Drew Tulchin

The Holiday season is upon us, with the barrage of advertising inducing us to buy, buy, buy! What’s a socially minded citizen to do to still enjoy the giving season while being sensitive to the Earth and community? We turn to Occupy Wall Street for potential clues.

Occupy, the people-powered movement, has spread to more than 1,500 cities globally. In New Mexico, people continue in tents in the Santa Fe Railyard—a salute to dedicated folks as the weather gets colder. As part of “the 99%,” Occupy encourages us to work collaboratively, bottom up, minimizing the role of big business and government, and to remove greed and corruption.  Such “demands” could also translate into humane calls for civility, neighborliness and kindness towards others. What does it look like to live Occupy-ly, living the movement in our daily lives?

Use Your Money Well

An Occupy call is to stop corporate greed. What’s local action for that? Take control over what we buy and from whom we buy. Know or find out where products come from, what they are made out of, how they are made and who benefits from the purchase.

“I think the single most important thing people can do to bring OWS into their daily lives is to stop for a minute and make a decision: Is it local?”—Vicki Pozzebon, Executive Director, Santa Fe Alliance

Shopping at local stores builds connections in your community. Beyond the single purchase, buying locally circulates a dollar in the community an estimated seven times. Making more connections within our own neighborhoods, schools and organizations has the added benefits of being fun, healthier, and you might find truly outstanding, unique items to give away or enjoy for yourself. Charitable, local work is also more rewarding as you get to participate and see the results personally.

“My personal approach is to locate and support ‘trusted providers’—local individuals and businesses that I patronize for reasons beyond price that include, among other things, convenience, trust, good quality and the opportunity to invest in the local economy.” – William G. Sommers, President, Permaculture Credit Union.

Communities are gaining momentum with local alliances like Santa Fe Alliance at the center of the Local First movement but there are lots of communities who don’t have such hubs of local economic development. “Spread the word to others in communities outside your own. Occupy Main Street!” says Pozzebon.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

“Every local purchase helps create jobs and tax revenue that pays for the services we all enjoy: public safety, parks, roads, etc., are all dependant on the revenue created by shopping locally.”—Simon Brackley, President and CEO, Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce.

Actions anyone can take:

• Check out Occupy The Holidays (www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-The-Holidays/232880126768061) on Facebook, calling on people to make conscious purchasing, avoiding big box retailers.
• Choose fair trade or organic products to align your purchases with your values. http://fairtradeusa.org/ has a list of partners, and also B Corporation, www.bcorporation.net.
• Buy locally, find folks easily: NM Green Chamber of Commerce Business Directory (www.nmgreenchamber.com/members), Santa Fe Alliance members (http://santafealliance.com/) and local chambers of commerce.

Re-Gift

Got something you didn’t like, but others do? Re-gifting is okay by me. Got stuff you don’t want or are you looking for that special something? Try Freecycle and Craigslist. At the very least, try nice packaging to something mundane—it is supposed to the thought that counts.

Make Stuff Yourself

Find re-gifting gauche? Make art yourself. Take things otherwise destined as landfill and convert them into beauty. Santa Fe’s recent Recycled Art show had hundreds of fantastic examples of art, student projects and vendors doing fantastic workhttp://recyclesantafe.org.

Buy Local Art

Okay, not all of us have the time or skill to be Martha Stewart. What else? Buy local art and artwork. Support our artists. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Carol Ware, a local artist who uses recycled materials, suggests attending local art events like the Wage Urban Art Fair or Axle’s Ye Olde Holiday Shoppe for finding local artists’ work that is affordable, fun and often “green” to boot. “Taking things destined for the landfill and changing them into beautiful objects to wear or use is fun. When people smile and say “That used to be…whatever? Really?” That feels like success, ” says Ware.

A purchase at The Museum of New Mexico (hyperlink www.museumofnewmexico.org) supports local artists, our great creative community and the culture of New Mexico. In Santa Fe, go to the plaza and buy from the Native American artists there. Yes, “real Indians.” You can’t get more direct and authentic than that.

Donations

The holidays provide an excellent opportunity to share a positive Occupy message in your consumption and giving. What’s the real intention of this season—the spirit of giving?

What do you give? Religious folks often tithe, giving 10%. According to industry data, giving in the U.S. is down. So, every little bit counts and matters. You can check an NGO’s reputation at websites like www.charitynavigator.org (there are others). Some items that caught my eye: 350.org (www.350.org) and 1% for the planet (www.onepercentfortheplanet.org).

Make donations to local causes. The Santa Fe Community Foundation SFCF (www.santafecf.org) holiday letter encourages people to consider a gift in honor of your relative, friend or co-worker, or how about a group office gift to a common cause that everyone can support? That’s better than the usual office gifts no one keeps. Also, SFCF has an effort called Future Santa Fe, bringing together folks who want to collaborate to make a better tomorrow (http://www.santafecf.org/Page.aspx?pid=335).

Feeling like you don’t have much money this year? A gift of your own time to a local nonprofit is valuable. Find local nonprofits via United Way of Central NM’s database: www.nmnonprofits.org, Idealist (www.idealist.org) or Volunteer Match (www.volunteermatch.org).

Have Your Money Do The Talking

The Move Your Money campaign (http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/) encourages individuals and organizations to take power into their own hands by moving money from the nation’s largest Wall Street banks to local financial institutions. Do you know the record of your financial institution? Switching can be a pain, but many good institutions help you. If you choose the right one, you only have to do it once.

Put money in local credit unions that care about the Earth and people. For instance, Permaculture Credit Union (www.pcuonline.org) applies the financial resources of people to Earth-friendly and socially responsible loans and investments. Or find other credit unions and local banks via www.creditunionsonline.com and www.findlocalbanks.com. [Disclosure – the author is on the board of the PCU, and his company is a B Corporation.]

Earn a return by “doing well and doing good.” Invest in green and community efforts. Have socially responsible investments at the community investing site: http://www.socialfunds.com/ci/index.cgi. Check out Root Capital (www.rootcapital.org), Calvert Foundation (www.calvertfoundation.org) or RSF Social Finance (http://rsfsocialfinance.org/). Interested in international microfinance? Try Microplace (www.microplace.com).

Move Occupy-ly

Travel less and travel more carbon footprint friendly. Reduce the number of flights you take. Or at least carbon-offset your travel. Support a conservancy organization in New Mexico (find a bunch at www.wiserearth.org/) or buy a carbon emissions offset through purchase of renewable energy certificates. One organization is Bonneville Environmental Foundation. (hyperlink www.b-e-f.org). These offsets support clean, renewable energy production, including wind and solar power.

Walk or bike to your location to reduce carbon emissions, and exercise more. Use the bus, a train, or car-share to work rather than your car. These actions improve neighborhood livability, vitality and sustainability.

Take Action Continuously

It’s valuable to live Occupy-ly during and after the holidays. Do what is good for you. Every little bit makes a difference. A few easy things that can be done anytime:

• Share worthwhile information with friends and family
• Sign online petitions
• Attend local meetings

I hope you have a happy holiday season and can take some Occupy actions that have the added benefits of being more fun, healthier and meaningful for yourself.

Drew Tulchin lives in Santa Fe. He is Managing Partner of Social Enterprise Associates (www.socialenterprise.net), a boutique consulting firm helping businesses, NGOs, government and foundations achieve financial performance, social impact and environmental sustainability.

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LocalSantaFe.com features products and services sourced and created in Santa Fe

Environmentally-conscious Santa Feans now have a new online business directory dedicated to reducing “product miles” and encouraging Santa Feans to buy locally. LocalSantaFe.com is being developed by a local web design and marketing company, Narasopa Media, LLC. The website defines “local” as created in Santa Fe, not just located there. Listings are provided only to those growing food, creating products or offering services locally.

Informative newsletters, blog posts and articles written for people concerned for the area’s economy and environment will also be part of the website. Local farmers, ranchers, artisans, service providers and other local businesses are invited to create a free listing. For more information, contact Brittney Geitgey at 505.510.1303.

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The site is like a local version of Groupon, only better, according to co-founder Eric Luján. Forty small businesses and thousands of Albuquerque shoppers are already using the site. “You pay the business directly so that they make the money instead of the website making the money,” said Luján. “And you don’t have to use a credit card to book the offers.”

Local independent businesses join UrbanSwipe to increase sales and expand customer base, for social media and viral marketing, for creative cross-category business marketing, to help lower operating costs, for business development consultations, community and special event promotions, and for metrics and analytics to evaluate performance. UrbanSwipe also partners with local businesses to help them collaborate, foster sustainable practices, and level the playing field with the national and online chains.

Luján said the site isn’t just offering deals, but making people think. “The question of ‘how does shopping local affect the global economies?’ is really ripe right now with the whole Occupy movement,” he said. “It’s a unique resource in the community to have local retailers.”

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Allan Oliver

As New Mexicans enter into the holiday shopping season, it’s tempting for us to chase the lowest price, even though it often means poorer quality and not made here. But if New Mexico is going to pull itself out of this recession, we need to support each other. The New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce believes that starts with buying from local, independent businesses.

Green Chamber chapters are conducting buy-local campaigns in ways that are as unique as their community. In Taos it’s a buy-local holiday party on December 1^st, while Silver City holds a TamaleFest dedicated to local food. Las Cruces hosts a buy-local bowl and Albuquerque supports the Nob Hill Shop and Stroll on December 1^s and the Old Town Stroll on December 2^nd.

But these events aren’t just feel-good events; they have a real impact on our communities. First, spending your dollars in locally owned businesses has three times the impact on your community as buying from national chains. Shopping locally helps create jobs, funds more city services and promotes community development.

National organizations like Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and the Institute for Self-Reliance identify nine other great reasons for buying local:

• Local Owners are Local Contributors. Local businesses give a greater amount of money to local causes. Nonprofits receive an average of 350% more support from local business owners than they do from non-locally owned businesses. They also directly inject money into the local economy through payments of wages and benefits to local residents.
• Local Businesses Offer Stable Employment. Small local businesses are one of the largest employers nationally, and local businesses offer greater loyalty to their employees.
• Lower Environmental Impact. Independent businesses make purchases requiring less transportation and usually open and operate in commercial corridors and in-town instead of developing on the fringe. This means less sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. Higher densities and greater access for pedestrians and public transit mean significantly less land devoted to roads and parking lots.
• Promote Competition and Diversity. More local businesses equal more competition and better prices. When certain businesses monopolize the market, competition is gone.
• Put Your Taxes to Good Use. Local businesses in neighborhoods need comparatively less infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community. A study of this found that the city’s small downtown stores generate a net annual surplus (tax revenue minus costs) of $326 per 1,000 square feet. Big-box stores, strip shopping centers, and fast-food outlets, however, require more in services than they produce in revenue. A big-box store creates an annual tax deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet.*
• Vote With Your Dollars. What you buy matters. Every time you choose a local business over a chain, it makes a difference. It’s a vote with your dollar. When you buy local, the ripple effect spreads from cash registers right to your street.
• Keep New Mexico One-of-a-kind. The unique shops, restaurants and businesses who call our city home are a huge part of what makes New Mexico inimitable. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
• Invest in the Community. Local businesses are owned by people who live here, work here and are invested in the community with much more than just their dollars. In an increasingly homogenized world, people are more likely to invest in or move to communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and unique attitude.

Think Local First (http://www.nmgreenchamber.com/programs/think-local-first)

These buy-local campaigns work. The Institute for Self Reliance conducted a study in January of this year. In cities with think-local/buy-local campaigns like the NM Green Chamber of Commerce, participating businesses reported the following results:

• 55% said the campaign had improved the loyalty of their existing customers
• 47% said it had brought new customers to their businesses
• 68% reported that the campaign had increased local media coverage of independent businesses
• 49% said it had led to more collaboration, purchasing, and mutual support among local businesses

So, participate in your buy-local campaign—stroll down Main Street, participate in the buy-local holiday party, look for the buy-local guide and Local-Independent-Community Focused decal. But don’t make buying local a seasonal practice, make it an everyday occurrence—and help rebuild our economy one small business at a time.

* (Source: http://www.newrules.org/retail/news/holiday-sales-increase-independent-businesses-national-survey-finds)

The New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan association with over 1,200 business members dedicated to advocating on behalf of clean energy, seizing the green business advantage and supporting local economies. The NM Green Chamber of Commerce members believe that responsible business invests in people, protects air, land and water and creates long-term sustainable profits. www.nmgreenchamber.com

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During hard times, local and sustainable products and businesses may benefit

Supporting local businesses has become a way of life for many Americans. And independent restaurants—especially those that feature locally sourced, sustainable ingredients—stand to benefit from this trend, according to several recent studies.

A new survey from American Express Open found that 93 percent of consumers make it a priority to support local small businesses they value. Several factors seem to be at work here: hunkering down as a way to deal with a tough economy, a need to feel more like a community member, and a desire to make a difference.

Eight-nine percent of those surveyed say they are aware of the impact local spending has on their local economy—a ripe opportunity for locally based restaurants to stress their community ties and to themselves support local food and beverage producers.

How many consumers are ready to pay a premium for local and regional products has yet to be determined. A Mintel report shows that 57 percent of respondents say they are willing to pay more. However, the majority are only willing to pay 1%-5% more.

Menu selection remains the biggest factor in choosing a restaurant, according to Mintel. Three quarters of patrons base their decision on that, followed by pricing (69 percent) and location (67 percent). Local/organic and sustainable ingredients were mentioned by only seven percent of those surveyed.

How much restaurant patrons care seems to depend mainly on two things: age and geography. Younger respondents in the study were more likely to be concerned about local/sustainable ingredients, as were those living in the West.

Any restaurant seeking to be a responsible community member should consider yet another environmental issue for conscious consumers: food waste. A report from Unilever Food Solutions notes that nearly 80 percent of U.S. restaurant customers surveyed express concern about the amount of food thrown away every day. According to the Green Restaurant Association, food waste comprises about half of a restaurant’s total waste and represents the largest component of landfills.

“Small, incremental steps can result in big differences, and we need to do more than simply spark debate about this topic,” says Steve Jilleba, Unilever’s executive chef. “As an industry, we need to look at stock management, menu flexibility, portion sizes and many other elements involved in the journey from farm to fork in order to be able to begin tackling this problem.”

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Vicki Pozzebon

Surely by now you’ve heard me talk about local this, local that, eat local, go local, Yay! local, everything local, local, local. My friends are a little tired of it, even mocking me by sending me a cartoon of a couple witches on Halloween stirring up a big witches’ brew caldron with a quote that read: “I only use local children.” Ha-ha. Yes, I believe in local. And by now, you probably know why. Local is us: It’s you and me, and our economy. I do believe that local matters.

This year, the Santa Fe Alliance is taking a break from winter programming to focus on strategic planning because now is the time in our lifespan to look deep into our own work and continue to do the things that have the greatest and most lasting impact. Instead of asking you to participate in our Buy Local Bowl and shop till you drop for two hours on a Saturday to prove that local shopping works, we’re asking you to help us create jobs this holiday season. “Wait, what?” I hear you asking. “What’s my dollar got to do with creating jobs?”

We’ve decided to participate in a campaign that, for the first time in our organization’s history, is a national campaign partnership among the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, the American Independent Business Alliance and about 100 other local economy and independent business alliances across the country, just like Santa Fe Alliance. This is an exciting time for our movement because never before has there been such a nationally coordinated effort targeted at consumers by grassroots organizations like ours. And we want you to participate in it: Shift Your Shopping. Choose locally owned independent businesses this holiday season for all your needs. And continue to do it all year long. Pretty simple concept.

What’s different about it this year is that we are talking about job creation in our regions too. Not only does your money stay in our local economy for things like parks (and we have some beautiful ones!), libraries, first responders, our schools; it will create much-needed jobs too. The National Retail Federation reports that holiday shoppers plan to spend an average of $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise in 2011. That’s a lot of money to most people. And if you consider that when you put $704.18 into locally-owned businesses it will multiply up to four times in our local economy, that means you could put $2816.72 to work in our local economy. There are numerous studies showing that directing spending to locally owned, independent businesses will have great impacts. For example, a 2008 study of Kent County Michigan by Civic Economics projected shifting 10% of the county’s per capita spending from chains to locally-owned independent businesses would create nearly $140 million in new economic activity and 1,600 new jobs for the region. Yes, I said NEW. Now imagine those numbers going to work in our own region.

There are so many moving parts to a local economy I can see people’s heads spin when I talk about it. Eat local. Buy local. Move your money. (Thanks to Occupy Wall Street this not-so-new-idea went global and encouraged thousands of people to shift their money. Over 650,000 people moved $4.5 billion between October and November, according to the Credit Union National Association.) And maybe you’ve heard of Small Business Saturday, which is a campaign effort by American Express to get you to support small businesses for your holiday shopping. I can get on board with this concept—for about a minute. I appreciate their effort to get the masses to engage in the economy. But my question is this: How will you know if your hard earned dollars at this “small business” are going to a local owner unless you ask the questions, “Are you family owned? Are you locally owned? Are you a franchise?” The Amex campaign doesn’t help you, the consumer, understand the difference. Shift Your Shopping does. Amex wants you to go spend your money at a small business and please, use your credit card while you’re at it, and if it’s an Amex card, well, that’s even better! But what you might not know, Mr. Consumer, is that Amex charges the highest processing rates of all the credit card companies. Every time you pull out your Amex so you can get more miles, you are costing a small business owner sometimes up to 8% on a sale. What you might not know is that Amex negotiates their rates on a business-to-business basis, which can result in big box stores and large retailers getting much lower rates than smaller companies and locally owned businesses. (For more info on this check out www.truecostofcredit.com.) Is that how you want to support your locally owned independent businesses? Paying in cash is obviously more sustainable for your business-owner neighbor and for your wallet. I’m not telling you to cut up your credit cards or be unrealistic; I’m asking you to think about where you want your money to go when it leaves your wallet. Shifting Your Shopping can shift your thinking.

But back to the question of “local.” The Santa Fe Alliance has established guidelines of what local means to us, and unlike a massive credit card company, we have nothing to gain from our campaign, except a stronger local economy. We are not profiting from your hard-earned dollars. Instead, our entire community benefits when we ask you to Shift Your Shopping. We help you understand what the local economy is by defining what locally owned really means. Local businesses are defined as those located in Santa Fe or adjoining counties. For retail businesses this is straightforward, but for other types of businesses it may not be so clear-cut. For example, including our local farmers often requires a broader geographic definition. Many of these farms, while situated away from Santa Fe’s nucleus, are located within our northern New Mexico “food shed.”

Sometimes determining which businesses are independently owned can be difficult. What about a locally owned fast-food franchise? Or an insurance agent with a national company and a local office? Many businesses participate in cooperative marketing, offer exclusive lines, and have all sorts of other business agreements. We define a locally owned business as one where the community member has full autonomy and decision-making authority with respect to his or her business practices. An owner with decision-making authority can:

• choose to purchase goods and services from other locally owned businesses, increasing the economic return of every dollar for the community

• change his/herbusiness practices to respond to the social and environmental needs and desires of the community

• promote his/her business in ways that maintain the unique character of a specific community

• communicate directly with members of the community on a day-to-day basis

Where you spend your money matters. Now that you have your list of what local really means you can help your friends understand it too. Spread the word to friends and family all over the country. They might just have an independent business alliance in their community too. Shift Your Shopping and choose locally owned independents this holiday season and all year long. Think of it as a great, big, meaningful, green and sustainable gift to our local economy when you Shift Your Shopping.

Happy Holidays from the Santa Fe Alliance.

For more information, visit www.ShiftYourShopping.org, and don’t forget to pick up the Local Guide, available at Santa Fe Alliance member businesses.

Vicki Pozzebon is Executive Director of the Santa Fe Alliance, a nonprofit organization working toward building a local living economy through community, local ownership and advocacy. www.santafealliance.com

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Erin Sanborn

The Taos Green Chamber unveiled a preview of the very first Taos Thinks Local First Guide at a Release Party on December 1^st at KTAO Solar Center. The Guide is part business directory, part green information and education, and part biographical, as it presents the stories of businesses embracing, developing and investing in green, sustainable practices. By sharing stories from area businesses, we are cultivating our awareness of what “sustainability” really means to us, and how to align business and commerce with this new awareness. Words like “green” and “sustainability” evoke many, many thoughts, feelings and opinions these days. The Taos Thinks Local First Guide presents the stories of those who have been courageous enough to step onto the uneven stepping-stones of this path as they discover and apply best practices together.

“Stories are powerful: They give meaning and context to what would otherwise be a collection of easily forgettable facts. Stories invoke the imagination so that listeners begin to own them almost as much as the teller. In fact, there’s a growing body of research that points to the power of narrative not just as a way to engage people, but as the only way to change deeply entrenched views.”

(Author)ity: The Importance of Storytelling – Simon Kelly, 2008

One thing we know for sure is that in nature, there is no waste, no “pollution.” Humans must align with this fundamental operating principle; we are not exempt from the laws of nature and do damage to ourselves and our planet by attempting to live against nature’s principles. To achieve a human world in which we do not eat, breathe or live in the pollutants we spew, we need a set of guiding principles. We can find these in organizations such as the Biomimicry Institute, Beyond Benign, CERES and many others. Sustainability operating principles guide each business and each sector as they become aware of them and strive for alignment. As such, the Taos Thinks Local First Guide provides information and practical tools for businesses to use in adopting greener, more sustainable practices.

Another aspect of the Taos Thinks Local First Guide is educational. Facts and statistics are interspersed within the pages intended to invoke either awe or that OMG feeling of, “I didn’t know that!” Current facts and statistics with the stories are meant to deepen the dialog at business meetings or around the kitchen table. Once each person realizes the immensity of pollution caused by what we use and consume, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Almost everything in our world we use is produced with some toxicity, lack of recyclability, extensive uses of energy, or in a non-renewable way. Dialog is one of the best practices that enables one to imagine a future where there is no pollution, where people and community are taken care of and nurtured, and wealth and abundance is something we all enjoy.

Finally, the Guide provides a directory of businesses committed to sustainable practices. We intend for it to become a reference to consumers and other businesses in choosing products, vendors, and services. The Taos Thinks Local First Guide will be published in the Spring 2012 on recycled newsprint with soy-based inks for those who enjoy the feel of a magazine in your hands. It will also be online at www.nmgreenchamber.com/chapters/taos . Enjoy reading!

Resources: http://biomimicryinstitute.org/, or http://www.beyondbenign.org/, or http://www.ceres.org/.

Erin Sanborn is the Executive Director of the Taos Green Chamber of Commerce, a chapter of the NM Green Chamber of Commerce. She also chairs the Food and Agriculture Council of Taos or the FACT. Her background is in International Conflict Resolution and Organization Development. You can contact her at erin@collaborativegreen.com or 575.770.2991.

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USDA Funds Biofuel Project in New Mexico

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA has issued a $54.5 million loan guarantee that will allow a biofuels firm to construct a facility in New Mexico to produce “green crude” oil from algae, which can be refined into transportation fuel. The project is intended to advance American efforts to provide renewable commercial-scale biofuels, increasing energy security and reducing dependence on foreign oil. It is expected that 60 jobs will be created near the community of Columbus, N.M.
“This project represents another step in the effort to assist the nation’s advanced biofuel industry to produce energy in commercial quantities from sustainable rural resources,” said Vilsack. The loan recipient, San Diego-based Sapphire Energy, intends to design, build and operate a $135 million integrated algal biorefinery
(IABR) to create a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum-derived diesel and jet fuel. The IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least two million gallons per year. The oil will be shipped to the Gulf Coast to be refined by Dynamic Fuels, in Geismar, Louisiana.
Sapphire Energy broke ground on the project earlier this year. The company employs about 50 people in Las Cruces at its test facility where algae are produced in racetrack-shaped ponds that range in size from 14 feet to 200 feet. The Columbus site could grow to hundreds of acres with an even larger area of ponds.
As it embraces a biofuel future, the USDA is partnering with the Dept. of the Navy and has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Aviation Administration to help the commercial airline industry develop appropriate feedstocks that can be most efficiently processed into jet fuel. Some types of algae are composed of 50 percent oil.

Biofuels Plant Construction to Begin

Joule Unlimited, Inc., a Massachusetts company, is about to start construction on a biofuels demonstration plant in Hobbs, New Mexico. The plant, which is expected to begin operating next year, will convert sunlight and carbon dioxide waste into biofuel. In addition to construction jobs, 20 permanent jobs will be created. State officials say that 500 new jobs could be created in Hobbs if the plant produces up to 75 million gallons of biodiesel and 125 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Study: SunZia Project Would Bring Jobs

Five hundred miles of high-voltage transmission lines between New Mexico and Arizona would create thousands of jobs, many in rural counties, spur renewable energy development and result in $1.5 billion in capital investment, a new report says.

The joint study conducted by New Mexico State University and the University of Arizona, commissioned by SunZia Transmission LL C, states that 6,200 jobs would be created during the four years of construction, expected to begin in 2013, and there would be more than 120 permanent jobs during operation. In addition, the project would enable many wind and solar generation projects, which would
deliver up to 3,000 megawatts, enough to power 1 million homes.

SunZia consists of five participants—SouthWestern Power Group, Shell Wind Energy, Tri-State Transmission and Generation, Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power. The companies have spent millions of dollars to finance permitting and development of the project, which has been under a federal review process and
a draft environmental impact study, expected to be released in January.

According to the study, the project would require two parallel 500-kilowatt AC transmission lines, primarily on public lands, suspended from towers 130 to 160 feet tall, and five substations at a cost of about $1.5 billion.The study can be viewed at http://sun-zia.net/project_information.php?show_tab=economic

PPC Solar to Build 1.5 MW Solar Project in Taos

Local business PPC Solar has announced that Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has approved a Power Purchase Agreement under which it will purchase solar electricity for the next 25 years from a PV array in Taos County that would be constructed by PPC Solar.

The installation, which is subject to approval by Tri-State Generation and Transmission and permitting by Taos County, would be the largest in Taos County, utilizing 5,400 solar panels on approximately 8.5 acres. The system would offset the equivalent to planting 107,675 trees.

According to Daniel Weinman, CEO of PPC Solar, “projects like this have the capacity to invigorate our local economy. Not only will it expand the number of jobs for our labor force, it can also give Kit Carson more control over the rising cost of electricity received from Tri-State. More money made locally equals more money to spend in our community.” www.ppcsolar……

the Board of Directors of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has conditionally approved a Power Purchase Agreement under which it would purchase solar electricity for the next 25-years from a 1.5 MW DC photovoltaic array in Taos County that would be constructed by PPC Solar. The solar install would be the largest in Taos County, utilizing approximately 5,400 solar panels situated on approximately 8.5 acres just northwest of Taos. The system would produce an estimated 2,985,859 kWh of solar power during its first year of operation which would offset 21,535 tons of CO2  the equivalent to planting 107,675 trees.  The agreement is subject to approval by Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which is slated to consider the agreement on December 7, and permitting by Taos County by December 31, 2011.

Driven by falling costs and a robust federal clean energy program, the U.S. solar industry grew by 67 percent in 2010. Americans overwhelmingly support the development and use of solar energy according to a new national poll. These and other findings were reported on November 1, 2011, in the 2011 SCHOTT Solar Barometer™, a nationally representative survey conducted annually by independent polling firm Kelton Research.

For the fourth consecutive year, the survey found that about nine out of 10 Americans (89%) think it is important for the United States to develop and use solar energy. Furthermore, when asked to select an energy source they would financially support if they were in charge of U.S. energy policy, 39% of Americans chose solar over other sources such as natural gas (21%), wind (12%), nuclear (9%) and coal (3%).

Utilities are taking note by investing in solar power to reduce their long-term energy costs, promote local energy independence, and generate increased revenues from the sale of renewable energy credits (REC’s), while complying with the mandates established by most states that utilities meet certain renewable energy portfolio standards.

According to Daniel Weinman, CEO of PPC Solar, “projects like this have the capacity to invigorate our local economy. Not only will it expand the number of jobs for our labor force, it can also give Kit Carson more control over the rising cost of electricity received from Tri-State. More money made locally equals more money to spend in our community.”  At a time when businesses are hard-pressed to reduce operating expenses, PPC Solar is working with the local community to find solar-powered solutions that can help with long-range financial planning while increasing the bottom line.

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PPC Solar is committed to changing the way the world is powered and improve the quality of life. We are a full service electrical contracting business specializing in renewable energy and photovoltaic systems, in operation since 1979.

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Join the Unified Voice

The decades have passed with barely a whimper of civil disobedience. The media, far less controlled in those earlier times, brought the Vietnam War into everyone’s living room every evening at 6 and 11 pm. Journalists were allowed on the front lines, vivid images of the ugliness of war penetrated our psyche, and there was plenty of suffering to go around. It fanned the flames of the anti-war movement. Now it appears easier to accept the agony of war when the portrayal is glossed over with slick packaging, a video-game perspective of robotic weaponry allowing human targets to seem, well, less than human. But, of course, our young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan have found their experience far more distressing than an evening with an Xbox and a joystick. In fact, not much has changed since the 1960s in that regard. War is still… war.

The banks, the corporations, the war machine—they all conspire to hold the public hostage, brainwashing our sensibilities, clouding our reasoning. The healthcare system is rigged to sell us countless drugs with unproven side effects while offering assistance in numbing the senses. The extractive industries, i.e. oil, gas, coal and uranium, with their massive lobbying presence and bankroll, crank their propaganda machine, cash in on record-breaking profits quarter after quarter, attempt to convince us with blue skies and slick graphics that natural gas is the clean energy future, and nuclear energy is carbon free and renewable.

The sheer level of greed, to the denial of climate science, the health of the populace, the damage to the Earth, the air and water…it all adds up to a mega sham! The banks, being bailed out to the tune of $800 billion in taxpayer dollars, are sitting on massive amounts of cash and refusing to loan money during the biggest downturn the housing industry has seen. They too have figured out how to manifest record-breaking profits, while the public suffers from joblessness and the worst economy in memory.

Here are two contrasting economies with mega funds flowing out of the hands of the masses into the grubby hands of a few. So, alas, people have taken to the streets. The Occupy movement is the most impressive show of public discontent since those Vietnam protests of the late ‘60s and early ’70s. The 99% are beginning to find their voice, perhaps feeling powerless for too long. It’s not hard to recapture George W. Bush’s smug face during his press conferences; there wasn’t even the typical attempt at deception. He told us, point blank: He was the mouthpiece for the banks, the wealthy, oil and gas, the military/industrial complex, and then he’d smirk, as if to say…“You’re all being screwed, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The people are now refusing to be screwed while the perpetrators thumb their noses. It is decidedly the time for taking back our power. Sure, there is a major amount of pent-up personal frustration, but it is also a time for clear, positive and purposeful thought in action.

On Nov. 11, 2011, (11.11.11) The Unicopia Clean Energy Summit was held as the first in a series of conferences at the Unicopia Center, aka, The Emerald Home. A partial list of presenters included State Senator Peter Wirth, House Representative Brian Egolf, Public Regulatory Commissioner Jason Marks, Santa Fe County Commissioner Kathy Holian, County Energy Specialist Craig O’Hare, Santa Fe Community College Sustainable Technologies Director Randy Grissom and City Councilman Chris Calvert. Also present were numerous community activists, grassroots organizations, environmental nonprofit organizations, trade associations, building and energy experts and concerned citizens. Included were the Sierra Club, Conservation Voters New Mexico, Santa Fe County League of Women Voters, New Energy Economy, Santa Fe Green Building Council and more.

The mission of the Unicopia Alliance is to build public awareness and participation, provide a unified political voice and promote conscious activism in creating our sustainable future. This effort includes building an expanding network of progressive political leaders, educators, environmental nonprofits, grassroots organizations, community activists, energy and building experts, green businesses and the general public. Our goal is to stimulate a groundswell of consensus and action from our citizenry, as well as an understanding of the power of positive thought and unity awareness. Various participating organizations and persons will have a seat on our advisory council, which will decide issues and action items for the Alliance. First we imagine, and then we unite to create the future we wish to live.

Green Talk Radio provides a weekly platform for solutions, both in thought and action, which are essential to personal and planetary healing. The expanding perception that we share a common experience will foster harmony with the Earth and each other. This, then, is the antidote to exploitation and greed. The shift from a cultural predominance of competition and separation to a deep acceptance of our true relationship to the whole will ultimately transmute fear into faith, worry into happiness, hate into love, war into peace, darkness into light. The power of this held vision by millions will shift the momentum toward a future of unity and prosperity.

We are partnering with the New Mexico Green Chamber to help align with green businesses from around the state. We are meeting with leadership from the Occupy movement to help steer active citizens toward policy and action items that will create immediate impact. Our outreach includes the prompting of grassroots organizations and the public toward participation in the legislative process. We are building a powerful and unified voice through our expanding network of green businesses, environmental, arts, social justice and Native American organizations. It is our intent to be a unifying agent in helping to build a consensus for the evolution of sustainable community consciousness. We are open to your participation. So, please visit www.unicopia.org and become a part of the expanding, unified voice.

Faren Dancer is an award-winning designer, builder, educator and activist. His GREEN TALK RADIO show is each Saturday at 4 pm on KTRC (1260 AM). All the archived shows are available at www.unicopia.org. Email: Faren@unicopia.org

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Z. Pollon

Jamelyn Ebelacker sat in front of her computer, using her mouse to fly over dry New Mexico terrain, stopping only when she saw the telltale sign of a pueblo dwelling. “That’s Puye, those are my ancestors’ homes,” said the 20-year-old from Santa Clara Pueblo. She zoomed into the Puye Cliff Dwellings, a circular pattern spread meticulously across the desert plateau, then zoomed out again in search of a nearby riverbed.

Ebelacker was one of nearly 20 young Native American students selected for a training this November by Google Earth Outreach on how to integrate mapping techniques into their film and storytelling projects.

Organized by New Energy Economy and Dreaming New Mexico, which envisions sustainable resource use across the state, the goal is to empower young Native Americans with tools to tell their stories, stories that often entail loss of land through coal, oil and gas drilling or uranium mining.

Krystal Curley, 21, came from Gallup for a film she is making about uranium mining on Native land. The film will integrate similar mining stories from Russia and the Ukraine, including the destruction of sacred lands by corporations. “If I can map the points of all the mines and coal, I can show that we’re being attacked, murdered. It’s genocide all over again. Corporations are taking our land,” she said.

Two other Navajo from Flagstaff, Ariz. were fresh from having their first film shown at the prestigious Sundance film festival, and now wanted to focus on the destruction of their communities through mining. “The Water is Life” focuses on the sacredness of water, and on its contamination by uranium, plus other industrial waste dumped near local populations, said Jake Hoyungowa.

For Hoyungowa, 22, and film producer Deirdre Peaches, 23, it’s a deeply personal story, having both lost family members to the effects of uranium mining. They want to find the best way possible to show the next generation what occurred on their land and to their communities, Peaches said. “When we have kids, I don’t want them to say, ‘Why didn’t you do anything?’”

Google Earth Outreach was launched to help support nonprofits and spread the gospel of world mapping knowledge. Since the mapping tool emerged in 2005, it has become a widespread phenomenon for those seeking vacation spots or wanting to spy on their neighbors, but more recently it has become a means to document the quickly and oftentimes dramatically changing landscapes across the globe.

With the clicks of a computer mouse, one can go anywhere in the world and see satellite shots from different time periods and in varying degrees of clarity, of countryside, homes, and even ground level views of city streets. It allows people to create “tours,” pinpoint locations and add video, photos or captions to any site on the globe.

The training workshops have been particularly useful in documenting community concerns, said trainer Steve DeRoy, who flew in from London. In his work with Native peoples he says he uses Google mapping to aid impact assessments, to show past and potential effects by industry on communities and environments. Success stories range from the altering of development plans to increasing the benefits to displaced people based on a clearer view of impacts.

In perhaps one of its better-known applications, Google Earth Outreach, led by Director Rebecca Moore, held a training in 2008 in the Amazon Forest for indigenous tribes to help them protect their forest and culture. Maps drawn by Chief Almir of the Surui tribe showed the perimeter of his shrinking forestland and areas where illegal logging was clearly taking place.

Prior to that, Moore stopped a logging project near her home in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California by showing the proximity of projects to schools, neighborhoods and watersheds, said Moore at a recent Bioneers conference.

The training was made possible by a grant to Dreaming New Mexico from Google, Inc. and the Charitable Giving Fund of Tides Foundation. In 2009 DNM was selected first runner-up in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge for its work creating perhaps the first comprehensive overview of a state’s food and farming, and one of the most detailed analysis of any state’s complete energy system.

In training young Native Americans, the hope is that they will help map a renewable energy future away from fossil fuels and promote wind and solar technology, organizers said.

It is also very much about preserving culture. For Ebelacker, it is a means of gathering traditional stories whose oral tradition is quickly fading. “I come from a long line of potters so I want to mark things like where they get the clay, right here by the riverbed,” she said, pointing to a long blue line across the computer screen. “The oral tradition in my pueblo is fading out fast, so hopefully the people in my community can use this as a tool to carry on our tradition.”

http://www.dreamingnewmexico.org/, http://newenergyeconomy.org/

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