October 2014 Green Fire Times by Sun Publishing

News & Views

from the

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

the promise and challenge of Renewable Energy Deciding New Mexico's Energy and climate future The Wilderness Actâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50th Anniversary October 2014

Northern New Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Largest Circulation Newspaper

Vol. 6 No. 10

Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014

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Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014

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Vol. 6, No. 10 • October 2014 Issue No. 66 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

Bill Althouse, Kobie Boslough, Alejandro Lopez, Seth Roffman, Bianca Sopoci-Belknap, Kyra Sprague, Jamey Stillings, Kate Stratton

Contributing Photographers

Evelyn Bemis, Caren Gala, Anna C. Hansen, Lisa Law, Alejandro López, Mariel Nanasi, Seth Roffman, Bianca Sopoci-Belknap, Jamey Stillings

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News & Views

from the

Sustainable Southwest

Winner of the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Outstanding Educational Project

Contents

Changing Perspectives: The Promise and Challenge of Renewable Energy . . .. 7 The Genius Grid. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 10 Energy Newsbites. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 11 Deciding New Mexico’s Energy and Climate Future. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 12 Marchers Demand Climate Leadership . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 14 Sustainable Santa Fe Update: The Climate Action Task Force. . .. . .. . .. . 15 Climate Change Newsbites . . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 17 Views from the Field: A Tribute in Paint to the Earth and Local Agriculture.20 A New Take on Gaia Gardens . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 23 The Wilderness Act’s 50th Anniversary . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 29 The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 31 Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 37 What’s Going On. . .. . .. . ... . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 38

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Skip Whitson 505.471.5177 skip@greenfiretimes.com Anna C. Hansen 505.982.0155 dakinidesign@newmexico.com Robyn Montoya 505.692.4477 robyn.greenfiretimes@gmail.com

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Barbara Brown, Susan Clair, Co-op Dist. Services, Nick García, Andy Otterstrom (Creative Couriers), Tony Rapatz, Wuilmer Rivera, Andrew Tafoya, Cynthia Trujillo, Skip Whitson, John Woodie

Circulation: 27,000 copies Printed locally with 100% soy ink on 100% recycled, chlorine-free paper

Green Fire Times

Green Fire Times is widely distributed throughout north-central New Mexico. Feedback, announcements, event listings, advertising and article submissions to be considered for publication are welcome.

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.

COVER: Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California’s Mojave Desert is the world’s largest thermal power station. photo © jamey stillings Green Fire Times is not to be confused with the Green Fire Report, an in-house quarterly publication of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. The NMELC can be accessed online at: www.nmelc.org

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014

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Changing Perspectives: The Promise and Challenge of Renewable Energy

Article and Solar Power Plant Photos by Jamey Stillings From his TEDxABQ Presentation on Sept. 6, 2014

ave you used electricity today? Do you know where it comes from? In New Mexico, most of our power comes from coal and natural gas. Despite our abundance of wind and sun, only 7 percent comes from these renewable sources. Nationally, the ratio is different, but two-thirds of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels. It’s not a sustainable formula! Over the past 800,000 years, carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere stayed below 280 parts per million, until we, in this age of fossilfuel consumption, pushed it higher. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, 250 years ago, CO2 in our atmosphere has increased by 40 percent to over 400 ppm. Along with other greenhouse gases, such as methane, high levels of CO2 are raising the temperature of the atmosphere and oceans, bringing on a host of challenges, including extreme weather, rising sea levels and widespread species extinction.

Challenges we face on the road to a culture of sustainability If data reveal the negative impacts of our actions, and there is virtual consensus in the scientific community that they do, how do we transform our lives to create a culture of sustainability, that is, one that respects future generations and the great diversity of life on this planet? As a photographer, I create work that strives to inform our perception of how humans use and transform Earth, focusing my attention on the intersections of nature and human activity—places that, for me, hold great visual, environmental and political intrigue. My current project, Changing Perspectives, looks at renewable energy (RE) development, mostly from an aerial perspective. In October 2010, before construction commenced, I began photographing over the future site of Ivanpah Solar, a concentrated solar-power plant in the Mojave Desert of California.

Aerial view of excavation work for future power block of Solar Field Two. July 28, 2011

How do most power plants work? They’re just giant tea kettles! Whether nuclear, coal, natural gas or geothermal, water is superheated to drive steam turbines to generate electricity. Concentrated solar works the same way. Large mirrors focus the sun’s energy to accomplish the same task.

Four years ago, as the first marks were made for Ivanpah, I had no idea how this solar plant would exemplify some of the challenges we face on the road to sustainability. Along with energy conservation and efficiency, distributed generation and smart-grid technology, large RE projects like Ivanpah can displace coal and natural gas as part of the reliable electricity supply we expect and demand. continued on page 8

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In February 2014, Ivanpah Solar became the world’s largest concentrated solar-power plant. With over 300,000 mirrors on 3,500 acres of federal land, Ivanpah can produce 392 megawatts of electricity. Compared to power from natural gas, Ivanpah reduces CO2 emissions by 400,000 tons per year, while producing enough electricity for 140,000 U.S. homes.

Aerial view of heliostat installation in Solar Field One, along with active installation crews. Jan. 6, 2011

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Changing Perspectives continued from page 7 By several measures, this desert basin, already impacted by human development, is a prime place for RE. Ivanpah is sited near Interstate 15 on the California/Nevada border near a golf resort, a dirt racetrack, natural gas and photovoltaic power plants and the casino community of Primm. But the basin is also habitat for the desert tortoise, a species listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. So, to mitigate this issue, before construction began, Ivanpah biologists moved 173 adult and juvenile tortoises for study and eventual relocation. To date, Ivanpah’s owners have spent over $22 million to research and care for the tortoises and may spend an additional $34 million to meet federal and state obligations. Ironically, the desert tortoise of the Mojave may now be better understood and, ultimately, protected than before Ivanpah. Ivanpah is also addressing the issue of avian mortality. All wind and solar projects face this issue, and some argue, if RE projects kill birds, they should not be built. Let’s put the issue into perspective. It’s estimated that 600 million birds die each year in the United States by hitting buildings and houses, and nearly eight million die from coal power production. If 1,500 birds die each year at Ivanpah—the high estimate based on seven months of data collection—how do we balance this number against our overall impact on birds?

Aerial view of Solar Field Two and Mount Clark. Sept. 4, 2013

A recent study estimated that bird deaths per gigawatt hour of electricity are 17 times higher for fossil-fuel energy than for wind power. And, while comprehensive data are not yet available for concentrated solar, initial numbers are much closer to wind than to fossil fuel. So why am I telling you all this? I value RE, tortoises and birds! The reality is, most human activity has both positive and negative consequences. The impacts of our endeavors, in this case RE, always have both local and big-picture significance. The conundrum posed by the contradictions between the two has polarized the environmental community and led to some unlikely and unwitting alliances between environmental preservationists and anti-RE/pro-fossil-fuel advocates. Our current social and political structures encourage conflict and polarization instead of cultivating solutions and consensus. And polarization leads to paralysis. To develop a more mature and nuanced approach to RE, we need to move beyond this mode. We need to evaluate the pros and cons of our options and then, make proactive decisions to create a path forward. If we are looking for options that are completely good, with no downside, we will never find them.

Workers install a heliostat on a pylon. Background shows assembled heliostats in "safe" or horizontal mode. Mirrors reflect the nearby mountains. June 4, 2012

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Oil, our human population has grown from less than one billion to over seven billion. We have become, by default, stewards of Earth’s ecosystem. Renowned dancer and choreographer Martha Graham once said, “Every moment of choice is a sacrifice.” But what I prefer is this: “Each moment of choice is both a sacrifice and an opportunity.”

As humans, we have the capacity to learn from the consequences of our past actions and then apply this knowledge to predict the future consequences of our present actions. What will we do in this moment of choice? Focus only on the sacrifices or energetically embrace our opportunities? i Jamey Stillings is a Santa Fe-based photographic artist creating work that reveals and informs our perceptions of how humans use and transform the Earth. Changing Perspectives: Energy in the American West, his current project, focuses on large-scale renewable energy projects and their fossil-fuel counterparts. www.jameystillingsprojects.com

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Aerial overview of Ivanpah under construction, showing all three fields, looking north. Oct. 27, 2012

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Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014

The Genius Grid Electric utilities around the world are in the midst of unprecedented changes. Bill Althouse here is now a decentralized system on the ground that enables utilities to integrate and manage conventional generators, including locally owned, ultra-efficient fossil-fuel generators, along with high amounts of renewable energy (RE), resulting in cleaner, cheaper and more reliable electricity. The ability to leverage Distributed Energy Resources (DER), storage and efficiency along the entire electric-power system value chain will define the future of the industry. The municipal utility in Fort Collins, Colorado made a home for a utility research and development center, FortZed, which has attracted many innovative companies such as Spirae, Inc., developer of what I call the “Genius Grid.” Denmark’s national municipal utility has adopted this technology and is now operating the world’s first nationwide Genius Grid.

Next time you hear the term smart grid, ask, “Smart for whom?”

Power-grid engineers at Spirae were seeing a similar destabilization in Denmark’s grid, where many wind and solar plants were connecting to the power grid that used centralized “dumb” controls. Denmark passed a Feed-In Tariff (FIT), which mandated that any renewable generator has a “right” to connect to the power grid and that a very good price be paid for electricity it delivered. (FIT is now the most successful RE policy in the world; all of the countries that have large amounts of RE accomplished this by adopting FITs.) Because of the FIT, Denmark got so much RE, so fast, the grid was having serious stability problems. Spirae engineers, like the Internet’s creators, realized that centralized power-grid controls were the problem. They then developed an algorithm that allowed a power grid to operate without the need to centralize

Courtesy of Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2014

To understand how the Genius Grid works, let’s look at how the Internet was created. First, there was Arpanet, which used a few mainframe computers linked to a central control protocol. The centralized control began to destabilize as more computers tried to connect. Large corporations that controlled Arpanet spent a fortune trying to maintain the centralized controls and bring more computers online.

Arpanet cost $1,400 an hour, was very slow, and it was a one-way system—download only—and not affordable for a home computer. Then, some very smart people realized that t h e d e s t a b i l i z a t i on problem was caused by the centralized control itself. They devised the algorithms—HTML— Power grid engineers from around the world come to Fort Collins, Colo. to study the "Genius Grid." to eliminate the centralized control, and the Internet was born. We now have computers at home that download and upload.

all controls, and they created the power Internet. Now, it is possible to connect any number of different kinds of generators to the grid with power flow that can go both ways, while having the highest power quality in the world. Our current electrical system is only 29 percent efficient, wasting 71 percent of the energy in coal as heat at the power plant and as losses in the lines. If localized generators combined heat and power, delivering the heat and electricity, efficiency would be 90 percent, tripling the amount of energy delivered per fuel unit burned and cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) by 66 percent. These localized generators also provide the variable capacity to back up intermittent sources like wind and solar, allowing the possibility of very high RE percentages. Central power plants do not have the ability to ramp up and down to back up renewables, which is why utilities claim that solar and wind have high system costs. The biggest barrier to deployment of this technology in the United States is the mandated Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1547 interconnection requirement

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Courtesy of Spirae

Spirae engineers demonstrate the “Genius Grid” at Integrid Lab, Fort Collins, Colo.

for all combined heat and power plants, solar and wind. Generators are required not to help the grid when the grid needs help. They are prevented from improving power quality, even though most generators have powerconditioning capability. If the grid is of low-power quality, it is required to go off-line and stay off until the grid is back in range. Transmission and distribution (T&D) in the electric industry has changed very little in the last 60 years. Now, we are hearing about “smart-grid” technologies. Currently, if we need

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energy NEWSBITEs Public Comment Period Extended for Power-Plant Rule

The comment period for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule to reduce power plants’ carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 has been extended until Dec. 1. The EPA has held four public hearings around the country on the proposal, which also tasks each state with crafting an individualized plan to move to cleaner energy sources. A final rule will be issued by June 2015. InteGrid Test & Development Laboratory, where the system model was designed and tested before it was deployed.

more capacity, we have to pay to build a central power plant, pay for all the fuel it burns, pay to build the transmission system to ship the power, pay to build the distribution system to spread it around and pay for ancillary services, centralized controls and to stabilize the system. We then allow the utility to tack a profit on top of all this spending. With a Genius Grid, localized generators and demand response eliminate the need for new T&D lines because the power is already where it is used, with no shipping or spreading required. Also, the interconnect protocols require the localized generators to provide stabilization, greatly reducing the need for ancillary services. This means a reduction of 75 percent in the capital costs of new-system capacity and a dramatic drop in operating costs. In the Genius Grid of Denmark, all generators are required to support the grid. The largest operating cost of a utility is power quality, but in Denmark it is provided at low cost by simply allowing independent generators to help when the grid needs help. In the United States, most smart grids are about controlling and monitoring customers’ use of electricity with smart meters, but the centralized control of the grid and its centralized generators are not changed. The Genius Grid is an open highway for an unlimited array of distributed-generation and demandresponse technologies that can eliminate the need for large-scale nuclear and coal power plants.The Genius Grid has made centralized power and transmission systems obsolete. On some days, when energ y consumption is low and sun and wind are strong, Denmark’s electricity use is 100 percent renewable, nationwide. The Internet’s creation also caused a drop in costs from Arpanet’s $1,400 per hour at slow speed to today’s cost of $20 per month, high speed. The Genius

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Grid can do the same thing for our power costs. Next time you hear the term smart grid, ask, “Smart for whom?” The smart grid, so far, has been smart for utilities but not so smart for the economy, the environment or the consumer’s pocketbook.

Our current electrical system is only 29 percent efficient. In Fort Collins, any municipal utility has the authority to use Genius Grid interconnections for local generators. Any community that wants smart power, to benefit the local economy, the environment and the consumer’s pocketbook, should consider creating a municipal utility and deploying a Genius Grid. Santa Fe has conducted two feasibility studies of a municipal utility. The economic benefits of Genius Grid implementation should be added to these studies. The nonprofit Carbon Economy Series (CES) is facilitating cooperation between policymakers, business leaders, environmentalists and concerned citizens on this issue. Anyone who wants Santa Fe to have cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity should contact the CES (iginia@ carboneconomyseries.com). CES is planning an educational tour of the Fort Collins laboratory with Spirae as host to help people understand the parameters of what it would take to transfer this technology to a public utility. i Spirae Inc.’s website shows the technology it has developed at FortZed’s Integrid Lab: http://www.spirae.com/images/uploads/case -study/RDSI_Case_Study_September_2012. pdf and the deployment in Denmark. To read Denmark’s overview of the Genius Grid, visit http://energinet.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/ Engelske%20dokumenter/Forskning/ Smart%20Grid%20in%20Denmark.pdf Economic localization advocate Bill Althouse is interested in the local production of energy and food.

Advocates say the rule is necessary to help combat climate change because power plants are the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States. Critics say that the rule will force coal-fired power plants to shut down and will raise the cost of electricity.

Albuquerque Effort Engages Latinos in Clean Power Campaign

A new program of the Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund (CVNMEF), Juntos: Our Air, Our Water, seeks to engage Latino families in Albuquerque in a campaign to protect air and water in New Mexico from threats of contamination and to advocate for clean energy as a solution. The group is focused on encouraging the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to reject a proposal from PNM, the state’s largest utility, which wants to invest in more coal from the San Juan Generating Station and more nuclear energy, while making only relatively small investments in renewable energy. “Our goal is to form a new leadership base here at home in Albuquerque that represents the values of our community and our commitment to renewable energy, not only for our families but future generations,” explained Juntos Program Director Vicente García. “We have to protect our scarce water and the air we breathe from power companies that put their profits over our health and future. Our utility company continues to rely on coal-fired power plants that produce toxic air pollution that is harmful to our community and the waters we depend on, like the Río Grande.” The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2014” report gives Bernalillo County a failing grade for ozone pollution. A recent poll conducted by Benenson Strategy Group for the League of Conservation Voters says that 79 percent of Latinos in New Mexico are concerned about pollution and its impacts on water, air and health. About 8 percent of New Mexico’s energy comes from renewable sources like solar and wind. According to CVNMEF, in New Mexico, 84 percent of Latinos want to require that their utility increase its use of clean energy, while seven out of 10 believe that clean energy will increase jobs, reduce pollution and improve public health.

Wastewater Injection Directly Linked to Most Quakes in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico

Deep underground injection of methane-production wastewater is responsible for the dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes in Colorado and New Mexico since 2001, according to a new study in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. The authors, all scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, detail several lines of evidence directly linking the injection wells—widely used in hydraulic fracturing, as well as conventional drilling—to the slipping of earthquake faults. The Ratón Basin, which stretches from southern Colorado into northern New Mexico, was seismically quiet until shortly after major fluid injection began in 1999. Since 2001, there have been 16 magnitude 3.8 earthquakes, including M 5.0 and 5.3, compared to only one in the previous 30 years. The increase is limited to the area of industrial activity and within 3.1 miles of wastewater-injection wells. Beginning in 2001, the production of methane expanded, with the number of high-volume wastewater-disposal wells increasing along with the injection rate. Since mid-2000, the total injection rate across the basin has ranged from 1.5 to 3.6 million barrels per month. In some drought-affected areas, drilling competes with farming for access to diminishing supplies of fresh water. The evidence suggests that the earthquakes are not linked to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) occurring in the area. Another study, published last month in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says that tainted drinking water in areas where natural gas is produced is likely due to leaky wells rather than the fracking process used to release gas from rock.

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Deciding New Mexico’s Energy and Climate Future Opportunity Knocks.

What Will Our Answer Be for Replacement Power? Bianca Sopoci-Belknap

ew Mexico is at a crossroads when it comes to energy. In order to comply with federal emissions regulations, a deal was reached last year between Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the state of New Mexico to close Units 2 and 3 of the San Juan Generating Station. The retirement of these units represents 850 megawatts (MW) of coal capacity and roughly half of the plant. This is good news. The San Juan Generating Station is considered one of the dirtiest coal plants in the country, responsible for over 60,000 airquality violations, more than 12 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year and consumption of more than six billion gallons of clean water per year (NMED: 2012). This closure will reduce Juntos New Mexico, a group of Latino environmentalists, carbon emissions by 6.5 million tons and want more renewable energy. significantly reduce levels of coal ash, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides and other hazardous air pollutants, as well as save over four billion gallons of water annually. This coal plant closure marks the greatest environmental improvement in New Mexico in the last 50 years. But the critical question is, what will the replacement power be? This question is being faced by states across the country as aging coal plants are being retired. The decision on replacement power will be made by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) this fall, and it represents an unparalleled opportunity to shift New Mexico’s energy portfolio, rapidly deploy solar and wind projects in the state, drastically cut emissions and end New Mexico’s dependence on coal and nuclear. The energy investments made in this replacement-power case will effectively set the state’s energy future for decades to come. This opportunity comes at a time when solar and wind are outbidding coal across the country and are positioned to compete even more favorably when new carbon regulation and pending coal-ash regulation come online. Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey and California are all divesting from coal and exceeding their renewable energy (RE) standards—realizing the financial and economic benefits that clean energy brings for ratepayers and the environment in today’s market. In Nevada, the state’s goal of 25 percent RE by 2025 helped create more than 2,000 solar jobs and drive more than $100 million of new investments in the state. Iowa is well on its way to producing 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. That state is home to more than 3,000 wind turbines and 4,000 wind-industry jobs. Tens of billions of dollars have flowed into Iowa through investment in the industry and by direct payments to landowners for use of their land for operating wind farms. Investor-owned utilities in the region are reading the writing on the wall and shifting their portfolios away from coal investments. For example, El Paso Electric, which also provides energy in New Mexico, has declared that its entire portfolio will be coal-free by 2016. BHP, one of the world’s largest mining companies, has decided to exit the coal-mining business worldwide due to declining market opportunity.

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The good news is, New Mexico ranks second in the country for solar potential and 11th in the country for wind potential. We have abundant resources to replace this coal capacity. If we choose to invest in solar and wind with natural gas to augment, we can surpass these states in RE deployment, lead the nation in clean energy and create a surge in New Mexico’s struggling economy.

Green Fire Times • October 2014

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The bad news is PNM’s proposal before the PRC. PNM is proposing to replace its share of the plant scheduled for early retirement (418 MW) by purchasing coal shares in the remaining units from California companies that are exiting the plant, nuclear from PNM’s parent company, PNM Resources in Arizona, and natural gas. PNM’s proposal filing includes the following six items: 1. Purchase of 132 MW more of coal from SJGS Unit 4 for $52.5 million 2. Importation of more nuclear (134 MW) from its Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona, rate-base valuation of $335 million 3. Construction of a new, natural gas plant (177 MW) in Farmington for $189 million (though PNM has no customers there) 4. Development of 40 MW of solar power or inclusion of 40 MW of additional natural gas 5. Full recovery of $257 million in undepreciated assets for the closure of SJGS Units 2 & 3 (also known as “stranded assets”) 6. Pollution controls—selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR)—on SJGS Units 1 and 4 for $164 million A team of local entities including the city and county of Santa Fe and advocacy group New Energy Economy, has intervened in the PRC case and has developed a compelling argument for an alternative replacement-power plan based on wind and solar. The case they are building proves that RE is actually less expensive than PNM’s coal and nuclear proposal, as submitted, and would provide an estimated $65 million Juntos New Mexico delivered more than 6,000 per year in cost savings to New petition signatures to the state Public Regulation Mexico’s ratepayers, in addition Commission on Sept. 25. to unprecedented environmental and public-health benefits. It would also take the PNM’s RE portfolio from 7 percent renewables to 33 percent renewables in three years. This plan would be able to meet New Mexico’s peak demand with a combination of replacement power based on solar, wind and natural gas.

VOTE • Nov. 4

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR NEW MEXICANS IF THE PROPOSED PLAN IS ADOPTED?

Besides our climate, our health and our environment, ratepayers will be paying more for energy (roughly $90 million a year starting in 2018) and will be shouldering the burden of financial risks associated with rising coal-fuel costs, pollution-control costs, carbon costs, coal-ash disposal costs, nuclear decommissioning costs and environmental cleanup. While other utilities in the region are taking proactive measures to reduce their coal exposure due to these factors, PNM is moving in the opposite direction in order to protect its legacy investments at the expense of New Mexico’s ratepayers.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE SURE NEW MEXICO DOESN’T LET THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR ENERGY TRANSITION PASS US BY?

I encourage you to get involved in the advocacy campaign by contacting New Energy Economy (www.newenergyeconomy.org), educate everyone you know and join more than 7,000 New Mexicans in making your voice heard by contacting all of the members of the NMPRC (http://www.nmprc.state. nm.us/) to let them know that you do not support PNM’s replacement-power plan and to demand a replacement-power plan based on renewables. The time for transition is now! i Bianca Sopoci-Belknap was born and raised in Santa Fe. She is a climate organizer with New Energy Economy and serves as the director of Earth Care and the chair of the city’s Sustainable Santa Fe Commission.

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

Climate marchers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Sept. 20, 2014. ABQ photos by Jim Mackenzie. Santa Fe photos by Evelyn Bemis, Lisa Law, Mariel Nanasi and Xavier Obando

Marchers Demand Climate Leadership Over a thousand call on the NMPRC, PNM and the governor to take action.

n Sept. 20, hundreds of marchers surrounded a billboard-sized banner hanging from the PERA Building in Santa Fe that proclaimed, “New Mexicans Prefer Clean Energy. When Will PNM Change?” The PERA Building houses the N.M. Public Regulation Commission (PRC), which, after upcoming public hearings, is facing a decision regarding the state’s coal-fired power plants. Spurred by new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that will reduce emissions and haze, Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) is retiring two units of the San Juan Generating Station. The marchers called on PNM and the PRC to significantly increase the amount of renewables rather than using more coal and nuclear as a replacement. They also called on Gov. Martínez to retract her opposition to the new rules.

More carbon dioxide was spewed into the atmosphere last year than ever before.

Green Fire Times • October 2014

The marches in Santa Fe and Albuquerque were two of nearly 2,700 events in more than 150 countries, including the People’s Climate March in New York, in anticipation of the Sept. 23 United Nations Climate Summit. Climate disruption has been worsening faster than predicted, and the world remains far off track in efforts to control global warming. More carbon dioxide was spewed into the atmosphere last year than ever before. “Climate change is an ethical and moral issue of immediate concern,” said Sister Joan Brown, executive director of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, an organization that was represented among the diverse coalition of groups and citizens who were marching. “We have a responsibility to ensure that people in New Mexico and around the world have access to clean air and water and the basic natural resources that support their communities,” Brown said. “These riches do not belong to corporations but to present and future generations that depend upon them for their very lives.”

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Sustainable Santa Fe Monthly Update

City Establishes Climate Action Task Force  On Aug. 25, Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales announced the members of his newly formed Climate Action Task Force (CATF) at Growing Santa Fe Green, a community forum about climate change hosted by Santa Fe Forward, a local nonprofit organization (www. SantaFeForward.com). The event gave Santa Fe residents an opportunity to discuss concerns and give the mayor feedback on environmental issues important to them. The CATF is comprised of environmental and clean-energy experts, as well as representatives from the business community (see list below). They will provide counsel to the mayor on programs, policies and ideas the city should undertake to improve Santa Fe’s environment and long-term sustainability. The CATF is co-chaired by Santa Fe City Councilor Peter Ives and former Mayor David Coss.

ABQ climate marchers at the Veteran’s Community Garden, PNM and the Federal Building

The CATF will have support from the city’s Sustainable Santa Fe Commission (www.santafenm.gov/sustainable_ santa_fe), a volunteer group that has been ver y active with climate mitigation work across the city. The SSFC is dedicated to implementing the goals of the city’s Sustainable Santa Fe Plan. In October, the commission is expected to release a sustainability Task Force co-chairs former Mayor David Coss progress-tracking tool that contains (l) and City Councilor Peter Ives (r) with Santa data related to Santa Fe’s climate, Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales environment, water and sustainability standings for the last several years. The tracking tool will serve to inform the task force and its working groups as they begin to prioritize ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Santa Fe. “We are excited that the city is demonstrating its commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation by mobilizing the necessary expertise and leadership to move this work forward at the rate that the current climate crisis necessitates,” said SSFC Chair Bianca Sopoci-Belknap. “We expect that the Task Force will be able to leverage the political and community support necessary to implement the kind of aggressive programs we need to protect the community, build our resilience and become a leader in the climate movement. We look forward to supporting the work of the Task Force and are happy to be providing the baseline information that will allow the city to set targets and track progress year after year to ensure that we meet our emissions-reduction and environmental-stewardship goals.” If you would like to observe a Climate Change Task Force Meeting, contact John Alejandro, city of Santa Fe Renewable Energy planner. To participate in the SSFC, you can attend the commission’s monthly meeting on the third Tuesday of every month from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Council Conference Room in City Hall.

Former Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, current co-chair of the city’s Climate Task Force said, “PNM and the state have an opportunity to develop a bountiful clean-energy economy for New Mexico, but their current plan would cost more to ratepayers and cost far more to our children than a forward-looking alternative with hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy. That’s why we joined this march and are intervening on the San Juan replacement case.” “We must take the opportunity to build jobs and the economy around climate solutions because time is running out to act,” said Camilla Feibelman, Río Grande chapter director of the Sierra Club. “That is why we are marching today—to urge our local, state and federal governments to take action.” i

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CATF MEMBERS: Councilor Peter Ives, Co-chair, Former Mayor David Coss, Co-chair; Beth Beloff, Principal, Beth Beloff & Associates; Kristina Fisher, President, Board of the Santa Fe Watershed Association; Julia Furry, Co-owner, Furry’s Buick GMC and Governing Member of Leadership Santa Fe; Randy Grissom, President, Santa Fe Community College; Robb Hirsch, Executive Director, Climate Change Leadership Institute; Kathy Holian, Santa Fe County Commissioner; Owen Lopez, Former Executive Director, McCune Foundation; Jack McGowan, Principal, The McGowan Group; Amy Miller, Director of Community, Environment and Local Government, PNM; George Rivera, Governor, Pueblo of Pojoaque; Glenn Schiffbauer, Executive Director, S anta F e G reen C hamber of C ommerce , and member , S ustainable S anta F e Commission; David Van Winkle, Treasurer, Board of Directors of New Energy Economy; Marina Weber, Global Warming Express Green Fire Times • October 2014

“The people of Santa Fe are dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint and improving the quality of life for future generations,” Mayor Gonzales said. “The CATF will help ensure that Santa Fe has a plan in place to address the challenges of climate change faced by our community. Santa Fe is ready to take the lead on climate change and become an example to the rest of the country by showing that community involvement can lead to sensible solutions.”

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Climate Change NEWSBITEs 'Megadroughts' Possible in the Southwest

According to a new report from Cornell University, the U.S. Southwest is at a greater risk for long-term drought than previously thought. Although state-of-the-art climate models have projected a 50 percent chance of a decade-long drought in the region, new analyses that include hydroclimate fluctuations, tree-ring and river-flow data, increased evaporation and global warming suggest that the southern areas of Arizona and New Mexico have a 90 percent chance of experiencing decade-long droughts in this century. The data indicate a 20- to 50 percent risk of a 35-year drought in the Southwest and a 5- to 10 percent risk of a 50-year drought, depending on greenhouse gas emissions. Although decade-long Southwestern droughts aren’t new phenomena, with one or two dry spells each century, the dry spells are expected to intensify as climate change creates more arid local climates and reduces runoff. Adapting to these challenges will require planning and preparation, as global rainfall patterns alter water supplies and ecosystems in semiarid regions.

NM’s Birds Threatened by Global Warming

A groundbreaking new study says that global warming threatens nearly half of the regularly occurring bird species in the continental United States and Canada with extinction, including many New Mexico birds: burrowing owl, black rosy finch, lesser prairie chicken, red-faced warbler, sandhill crane and the Western bluebird. The study by National Audubon Society scientists was funded in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The scientists analyzed more than 40 years of historical North American climate data and millions of historical bird records. While some species will be able to adapt to shifting climates, many familiar and iconic species will not. Of 588 bird species examined, 314 are at risk. Of those, 126 are at risk of severe declines by 2050, and 188 species face the same fate by 2080. Predicted changes in climate conditions, including rainfall, temperature and humidity—building blocks for ecosystems and species survival—may have

catastrophic consequences. In New Mexico, many of the species of greatest concern are found in the state’s mountains, grasslands and riparian zones and, given the current threats to these ecosystems—drought, fire, energy development, overgrazing, to name a few—added pressures from an ever-warming climate could be the last straw. “That’s our unequivocal conclusion after seven years of painstakingly careful and thorough research,” said Audubon Chief Scientist Gary Langham. “Global warming threatens the basic fabric of life on which birds—and the rest of us—depend, and we have to act quickly and decisively if we are going to avoid catastrophe for them and us.” For more information, visit Audubon.org/Climate. For ways to help birds at home, visit: athome.audubon.org

Sandia National Laboratories Carbon Sequestration Research

Sandia National Laboratories has received a $5.6 million Department of Energy grant to study long-term geologic sequestration of carbon. The University of Texas, Austin, which is partnering with Sandia Labs on the project, is receiving $6.4 million from the DOE. The work involves storing captured carbon dioxide emissions underground to prevent them from being released into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. The research covers three particular areas: sustaining large storage rates over decades, increasing efficient use of pore space in reservoirs where carbon dioxide would be stored, and making sure it doesn’t leak from the reservoir.

Green Building Code Challenge Defeated

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has won a legal challenge over her repeal of green building standards implemented during Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration, which set higher requirements for energy efficiency. The state Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the state Construction Industries Commission. A spokesman from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center said that it has not been decided whether they will take the case to the state Supreme Court.

Early Voting: Oct. 18 - Nov. 1

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Views from the Field

A Tribute in Paint to the Earth and Local Agricu

Murals Adorn Old Hunter Ford Buildings in Española Article and photos by Alejandro López

here is something magical about paint when it is applied to the surfaces of structures that comprise and define our immediate environment. It is all the more magical when we use it to create vivid representations or symbols of what is most cherished in life, whether it be our idea of the divine, of family or homeland, or activities that provide us with meaning and sustenance. To do this in a community that is broken and blighted and that each day struggles to draw its every breath is all the more magical. It is akin to lighting a roaring fire in a cold, dark and dank room.

The three large-scale murals that are being completed on the exterior walls of the old Hunter Ford buildings on Paseo de Oñate across from the Plaza de Española attempt to embody these collectively important values and concerns. The buildings on which the murals have taken up residence belong to the city of Española, though they are leased by Siete del Norte, an economic-development organization that is developing the site as a regional food hub and arts center. Created by Moving Arts Española and funded by the New Mexico Community Foundation and the Northern Río Grande National Heritage Area, the

murals depict historic and contemporary northern New Mexico farming scenes and celebrate our region’s mountains, rivers, acequias, age-old communities and ancestral plants such as corn and chile, which have nourished the peoples and cultures of the area during times of plenty and times of scarcity. These monumental artworks also pay tribute to hard physical work with our hands and simple farm implements and to our young people, women and the elderly. Most of all, they pay tribute to the forces of the universe— seen and unseen—that make possible our existence on this trying but potentially bountiful land of great biodiversity.

“ V i c t o r ’s M u r a l ” features the recently deceased, 16-yearold Victor Villalpando exuding an air of freedom and delight as he coolly struts through a field of chile and corn, listening to music on his headset while dropping seeds of future life (dynamic and sustaining youth programs, a well-trained and more sensitive police force?) along his trodden path. Animal images, painted by children of La Tierra Top: Arlene Jackson; Below: Montessori School Hope Orange and Corrina who knew Victor, Shoemaker-Shure surround the young man whose life was tragically cut short not far from where the murals stand.

Top: mural depicting the late Victor Villalpando, Roger Montoya on ladder

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Behind him, another young man of similar age kneels reverently while carefully transplanting a single chile seedling in a

furrow that runs with water, both painted and mosaicked in a multitude of sparkling colors. He is framed by big, shady apple trees, a lounging cat and an alert-looking dog, as well as a harmless spider and reposing grasshoppers. In a distant plane we see an elderly gentleman—one of our unrelenting viejitos—sporting a lowbrim black cachucha, white shirt and dark dress pants as he rests his lithe little frame on his beloved hoe while taking a breather from the grueling but rewarding labor of cutting weeds. The scene is crowned by the majesty of the mesas of the Jémez and Chicoma Peak, the guardian mountain of the Tewa world, clad in royal blue.

The art pay trib the forc make p our exist this l

A second mural, depicting a highaltitude farm landscape such as those found in Peñasco or Chamisal, is titled simply, “Primavera” or springtime. Like

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ulture

Top (l-r): Completed Primavera mural, Rose B. Simpson, Mother Corn mural; Below (l-r): Arlene Jackson-Ravkovsky and Sasha Backhaus, Timmy Aragónez, group at work

one of Van Gogh’s paintings of his beloved Provence, done late in his life when he was confined to an insane asylum, this scene, too, is framed by bold, flowering fruit-tree branches that intersect the spaces and imbue the composition with a delicate oriental quality. Roger Montoya, a formidable artist, has created intoxicatingly beautiful areas in this mural, where exuberant pink and fuchsia apple blossoms and buds mingle with a turquoise and lavender sky in an ecstatic riot of color and movement that suggests the very moment when Earth was created and came into being.

tworks bute to ces that possible tence on land.

In the foreground we see a young man with a shovel, who has just closed a side ditch from which water has flowed out to the distant fields where two tiny figures are planting crops. Beyond these fields, on a slight

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rise, an old-style pitched-roof adobe caserón or big house, typical of Nuevo Mexicano villages, presides with its resident grandma sitting on her porch, caressing her dog and watching the men perform the work that, once upon a time, she herself had done. At the other side of this long horizontal mural, we see two young Pueblo and Hispano girls, one crouching and one sitting on the banks of the acequiacita. They are thoroughly engrossed, playing with the flowing water and handfuls of mud that slip through the fingers of their graceful hands. The consummate artistry and impressionist treatment of these figures by Trinidad-born Arlene Jackson are reminiscent of Mary Cassat’s sundrenched painted canvasses of similarly distracted girls. Behind this scene are fields about to be put under the plow, and above them loom the Truchas Peaks, blanketed with recent snow. The third mural, of a bountiful “Mother Corn,” features a cast of women within a primordial landscape of irregular

landforms that include Black Mesa. The landscape is intersected by the Río Grande and is illuminated by two suns: one, a literal morning rising sun at one end and, at the other, a stylized Pueblo Indian version of the sunset. A huge braid of yellow corn seems to be dropping from the sky between two women, while a green corn plant, surrounded by a halo of light as if it were a divine being, shoots up out of the fertile ground. Its roots are not the normal, stringy-yellow roots of corn. A living human heart has replaced them, as if to underscore the symbiotic relationship that humans have with this plant and the humanizing effects that respectful farming of the land has on people. This element seems to be saying that plants are people too, in accordance with much of Native American belief and understandings. Artists Rose B. Simpson of Santa Clara Pueblo and Warren Montoya of Santa Ana Pueblo crafted the vision for this mural. Mike 360 of Albuquerque is responsible for introducing the genetically altered corn plant with the heart.

Many local children and youth applied a variety of interesting plant and animal life forms to the murals. Aside from honoring the land and reawakening the community of northern New Mexico to its potential for raising much of its own food, the organizers, who have moved this labor-intensive project forward brush stroke by brush stroke, hope the project will help spark a movement among the area’s young people to participate in other opportunities in the arts and service to community. Española will come alive if efforts such as this are sustained. i Alejandro López, a painter and photographer, is one of the six core artists who have brought the mural project to life. His imagery served as the basis for much of the murals’ composition and content. For several years, López worked with internationally recognized artist Lily Yeh, from Philadelphia, whose training of nonprof it personnel in New Mexico in 2013 through the New Mexico Communit y Foundation gave the mural project its impetus.

Green Fire Times • October 2014

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A New Take on

Article and photos by Alejandro López

fter visiting a small farm on the south side of Santa Fe recently, I felt as if I had been to the ocean. I say this because there, amid oscillating stands of healthy spinach, chard and kale, my senses were saturated with the effervescent sights, sounds and scents of a place teeming with life. Standing beside a kaleidoscopic garden of medicinal plants on a gentle rise in the land while listening to the clatter of ducks and watching many birds fly overhead, I was aware that my being was being suffused by a benevolent and undeniably tangible cosmic force like the tides of the sea.

Dominique Pozo

Gaia Gardens is a varied and lush oneacre project on a three-acre plot on the edge of the Arroyo Chamisos between Siringo and Zía roads. The spirit behind this wonderful gift to a mostly residential, arroyo-side neighborhood is Poki Piottin, a Frenchman with a resolute, piercing gaze and possessed of the fervent warrior spirit of his Gallic ancestors. That spirit, luckily for us, is directed toward amicable life-engendering gardening. Beside Poki is the gentle, marvelously happy spirit of Dominique Pozo, who lavishes care on the once-unremarkable, dry and rocky piece of ground they planted with the help of volunteers. The three-year-old nonprofit initiative is only partially about providing affordable, wholesome food to the community. It is just as much about the nourishment that such a place can provide to the minds and souls of people who may not in their day-to-day lives otherwise find such calm and soothing healing effects. “Even though,within the rigidly conceived constructs of our present culture and society, people are not supposed to wander

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into another person’s ‘private property’and recharge their spirits courting ducks or running their hands over velvety plants, it is precisely my wish for them to do so,” said Poki, as we sat at a table beneath a tree in the garden’s informal open-air kitchen and enjoyed a glass of fruit juice, fresh radishes and hummus on toasted bread. “Sometimes, in the midst of a particularly toilsome afternoon, a mother and her children will show up, and, while the mom is sitting beneath a tree taking an obvious break from the arduous task of raising children, the children are responding to all the stimulating biological phenomena at their fingertips.” With only the slightest French accent, he continued. “There are just too few alternatives for experiencing the culturally and historically significant life forms that once inhabited the spaces between the sheer wilderness of, say, Hyde Park and the controlled environment of shopping malls. At its boldest, our society may try to fill these spaces necessary to human well-being with a recreation center, a carefully manicured park or bicycle trails. In fact, this property is bounded by a bicycle trail, and many of the bikers are compelled to stop, get down from their bikes and intently study the gardens. Why not create any number of food-, flowerand herb-producing gardens throughout this town? “I believe that the common person inwardly yearns to experience the

elemental sources of life that were germane to the evolution of all of human culture and which can still be accessed on a smallscale, intensive organic farm such as this. Here, nothing is wasted, and the bounteous yields serve to nourish our bodies, oui, but, together with the rich processes inherent in growing food, they supply

Poki Piottin in the greenhouse

Until the 1940s and ‘50s, gardens and cornfields permeated many residential enclaves in Santa Fe.

us with inspiration and energy for things of transcendental importance.”

The fact that this garden is embedded in the midst of a thriving neighborhood, where people can come together around one of the most creative things on Earth, should be seen as one of the neighborhood’s most important assets. A garden such as this can function as the perfect catalyst for creating healthier, more integrated and sustainable relationships between people, to say nothing of the relationship between people and the earth, which is also of vital importance, lest we all float

away into cyberspace. By its very nature, the garden integrates plant, mineral and animal life, but it also integrates the elderly, children, youth, adults, mothers, fathers and entire families into a seamless caring community of vibrant, creative and happy human beings. What more do we want? Such spaces are at the very root of Santa Fe’s soul, history and way of doing things. The old Chicano-Mexicano people of this town are quick to tell you that, until the 1940s and ‘50s, gardens and cornfields permeated all of their family

continued on page 24

Gardens’ Community Land Trust Seeks Funding Threatened with foreclosure on the property that the urban farm leases, the operators and supporters of Gaia Gardens have formed the nonprofit Mil Abrazos Community Land Trust and launched an Indiegogo (international crowdfunding site) campaign to raise $250,000 to buy the land and its buildings. The estimated amount needed for the purchase and improvements is $400,000, of which $150,000 has already been raised. The New Mexico Community Foundation is the project’s fiscal sponsor. The garden has not been without obstacles and controversy. Last year, the property was cited for building code violations and the garden was forced to close its on-site, fresh vegetable stand. The city of Santa Fe prevented schoolchildren from making field trips there and told the directors that farm interns couldn’t sleep in tents on the property. There were also some complaints that the garden created too much traffic for the neighborhood, although many people who live around it have supported it. The city is now working to provide more cooperation. Mayor Javier Gonzales even appears in a promotional video posted on the fundraising site. “I think that Santa Fe can be a leader in the green economy,” he says, “and one of the ways is to have a very robust urban farming policy.” To help, visit igg.me/at/MilAbrazos

Green Fire Times • October 2014

In October, you will find local farmers’ markets beaming with an abundance of last harvests and carefully prepared canned goods. At the Pueblo of Zia Farmers’ Markets in Bernalillo and San Ysidro, New Mexico, vendors sell locally grown, non-GMO fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs, as well as prepared foods and craft items, homemade soaps and many other items. This is the second year the market has been in operation under the pueblo’s Sustainable Agriculture & Farmers Markets Growers Cooperative Program. The market—at 335 S. Camino del Pueblo, next to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Bernalillo—is open on Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-7 p.m. The Friday market features demonstrations by the Sandoval County Master Gardeners Program, and you can hear live music by local musicians as you shop. Patrons from northern New Mexico can take the Railrunner to the Bernalillo stop at 400 Station St., then take a brief, scenic 10-minute walk to the market. Bring your hats and bags to carry purchases. © Caren Gala (2)

The pueblo opened a new market this year, the Zia-San Ysidro Farmers Market, on Hwy 550, between the Giant convenience store and the NM 4 junction. It is open from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. every Sunday through the end of October. Farmers and artisans from San Ysidro, the Santa Ana area, and the pueblos of Jémez and Zia, sell their goods. Zia Farmers Markets has a Facebook page for regular updates and the latest schedule. For more information, contact Scott Pino at 505.553.3290.

Gaia Gardens

continued from page 23

Poki Piottin

compounds that comprised the entirety of García, Canyon, and many other residential enclaves. Archival photos from that period clearly show that the grounds of the plaza—the very heart of this world-bedazzling town—was set aside for productive gardening and was tended to by locals. In fact, the religious, cultural and economic underpinnings of the Pueblo world, as well as of much of the native Nuevo Mexicano villages that constitute the foundations of our state, arise from the very same or similar set of values and practices being carried out at Gaia Gardens. i You can support Gaia Gardens by: • Volunteering at the farm • Contributing to their fundraising campaign (see sidebar page 23) • Purchasing Gaia Gardens’ produce at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Alejandro López is a northern New Mexico based writer, photographer and educator.

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The Wilderness Act’s 50th Anniversary

The Wilderness Act is a system of land preservation that today includes almost 110 million acres around the United States and 1.6 million acres in New Mexico. National Wilderness Conference October 15–19, Albuquerque

eld in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the National Wilderness Conference is the first national gathering of wilderness advocates, stewards, educators and researchers in 25 years. Beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 and ending at noon on Oct. 19, this event at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque includes plenary speakers and panelists such as author Terry Tempest Williams, Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell (invited), advocate and New Mexico Wilderness Alliance board member Dave Foreman and University of New Mexico Native American educator Dr. Greg Cajete. The opening ceremony and reception will feature Native American performances, a video welcome from former President Jimmy Carter and a keynote address by New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich. There will be 84 presenter sessions and a poster session exploring contemporary topics in wilderness management such as civic engagement, stewardship, science, education, experience and history. There will also be two days of for-credit preconference training, over 20 field trips to New Mexico wilderness areas and cultural sites, a sponsor and partner exhibit hall, K-12 teacher workshops, and a two-night People’s Wilderness Film Gala. For more information and registration rates, call 505.843.8696 or visit wilderness50th.org

Free “Get Wild” Festival, Oct. 18, 2–10 p.m. on Civic Plaza

eld outdoors on Oct. 18, from 2-10 p.m. in conjunction with the National Wilderness Conference, the “Get Wild” Festival will be a free outdoor public event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Arranged in a family-friendly, fair-like setting, the festival will include live educational presentations, performances and interactive activities that promote responsible outdoor recreation and wilderness stewardship.

Activities will include the Wilderness Awareness Trail, a station-based immersionlearning experience for children led by Youth Leader Scholarship Program recipients; Leave No Trace, horse-packing and survival skills demonstrations; traditional archery hunting, backcountry cooking, including a cook-off using recipes from the new Wilderness Ranger Cookbook; a climbing wall and fishing ponds; Girl and Boy Scout encampments; and a Wilderness Jr. Ranger booth. There will also be wildlife ambassadors, a crosscut saw demonstration showcasing the proper use and history of traditional tools used in wilderness trail maintenance; and an Aldo Leopold impersonator, giving the history of wilderness. There will be live music, including mariachi and local bands; Le Chat Lunatique, Animal Opera; and Let it Grow, as well as campfire chautauquas (storytellers) and acoustic fireside musicians. Other attractions include participatory sand art depicting endangered species and wilderness art by local students, a Wilderness Passport Scavenger Hunt, free marshmallows and prizes and a bike valet. Food trucks will be on-site. i

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The festival will open with Diné (Navajo) contemporary flute player Andrew Thomas. Speakers include Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro, and Juan Martínez, National Geographic explorer and director of the Natural Leaders Network. North of Dulce, NM near the New Mexico-Colorado border

Raising the Roof on a New Nature Center for Northern New Mexico Northern New Mexico, well known for its inspiring vistas, interesting geology and diverse range of flora and fauna, is getting a new place to inspire residents and visitors to learn about the region’s unique natural beauty, and then get outside to experience it for themselves. T he L os Alamos Nature Center is a public-private partnership between Los Alamos County and the Pajar ito Environmental Education Center, which will operate the center. The $4.3 m i l l i o n f a c i l i t y, located near the Los Alamos Aquatic Center, includes a planetarium. Klinger Constructors of Albuquerque was chosen as the contractor to work on the project. Santa Fe-based exhibit design firm Merriell and Associates is designing the exhibits. The center is going up quickly and is on track to open on Earth Day, April 22, 2015. For more information or to support the center’s fundraising, visit www.PajaritoEEC.org/TakeWing

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Do Your Part! • Ride the RTD! Last year* more than 2,161 tons (4,322,000 lbs.) of carbon emissions were reduced by people riding the RTD. 4.35 million vehicle miles were removed from our streets resulting in fewer cars and less wear and tear on our roads.

Vote = Nov. 4

Support a greener New Mexico! PubLic TRaNSiT iS SuSTaiNabiLiTY! Free service Monday through Friday in the counties of Santa Fe, Taos, Los alamos and Rio arriba.

For information visit www.RideThebluebus.com or call toll free 1-866-206-0754 *FY2013 July 2012 – June 2013

Green Fire Times • October 2014

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The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest

Describe what “wilderness” means to you and your community

his contest honors the life and legacy of Aldo Leopold, one of the most important advocates for the protection of wilderness in the 20th century.This is a particularly significant year to honor his legacy because 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act by Congress.

The Aldo Leopold family

for beautiful rock formations or peach blossoms. The Wilderness Act is a way to embrace and understand that we are not the only living things on this planet. It’s a way to show love and peace to our environment that is so important to us. There are places that we must keep safe so we don’t forever ruin what we have and stop loving it. Wilderness is a reminder of the world and how lucky we are that we have it, but we must keep it safe. We must remember the raw beauty of life and how much we can learn from it.

There are places that we must keep safe so we don’t forever ruin what we have.

More than 150 entries were received from public, private and homeschools; 6th-12th grade students from all over New Mexico. The students were asked, “Describe what ‘wilderness’ means to you and your community.” The entries were judged by a small panel of judges who work in the field of environmental education and advocacy. Three prizes of $500 were given in three categories based on grade levels: 6th–7th grade, 8th–9th grade and 10th–12th grade. As a bonus prize for the student with the best overall entry, her school received a $250 gift of a wilderness library, courtesy of Bookworks. The winning students were honored at a ceremony at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History during its Earth Day celebration in April. For more information on the annual contest, contact Rowan Converse, biologist, Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, Bosque School, Albuquerque. Email: rowan.converse@bosqueschool.org

Kyra Sprague 9th grade, Española High School Winner: 8th–9th grade category

Student Profiles and Essays All of the student entries were sponsored by a teacher. The sponsors of the winning students were asked to write a brief statement about their student to be read at the award ceremony.

When was the last time you went exploring in the wilderness? Before everyone had cell phones and tablets, the great outdoors was the best kind of entertainment. It was a home for some of the most beautiful creatures, a laboratory for scientists and a place for wild adventures. Now, we barely see it. Wilderness is important to me and my community because we would not be alive without it.

Kate Stratton 6th grade, The International School at Mesa del Sol Winner: 6th–7th grade category and overall winner

From teacher Chris O’Conner: “Kate Stratton has always been a hard worker and strives to do her best. She was excited to enter the essay competition and put her heart into writing her essay. She loves to travel and be outdoors. She especially enjoys hiking in the mountains and spending time on the beach. She also enjoys playing soccer and singing. Kate plans to go to college and wants to study environmental science, education, or possibly combine her passions and become an environmental educator.”

The Crane

I watched as a crane finished off its corn lying on the cool green grass. I watched as that crane flew away higher into the sky, as its white feathered wings flapped gracefully through the air. I watched until the crane was gone, over the hills and mountains to find a place to sleep that night. I sat under a tree in the fall grass, feeling the cold air against my face, as I listened to the music of the wilderness. That day changed me. I realized that “wilderness” is an amazing word. It’s a place that the trees can sway in the breeze and the animals can run free, untouched by human hands. It’s where blossoms can grow on peach trees almost ready to make the plump and juicy fruit. It’s where there are beautiful rock formations that are so tall that they can almost touch a fluffy white cloud overhead.

From teacher Gloria Woelfel: “Kyra Sprague is a good student and makes good grades. She spends her summers at her grandparents’ mountain home in California. Presently she is a cheerleader and tennis player at Española Valley High School. She has a rabbit named ‘Labbit’ and a dog named ‘Snoopy.’ She enjoys hiking from a cabin retreat in Brazos, New Mexico. She plans to be a lawyer someday and has recently written to legislators in support of the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction program. Let’s hope that she becomes a legal advocate for wildlife in her future vocation as an attorney.”

Wilderness was a safe Place

In the continental U.S., 2.7 percent of the land is made up of protected wilderness. To this nation the wilderness means a decreasing percentage. We cut down trees without even thinking about our diminished oxygen supply. We hunt and kill animals without remembering that our ancestors once watched these creatures and learned from them. We are oblivious to the fact that we have gone too far to go back and we can’t correct ourselves, but we can slow down the process.

Wilderness is important to me because it made me fall in love.

The wilderness is a natural habitat for so many amazing animals. It provides shelter for them and breeding grounds. Without the wilderness there would be no place for wildlife to procreate naturally. Zoos and wildlife facilities help to breed species and put them back in the wild but no matter what humans do to prepare the animals, it doesn’t quite add up to being born and raised as a wild animal. Zoo raised animals don’t get the education they need to survive in the wild. Scientists use protected wildlife areas for research. Information from the plants and animals living in a certain area can help them find possible problems with the area. The more a scientist familiarizes themselves with an issue, the faster they can work on treating it. But with so little protected areas left, how can we expect researchers to collect all the data they need to keep it alive?

There is so much to learn f rom the word “wilderness” such as peace. That one day that I watched the crane fly away gave me peace and For my whole life growing up, wilderness was a love for nature and wilderness. People should love safe place to have fun and explore. My family and continued on page 33 the world and treat it well. We should have love Contest winners (l-r) Kate Stratton, Kyra Sprague, Kobie Boslough

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

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Aldo Leopold Writing Contest continued from page 31 I would play games out there and bond. It made my family closer to each other which is now a scarce thing. Without that time, we wouldn’t be so close now. The wilderness is important to me because it made me fall in love. It gave me something to be passionate about and now I am set on conserving it so that one day, in many years, it will still be there for everyone to enjoy.

Kobie Boslough 10th grade, Albuquerque Academy Winner: 10th–12th grade category

From teacher Laura Matter: “Kobie Boslough developed an abiding love of the outdoors over the course of a childhood spent camping and backpacking with her family. She has translated her passion into a serious commitment to learn about environmental and ecological issues, with the hope of making a positive difference in the world. Recently, she began a self-directed community service project, for which she’s partnering with other organizations to monitor the Albuquerque watershed. She has also cultivated a deep knowledge of avian life, partly through the Albuquerque Academy birding club, and through caring for her own homing pigeons. Kobie is as dedicated a scholar as she is an outdoor enthusiast, and she had a passion for art and writing, particularly when she can use it to move the hearts and minds of others to understand and appreciate the natural world.”

Wild at Heart

My house lies on the border of urban and rural. It sits on the boundary between the world of black asphalt and the world of piñón and quaking aspen. If I opened my front door and walked directly west, I would encounter miles of tangled roadways and cement-block shopping centers. But if I turned east instead, I would follow meandering arroyos into juniper-spotted foothills, and onward until I reached the craggy granite peaks that I call home. I find a certain comfort in the grooves of tree bark. When I press my nose up close to the trunk of a ponderosa, the smell of vanilla encompasses me. On hikes, I like to make chains out of shed pine needles before they unfurl and fall apart.

Wilderness is something that engages all my senses and forces me to exist in the moment.

The thing about wilderness is that it doesn’t have to be remote and unattainable. It isn’t defined by where it is, but instead by what it means. For me, wilderness is home. It is a place where I can connect with myself, away from wires and cement. It is a meditative place, where I can escape from the pressures of everyday life. From a young age, the Sandía Mountains have always provided me with this sense of belonging. Because my house is located in their rolling foothills, I can easily walk down my driveway and into an arroyo that will take me far up a steep canyon, or wander around in a field of granite boulders bigger than me. Unfortunately, my city sees the wilderness surrounding it as something to be encroached upon. Albuquerque’s expansion into its surrounding areas displays a general disregard for the pristine landscape around it. Though there are many people who love the wild as much as I do, the vast majority of my city’s inhabitants do not see the sickening sprawl of Albuquerque and how it is spilling into the wilderness. Empty lots are being leveled and drug stores are replacing cottonwood groves. Suburbs are being built where coyotes make their dens, and roads are carving through fields that had previously been covered in rabbit brush and cholla. The border between urban and rural is rapidly changing, and my home might cease to exist in a wild place. I might not be able to leave my house and go for a hike without having to dodge cars on my way to the open space in the east. I wish beyond all else that my community would stop seeing the wilderness that surrounds us as something dispensable. I wish that other people felt the same way as I do about the mountains, because like Aldo Leopold, I cannot live without wild things. If more people felt a sense of love and respect for the wilderness that we make our homes in, we might be able to protect these wild places that play such a large role in our lives. i

ADVERTISE Support our work for a more sustainable world. Call Skip Whitson at 505.471.5177 or Anna Hansen at 505.982.0155

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

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Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014

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Green Fire Times • October 2014

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NEWSBITEs Augustín Plains Water Mining Case Update

“Millions of dollars and the future of NM’s public water are at stake.”

On Sept. 22, a retired couple from western New Mexico asked the state Supreme Court to order the State Engineer to dismiss a massive speculative water appropriation application from August ín P lains R anc h, LLC (AP R), which is owned by an Italian billionaire. In their petition, filed by the New Ray and Carol Pittman with New Mexico Environmental Mexico Environmental Law Center attorney Bruce Fredrick Law Center (NMELC), Ray and Carol Pittman state that a second application filed by APR this summer is “identical in all material respects” to the application APR filed in 2007, which the Pittmans, along with 80 neighbors, persuaded the State Engineer and a District Court to deny after five years of litigation. The 2014 application, a $600 million proposal to drill 37 wells and pipe billions of gallons, fails to indicate exactly where the water from an aquifer that underlies the San Augustín Plains will be used, as required by the state Constitution. “By keeping the intended use vague,” said NMELC attorney Bruce Frederick, “the Ranch hopes to speculate in future water markets and ultimately sell to whoever the highest bidders may be in seven counties.” The Pittmans’ efforts come in response to legal maneuvering undertaken by APR and the State Engineer this summer. APR filed its “new” application a few weeks before the parties were scheduled to present oral argument to the Court of Appeals. “I hope the Supreme Court will step in and stop this scheme once and for all, not only for the people of west-central New Mexico, but for the people in our state’s other rural communities. Because this is going to be a big problem for them too if the State Engineer opens the door to water grabs,” said petitioner Carol Pittman.

Building Creative Communities Conference November 12-14 in Santa Fe

New Mexico MainStreet, NM Department of Cultural Affairs Historic Preservation Division, NM Ar ts, and NM Tourism Department have invited communit y builders throughout the state to participate in the inaugural Building Creative Communities Conference. The training, educational and networking event at La Fonda Hotel will bring together practitioners in diverse fields of community building such as arts, culture and redevelopment to help promote commercial-district revitalization, heritage tourism and preservation. Nationally recognized keynote speakers will discuss the themes: Build Upon Our History; Build Alliances with Each Other; Build Our Economy and Sustain Our Culture. They will be joined by more than 35 other area specialists from New Mexico and beyond through a variety of sessions and activities over the three days. “This pioneering conference represents a great interdisciplinary effort to explore and encourage our creative economy,” said Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela. For more information and to register, visit www.buildingcreativecommunities.org

Academy of Sustainability Education Launched at Santa Fe High

A new career-technical program called the Academy of Sustainability Education has opened at the south campus of Santa Fe High School. The program’s director is Dana Richards. More than 160 students signed up and began pre-building construction classes in the spring. Motivated by the need for more young people to be trained in green building and

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trades essential to the industry, the Project-Based Learning program is receiving support from the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association. To augment the faculty of about a dozen teachers, the SFAHBA has invited its members and partners with knowledge and expertise to fill volunteer positions both on- and off-campus in areas such as woodworking, homebuilding, green trades, water harvesting, horticulture, hydroponics, landscaping, solar installation, sound studios, and public policy on sustainability issues. For more information, contact LeeAnn Archuleta at learchuletea@sfps.info

El Valle Women’s Collaborative Wins Torchlight Prize

Ribera, New Mexico-based grassroots organization El Valle Women’s Collaborative has been selected as a winner of the 2014 Torchlight Prize (www.torchlightprize. org), a $10,000 award honoring self-organized groups that have taken the initiative to strengthen their community. The Collaborative began when a group of women from the Pecos River Valley came together to find ways to support one another. They established a thrift store with a pay-what-you-can model to ensure that everyone had access to the store’s offerings. The group now sends its overstock to support nonprofit organizations in larger communities. It has partnered with other groups to teach women sewing and business skills for entrepreneurship, and created a community garden, as well as youth farmto-market programs. The prize is sponsored by the Family Independence Initiative, an Oakland, Californiabased national nonprofit that supports initiatives that low-income families take to improve their own lives, build resilience and increase self-determination in their communities. “The Torchlight Prize puts a spotlight on the power of collective action,” said Mia Birdsong, vice president of the Initiative. “Prize winners don’t wait for policy-makers, service agencies, or philanthropy; they work together, pool resources and make their own change.”

Rural Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Trainings programs for businesses, farms and ranches

As part of an initiative to strengthen the country’s economy, small towns and rural communities, USDA Rural Development is hosting free workshops to help farmers, ranchers and the rural small business owners obtain loan guarantees and grants for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement projects. Twelve workshops will be held across the state of New Mexico through Nov. 12. The financial support offered is not for home use. The Rural Energy for America Program’s (REAP) loan guarantees require matching funding. The program offers a 25 percent grant to purchase and install alternative energy systems such as solar panels. Other applicable renewable energy systems include biofuels, wind, geothermal, hydrogen-based projects and anaerobic digesters. Energy efficiency projects include but are not limited to changing out inefficient pumps, insulation, roofing, lighting, heating and cooling systems for more efficient ones. For more information, call 505.761.4957 or email kim.giang@nm.usda.gov

PNM Solar Energy Proposal Filed

An agreement was filed with state regulators on Sept. 25 that, if approved, would allow New Mexico’s largest electric provider to build 40 megawatts of new solar next year, a $79 million investment in green energy, according to PNM. By 2016, the utility says it will have enough solar power to serve 40,000 average homes. The N.M. Public Regulation Commission staff, the N.M. Attorney General, the N.M Industrial Energy Consumers, Western Resource Advocates and the Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy signed the agreement, which calls for the company to build four 10-megawatt solar centers in 2015. PNM currently has eight operating solar centers plus three more under construction in Valencia, Cibola and Sandoval counties. The utility also uses some wind-generated power and will add more wind power from the Red Mesa Wind Energy Center starting Jan. 1, 2015. The additional 40 megawatts of solar, which PNM identified as a cost-effective resource, is part of the utility’s 2015-2016 plan, filed in June, to meet a state requirement that its renewable energy portfolio equal 15 percent of the energy sourced.

Green Fire Times • October 2014

What's Going On! Events / Announcements Weil, the keynote speaker, will also give a cooking demonstration at the ABQ Biopark Botanic Garden, Oct. 12, 4:15-5:30 pm, as part of an all-day pre-conference workshop ($195). unmmg.org/clinics/cfl

ALBUQUERQUE Oct. 4-5 ABQ Indian Arts Festival Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Second annual. 505.843.7270

Oct. 5 Bosque Boogie Along the Bosque

A 10K, 5K and 1K fun run for kids to benefit Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum of ABQ. Parking in the Montaño Plaza Shopping Center. www.tcrproductions.com

Oct. 8, 9 am-4 pm Collaboration: Cultivating the Art of Working Together Center for Nonprofit Excellence, United Way of Central NM 2340 Alamo SE

Intermediate level workshop to facilitate collaboration among nonprofit organizations to improve efficiency, sustainability and outcomes. Presented by Mark D. Bennett. $50. 505.247.3671, www.centerfornon profitexcellence.org

Oct. 11, 1-4 pm World Homeless Day Gathering ABQ Civic Plaza

Speakers, information tables, music. Donations such as non-perishable food, clothing, hygiene items, jackets, blankets, etc. accepted. www.facebook.com/abqcaresforall

Oct. 11, 2 pm The Story of Fracking: A Teach-In ABQ Peace & Justice Center 202 Harvard SE

Part of a global day of protest to call for a ban on fracking, a method of natural gas drilling that opponents say puts our air, water, climate and communities at risk. Host: Food & Water Watch NM. www.globalfrackdown. org/events-2014/

Oct. 11-Nov. 8 Bernalillo County Extension Master Composter Training

Applications are now being accepted. www. nmcomposters.org

Oct. 12, 11 am-4 pm Local Food Festival and Field Day Gutiérrez-Hubbell House, 6029 Isleta Blvd. SW

Oct. 14 RSVP Deadline for Oct. 18 Event La Montanita Co-op Annual Membership Gathering Indian Pueblo Cultural Center 2401 12th St. NW

Hear Gar Alperovitz discuss the future of cooperatives. 505.217.2027, robins@lamontanita.coop

Oct. 14, 7:30-10:15 pm; Oct. 19, 1:30-6:15 pm People’s Wilderness Film Gala The KiMo Theater

New and old films will include sweeping vistas and stories of wild lands, people’s experiences of them and problems facing wilderness protection. www.kimoTickets.com, http:// abq2014.wix.com/peopleswildfilmgala

Oct. 15, 5:30-7 pm We Are Keepers of Our Culture Indian Pueblo Cultural Center 2401 12th St. NW

Talk by Kyle Swimmer (Shpeyiah, Laguna Pueblo) will discuss the role young men are charged with to keep traditions alive to perpetuate Pueblo culture. Free. 505.843.7270, IndianPueblo.org

Oct. 15-19 National Wilderness Conference Hyatt Regency ABQ ABQ Convention Center

Presentations, panels, exhibits, field trips and skill development workshops focusing on recent advances and emerging issues in wilderness stewardship. The companion Wilderness Celebration Exhibition will showcase organizational booths for grade- and middle-school students. Conference registration: $350/$200. Scholarships. Get Wild Festival (public) on Oct.18, 2-10 pm on Civic Plaza. See story, page 27. http://www.wilderness50th.org

October 18, 9 am-4 pm Ecological Restoration Volunteer Project Sandia Mountains near ABQ

Join the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation for a volunteer restoration service project focused on improving wildlife habitat in the Sandia Mountains. rioscial@gmail.com, http://abq.nmwildlife.org/

Oct. 18, 1:30-3 pm Home Composting Basics Open Space Visitor Center 6500 Coors Blvd. NW

Highlights local food and agriculture. Connect with local growers, producers and businesses. 505.724.3619, localfoodnm@mrcognm.gov, www.mrcog-nm.gov

Learn the science, materials and methods of drought-proofing your garden soil. Free. Registration: 505.897.8831, register@ nmcomposters.org. Presented by Bernalillo County Extension Master Composters.

Oct. 13-15 Symposium of Integrative Medicine Professionals in the Land of Enchantment Crown Plaza ABQ

Oct. 24, 6-7 pm Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th St. SW

Organized by Dr. Arti Prasad, an integrative physician, this conference features an array of complementary and alternative approaches. It is open to anyone who wants to learn about health & wellness ($150). Dr. Andrew

Book signing, lecture and discussion with author Dr. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and Dr. Tomás Chávez. Free. 505.246.2261, www.nationalhispaniccenter.org

Green Fire Times • October 2014

Nov. 8, 10 am-6 pm; Nov. 9, 10 am-5 pm NM Green & Healthy Living Expo Manuel Luján Complex, NM State Fairgrounds, 300 San Pedro NE

Educational presentations, live demonstrations, information on sustainable living, health & wellness. Eco-friendly products and services. Admission: $8/$5/under 12 free. 505.633.8921, Tracy@nmexpos.com, nmexpos.com

Nov. 12-14 Quivira Coalition Conference Embassy Suites Hotel

“Back to the Future.” Presentations and workshops on agricultural and conservation practices that are old yet new. Speakers include Dorn Cox, Fred Kirschenmann, Winona LaDuke, Bill McDonald, Jo Robinson and others who represent the diversity of the regenerative agriculture movement. 505.820.2544, ext. 2. http:// www.quiviracoalition.org

Daily, 10 am-6 pm Wildlife West 87 N. Frontage Rd., Edgewood

122-acre park/attraction with educational programs dedicated to native wildlife and ecology. $7/$6/$4/children under 5 free. www.wildlifewest.org

Weekends in October Maize Maze Río Grande Community Farm 1701 Montaño Rd. NW

Fridays: 3-8 pm; Saturdays: 11 am-8 pm; Sundays: 11 am-6 pm. $8/$5/kids 3 & under free. http://riograndefarm.org

Wednesdays through Nov. 19, noon-12:45 pm Water & Energy in NM Pearl Hall (Stanford & Central),Rm.P139

Conversations on Our Common Future seminar/discussion series. Free. cscruggs@ unm.edu. 10/1: Water & energy use in NM agriculture; 10/8: Implications of militarized landscapes for groundwater

SANTA FE

Oct. 4 St. Frances of Assisi Feast Day Nambé Pueblo, NM Ceremonial dances

Oct. 4, 3-8 pm 3rd Petchesky Conservation Award Petchesky Conservation Center, 5430 S. Richards Ave.

NM Land Conservancy’s celebration of land conservation. Tickets: 505.986.3801, ladkins@nmlandconservancy.org

Oct. 4-5 Bicentennial Celebration The Village of Galisteo, NM

Parade, music, dance, food, exhibits, La Sala de San Jose building restoration. Event times and locations: www.lasaladegalisteo.org

Oct. 4-5, 10 am-4 pm Harvest Festival El Rancho de las Golondrinas La Cíenega

Harvest activities and entertainment at living history museum. $8/$6/children 12 & under free. 505.471.2261, Golondrinas.org

Oct. 6, 2-3 pm Lecture: Eating, Loving and Learning in the SF Garden SF Women’s Club

SF gardeners will give tips, answer questions and discuss the highs and lows of growing plants in our arid environment. $10/members free. http://www.santafebotanicalgarden.org

Oct. 7, 8 am-12 pm Gen Y Economic Summit The Lodge at Santa Fe 750 St. Francis Drive

Speakers including SF Mayor Javier Gonzales will explore new ideas to build more effective public/private partnerships. $30/$15 student. Hosted by Our Western Horizons. 505.216.5385, jyl@ourwesternhorizons. com, www.ourwesternhorizons.com

Oct. 7, 1-2:30 pm SF Canyon Preserve Hike

Guided hike with Robert Martin, The Nature Conservancy’s stewardship ecologist. Reservations required. 505.946.2029, Robert_ martin@tnc.org, nature.org/NewMexico

Oct. 8-9 am-12 pm Fund Raising Basics SF Business Incubator 3900 Paseo del Sol

Seminar presented by Alex Shapiro will provide an overview of fund raising fundamentals and techniques for small nonprofits. Registration: 505.424.1140, option 1, scorese minars@hotmail.com, www.santafescore.org

Oct. 9, 6-8 pm Myths, Facts and Competing in Creative World of the Arts SF Business Incubator 3900 Paseo del Sol

Panelists include Rod Lambert, SF Community Gallery director; Talia Kosh, NM Lawyers for the Arts; Carol Cooper, overall arts & museum expertise; Stephanie West and Kendra Arnold, social media and web development experts. Free. 505.474.6556, rperea@wesst.org

Oct. 11, 9:30 am-12 pm Community SF River Cleanup Meet at DeVargas Park off W. Alameda

Residents of all ages are invited to help remove litter. Organized by the SF Watershed Assn. 505.820.1696, stewards@santafe watershed.org, www.santafewatershed.org

Oct. 11 Fall Fiesta Farmers’ Market Institute SF Farmers’ Market Pavilion

Live auction, dinner celebrating local food, farmers, culture & community. $135. 505.983.7726, www.farmersmarketinstitute.org

Oct. 11: Public Conversation; Oct. 13-16: Retreat Leading by Being: Exploring a New Vision of Leadership Conversation: The Lensic; Retreat: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiú, NM

Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, Chung Hyun Kyung will explore ways to support the growth and development of the feminine voice and balanced leader-

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ship. Lensic tickets ($35): 505.988.1234; Retreat ($455-$900): 877.804.4678, ext. 4152 or Registrar@GhostRanch.org

Oct. 12, 12:30 pm “The Great Invisible” Center for Contemporary Arts

Film screening about the hidden/growing costs of the Gulf oil spill. Guest former Sen. Jeff Bingaman will discuss a recently concluded study on ways states are reducing carbon emissions from power generation. Sponsored by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Suggested donation: $5 or more.

Oct. 12, 5 pm Upon the Fragile Shore Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie

Reading of new play that explores human rights and environmental issues. Organizations worldwide are presenting readings of these intertwining monologues. 505.577.2679, http:// www.nopassport.org/upon-fragile-shorenopassport-human-rights-reading-scheme, http://teatroparaguas.org

Oct. 13, 6 pm Dr. Andrew Weil Lecture The Lensic

Weil, an international bestselling author, is program director for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. $20. 505.988.1234, ticketssantafe.org

Oct. 15-19 Santa Fe Independent Film Fest Downtown Santa Fe

“A young Sundance.” More than 33 feature films at four venues. Cutting-edge programming, preview screenings, independent films and directors. 10/19: Award ceremony honoring George RR Martin. Tickets: 505.988.1234, The Lensic. info@santafeinde pendent.com, www.santafeindependent.com

Oct. 16, 6-8:30 pm Business Plans and Money Management

Seminar presented by Bob Lantis. Developing and executing a successful business plan. Registration: 505.424.1140, option 1, scorese minars@hotmail.com, www.santafescore.org

Oct. 17, 6:30 pm The Future of Cooperatives Unitarian Church, 107 W. Barcelona

Gar Alperovitz will lead a discussion. Sponsored by La Montañita Co-op and We Are People Here! 505.217.2027, robins@ lamontanita.coop

Oct. 18, 2-6 pm Women’s Health Event NEA Event Room, 2007 Botulph Rd.

Natural beauty and healthy lifestyle products and practitioners. $3 entry fee benefits Many Mothers. 505.660.1777, Facebook.com/ Women’sHealthEventSantaFe

Oct. 18-19, 10 am-5 pm Galisteo Studio Tour Galisteo, NM, 20 miles So. of SF

27th Annual. Over 30 artists and craftsmen open their private studios to the public. For details, directions and artists’ pages, visit galisteostudiotour.org. Maps and info will also be available at La Sala Welcome Center.

Oct. 20, 6 pm Juan Estévan Arellano Hotel Santa Fe

SW Seminar Series lecture on NM’s Lifeblood: Acequias and their Origins. Arellano is a noted author, historian and mayordomo. $12. 505.466.2775, southwestseminar@aol. com, SouthwestSeminars.org

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Oct. 21 Registration deadline NM Finance Infrastructure Finance Conference, Oct. 28-30 Buffalo Thunder Resort

Funding agency contacts, designers, architects and engineers will answer questions regarding bringing capital projects to reality. Participants include planners, legislators, federal agencies, special districts, school districts, tribes, private organizations and NM businesses. www.ifc.state.nm.us

Oct. 22, 10 am-6:30 pm El Agua es Vida Festival SF Community College

Water-related festival with Mayor Gonzales, local organizations, hands-on demos, exhibits and workshops. 505-428-1467

Oct. 25, 10 am-12 pm Green Writers Circle

Writers engaged in sustainability, ecology and environmental issues meet for training, discussion and information resources. RSVP: 505.670.2577, sguyette@nets.com

Oct. 27, 6 pm Steve Fadden Hotel Santa Fe

SW Seminar Series lecture on Mohawk Stories of Our Natural World. Fadden, a storyteller, musician and author, is on the faculty of the Institute of American Indian Arts. $12. 505.466.2775, southwestseminar@aol. com, SouthwestSeminars.org

Nov. 1 NM Community Foundation Luminaria Awards

Pays tribute to outstanding individuals from throughout the state who make a profound difference in their communities. 505.820.6860, www.nmcf.org

Nov. 1-2, 1 pm Climate Leadership Summit Temple Beth Shalom, 205 E. Barcelona

Workshop, visioning session and kickoff of Change the Course, a new program from Rainforest Action Network to create a just transition to a post-carbon future. beautifulhealthyplanet@gmail.com, www.ran.org/ ctc_summit_santafe_nov_1_2_2014

Nov. 8, 4:30-8 pm Wild & Scenic Film Festival

505.989.9022, ext. 18, elee@nmelc.org

Nov. 10, 6 pm Lessons of the Ancient Hohokam Hotel Santa Fe

SW Seminars lecture on Water Control in an Uncontrolled Environment by geoarchaologist, geomorphologist, former Washington State University professor Dr. Gary Huckleberry. $12. 505.466.2775, southwestsemi nar@aol.com, SouthwestSeminars.org

Nov. 12-14 Building Creative Communities Conference La Fonda Hotel

A training, educational and networking event for community builders throughout NM. Presented by NM Arts, NM Mainstreet, NM Historic Preservation Division and NM Tourism Dept. $180. www.build ingcreativecommunities.org

Nov. 21-22 Carbon Economy Series Hemp Bound SF Community College

Friday night talk (7-9 pm, $10) by Doug Fine and Saturday workshop/panel discussion

(9 am-5 pm, $99) on the potential of hemp with industry leaders. 505.819.3828, www. carboneconomyseries.com

Dec. 5 Entry Deadline City of SF Water Conservation Poster Contest

This year’s theme: How Water Connects Us. Public, private, charter and home-schooled students in grades 1-6 invited. The winning poster will be displayed on the back of a city bus and on a calendar cover. Other winners will be included in the calendar. 505.955.4225, www.savewatersantafe.com/ conservation-classroom

Española

Oct. 3-4 Traditional Agriculture & Sustainable Living Conference Salazar Performing Arts Building, Northern NM College

Through Feb. 28, 2015 Art through the Loom Weaving Guild Show Old Martina’s Hall, Ranchos de Taos www.artthroughtheloom.com

HERE & THERE

Oct. 4-5, 10 am-5 pm El Rito Studio Tour El Rito (between Ojo Caliente and Abiquiú, NM)

Enjoy the art and culture of a traditional northern NM village. World-renowned and emerging artists, live music, food. For a map and info, visit elritostudiotour.org

Oct. 4-5 American Solar Energy Society Solar Tour

19th annual tour of homes and businesses in NM. www.ases.org/solar-tour

Keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, demonstrations, performances, vendors’ market. Sponsored by Tesuque Pueblo, Northern NM College, Traditional Native American Farmers Association, Four Bridges Traveling Permaculture Institute. 518.332.3156, fourbridges@live.com, http://4bridges.org/educational-programs/ annual-conference/2014-conference/

Oct. 11-13 Abiquiu Studio Tour Abiquiú, NM

Oct. 15 through Nov. 19, 5-8 pm Business Development Series Española Valley Fiber Arts Center 325 Paseo de Oñate

Stewardship chores on Quivira Coalition’s property used for land restoration demonstrations and wildlife preservation among the foothills of the San Mateo Mountains. Camping available. Free. http://quiviraco alition.org/Land_Water_Program/2014_ Restoration_Workshops/index.html

Six-week workshop series presented by WESST-Santa Fe in collaboration with EVFAC. Starting or growing an arts business? Learn: The Basics, Research, Pricing, Financing, Goals, Business Plan. 505.747.3577, info@evfac.org

Through Oct. 31, 12-4 pm Tues. – Sat. The Farm Show 2014 Bond House Museum, 706 Bond St.

Artists Bobbe Besold, Carmen Campos, Debra Fritts, Sabra Moore, Norma Navarro, Beata Tsosie-Peña, Luis Peña, Iren Schio, Frank Shelton, Gabriela Silva. Artists were paired with local farmers.

TAOS

Through Oct. 5 40th Taos Fall Arts Festival Several Locations, Taos, NM

Awards, art installations, receptions, architecture/ history walking tour, performances, environmental film festival and more. Presented by the Taos Arts Council with partial funding from NM Arts/ NEA. 575.758.4648, taosfallarts.com

Oct. 16 Credit Clinic

Basic financial advice. People can meet one-onone with a trained employee to discuss their credit score, their credit, and to assess ways to improve their financial situation. Presented by the Guadalupe Credit Union. A free service to the Taos community. 505.216.0450

Nov. 10-16 TCEDC Week TCEDC Campus and Bataan Hall, UNM-Taos, NM

Supports food, land and cultures of northern NM. Taos County Economic Development Corporation celebration and thanksgiving for the harvest. Classes, films talks, tours, expo/feast, fundraising dinner. friends oftcedc@gmail.com, http://facebook.com/ tcedc.taos?fref=ts

More than 80 local artists open their studios. 505.685.4454, abiquiustudiotour.org

Oct. 17-19 Volunteer Work Weekend Red Canyon Reserve west of Socorro, NM

Oct. 18, 6 pm Taste of El Valle Farm-to-Table Dinner Arrow’s Ridge Guest Ranch, Ribera, NM (between Santa Fe and Las Vegas)

Sliding scale tickets benefit El Valle Women’s Collaborative. Tasteofelvalle.ticketbud. com. Info: 505.204.1359, facebook.com/ElValleWomensCollaborative, http://arrowsridge.com. See newsbite, page 37.

Oct. 23-24, 9 am-5 pm 4th Annual Renewable Energy and Clean Technology Conf. Las Cruces Convention Center, NM 575.323.1575, carrie@nmgreenchamber.com

Nov. 1, 10 am-4 pm Earthship Conference with Michael Reynolds New School Auditorium 66 W. 12th St., NYC

Learn about Biotecture and a project planned for the Lower East Side Manhattan. Tickets: http://earthship.com/new-york

Nov. 15 America Recycles Day National Celebration

Educational events around the country. Recognizes the benefits of reducing, reusing and recycling. AmericaRecyclesDay.org

Dec. 3 Application Deadline Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Grants

$15,000-$25,000 grants from Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education for projects by agri-producers with technical advisor support. Often used to conduct on-site experiments that can improve farm operations and the environment. www.westernsare.org/ Grants/Types-of-Grants

Green Fire Times • October 2014

“A Sportsman’s Paradise”

Thursday • October 23, 2014 • 10:00 AM Auction held at Best Western Plus Hotel, 473 Clayton Rd., RATON, NM.

Ranch located 29 miles east of RATON, NM on Hwy. 72 and 6 miles north on Trinchera Pass Rd. OR 40+- miles SE of TRINIDAD, CO. (6 miles S. of Trinchera CO on Trinchera Pass Rd.)

Property features: 820+- prime mountain acres of rolling to rough cedar timber and native grass wilderness with several spring fed ponds and reservoir... perfect habitat for trophy elk and mule deer. The majority of the ranch is fenced for buffalo or exotic livestock, with smooth, high tensile wire. Improvements include a massive 5100+- sq. ft., 2 story log lodge on a spectacular mountainside vista overlooking the scenic valley. Also includes an oversize detached garage/shop, large Quonset storage building, corrals, hay storage, pipeline water system and much more! Auctioneers note: The Spahn Buffalo ranch is perfect for those seeking a remote location, unlimited natural beauty, and/or a private wildlife or livestock refuge. Due to the natural spring fed water source, the hunting and recreational opportunities are unmatched! Owners have relocated to Germany. Inspect this ranch and be in attendance auction day as this very special property will sell without minimum or reserve bid! Terms and Conditions: Absolute Auction, selling to the highest bidder without minimum or reserve bid! Warranty Deed and policy of title insurance furnished by Seller. Property is held debt/mortgage free. Call for maps, photos, information, & complete terms and conditions.

Public Showing Dates: Oct. 5, Oct. 17 and Oct. 22 from noon to 4pm. each day. Also feel free to call your area Real Estate Professional. Broker participation is invited, call for details. See complete list, terms, and photos on www.sdauctions.com Owners: Spahn & Friends Bison Ranch, LLC

Bradeen Auctions • Custer, SD • 605-673-2629 Judson Seaman, NM Real Estate Broker 605-390-1419 40

Green Fire Times • October 2014