still today pumps solar-heated air through 2-inch pipes imbedded in the cement slab of his expansive workshop. He removed the woodstove he thought he would need.

As another example, a potato farmer built a system that blows hot air into a rock storage bin under his workshop. He called me one day to say he had his doors open to cool the building down. It was minus 25 degrees outside that morning.

In Española, our nonprofit, the Heart Mind Alliance, has recently conducted free workshops, open to the public, demonstrating how to build the latest

Water Efficiency Rating System Training at SFCC Santa Fe Community College’s EnergySmart Academy has expanded its training to include water efficiency. The college is the first institution in the country to offer Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS) training.

The Green Builder Coalition, Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, Build Green New Mexico and members of the city of Santa Fe Water Conservation Committee created water-modeling software that generates a water-efficiency rating score in a detailed effort to measure water efficiency in existing and newly constructed homes. Like the better-known Home Energy Rating System (HERS), WERS is a predictive calculation tool on a zero-to-100 scale, with zero meaning no water is needed from a well or municipal system. It analyzes indoor water usage, as well as rainwater and graywater usage. WERS ratings (www.wers.us) provide a tool for builders and consumers to compare the water efficiency of a home and can tell a governmental jurisdiction how many more homes can be built within a given water supply. The city of Santa Fe passed a resolution calling for the addition of WERS to its green building code. The WERS tool has received national attention for its simple but effective innovation.

SFCC’s EnergySmart Academy is a nationally recognized training center specializing in energy efficiency, green building and sustainable technology trainings.The academy is initially offering the WERS training March 8–10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The training prepares students to take the WERS written certification and practical exams. The course covers many aspects of water efficiency in housing; however, participants are expected to have prior knowledge in landscaping and irrigation, basics of housing construction and plumbing systems, building codes and alternative water sources.

The cost for the training is $595. To register or to be notified of future trainings, contact Evelyn Gonzales at 505.428.1866 or workforce@sfcc.edu. For more information about the WERS training curriculum, contact Amanda Hatherly at 505.428.1805 or amanda.hatherly@sfcc.edu

Loretta Atencio’s home is in Hernandez, New Mexico. Its hitch-mounted solar air heating system cost around $700, including the fan, ductwork and the reflective radiant insulation for the perimeter of the crawlspace. Loretta loves being able to walk barefoot all winter long. She reports that she is using half the amount of wood for heating that she had used in the past, even though recent winters have been colder.

version of these do-it-yourself collectors.

Much more efficient than those we built in the ’70s, the collectors cost about $700 in materials, including the radiant barrier insulation (about $200 to insulate the perimeter of a crawlspace) to bounce back under the floor over 97 percent of the radiant heat stored in

Green Fire Times • March 2016

continued on page 35

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Eco-Delivery Services • 505.920.6370

Retail Monthly rent and square footage open

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

33

505-

Two part- or full-time ad salespersons needed for Green Fire Times

Send résumé to: Skip@ GreenFireTimes.com

giggle. wiggle. groove.

An eclectic mix of informative and entertaining programs await you on KUNM – your passport to the worlds of news, music, community and culture. Publicly supported. Publicly responsive. KUNM is an essential part of New Mexico’s day.

KUNM 89.9FM | STREAMING LIVE 24/7 AT KUNM.ORG

34

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Banking on NM

continued from page

simple, conservative, and targets strategic, local lending that benefits the public. North Dakota has more community banks per capita than any other state, and they are thriving because of the support they receive from the BND. We can reduce the cost of city debt, increase transparency of city funding and invest the bank’s profits back into our community. We call

31

this better stewardship of the people’s money.

For more information about a public bank for Santa Fe, call 505.216.6376 or visit BankingOnNewMexico.org i Nichoe Lichen has spent much of her life in local environmental, civil rights and economic justice work.

In 2011, under the leadership of Craig Barnes, she helped form the organization WeArePeopleHere!

ADVERTISE in GFT Support our work for a more sustainable world.

Call Skip Whitson at 505.471.5177 or Anna Hansen at 505.982.0155

Radiant NM

continued from page 32

the floor. We hope the state will consider helping to subsidize the cost of these collectors. New Mexico has roughly 400,000 trailer homes. Every year, we lose loved ones to fires as more and more people heat with wood. These are folks who, often, are too poor to pay taxes. But even tax incentives are nonexistent for these home-built systems.

For more information or to obtain our Española Valley Solar Collector construction packet, email heartmindalliance@ gmail.com or visit the websites www.heartmindalliance. org and www.heartmindalliance.com (under construction

by NewMexicoVideoServices.com). There, you can find an instructional video with step-by-step construction footage of the Sena family’s solar collector in Ojo Caliente. i Bob Dunsmore has worked as a community development agent and as a grassroots technology specialist in 20 countries. He is the founder of the Heart Mind Alliance, a nonprofit whose mission is to share energy self-reliance information worldwide.

He is also a member of the Río Arriba Bioregional Council, a forum for sharing ideas on how to create a regenerative future for the region and beyond. Email heartmindalliance@gmail.com

Allergies

continued from page

29

red pepper, one banana, one apple, a few blanched almonds and some tahini in your blender with water, and make this immune-boosting shake. Experiment with tahini “milk” and the combination of different veggies and fruits to match your taste buds. Here’s to your health and healing from the inside out! i

FRANK'S SATELLITE SERVICE (505) 424-9675 • franksatellite@gmail.com www.franksatellite.com

Japa K. Khalsa, Doctor of Oriental Medicine (DOM), is co-author of Enlightened Bodies: Exploring Physical and Subtle Human Anatomy (enlightenedbodies.com). She teaches a weekly yoga class for people with chronic pain at Sacred Kundalini in Santa Fe. She completed her Master of Oriental Medicine degree at the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago. She combines traditional acupuncture with herbal and nutritional medicine, injection therapy and energy healing. Her work with patients and students emphasizes optimal health and personal transformation through self-care and awareness of the interconnectedness of all life. www.drjapa.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Green Fire Times • March 2016

35

Feathered Friends of Santa Fe Wild & Exotic Bird Seed & Supplies

1089 St. Francis Dr. Santa Fe, N.M. 87505

505-988-5154

featheredfriends@cnsp.com www.featheredfriendsofsantafe.com

910

Scottish Rite Center Space available: • special events • weddings • meetings

XyzPost.com mail receiving mail forwarding

505.982.4414

Secretary@NMScottishRite.org

John Woodie 505-474-9016

G.L. Runer Electric Inc. Honest Quality Work at Competitive Prices

505-471-3626 We provide testing, and troubleshooting for Santa Fe, NM and the surrounding areas.

www.glrunerelectric.com

36

Green Fire Times • March 2016

Green Fire Times is available at many locations in the metropolitan Albuquerque / Río Rancho area!

For the location nearest you, call Nick García at 505.203.4613 www.GreenFireTimes.com

NEWSBITEs The Southwest’s Drift into a Drier Climate

A new study has concluded that, despite a significant increase in precipitation in New Mexico over the past year and a possible benefit through May from the moistureinducing weather pattern known as El Niño, the southwestern United States has begun a shift into a drier climate. The three weather patterns that typically bring moisture are becoming more rare—an indication that human-caused climate change is pushing the region to become drier, a trend long-predicted by global models.

What is now considered a normal year of rain and snow in the Southwest is onequarter drier than it was before the 1970s, according to the study. Andreas Prein, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), who led the study, said, “If you have a drought nowadays, it will be more severe because our base state is drier.”

Record temperatures in February melted some of the mountain snowpack that New Mexico’s farmers and water resource managers depend on. Soil moisture tests indicate that some lands are already dry, raising concerns about grass fires.

The study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation. It was posted online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. It also found an opposite, though smaller, effect in the Northeast, where some of the weather patterns that typically bring moisture to the region are increasing.

The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Chile, onions, pecans, honey, greenhouse/nursery crops and lavender are examples of specialty crops, which means marketing and promotion projects built around them could be considered for this funding,” said Felicia Frost, the NMDA marketing specialist who administers New Mexico’s share of these federal funds. The USDA’s definition and list of eligible specialty crops is online at http:// www.usda.gov/documents/SPECIALTY_CROPS.pdf. Project length varies from one to three years. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. MST on April 20. The funding becomes available Oct. 1.

The second program, the New Mexico Agricultural Development and Promotion Funds Program (ADPFP), places no restrictions on the type of agricultural commodity that can benefit. The deadline to apply for funding for this program is 5 p.m. MDT on April 29. The funding becomes available July 1. Under ADPFP, project length cannot exceed one year.

For both grant programs, projects are given greater consideration when they have what it takes to succeed beyond the life of the grant; in other words, if they make good business sense over the long term. Both programs prohibit the use of grant funds to purchase land, buildings, equipment or any other type of capital improvement.

Funds are released only after the grantee has submitted a progress report, as well as an invoice and corresponding receipts.

Proposed Methane Rules Receive Diverse Support

The same project cannot be funded through both programs. NMDA staff is hosting two free workshops for potential applicants to understand the programs and how to apply for them: • Santa Fe: March 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe, 1501 Paseo de Peralta • Las Cruces: March 22, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the NMDA, 3190 South Espina St.

For more information, call 575.646.4929 or visit www.nmda.nmsu.eduRunning Dry:

Robert M. Bernstein, M.D., president of the New Mexico Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, says that New Mexico is at particular risk from the health effects of methane due to the 2,500-square-mile cloud of the gas over the Four Corners region. That plume causes as much greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in a year as seven coal-fired power plants or as much as 14 times the annual emissions of New Mexico’s 700,000 cars. The methane well leak in Southern California, first detected on Oct. 23, was finally plugged in mid-February after sickening scores of people and prompting relocation of 6,600 households. It has been called the largest known accidental methane release in U.S. history, equaling the annual GHG emissions of nearly 600,000 cars.

The Art of Seed Stewardship march 29, 6:30–8:30 pm, santa fe farmers’ market pavilion

Methane is the major constituent of natural gas. When oil and gas companies on public land allow methane to be leaked, burned or vented, it can not only negatively impact air quality, climate and public health; it also represents an economic loss to taxpayers.

The Obama administration has proposed cutting methane emissions from all U.S. oil and gas production by nearly half over the next decade. In February, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) kicked off its public comment process for important new rules designed to reduce methane waste on federal and tribal lands. The new standards would complement the safeguards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which apply to new sources of emissions on private lands. The BLM held hearings in Farmington, New Mexico and Oklahoma City. Despite the fact that both are in the heart of oil and gas country, more than twice as many concerned citizens in Farmington and three times as many in Oklahoma City testified in support of BLM taking action on methane than those who voiced opposition. At those hearings, Latino and tribal voices joined public-health professionals, veterans, taxpayer groups and environmental advocates in voicing support for the proposal.

After the hearings, 40 current and former elected officials—19 Democratic state lawmakers, county commissioners and mayors from around New Mexico, representing diverse constituencies—issued a letter to the BLM in support of the agency’s methane rules. The proposal would also allow local governments to recoup what would otherwise be lost revenue from flared gas that could have gone to improve schools, roads and other needed infrastructure.

Grant Funding to Expand New Mexico Agriculture

nmda hosts workshops march 18 and 22 The New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) is inviting New Mexicans involved in agricultural production to apply for funding through one of two grant programs. Both programs aim to develop new markets and/or expand existing ones for agricultural products grown in New Mexico.

www.GreenFireTimes.com

Kenneth Greene and his partners from the Hudson Valley Seed Library have created innovative, cooperative partnerships among consumers, seed farmers and artists to both tell the story of the seeds they steward and save the diversity of heirloom seeds, many of which are disappearing rapidly.

On March 29, in Santa Fe, Greene will discuss the community seed library movement, in the United States and around the world, and efforts to put seed growing and stewarding back into the hands of farmers and small gardeners to save the seedcollecting legacy. Greene will also have artist-designed seed packets and other materials for sale.

This event will take place at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta. It is being presented by the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute. Admission is $10. For more information, call 505.983.7726.

Horses Reconnect Veterans to Communities

Horses for Heroes–New Mexico offers a horsemanship, wellness and skill-set restructuring initiative in the high desert of Santa Fe called “Cowboy Up!” that is offered at no charge to post-9-11 veterans and active military. HfH’s director, Nancy De Santis, says that she is particularly interested in offering the program to those who have sustained post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to help them reintegrate into their community.

De Santis refers to PTSD as “post-traumatic spiritual dissonance” because she sees the affliction as a wound to the spirit. For others, she says, “It may be someone whose active combat survival skills worked well in the field, but at home those skills aren’t serving them well. The veteran may feel disconnected, dishonored or depleted.”

HfH’s “Cowboy Up!” program is designed to help veterans develop new skills, resharpen others and reshape attitudes needed to transition into civilian life.

“Standing in the presence of a majestic 1,200-pound horse makes one be aware of the now and not be lost in a past memory or worry,” De Santis says. “Many of our warriors have been numbed by their experience of war. Horses can give energetic infusions that help reestablish a veteran’s connection to self, loved ones and the community.”

For more information on the nonprofit program, visit www.HorsesForHeroes.org

Green Fire Times • March 2016

37

What's Going On! Events / Announcements March 24, 1:15–2:15 Raised Bed Gardening Meadowlark Senior Center, 4330 Meadowlark La. SE, Río Rancho

Gardening with the Masters lecture. Free.

SandovalMasterGardeners.org

ALBUQUERQUE

Through March Natural Forces – The Wild South Broadway Cultural Center 1025 Broadway SE

Photography exhibition by Stan Honda, Ken Spencer, Charles Medendorp, Rush Dudley and Vance Ley. 2/4, 5-8 pm: opening reception. 2/6 and 3/7, 10 am-12 pm: “Meet the artists.” 505.918.2964, rdudley@flash.net

March 3, 3-4:15 pm Veteran Farmer Project Class Bernalillo County Extension Office classroom, 1510 Menaul NW

Growing Organic: The hows and whys of production and certification. Instructor: Joan Quinn, NM Dept. of Agriculture. Free to veterans, active service personnel and their families. Sponsored by La Montañita Co-op. Reservations/RSVP: 505.217.2027 or robins@lamontanita.coop

March 6-13 Restaurant Week ABQ

7th annual event includes numerous local restaurants offering a prix-fixe dinner and specially priced 2-course lunch.

NMrestaurantweek.com

March 8, 6 pm Forum on the 2015 PNM Rate Case So. Broadway Cultural Center 1025 Broadway SE

The Climate Coalition, the Sierra Club and other organizations want you to know about PNM’s proposal.

March 12, 9 am-12 pm April 2, 16, 9 am-12 pm May 14, 9 am-12 pm Backyard Farming Series Gutérrez-Hubbell House 6029 Isleta SW

Successful Soil Practices and the Role of Water. Learn the basics needed to plan and design your home garden landscape focusing on sustainability, permaculture and wise use of our limited natural resources. Info/registration: 505.314.0398, www.berncom.gov/ openspace

March 12, 3 pm A Thousand Voices Indian Pueblo Cultural Center 2401 12th St. NW

This event is part of Women as Creators & Keepers of Tradition weekend at the IPCC. Free. 505.843.7270, indianpueblo.org

March 22, 6-7:30 pm NM Solar Energy Assn ABQ Chapter Meeting REI, 1550 Mercantile NE

Learn how to transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. Meets bi-monthly on the fourth Tuesday of March, May, July, Sept. and Nov. j.desjardins@hotmail.com, www.

NMSolar.org

38

March 26, 10:30 am–3 pm Cesar Chavez Day March & Fiesta Natl. Hispanic Cultural Center Plaza

Music, dancing, poetry, food, kids activities. www.cesarchaveznm.org

April 2 New Museum Opening Indian Pueblo Cultural Center 2401 12th St. NW

The IPCC’s first new permanent exhibit in 40 years: We Are of This Place: The Pueblo Story. Indianpueblo.org

April 24 La Montañita Co-op Earthfest Nob Hill Co-op, 3500 Central SE

Free community celebration. Environmental, economic and social justice, farming & gardening booths, education, information, juried local artists, music, dance, plants and food. 877.775.2667

May 19-20 Economy Town Hall ABQ Marriott Pyramid

New Mexico First will hold a statewide town hall on NM’s economic security and vitality, to develop practical recommendations for policymakers. Registration: www.nmfirst.org

Daily Natl. Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 Fourth St., SW

El Retrato Nuevomexicano/New Mexican Portraiture Now, group show of paintings, drawings and photographs. Staging the Self/ Ponerse en Imagen, portraiture by NM artists. Through March 27. Closed Mondays.

Nationalhispaniccenter.org

Through 2016 Las Huertas Farming Training Courses Bernalillo County Ext. Office 1510 Menaul NW

Intro to Horticulture in Aridlands covers basics of farming in NM’s varied climate and seasons. Other classes offered include Growing Techniques, Summer Growing Season (farm visits), Business management and planning. sean@riograndefarm.org, http://riograndefarm.org/farmer-trainingfarm-incubator/

“ABQ 2030 District”

A voluntary collaboration of commercial property tenants, building managers, property owners and developers; real estate, energy, and building sector professionals, lenders, utility companies; and public stakeholders such as government agencies, nonprofits, community groups and grassroots organizers. Property partners share anonymous utility data and best practices. Professional partners provide expertise and services. Public partners support the initiative as it overlaps with their own missions. Info: albuquerque@2030districts.org

Green Fire Times • March 2016

SANTA FE

Through July 31 Lloyd Kiva New: Art, Design and Influence Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 108 Cathedral Pl.

Exhibition honoring the late Cherokee artist/educator/IAIA director and his work.

(North Gallery continues through Sept. 11) 505.983.1666, www.iaia.edu/museum.

Through Dec. 30 A New Century: The Life and Legacy of Lloyd Kiva New Museum of Indian Arts and Culture 710 Camino Lejo

Fashion designs, art, photos and archival documents. 505.476.1269, indianartsandculture.org

March 2, 5:30-6:30 pm Climate Masters Lecture SF Convention Center

UNM Climatology professor Dr. David Gutzler will present a free lecture on Climate Change in the Southwest. The lecture is the first in a 10-week sustainability series to be held Weds. from 5:30–7:45 pm. For info on the full Climate Masters course, call 505.820.1696, email esha@santafewater shed.org or visit www.santafewatershed.org

March 4, 8:30 am-2:30 pm Fruit Growers’ Workshop SF Fairgrounds Building 3229 Rodeo Rd.

Irrigation, soil health, integrated pest management, planting, research updates. Light lunch provided. Info: 505.852.4241. Registration: 505.685.4523, http:rsvp.nmsu.edu/ rsvpfruitgrowers2016

March 6, 11 am Journey Santa Fe Morning Conversation Collected Works Bookstore 202 Galisteo

A presentation by Prosperity Works director Ona Porter, hosted by Alan Webber. Prosperity Works conducts research and partners with local organizations to help working families move into the middle class. Free.

505.988.4226, www.journeysantafe.com

March 6, 1 pm Poetry Out Loud NM Museum of Art, St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W. Palace Ave.

NM Finals. Free admission. www.nmarts. org, www.poetryoutloud.org

March 7-8, 7 pm Banff Mountain Film Festival The Lensic

Adventure, environmental and cultural films. Hosted by the SF Conservation Trust.

505.988.1234, ticketssantafe.org

March 11, 6:30–8:30 pm Eldorado Methane Forum La Tienda Performance Space Eldorado, NM

Includes a panel discussion, Q&A and screening of the film The Other Greenhouse Gas. Sponsored by 350.org

March 12, 10 am–12 pm Citizen’s Climate Lobby La Montañita Co-op, 913 W. Alameda

Monthly meeting to focus climate activism and enact politically palatable and effective solutions. rdcramer3@gmail.com

March 12-13 Santa Fe Home Show SF Convention Center

Northern NM’s premiere home show. Innovative solutions for better living. Remodelers showcase, Lego competition. Admission: $5. 505.982.1774, www.sfahba.com

March 13, 11 am Journey Santa Fe Morning Conversation Collected Works Bookstore 202 Galisteo

A presentation by Joelle Marier on Keeping Wild BLM Lands Wild. Hosted by Alicia Johnson of the NM Wilderness Alliance.

Free. 505.988.4226, www.journeysantafe.com

March 17-20 Meow Wolf Art Complex Gala 1352 Rufina Circle

“House of Eternal Return” 3/17: Grand opening gala ($250); 3/18-20: public opening ($25/$15). 505. 395.6369, Meowwolf.com

March 18, 12–1:30 pm MoCNA Reader: A Book Club Museum of Contemporary Native Art, 2nd Fl.

A discussion about the new publication The Sound of Drums: A Memoir of Lloyd Kiva New with the editor.

March 18, 5-8 pm Opening “Woman” Photography Group Exhibition Edition One Gallery, 1036 Canyon Rd.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, an exhibition expressing womanhood in many forms. 505.570.5385, www.editionone.gallery

March 22–April 9 Community Workshop Series Railyard Park Community Room behind Site SF

Learn relevant gardening techniques from a team of experts. All ages welcome. Also, Community Food Garden applications now being accepted. 505.316.3596, Jason@railyardpark.org

March 22, 12–3:30 pm World Water Day Event Medicine Water Wheel, Frenchy’s Park

Ceremony (3:30 pm), presentations and water-related organizations’ information tables. 575.770.1228.

March 23 Gabrielle Walker with Chris Williams The Lensic

Lannan Foundation Literary Series. Walker is an author and expert on climate change and the energy industry. Author Chris Williams an environmental activist. www.lannan.org

March 24, 10 am NM Acequia Commission mtg.

Bataan Memorial Bldg., Red Room, 407 Galisteo St.

Agendas: 505.827.4983 or www.nmacequiacommission.state.nm.us, Info: 505.603.2879, molinodelaisla@gmail.com

www.GreenFireTimes.com

March 29, 6:30–8:30 pm The Art of Seed Stewardship SF Farmers’ Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta

Presentation by Ken Greene of the Hudson Valley Seed Library presented by the SF Farmers’ Market Institute. $10. 505.983.7726

April 6, 4–11 pm Earth Consciousness & the Lore of the Amazon Synergia Ranch

Symposium/salon. Conversations with Ralph Metzner, Dennis McKenna, Rick Doblin and others. Symposium 4–6:30, followed by dinner and evening salon with visionary art, poetry, music & dance. www.synergeticpress.com

April 8-9 New Mexico Mission of Mercy SF Convention Center

The convention center will be transformed into a 120-chair free dental clinic to provide first-come, first-served care to anyone with oral health issues. Community volunteers will work alongside 400 dental professionals. Presented by the NM Dental Association Foundation. To volunteer, provide a donation or for more information, contact nmmom2@nmdental.org or visit www.nmdentalfoundation.org

April 15, 7 pm 16th Annual Nuestra Musica The Lensic

Songs and stories celebrating NM’s diverse musical heritage. $10. Seniors no charge.

505.988.1234, ticketssantafe.org

April 22, 2:30 pm Earth Day and Solar Panel Ribbon Cutting Acequia Madre Elementary School

Join students, staff, the Global Warming Express and many others to celebrate the new solar panel shade structure at the school. The ribbon cutting will follow the school’s annual Fund Run and a barbecue in the school garden.

April 29, 8:45–10:45 pm 2016 Outdoor Vision Fest SFUAD Campus, 1600 St. Michael’s Dr.

The school and Currents NM present student/faculty/staff-created video projections, interactive multimedia and art installations and animation. Free.

Saturdays, 8 am-1 pm Santa Fe Farmers’ Market 1607 Paseo de Peralta (& Guadalupe)

Affordable living in SF? Join in to design and build mixed-use Santa Fe infill. Topics examples: Flexible 350 sq. ft. micro-units, clusters with shared facilities, cooperative ownership. Info/RSVP: http:// bit.ly/1ibd3LN

Foundation of Herbal Medicine Course Milagro School of Herbal Medicine

Enrollment is open for 250-hour intensive focusing on regional herbs and traditions.

Course starts April 5. 505.820.6321, info@ milagroherbs.com, www.milagroschool ofherbalmedicine.com

Santa Fe Recycling

Make 2016 the year to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as you can. City residential curbside customers can recycle at no additional cost and drop by 1142 Siler Road, Building A, to pick up free recycling bins. For more information, visit http://www.santafenm.gov/ trash_and_recycling or call 505.955.2200 (city); 505.992.3010 (county); 505.424.1850 (SF Solid Waste Management Agency).

Sustainable Growth Management Plan for SF County

Hard copies $20, CDs $2. Contact Melissa Holmes, 505.995.2717 or msholmes@ santafecounty.org. The SGMP is also available on the county website: www.santafecounty.org/growth_management/sgmp and can be reviewed at SF Public libraries and the County Administrative Building, 102 Grant Ave.

Taos

Through March Fiber Rocks!

Hacienda de los Martínez 708 Hacienda Rd.

Fiber Art Exhibition honoring the MesaPrieta petroglyphs. Sponsored by the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. 505.747.3577, www.evfac.org

Through March 6 Restaurant Week Taos

7th annual event includes numerous local restaurants offering a prix-fixe dinner and specially priced 2-course lunch. Nmrestaurantweek.com

March 5, 2 pm Inventing the Old Spanish National Trail through Taos Taos Electric Co-op Boardroom 118 Cruz Alta Rd.

Northern NM farmers & ranchers offer fresh greenhouse tomatoes, greens, root veggies, cheese, teas, herbs, spices, honey, baked goods, body care products and much more. www.santafefarmersmarket.com

Free lecture by Mark Henderson offers historical background on the Spanish Trail.

575.779.8579, pcf1947@yahoo.com, www. taoshistoricalsociety.org. Presented by the Taos Historical Society.

Saturdays, Sundays El Museo Winter Market

March 15 Entry Deadline The Paseo Festival Streets of Taos

El Museo Cultural, 555 Cam. de la Familia Handmade crafts, jewelry, collectibles and antiques. Sat: 9 am-4 pm; Sun: 8 am-3 pm.

Elmuseoculturalwintermarket.org

Sundays, 10 am-4 pm Railyard Artisan Market Farmers’ Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta

Local artists, textiles, jewelry, ceramics, live music. 505.983.4098, Francesca@santafe farmersmarket.com, artmarketsantafe.com

1st and 3rd Tuesdays, 5:30-7 pm Design Lab for Sustainable Neighborhoods Higher Education Center 1950 Siringo Rd., Rm. 139

www.GreenFireTimes.com

A festival on Sept. 23-24 dedicated to the art of installation, performance and projection. Stipends provided. http://nmarts.org/ current-opportunities/

March 16, 5:30-8 pm Taos Entrepreneurial Network Old County Courthouse, 121 N. Plaza

Monthly meeting (every 3rd Weds.). Keynote and presentations by local speakers, exhibits of products and services. 575.921.8234, Melissa@taosten.org

July 11-14 Integrative Medicine Professionals Symposium Sagebrush Inn

7th Biennial symposium on integrative

health featuring many distinguished speakers and local practitioners. Presented by the UNM School of Medicine’s Section of Integrative Medicine, Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and Gaples Institute for Integrative Cardiology.

505.272.3942, http://som.unm.edu/cme

HERE & THERE Through April 15 Seedling Sale for Spring

The NM State Forestry Division seedling program has more than 65,000 seedlings in 50 different species available for purchase.

Containerized and bare-root stock. Distribution begins March 7 and ends April 22.

Info: carol.bada@state.nm.us, To order: www.nmforestry.com

March 2 and 9, 9:30 am-12 pm Resilience in NM Agriculture Farmington and Tucumcari, NM

Farmers, ranchers, processors, distributors, market organizers, policymakers and advocates are invited to participate creating a strategic plan for NM’s food and agricultural system. Presented by NMSU County Extension Service and NM First. A free lunch will be served. Regional meeting for Farmington on March 2; Tucumcari on March 9.

Reservations required. 505.225.2140, info@ nmfirst.org, nmfirst.org/events/resiliencein-new-mexico-agriculture

March 6-8 50th Annual Pecan Conference Las Cruces, NM

Trade show and conference hosted by NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service. www.westernpecan.org

March 10, 1:30-4 pm Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop NMSU Alcalde Center, Alcalde, NM

Presentations on pruning basics followed by hands-on session in the field.

Free. Info: 505.685.4523, Registration: 505.852.4241, rsvp.nmsu.edu/rsvp/alcaldetreepruning#sthash.loagADa4.dpuf

March 10, 6-8 pm NM Solar Energy Assn. Meeting Little Toad Pub backroom Silver City, NM

Monthly meeting of the NMSEA-Silver City chapter. Held every second Thursday.

575.538.1137, SCGreenChamber@gmail.com

March 11 Application Deadline Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards 2016

Categories: Resource stewardship, water resource protection, wildlife & ecosystem stewardship, environmental education & outreach, youth projects, and environmental leader of the year. Presented by the NM Environment Dept., Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Dept., Dept. of Game & Fish, Office of the State Engineer and Office of the Governor. www.env.nm.gov/OOTS/ GEEA/index.html

March 15 Application Deadline Heritage Preservation Awards

Nominations are sought by the Cultural Properties Review Committee and the NM Historic Preservation Div., Dept. of Cultural Affairs for achievements in architectural preservation, archaeology and publishing.

Awards recognizing organizations and individuals who have made a difference in saving part of their community’s past are presented in May. Nmhistoricpreservation.org

March 15, 5 pm MDT Application Deadline Native Agriculture & Food Systems Grants

Proposals accepted from Native communities and Native American-controlled nonprofit organizations interested in conducting food sovereignty or community food assessments. www.firstnations.org/ grantmaking/2016FSA

March 17, 6-7:30 NM Solar Energy Assn. Meeting Public Library, Oregon Ave. Alamogordo, NM

The Alamogordo chapter usually meets on the third Thursday of the month. ronoffley@ gmail.com

March 18 Application Deadline Venture Acceleration Fund

The Regional Development Corporation VAF provides seed financing for early-state technology startups. The fund was established by Los Alamos National Security, LLC. Technology and manufacturing firms that demonstrate their ability to stimulate job growth and attract additional revenue in the counties of Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Río Arriba, Taos, San Miguel and Mora are eligible. www.rdcnm.org

March 29, 6–7:30 pm The Future of Our Forests Los Alamos Nature Center 2600 Canyon Rd., Los Alamos, NM

Los Alamos Climate Change Lecture Series. Understanding the impact of drought, wildfire and infestation. Free. www.losalamosnature.org

April 12-13 2016 NM Public Health Association Conference Las Cruces Convention Center Las Cruces, NM

Public Health Beyond Borders: History, Intersections and Solutions. www.nmpha.org/ event-2140490

Wednesdays, 9:30 am Green Hour Hike Pajarito Environmental Education Center 2600 Canyon Rd., Los Alamos, NM

Kid-centered treks; as weather allows. Free. Registration: 505.662.0460, center@peecnature.org

Wednesdays in March, 6-8 pm Gallup Solar Community Meetings 113 E. Logan Ave., Gallup, NM

The nonprofit Gallup Solar hosts educational presentations and potential solutions for all things solar. Questions, ideas and expertise are welcome. 505.728.9246, gallup solar@gmail.com, www.gallupsolar.org

Etsy Craft Entrepreneurship Workshops Española, Taos, Las Vegas, Mora

Workshop series for northern NM residents to help creative entrepreneurs start an online shop on Etsy to sell handmade products and create supplemental income. All workshops 10 am–4 pm. March 9, 16, 23, 30: Española; April 1, 8, 15, 22: Las Vegas; April 7, 14, 21, 28: Taos; April 29, May 6, 13, 20: Mora. Presented

by WESST. 505.474.6556, rperea@wesst.org

LANL Foundation

Educational outreach small grants up to $1,500 monthly for school districts and nonprofits with programs to strengthen teaching and learning in Los Alamos, Mora, Río Arriba, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Taos counties.

505.753.8890, sally@lanlfoundation.org

Green Fire Times • March 2016

39

40

Green Fire Times • March 2016

www.GreenFireTimes.com