"you're stealing our river!"

I borrowed the title from the subject of an email sent by CR back in the old AZ. Big Bill held a press conference today regarding the designation of the Gila as one of the most endangered river in the US. Covered by the water writer, Shaun McKinnon, in the Arizona Republic. Yeah, back in 2004 the Arizona Water Settlement Act resulting in New Mexico getting a little extra water from the Gila because some people in Arizona were getting to use CAP water. Big, long, complicated story. However, the Act came with funding under stipulation that New Mexico had to use this water by 2014 (I think) or they would get no money. Consequently, a collaborative group in the Gila, along with the ISC, has been meeting to decide how to use the water. One of the many options brought up, and listed in the regional water plan, is to build a dam to divert water out of the river for use in a nearby area.

Today at Big Bill's press conference, it was reported that he said basically, no dams, no how, no way, under my administration. This is up for debate; many people think his words saying that we need to protect the river were misconstrued into meaning that means no dams. And somehow the New Mexico "state water agency" came off looking like the bad guy. I mean, they want to build a dam, and they won't even listen to their governor? 1) No such dam proposal has been made. 2) The Governor has not informed the agency of any such thing and did not even invite the agency to the press conference. Consequently, the office was in crisis mode today.

And all the people in Arizona think we are stealing their river, I'm sure. Oh well. Having worked in the media and done my best to get my stories straight, and knowing that this author at least (there are many other articles out there) is well-versed in water, it does surprise me that all this could be a mistake. Maybe the Governor really did say no dams. Who knows. He won't deny it now, because so many people are so pleased about it. And I won't say anything bad.

But seriously, can't people just talk to each other ever? It's a wonder anyone knows what's going on in the water world when it's always so darn confusing, even to those of us in the industry.

Happy Thanksgiving Polar Bears!

I wish they had something to be thankful for...

East Mountain Organic Farms

Last weekend, Matt and I visited a small organic farm outside of Albuquerque under the guise of an article. Now Matt wants to be a farmer. I feel like I should write more about this, but I already wrote an article.

It was beautiful and idyllic. The farmers were total hippies - one old, one young. The young one's wife just birthed a baby at home in the bath tub. The older one has held just about every job that ever existed including lobster fisherman and poet. He says he can use all his skills at the farm. They were both extremely nice, welcoming people, and they sent us home with a huge bag of spinach and a parcel of garlic - their primary crop. This is why you should buy local and organic if possible. We ate spinach straight from the plant. No pesticide, no herbicide. Highly efficient drip irrigation. People who stand to gain from the sales - not just agribusiness. A beautiful setting. Crop diversity. Extremely happy dogs and cats.

Maybe someday we can grow something in our yard. I don't know about a whole farm, but it sure did seem appealing. Except for the work schedule.

Blog Action Day

Today is a day scheduled to blog about the environment. I often blog about the environment, but I don't really know what to say today. I was going to just talk about houses, so I will head in that direction.

Yesterday Matt learned that our eco-friendly little adobe house is cracking because the wall between the bedroom and the office does not have a foundation and since we have a bookshelf on that wall, maybe it's pulling the wall or the floor down too much. Or something. That is seriously her excuse. So she thinks we should move our bookshelf. To where I'm not sure since our little house is filled. Also she put a closet on the other side of the wall where all my clothes hang, so I'm sure that's not causing any of the problem. Here's a thought - lay a foundation under all adobe walls next time. They're kind of heavy.

I am currently in Phoenix because my sister came to town to purchase a house that will be built and ready for them to move into when they return to the US. I thought I would come visit. She bought a house in an infill area of South Tempe, so that is eco-friendly. Not destroying pristine desert. Also, she upgraded to programmable thermostats and extra insulation in the ceiling. Both ecofriendly. Her front yard will be desert landscaped. Also ecofriendly. And the home is an SRP Power Wise Home. Not sure what that means, but it sounds good. I do normally encourage resale homes, but you know, you've got to start somewhere.

So maybe something to blog about today is how you are helping the environment in some small way. I have nothing to say for myself right now since I got on a plane and flew here. The same as I did last weekend. And we drove the weekend before. So I am way not eco-friendly right now. Don't follow my example. But do enjoy the environment today!

Al Gore and the IPCC

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to Al Gore and the IPCC for their efforts related to creating awareness of man-made climate change and potential solutions. Great news! Will the former VP use this to launch a presidential campaign? I have no idea. I'm not sure he would win, but maybe he would enhance the discussion.

On another note, Sarah blogged about this website where you can lend money to start-up businesses in third world countries. She just got paid back from her first loan and is going to reinvest. It sounds pretty cool.

PARK(ing) Day

I am sad to say that I missed this wonderful little event last Friday. PARK(ing) Day started in San Francisco, and the idea is to build a little park in a designated parking space, while feeding the meter of course. This demonstrates how much more open space we might have if not for all the cars everywhere! Of course in San Francisco, even the Mayor was into it, allowing his personal parking space to be filled.

Inhabitat documents many clever spaces.

I particularly like this video of a pedal-powered park:


People are so clever. I wish I were more activist and less blogivist. Cheers to those who participated!

Target misses CA and Mesa Bridge is Falling Down

Apparently when you bring your own bag to Target, you are by default required to bag your own items. Now I realize that it is slightly difficult to fit a bag on the handy little bag holder for easy dumping, but it really isn't that hard just to bag items on the counter either. Nevertheless, the cashier just set everything on the counter while I tried to bag and run my credit card at the same time. This despite the fact that Target (at least in California) now sells reusable, fold-up bags that fit inside your purse. I know because my landlady bought me one. Trader Joe's and Wild Oats cashiers don't seem to have trouble bagging with canvas bags. Alas.

The cashier then proceeded to question whether the items on the registry were the only gift items or if I had others. I did indeed have others - could she print a gift receipt? She seemed to imply that I needed to identify exactly which items were gifts, but this was not the case after all. Meanwhile I noticed that she'd forgotten one of my items on the conveyor belt. I asked her to put it on. She did something. I then asked if the price on the little machine included that item and she told me that I had to press OK first - it was the only way she could find out. I had not asked for cash back because I had $10 in my wallet. However, as it turned out the forgotten item was not on my bill, so she asked me if I wanted to pay for it separately. NO, I don't want it anymore. Whatever. Why would I bring it to the checkout if I didn't want it (I know this happens, but not with me). Anyway, I then had to spend half my cash buying this item that she forgot to ring up because she couldn't possibly have added it to my credit card purchase which had not yet been processed before I hit OK. HOW HARD CAN THIS BE? (I realize that this probably makes no sense, but it didn't in person either.)

Anyways, the other interesting tidbit of my return to Mesa has been seeing part of the Loop 202 bridge lying over the canal in pieces. Yes folks, last week sometime part of the bridge they are building over Power Road and the canal fell right down into the canal. Apparently they haven't cleaned it up yet, because you can see it both from Power and from the other side of Thomas. How hard can it be to build a bridge that doesn't fall down? I've taken a statics class and properties of materials. I know about center of gravity and stress and strain. There are fairly simple principles at work. At least the bridge in Minneapolis was 50 years old or so. This one was brand new! Some things never change I guess. Anyone remember the Zilwaukee?

Step it Up 2007: April 14th: A Day of Climate Action

In case you missed NPR's Science Friday, today Bill McKibben, one of my favorite authors and environmentalists, was featured discussing low-carbon lifestyles and the big Step it Up 2007 event tomorrow. Please, please, please, visit the website and look for events in your community and attend them! Sadly enough, I was too lazy to organize one in my town, and rather than driving one hour each way to the closest one and wasting a lot of carbon, I will be staying home and encouraging others through my blog. I admit it - I missed the boat on this one. The goal is to convince Congress to cut carbon 80% by 2050.

On NPR, Chris Goodall also suggested that the single most important thing you can do on an individual basis is to cut back on flying. Which is something I seriously need to work on. Also, eat local.

Sidebar and Gifts

I recently updated my "Eco living and buying" sidebar to include some newly found goodies. Among them are recycled plastic razors and toothbrushes, another green home store, and most importantly, some gift-giving options.

Living so far away from family and friends, as well as from stores, has made gift-shopping and sending rather difficult for us. It is also hard to find online donation places that allow you to send emails to people rather than actual cards (for belated gifts as well as more eco-friendliness). My two new favorites are Heifer International and the World Wildlife Fund.

Heifer International allows you to make a donation and then send either an email or a snail mail card celebrating an event and letting the person know you have made a donation in their name.

World Wildlife Fund allows you to symbolically adopt numerous kinds of animals. The gift recipient can be sent an email and snail mail with a picture and adoption certificate. If you donate more than the minimum, you can also get a stuffed animal version that would make a great gift for kids (although not so eco-friendly).

Also, Terrapass allows you to give gift carbon offsets that come with little things like luggage tags, cfls, etc. Although I am a big fan of donation gifts, it is always nice when a little something comes with them so the recipient still has something to open. (NOTE: you do have to plan farther ahead for these since shipping has to be involved - no email option.)

Anyway, for the people in your lives who have everything, these are just a couple of ideas. Many other sites allow you to make donations in other people's names, but I have not found them as user-friendly.

(Also be sure to check on the safety of your personal care products using the Skin Deep link. I don't recommend throwing anything out, but it can be helpful for future purchases.)

100 Mile Diet

Many people ask the question, is it better to buy local or organic? Buying organic is generally easier for most of us. The Smith's here in Socorro even has a small (and over-priced) organic section, while the one local farmer's market only lasts from July - October and is less than comprehensive. Local food from small family farms is probably more likely to be organic, or at least natural, than what you normally buy at a grocery store. Farmer's markets also give you the opportunity to discuss growing practices with farmers and encourage them to become more enivronmentally- and health-friendly. And food from farmer's markets does not travel 1500 miles to get your plate.

To be completely honest, I have not shopped at a Farmer's Market since I lived in Bend in the summer of 2003. A few of us would head over from work to be there close to opening since it sold out fast. We then took our (reusable) produce bags back to the office until the work-day was over. Some communities require more effort to find local eating options. The closest we get here is buying local Albuquerque or Santa Fe products from the grocery stores. But who knows where the ingredients to those products come from.

So here is my idea (which I have not discussed with Matt). We can be lazy for the rest of the time in Socorro, since we know that our backyard is definitely not meant for growing things. Then, when we move to Albuquerque, we will try out this 100 mile diet. You can also find local resources here. We have already looked into Los Poblanos Organics (a CSA) and the Rio Grande Community Farm where you can get individual plots. We will also grow some things in pots on our balcony or patio. There are nearby places that sell local eggs (not sure about meat for Matt). The biggest challenge I think is finding grains and beans, etc. Also, the challenge of preserving things for winter when not much grows. The 100 Mile Diet page has links to some places that teach you how to do this.

I am not intending to be perfect about this diet. We like going out to eat, and if we had friends, we certainly would not make them subscribe to this. But to be able to grow or buy most of our food would be a fantastic step in our relationship to nature as well as helping the environment. I know Ms. A. greatly enjoyed her time spent growing things.

I realize y'all are probably thinking, gosh, she's been talking about growing a garden for 3 years now and still hasn't done it. Please, please, please, if I don't start doing these things when we move to Albuquerque, slap me. Electronically. Leave me comments and make fun of me. I will deserve it. Sure, growing and eating local takes some research and a lot of time, but I think it will be time better spent than watching tv or playing on the internet.

Also, Matt and I made a fantastic potato, leek, and carrot soup last night. Growing up, I would never have imagined that I would ever eat leeks, but I enjoy a wide variety of vegetables now, and I am eager to see what new things I will encounter in my quest to eat locally.

NOLA Green Project (New Orleans Green Rebuilding)

This seems a little strange because so few people have donated, but that ups your chances to win a great green goody bag. See the website.

No Impact Man

See the blog here and the mocking here. So I found this through a blog, Little Birds, that Ms. A links to, and it sounded pretty neat. The guy has even been featured in the NY Times. But I've read through some stuff and thought about it for awhile, and discussed it with my intelligent and skeptical sister, Karen, and I'm thinking this guy is cracked out. It is great to try to reduce your environmental impact, but seriously, no toilet paper? I use recycled paper. And while, yes, it is still waste, what about the water he is wasting with his 'cleansing bowls'? I just don't know about this. And to top it all off, he is hesitant to talk about what he thinks are "private" (despite the fact their lives are being filmed) like toilet and cleansing specifics, feminine hygiene, and birth control. We all know that CFLs are a good idea by now, but I think really most of us don't know what we should be doing about those pesky tampons and the fish-mutating birth control. Some help you are, No Impact Man.

I'm going to go there because he won't. Just in case you are wondering about the feminine side of things (although I realize some of my dear readers are not interested in contraception and by default having periods right now), some of No Impact Man's readers suggested the following: www.gladrags.com, www.thekeeper.com, and Mirena. To be honest, I am not an environmentalist in this arena of life. I like my trusty tampons and BCPs. However, I was recently thinking that maybe I could explore the use of an IUD or IUC to prevent the hormones that I inevitably pee out and travel to the waste water treatment plant from hurting nature. I am a little concerned about the copper-release aspect (IUD) and the hormones still used in Mirena, an IUC. Also, Mirena is most recommended for people who have already had children, although they claim as soon as it is taken out you return to your previous state of fertility. After a year of using it, it is supposed to reduce your period by 90% or eliminate altogether, thus making scary environmental options like The Keeper unnecessary. What do y'all think? For some reason, even though I'm all in favor of organic cloth baby diapers, I twinge at the idea of cleaning those re-usable pads. Eeew! As far as toilet habits go, I think recycled paper and 1.6gpf or dual flush toilets are just fine for us. Most people waste more water in the shower than in their daily toilet trips. Get a composting toilet if you want to, but for god sake, don't forgo toilet paper. I mean really!

In other, low impact living, here's what I do:

• CFLs
• Walk around town
• Use heat as little as possible by bundling up
• Use air as little as possible by opening doors and windows, or covering windows with thick shades in the summer
• Recycle everything I possibly can
• Try to limit purchases, or at least buy eco-friendly or recycled items
• Compost food scraps
• Try to turn off power strips at night
• Drive a car that gets 40mpg
• Currently trying to get creative and reuse things I currently have instead of buying things. I recently made a picture frame for some wedding pictures out of a partially broken old frame and some pretty paper. (Okay, it was my first try, so it's not that great...)
  

• Line-dry clothes
• Wash clothes in cold water. Most detergents now are designed for this. Speaking of, I use 7th Generation detergent.

Some things I would like to do:

• Get rid of more things (mostly Matt's). And by get rid of, I mean donate, not throw away
• Read magazines online instead of the paper version. But I love getting magazines in the mail y'all. Finding them in the box and flipping through them... It's just so, so textual.
  
• Move to a small apartment with a smaller ecological footprint
• Get rid of some furniture when we move and buy some smaller used, recycled, or eco-friendly items. I have my heart set on some things from Gaiam.
  
• I have mixed feeling when it comes to buying things. Is it better to buy nothing or to buy eco-friendly and recycled items to support the market and encourage it. We can never honestly end consumerism, so wouldn't it be great if it was green consumerism? What do y'all think?
• Not drive ever. I'm not sure how to go about this since Matt and I like to explore the lovely out-of-doors. Is this a sacrifice we should be making?
  
• I would really like to get off those BCPs. I don't want to hurt the froggies!
• Be more activist in encouraging green and healthy lifestyles.

I would like to hear from you, my dear readers. Any other suggestions or thoughts? Neat ideas? Things that would make better use of my time (like not wasting so much energy using this laptop)? Requests not to hear any more about a little bit gross bodily functions? While we're on the subject, I have seen some great links on Inhabitat to eco-underwear and lingerie as well as eco-sex toys. Enjoy!

Something Neat

I've spent the better part of an afternoon browsing through Inhabitat. This is a great website. I'm not a design-freak, but I'm thinking I would like to start exploring the right side of my brain. Anyway, this site blogs about sustainable housing design, eco fashion design, and some other neat design-related things. I'm totally into buying an eco-prefab house someday. And the cardboard furniture kits (mostly for kids)? Really neat.

In other news, has anyone tried Good magazine? At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but we just got our second issue and I think it's great. It also has a bit of a design-bent, but sort of more in how the magazine is put together and not it's content. Also, a subscription is $20 and the whole amount is donated to the charity of your choice (out of a list of 12 or so). We somehow ended up with two copies of the same issue, so if anyone would like to check it out, we'd be happy to send one to you.

tikkun olam (healing the world)

Okay, so I got this off That is so Queer, which I found off of Crazy Aunt Purl, which Ms. A links to on her blog. I highly recommend both these blogs, as they are written by witty and insightful women. Anyway, back to the story at hand. Faith, of That is so Queer, works in HIV/AIDS, and she has done a few posts on tikkun olam, which is a Jewish word and principle involving doing your part to heal the world. She chose HIV/AIDS as her cause, and she trusts that other people will work on the other causes, like the war in Iraq, and environmentalism, and hopefully Darfur. Because obviously you can't spend significant amounts of time on more than one cause. She definitely does her part. And I, too, hope that someone is working on Darfur. Are they?

Today (before I read the other blog) I opened the spreadsheet that I keep of my donations to charities. Last year I donated to 12 different groups. (A few, like the Sierra Club, do not technically count as charities, because they are either political, or lost their 501c3 status, for whatever reason, that I mostly think sucks.) I think that I should narrow my focus and spend more money and time on 2-4 groups, rather than 12. I feel like this would make a bigger impact than my spontaneous donations to random groups triggered by the numerous mailings and phone calls I get, urging me to think of the poor children in Iraq... or some other equally endearing cause. Anyway, I am having trouble nailing it down, because even though I am a tried and true environmentalist, I do still worry about the Tibetans, and the Darfurians, and all the people subject to human rights abuses around the world, particularly women. Those are just a few of my favorite non-environmental causes. So anyway, if anyone knows of some fantastic charities that they think should be at the top of my list, please let me know.

But what I really wanted to write about was not my donations, but my work. Everyone knows that I have made environmentalism my pet cause. I love nature, so it is easy for me. Sometimes I feel bad about supporting environmental groups when there are so many other bad things going on in the world, but judging based on the charitable donations for the wedding, it seems that many people are more eager to support those other causes than the environment, and someone has to do it (so we have somewhere to live), so it might as well be me. Anyway, I always thought I would work for an environmental nonprofit, and do my part for tikkun olam. But I don't. I sit behind a computer and make water models. I can hope and tell myself it will help the environment, but that's just not true. It might help a few farmers or a few cities. That is all. So now as I sit at this crossroads, wondering what to do, I am back to considering the environment.

Does being an environmental planner (the job interview tomorrow) help the environment? Maybe. I can hope it does. I can tell myself that NEPA requirements and EIS help save something. But I think it is mostly bureaucracy. Would it be a relatively good thing to do before I find a more hard-core environmental job? Probably. It would give me experience. And those environmental organizations just don't favor Albuquerque for work locations. And if I don't feel like it is enough, I can spend more time volunteering for those environmental organizations. Or whatever organization. Because it is easy for me to send a check, but it is harder for me to send myself. Which they probably need equally.

Anyway, I had never heard of tikkun olam before, but I think it is great. Here is a link to her post of a few other Jewish concepts which really bear repeating.

Rio Film Fest Part Two

Well, it appears Matt has beaten me to this blog. You can check it out at http://blog.myspace.com/32688197.

The Film Fest ended yesterday, so today I tried to inspre Matt into reducing our belongings. Sadly enough, I think I got rid of as much stuff as he did and yet I don't have nearly as much to start with. Anyway, I used to be a believer in only having as much stuff as will fit in your car, but needless to say I have recently surpassed this. As Matt and I will probably be downsizing soon (into a smaller place), but we will also be getting things for the wedding, it only make sense to get rid of stuff. Yet Matt claims his stuff makes him happy. I'm not sure what that says about me. It is probably a fight we will never resolve, but I will at least try to hold up my end. I think about this every birthday and Christmas, because I just keep getting more stuff. I think the answer to this consumerism is to give donations, buy people trees and alligators and carbon offsets - somewhat intangible things. I for one don't really need more stuff. And charity registries are really cool!

Rio Film Fest

Something's finally happening in Socorro! Tonight and tomorrow the 1st Annual Rio Film Fest, about environmenal awareness and appreciation, is playing on campus. This evening Matt and I went to see Killowatt Ours, by Jeff Barrie (see online at killowattours.org). It is on a much smaller scale than An Inconvenient Truth, but it might resonate more with local folks who see Al Gore on a whole other level than the rest of us. Check out the website and learn what you can do to improve energy efficiency and increase green power.

Things I recommend:

• Repace your light bulbs with CFLs. These cost a bit more but are cheaper to run and last thousands of hours longer, so you save money in the long run.
• Turn down your thermostat in the the winter and up in the summer. There is nothing wrong with wearing sweater (or two) in your house.
• Buy Energy Star appliances. Apparently you can find these at used appliance shops for a pretty good bargain.
• Drive less. Although I drive a lot, to Albuquerque about once a week and to the Bosque a few times a month, Matt and I have made a pact not to drive in town. Today I walked to campus to meet him for lunch, then we walked to the Post Office on the Plaza, later that night to the supermarket, and then again to the film festival. The snow just made i that more exciting.
• When you do drive, drive a fuel-efficient car. My Echo gets 40-45mpg.
• Buy green power from your utility company. If you reduce your energy usage through CFLs and other conservation, you can put the money saved towards green power. If your Electric Company is not quite sure what Green Power is (welcome to Socorro), try offsetting your use through Terrapass, carbonfund, or nativeenergy. Terrapass will even send you a CFL.
• If you can afford it, install solar panels or mini-wind turbines and break free from the energy grid. Someday we hope to do this as well.
• Live in as little space as you can. Matt and I made the mistake of renting a large 3 bedroom home which we can neither heat nor cool adequately. The temperature in our bedroom is often 63 degrees, but our gas bil last month was $85. We certainly do not need this much space and have found ourselves living in the two warmest rooms with no problems. We plan to downsize when our lease is up.

I will update the remainder of the Film Fest tomorrow. They are also showing An Inconvenient Truth for free tomorrow evening. What a great idea.

Here's to future generations - may they enjoy some unspoiled nature and clean air.

greendimes

I found this new company called greendimes, on the web at http://www.greendimes.com. For a dime a day, or $3/month, they stop your junk mail and plant or save a tree a month for you. You can also opt out of catalogs. I signed up, so I will see how well it works. I get ridiculous amounts of junk mail at my house. Also, included in the fee is as many names as live at your address. It sounds good, and I hope it works. This saves so many trees and so much water. Long live the environment!