September 2010
September 2010 Edition
Sep 1st
Download the September Edition
Print PDFJuan the Bear and the Water of Life: La Acequia de Juan del Oso
Sep 1st
New Mexico Building Codes Address 2030 Challenge
Sep 1st
The new code amendments attempt to integrate traditional methods of More >
Learning La Vida Verde Through Discovering Our “Caring” Capacity
Sep 1st
Tammy Harkins
“Education is not widely regarded as a problem, although the lack of it is. The conventional wisdom holds that all education is good, and the more of it one has, the better. The truth is that without significant precautions, education can equip people merely to be more effective vandals of the earth. If one listens carefully, it may even be possible to hear the Creation groan every year in late May when another batch of smart, degree-holding but ecologically illiterate Homo sapiens who are eager to succeed are launched into the biosphere” More >
Sustainability: Complexity and Hope
Sep 1st
Ann Euston
It’s an abnormally hot July Tuesday in Santa Fe. In a St. John’s College conference room, thirty people sit in four groups hunched over game boards; each participant pretending to be a high level official of the imaginary emerging Country X.
They feverishly bargain over resource allocation decisions. Should we invest more in agriculture? Energy? Water supply? In the game, all these decisions dramatically affect Country X’s environmental and economic future. Dennis Meadows of the Club of Rome group and author of the pioneering 1974 Limits to Growth, sits nearby, plugging their More >
What’s Bugging My Squash?
Sep 1st
Susan Waterman
Four of the most frequent pests intruding Santa Fe gardens this summer – according to my own observations and comments from other gardeners – are the inspiration for this article. The good news on pests is that it’s often the case that a particular garden pest that appears one year may not be around the next, especially if plant residue has been removed from the garden at the end of the season. Cleaning infested debris out of your garden is a simple preventative measure when it comes to diseases. Also, the particular conditions of More >
La Abundancia del Jardin Rizo: The Bounty of the Natural Garden
Sep 1st
In Chile Pepper Nation, several crops of Mesoamerican and Mediterranean origin have, over the centuries, acclimatized themselves to aridity, especially to water scarcity in the high deserts of northern New Mexico. Today, however, these superbly adapted foods have been marginalized and are now at risk of disappearing. While not all of these crops have completely disappeared from the landscape, some wild ones have definitely disappeared from the table. Today, most are treated more like an occasional delicacy, but there are several that remain available in mercados, even though they are gathered only by a few families, and eaten More >
Everyday Green – Preserving Food
Sep 1st
- Buying foods from local farmers in season when costs are lowest, and preserving is an important way to support the expansion of a local food supply.
- Preserving your own foods, varying the seasonings, brings the possibility of endless variety to your meals.
Fall is the season of abundance, good prices on food, and if we stop to hear an inner voice, the time to start putting food away for the winter. Growing some of your own fruits and vegetables or buying in bulk from a farmer and preserving it will keep local food available through the coming months. Whether your interest More >
Before You Go Off-Grid
Sep 1st
Seasoned pro Allan Sindelar shares his approach to designing high-performance off-grid systems: what works, what doesn’t, and how to select a top-notch installer.
In a nutshell:
- An experienced off-grid installer can help make sure you get the system that meets your needs.
- The interview process is critical to getting an off-grid system that performs to your expectations.
- A professional installer will use site survey tools to find the best location for the PV array.
- A thorough load analysis takes the guesswork out of system sizing.
- Teaching the customer to understand and operate their system is crucial to post-installation satisfaction.
- Regular maintenance of off-grid systems is More >
Active Versus Passive in Rainwater Catchment
Sep 1st
In the arid Southwest, where droughts are a part of life, municipalities and individuals are capturing and reusing rainwater to conserve water, reduce costs, reduce the environmental impact of their residence or commercial building, and lessen the load on the municipal sewer and storm water systems. Rainwater harvested from rooftops can be used for drinking as well as for many non-potable applications such as irrigation and toilet flushing.
There are two general types of rainwater catchment systems – “active” and “passive.” Most professionally installed systems incorporate aspects of both to maximize water conservation.
Active rainwater catchment refers to systems that actively More >
Earthships Biotecture
Sep 1st
The King of Garbage lives! Michael Reynolds uses garbage and other materials to make houses completely off the grid: no hook-ups to any electrical services, city water, sewage or gas! Imagine never having another utility bill again!
Reynolds and his innovative construction company, Earthship Biotecture have been building what they call “Earthships” around the world for over forty years. In Taos County, New Mexico, over seventy Earthships share hundreds of acres as the Greater World Earthship Community, where they grow their own food, and strive to reduce the economic and institutional barriers between people and sustainable housing. They see their More >
“Kidnapped by the House” – Affordable Housing, Land, and the Green Imperative – Part 5
Sep 1st
The factor of land in home affordability has been discussed in preceding articles with emphasis upon the Community Land Trust as the most efficacious means of securing permanently affordable homeownership for this and future generations. We now turn to housing and the factors that make it affordable.
There are three fundamental and integrative concepts involved. The first is the house itself or the building, the second is labor, and the third is intelligent design for resources and energy, including infrastructure. When these three factors are properly analyzed and stitched together, a house will not only be uncommonly affordable, but More >
Homewise – Green and Affordable
Sep 1st
Homewise is a nonprofit agency founded in 1986 to help low and moderate-income New Mexicans become successful homeowners. Seeking to help strengthen families and increase the economic and social vitality of communities, the organization provides financial counseling and offers classes (in English and Spanish) to teach people to maintain and repair their homes.
Homewise is the only certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) of its type, serving eight northern counties of NM (Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Sandoval and Colfax). The agency provides low-interest, fixed rate mortgages, home improvement and refinance loans. Homewise recently received More >
Architecture for Humanity – Santa Fe
Sep 1st
From Santa Fe, New Mexico to Bogotá, Colombia, tens of thousands of people are benefitting directly from the advocacy, training and “bricks and mortar” structures designed by Architecture for Humanity (AfH), a nonprofit design services firm established in 1999 to help build a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. AfH’s volunteer network of 40,000 architects, designers and engineers carry out this mission through local chapters around the globe.
AfH’s projects often require a special sensitivity to the communities and cultures with whom they work. AfH’s volunteers, many of whom are seeking meaningful work, make sure to invest More >
Green Building Overview
Sep 1st
Buildings are a major source of the pollution that causes air quality problems and the pollutants that contribute to climate change. They account for 49% of sulfur dioxide emissions, 25% of nitrous oxide emissions, and 10% of particulate emissions. Buildings More >
Better is the New Bigger
Sep 1st
Seth Roffman
Doug McDowell and Jim Satzinger have been designing and building homes in New Mexico for thirty-seven years. Both men served their apprenticeships and worked on-site before founding their own companies in 1976. Over the last year they have formed an alliance as McDowell Satzinger Fine Homes, a full service residential custom homebuilding and architectural design firm. Throughout their history McDowell and Satzinger have created many award-winning residential and commercial buildings utilizing various types of traditional and contemporary regional styles and techniques – adobe, frame stucco, rastra block, insulated concrete forms, poured pumice, straw bale and More >
The Santa Fe Youth Food Cadre Works to Ensure Good Food for Everybody
Sep 1st
The Youth Food Cadre, a group of young social entrepreneurs, community organizers, and educators ages 21-31, is now in action in Santa Fe. You will see members of the Cadre like Kimber Lopez working at the farmers market booth to promote and expand the food stamp program, or visiting with farmers as part of the micro-loan program; or Ralph Vigil discreetly marching his army of young researchers in to compare the cost of a basket of food at different grocery stores for the Santa Fe Food Policy Council’s Community Food Assessment; or David Sussberg More >
In the Green Fire Times we spotlight initiatives that create positive social impacts on climate change, energy independence, and green job development...
Feedback