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While the audience for Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is growing, few people I have spoken to have a clear, comprehensive view of exactly what it is! Some call it ESG (environmental and social governance) investing; others call it Green or Sustainable. These are all synonymous terms for the same movement that exists within the greater global financial system. It allows investors the opportunity to invest with their values while providing competitive returns in relation to traditional Wall Street-type investments. To see how this is accomplished takes a brief trip back in time to the 1970’s and 80’s.

Back then we saw the creation of several financial institutions that were completely devoted to the concept of Socially Responsible Investing. Today, these same firms have grown, evolved, and are thriving to the extent that they exert substantial influence on the greater financial world at large. The most substantial of these are Calvert, Pax World, Domini, and Parnassus mutual fund companies as well as First Affirmative Financial Network, which is an SRI investment advisory firm. These companies distinguish themselves from traditional Wall Street investment firms by applying four criteria to the selection of the companies they will invest in. These are:

• Shareholder activism. Do the companies respect and respond to the concerns of their shareholders?
• Community involvement. Do the companies have a positive influence on their communities?
• Affirmative screening. The inclusion of companies that have a positive influence on the world and society at large, i.e. environmental, sustainable, etc.
• Negative screening. The exclusion of companies that have a detrimental impact on the world and society at large, i.e. polluters, substandard employee treatment, human rights violators, etc.

It is important to note that SRI is not something separate from the greater financial world but it does apply a much more rigorous selective process of picking companies to invest in using the above mentioned criteria. For example, approximately half of the companies that are found in the Domini 400 social index, which has become the benchmark for SRI, are also found in the S&P 500.

As the Green, Sustainable, SRI movement continues to evolve, the hope is that it will continue to exert increasing pressure on global corporate structures so that they will consider more deeply the influence and responsibility they have on society and the world at large. Although there have been great strides taken in this direction, it is still a David and Goliath situation. Consider that by the most liberal estimates, the SRI industry in the USA is at about $3 trillion, which is about the same size as the combined assets of Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase alone. Needless to say there is still great work to be accomplished here! In subsequent articles we will continue to expand and elaborate on these themes. I hope you enjoyed reading, and until next time, invest wisely.

Guy Le Sage is a financial advisor with Horizons Sustainable Financial Services in Santa Fe, an independent firm licensed in over 20 states. Horizons offers securities through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker/dealer and member FINRA, SIPC. E-mail: guy@horizonssfs.com, call 982.9661 or 877.321.3236.

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Laura Mulry

Having a vision is something we all experience from time to time. Achieving that vision is quite another story. It takes leadership, commitment and a sense of responsibility to drive an idea to fruition. On Friday, May 6 at 2 p.m. on the campus of Santa Fe Community College, the public is invited to see a vision become reality as the college celebrates the official opening of its new Trades & Advanced Technology Center.

For SFCC President Sheila Ortego, the event marks a wish come true. “It has long been my dream – my passion – to provide quality education and training in trades and advanced technologies to prepare our students for lucrative careers. We have been fortunate to have the support of donors, encouragement from all sectors of the local business, clean energy, and economic development sectors, and assistance from our national and local government leaders to make this building and its programs a reality,” she said. Dr. Ortego especially thanked voters who supported bond money to pay for construction of the $12 million facility.

SFCC designed and built the state-of-the-art, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-registered Trades & Advanced Technology Center with input from the community and overwhelming support from voters. The center opened its doors this spring. Not only is the building framework green; the academic courses, certificates and degree programs are all the same shade: clean energy and green technology. Local employers who seek highly qualified workers for jobs in renewable energy with the skills needed to support them are excited about the new center. Some, such as Los Alamos National Security, have invested funds to boost SFCC’s training, including a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

“We worked closely with professionals in the clean industries to determine up-and-coming green collar job requirements,” said Randy Grissom, Dean of Economic and Workforce Development. “With broad input, we designed green curricula dedicated to workforce training in sustainability, renewable energy and conservation. New and returning students are taking advantage of our courses, certificates and degree programs to pursue a career or retool their skills.”

Indeed, more than 300 students are already enrolled in programs such as environmental technologies, biofuels, green construction, solar energy and sustainability practices. Further, courses are developed and taught by green energy professionals, who bring practical expertise to the class experience.

Enrollment is up by 53 percent in four years in the programs under the Sustainable Technologies division of the Center, which offers courses in solar, electronics, electricity, energy auditing, biofuels and weatherization, among others. Students interested in high wage employment in the residential and commercial construction trades are exposed first hand to basic and appropriate alternative and advanced technologies for water, energy, plumbing, HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) and electrical.

Hands-on experience is integral to the new Center, which marries academic mission with environmental design that includes light motion sensors, rooftop water collectors, LED lighting with“smart” lighting controls, rainwater catchment for flushing toilets, and electronic sensors on faucets. An “adsorber” converts solar energy into chilled water. The rooftop is a teaching space for solar and agriculture courses. An outdoor trellis will provide a “living wall” as an agriculture/horticulture learning space. Flexible workshops serve as incubators for locals to explore innovative technologies.

“We envisioned the building as an educational tool with structural, mechanical and electrical systems visible for all to see and touch,” said Allan T. Baer, AIA, of Lloyd & Associates Architects, who designed the Trades & Advanced Technology Center. “We wanted the facility to connect faculty and students seamlessly with the existing campus and at the same time develop a distinctive design vocabulary expressing the new sustainable elements such as solar, daylighting and other green technologies,” he explained.

Complementing SFCC’s greening of both its academic programming and its new construction, the college has seriously advanced toward carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability. When Dr. Ortego signed on to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, she committed the college to reduce its carbon footprint and to further its eco-friendly objective. As part of that pledge, a wood-chip biomass heating system was installed that uses renewable energy sources instead of natural gas, solar thermal heat for the swimming pool, recycling and composting programs, low consumption lighting and low-flow toilets.

“I feel it’s our responsibility – as an educational institution and a community member – to help northern New Mexico prepare students for the green workforce; not just for today’s jobs, but for jobs of the future,” said Dr. Ortego, who twice has visited Washington D.C. to encourage Congress to pass comprehensive legislation that funds education and training for the clean energy economy. “We also strive to “walk the talk” by incorporating sustainability principles through our entire campus,” she added.

“From the college’s Sustainability Committee’s perspective, we see the new center as exemplifying our commitment to being an environmentally friendly campus,” said Meridee Walters, Vice President of Finance and Administration. “It simply makes sense in these times to educate our own campus community and workforce about clean energy, minimizing energy costs and monitoring energy use. We want to practice responsible campus management.”

The Grand Opening Celebration on May 6 includes solar programs, vendors and displays, student demonstrations, tours and refreshments. The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions’ Mobile Green Jobs Workforce Center will share information about green employers, skill sets and occupations. Wise Fool will be on hand to greet guests and preview their performance at the upcoming Green Gala fundraiser, which will be held on July 29. For more information, call 505.428.1524 or visit www.sfcc.edu.

L.J. Mulry is a freelance writer and public relations professional who lives in Santa Fe.

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When Steve and Linda Hamlin decided to build their dream home on Albuquerque’s west side, they had one requirement – high style and low impact would have to learn to live together. The result is Escarpment House, where the two oft-time design opposites now happily cohabitate.

Perched above the Petroglyph National Monument, the Escarpment House enjoys uninterrupted views of the Sandia and Manzano mountains and the city below. And while the views from the site are scene stealers, the three-bedroom, two-bath house takes top billing as a model of efficiency.

“We spent a lot of time to make the most of the views, but we spent just as much time to make the house as green as possible,” Steve Hamlin said. “We didn’t want to sacrifice one for the other.”

The home’s most prominent low-impact feature is a geothermal system. It takes advantage of the earth’s constant 57-degree temperature to provide low-cost heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer while heating water in both seasons essentially for free.

The geothermal system, purchased at Dahl Santa Fe and installed by Camelot Construction, has a high-efficiency heat pump that pulls energy from four narrow wells that were dug 300-feet deep before the home’s foundation was poured. It also has a Lifebreath heat-recovery ventilator that brings fresh air into the home while extracting latent heat from exhaust air.

While the install costs of a geothermal system are slightly higher than a traditional HVAC unit, the difference is returned in tax credits and energy savings in just a few years. System lifespan is estimated at 25 years for the inside components and 50 years for the underground wells.

At the roof, galvanized aluminum and seamless white thermoplastic polyolefein create an airtight surface that reflects heat. The roof is angled so that downspouts send rain to capture swales and almond trees that shade the house’s south side. Thicker framing and insulation helped Escarpment House achieve an excellent Home Energy Rating System (HERS) number.

Recycled materials include fly ash in the concrete floors, cellulose insulation, aluminum window frames, Trex decking, and kitchen countertops that incorporate ground glass. Sound-absorbing panels more typically used in gymnasiums are made of composite wood shavings. When the home’s foundation was dug, the excavated dirt was retained for landscaping berms that help deflect wind. Locally sourced materials include gypsum board, concrete, insulation, stucco and pre-manufactured roof trusses.

The house is also green for what’s not in it. A post-tensioned slab minimized the amount of concrete required for the foundation. The Hamlins also declined to install baseboards and door moldings, wall textures, floor coverings and cabinet pulls. “Any time one of us would want to add some ornament, the other one would ask if we’d have to buy special stuff to clean it,” Hamlin said. “If the answer was yes, the decision was no.”

Escarpment House is also designed to accommodate senior residents – either the homeowners themselves or elderly live-in parents. Among the home’s forward-looking elements are wheelchair-friendly doors, halls and master shower. In the kitchen, there are few upper-level cabinets so that someone in a wheelchair can unload the dishwasher to drawers underneath the countertops. All the home’s cabinets have touch-latch fixtures so they can be pushed with a fist or knee to open and close.

Escarpment House, built by Bob Ruth of Sunbelt Properties, celebrates the clean, spare lines of mid-century architecture. From the street, particularly at night with the city’s lights twinkling behind it, it’s easy to imagine that Frank Sinatra is inside hosting the Rat Pack and bikini-clad blondes. But if “Ol’ Blue Eyes” were to answer the doorbell while sipping a highball, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise residing within Escarpment House.

Once the front door opens, visitors enter a modern take on the classic New Mexico courtyard typology centered around a reflecting pond that uses breezes and evaporation to passively cool the house. The home presents a progression through outdoor spaces – from an entry court through the windowed interior courtyard to a mountain-view patio. The 2,550-square foot home surrounds the courtyard with a bedroom wing on the cooler north side and all public spaces arrayed along the south where stronger light is required for reading, preparing meals and entertaining.

In the 800-square-foot courtyard, a dramatic black-iron steel staircase cantilevers off the north and east walls and leads to a roof deck. Large concrete pads create a wide walkway between the reflecting pool and a simple Japanese-style garden featuring a serpentine flowering cherry tree. The walkway does double duty as a dining area and lounge. The courtyard, which can be seen from the formal living room, kitchen, breakfast room and great room, creates a sheltered outdoor space that is usable nearly year round.

Escarpment Home is one of 24 residences to be featured in the 12th annual USGBC GreenBuilt Tour June 11 and June 12. A keynote event and green awards is scheduled for June 10. The tour showcases renovation and new construction projects ranging in size from 850 square feet to more than 3,000. Two of the homes are off-grid. Several homes utilize innovative materials and building methods. Several homes have achieved Energy Star rating or BGNM or LEED-H certifications. More information is available at www.usgbcnm.org.

Architect Sam Sterling and colleague Eliza Linde designed the Escarpment House. Sterling teaches a design studio at the University of New Mexico. Visit samsterlingarchitecture.com for more information about the Escarpment House and other projects.

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Will you and I, can humanity adapt fast enough to the great acceleration of change going on all about us so as to be capable of thriving in the new world now being born? This question haunted me as I attended the recent Resilience 2011: Navigating the Complexities of Global Change conference at Arizona State University in Tempe. This was the second such conference; in ‘08 it was held in Stockholm.

Hanging out with 700 or so of the top resiliency and sustainability scientists, researchers and practitioners from around the globe was an opportunity not to be missed by me. I expected it to be an exciting experience, but given two keynote-type lectures a day and over 150 scientific papers presented daily for four days in a row… it was like kayaking oceanic swells of cognitive, conceptual and analytical energy.

Resilience 2011 opened the day after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and the morning’s breaking news was of a nuclear disaster in the making. The epic human disaster was acknowledged and viscerally felt in the room. It lent symbolic urgency and a tangible presence of why we gathered. Roughly half of us had traveled from outside of the U.S., and all of us were seeking to explore the possibilities and potentials of human survival and thrivability in a world where the manmade and the world of nature increasingly appear to be in conflict. The list of such crises and potential tipping points of ecological destabilization have become so common that it is easy to be mentally and emotionally anesthetized to their looming impact.

And indeed, the largely ineffectual ability of these scientists to communicate their findings regarding the extremities of our collective circumstance to the public was cause for frequent self-reflection and examination. Why have we been so ineffective? What will it take to shift public perceptions and our social institutions and for policy makers to move into proactive modes of adaptation?

C.S. (Buzz) Holling, the renown father of Resilience Thinking in ecology (now also increasingly applied in social systems sciences) said, “Since my book Panarchy came out, there has been increasing interest in the transformation aspect of the resiliency cycle.” Thus he acknowledged the growing recognition of the need for transformation in our personal and collective worldviews if we are to bring them into alignment with the reality of the Earth as a living system. Requisite to this adaptation is the courageous willingness to see what is, what we have and what we are collectively creating. This requires the recognition that “We are not in Kansas anymore,” as Dorothy rightly said to Toto. The fact is we are in uncharted territory.

Humanity now lives in a world of our own co-creative but largely unconscious partnership with Planet Earth. In the newly named geologic age of the Anthroprocene, humankind is a biogeophysical force upon the planet along with water, wind, and yes, earthquakes, and historical life-quenching giant meteorites too.

Interestingly, I don’t believe I ever heard reference to the phrase, “6th Great Mass Extinction” at the conference. This is the increasingly used reference for the adaptive challenge expected to be too much for perhaps 75% of species on the planet to survive even another 300 years. (Where is Noah when we need him anyway?)

Adaptive Capacity and the Adaptive Cycle were a few of the most frequently used terms throughout the conference; these and references to flexibility, hardiness, robustness and sustainability, perturbation, front loops, back loops and…time. The longer our awakening takes, the less time and resources and the less our resilience capacity will be for adapting and transforming ourselves and institutions for what will come.

Three time periods each day were devoted to multiple panels of presentations in six different conference tracks. I attended panels on everything from the resilience and sustainability of our cities to our agricultural systems, energy systems, businesses, education, forests, lakes, desert riparian areas, grasslands, climatic destabilization, the role of innovation, urgent Biophilia and urban gardening, Topophilia, desperate human migrations, and so much more. The words change and adaptation were heard in every presentation.

I caught the conversational attention of a few folks however when I noted one of the Wild Resiliency Assertions: “Adaptation Works Until It Kills You!” (wildresiliencyblog.com/wr-assertions/) And that is exactly what adaptation does when we continue adapting ourselves to fit into a worldview that is out of sync with reality. This kind of adaptive thinking is the worldview-handicap behind our banking collapse, Enron’s fantasy bookkeeping and the systemic assumptions leading to the war in Afghanistan and Japan’s current double blow nuclear debacle. This delusional adaptive thinking is why our social systems are collapsing around us. And our forests, waters and fisheries as well.

No blame. We are in this together and our evolutionary spiral could not but have brought us to where we now are: We are living in the end times of the Age of Separation and in the birthing times of the Age of Reunion.

This is articulated eloquently by author Charles Eisenstein in The Ascent of Humanity: The Age of Separation, the Age of Reunion, and the Convergence of Crises that is Birthing the Transition. It is a six hundred page book and worth the read for those invested in helping co-create the “more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible.” Therein, Charles places human development both within a historical context and in a visionary worldview of human thrivability.

Such a vision of human flourishing and thriving is a vital offering if we are to also effectively communicate the desperation of our current human vulnerability. It is too damn hard to open our eyes to what is, and a sure prescription for despair without this opening to a vision of something beyond sustainability.

This will be a new vision of community and a new vision of what it is to be a human being. This will be an integration of the arts and the sciences, an integration of the body, mind and spirit.

This is a challenge, at its core, of identity. Philosopher, historian and cosmologist Thomas Berry articulated this challenge as The Great Work, and the requisite worldview of such a time as the Ecozoic Era. He described it as the era of humanity consciously playing our role with Earth and life as co-creators of a thriving planet.

Now is the time of this birthing. Now is the time of our birthing into this new story, a worldview of our interconnectedness with all of life. We just had to leave home so to speak, before we could return and so appreciate the long journey of our human transformation into beings of conscious presence. In truth, this is a story of a species and individuals developing from a fetal dependency into childhood and adolescence, and now facing the challenges of consciously and developmentally transforming into co-creators of our future in concert with Planet Earth.

Perhaps it is we who are the Noahs we have been waiting for. And the Ark capable of carrying us into that future is the developmental transformation of our consciousness. This is a birthing process and we are now in the midst of it.

Larry Glover is the director of the Wild Resiliency Institute, whose mission is “to serve beauty and wholeness through inspirations and strategies from nature for thriving in turbulent times.” He is a speaker, resiliency coach and consultant, and blogs at wildresiliencyblog.com. E-mail: larry@wildresiliency.com

PULL QUOTES:

Four days with 700 of the world’s top resiliency and sustainability scientists, researchers and practitioners

We are living in the end times of the Age of Separation and in the birthing times of the Age of Reunion.

Perhaps it is we who are the Noahs we have been waiting for. And the Ark capable of carrying us into that future is the developmental transformation of our consciousness.

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Bette Booth

More than 700 people from 50 countries attended the Resilience 2011 conference to present, research and discuss the interrelationships among resilience, vulnerability in global economic and financial systems, resource degradation across the globe, and innovation and sustainability, especially in the face of impending climate change. Attendees included scientists, business owners, students and NGO representatives from countries as diverse as Nepal, Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. Conference sponsors were the Resilience Alliance, the Arizona State University School of Human Evolution and Change, the Global Institute of Sustainability and the School of Sustainability.

Keynote speakers included Alan AtKisson, creator of the ISIS Accelerator tools and methods for sustainability change agents, Elinor Ostrom, 2009 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, and Carlo Jaeger of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Among the presenters were Brian Walker of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, and Alejandro Argumedo, Director of the Quechua-Aymara Association for Sustainable Livelihoods, whose paper was on “Nurturing Socio Ecological Resilience in Indigenous Territories.”

An underlying theme that emerged was the need to engage, involve and communicate with a wider diversity of people and disciplines in this type of dialogue. As Alamgir Chowdhury from Socio Consult, a Bangladesh non-profit, commented, “The politicians who make the policies need to be educated. They don’t have the time and energy to read this research. Besides, they’re not academicians. They’re not researchers. So this research needs to be refined and communicated to these people.” Alex Awiti from the Aga Khan University in Kenya elaborated; “The plenary presentation by Alan AtKinsson was so very provocative. He was telling the scientists, ‘you are not reaching out to the people you need in order to leverage the action that will transform our planet that is definitely on a path to peril.’”

Jon Robinson from the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability said it another way; “Right now we have islands of sustainability in a swamp of non-sustainability. We don’t want to change society; we want to normalize society so that the change is part of our regular way of doing these things.” Perhaps the best question was by a participant when she asked a panel, “How do we get these resilience concepts into the water supply?”

Several tools are available online at www.resalliance.org. The Resilience Assessment Workbook for Practitioners provides an alternative way of thinking about and practicing natural resource management. The Resilience Assessment Workbook for Scientists is useful for those familiar with basic concepts of resilience and system dynamics. It is based on case-study comparisons of regional socio-economic systems.

Bette Booth has worked in international development for more than 30 years. She has been a leader in applying systems thinking and approaches to social change. E-mail: ebooth13@comcast.net

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Rising oil prices and recent power outages due to inclement weather in New Mexico are reminders—America’s energy issues need to be addressed.

America holds only 2% of proven oil resources yet we consume about 25% of the world’s supply. Our dependence on traditional energy supplies puts us at risk from external trends and instability. However, by diversifying our energy portfolio, we can reduce our vulnerability and create a more secure energy future.

The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development mission oversees loan guarantees, loans and grant programs intended to guide us towards a reliable energy future and help rural America benefit from growing renewable energy industries.

For rural businesses, farms and ranches in communities of 50,000 or less; USDA offers the Rural Energy for America program which finances 25% of the cost of installing a renewable or energy efficient system and can help finance energy efficiency feasibility studies and energy audits.

In 2010, Rocky Mountain Therapy in Raton, NM received a $50,000 grant for the installation of solar panels to provide energy to their physical therapy practice. They saw major energy savings in their electric and gas bills. In the same year, USDA provided a $890,000 package of grant and loan guarantee financing for Haley Farms in Roswell, NM. They constructed a large solar array to power irrigation pumps in their pecan fields.

Rural Development also plays a large role in biofuels; which are solid, liquid or gas fuels derived from biomass that can be used as an additive or alternative to gasoline. Biofuels are not expected to completely supplant gasoline any time soon but they can add to the fuel mix and reduce the volume of our gas imports. Our State is strategically located along major transportation lines for biofuels and we have the potential to produce feed stocks for conversion into fuels.

USDA offers incentives for the establishment of biorefineries and we pay a credit, by the gallon, for the production of biofuels. Last year, USDA Rural Development provided a $50 million loan guarantee to Sapphire energy to build an algae-based diesel biofuels plant in Columbus, NM. We also hope to assist with the sorghum-based ethanol biorefinery in Portales.

New Mexico maintains obvious advantages in solar and wind energy production. For industries producing renewable energy, USDA provides loan guarantees for the establishment of wind farms, solar arrays, geothermal plants, dairy digesters and other renewable sources. Loan guarantees provide the backing of the federal government for lenders seeking to loan to businesses and they are an important tool for business development.

I have mentioned just a few of the programs available from USDA to help facilitate the use of renewable energy. As we look towards America’s energy future, opportunities are available for NM to play an important role in energy independence.

Terry Brunner is USDA Rural Development NM State Director. Call 505.761.4950 or 505.761.4676.

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Last month NM Senator Tom Udall and his cousin Colorado Senator Mark Udall introduced legislation that would establish a national renewable energy standard. Utilities would be required to generate 25 percent of their electricity from wind, solar or other renewable sources. The bill would start with a 6 percent requirement by 2013 with gradual increases to meet a 25 percent goal by 2025.

Tom Udall says he is committed to fighting for passage in the senate. “NM has lead the way with a 20% standard by 2021. As a result we are seeing dramatic increases in clean energy jobs in both renewable electricity generation and manufacturing across NM,” Udall said. “Now it is time for the nation to take similar action to create clean energy jobs and keep America’s economy competitive for decades to come.” Udall also said the legislation would reduce energy bills, revitalize rural America, and slow global warming.

A total of twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia already have renewable generation standards with various timelines and targets. The legislation would not pre-empt states that have stronger standards.

USDA Makes Millions Available for Renewable Energy Projects

Applications for funds to increase production and use of renewable energy are currently being taken for the USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program, Repowering Assistance Program, and the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels.

The Biorefinery Assistance Program provides loan guarantees to develop and construct commercial-scale biorefineries or to retrofit existing facilities for the development of advanced biofuels. Applications must be received by May 10. A major project is being considered in Columbus, NM. Sapphire Energy has applied for a loan guarantee to build an integrated algal biorefinery process to cultivate algae in ponds, which will ultimately become drop-in green fuels such as jet fuel and diesel.

The Repowering Assistance Program encourages the use of renewable biomass as a replacement fuel source for fossil fuels used to process heat or power in the operation of biorefineries. The deadline to apply is June 9.

The Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels supports expanding production of advanced biofuels by advanced producers. The deadline to apply is May 10. Advanced biofuels must be produced from renewable biomass, excluding corn kernel starch, in a biofuel facility.

To apply or to find out more, contact USDA Rural Development’s Business and Cooperative Service by calling Ms. Jesse Bopp at 505.761.4952 or e-mail: jesse.bopp@nm.usda.gov.

Gov. Martinez Signs Renewable Energy Law

A new law signed by Gov. Martinez may encourage more solar panels and other renewable energy systems on government buildings. The law creates a development incentive by exempting certain government entities from renewable energy procurement charges on their utility bills if they own renewable energy generation systems. The government entities will be able to invest 2.5 percent of their annual energy costs in their own energy systems rather than paying utilities to purchase renewable energy for them.

CFV Solar Test Lab Opens

A testing and certification lab at the former Advent Solar building at the Mesa del Sol community in south central Albuquerque has opened.

The CFV Solar Test Laboratory includes a five-acre testing area with solar tracking systems from Albuquerque-based CleanSwitch Inc., which supplies solar thermal and photovoltaic products and installation services.

The test lab includes a “module breakage tester,” that uses a wrecking ball to smash PV panels, a machine that fires ice balls at panels to simulate hailstorms, climate chambers that subject the panels to extreme heat and cold, and other tests to artificially age panels to demonstrate how they hold up.

The CFV laboratory offers certification for PV technologies, including flat panel, thin film and concentrating PV systems. The facility will help manufacturers enter the market more rapidly and at lower cost.

The Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), one of the lab’s owners, will also operate a solar research and development lab at the facility.

Concentrating Solar PV Power Plant at Tailings Site Completed

One of the largest concentrating photovoltaic solar power plants in the nation has been built at the tailings site of Chevron Corporation’s molybdenum mine near Questa in northern NM. Chevron is evaluating the technology and using the site to demonstrate utilizing a contaminated brownfield for renewable energy development.

The 1-megawatt solar plant is on 20 acres. Its 173 solar trackers are capable of generating enough electricity to power about 300 homes. Concentrating PV systems use lenses that collect, magnify and focus the sun’s rays onto layers of solar cells. The solar cells used are now 25 percent more efficient than they were a decade ago.

Chevron has also turned an old refinery site in Casper, Wyoming into a wind farm and used another refinery near Bakersfield, California to build an experimental solar farm.

Four Corners Power Plant Ranked Number One for Smog-Forming Pollution

NM power plants emit more smog-forming pollution than power plants in 39 other states in the U.S. according to a new Environment New Mexico (ENM) report. The high emissions are largely due to the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington.

Emissions such as nitrogen oxides chemically react with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight to form ozone pollution, commonly referred to as smog.

The ENM report says that in Albuquerque there were 15 days in 2009 when smog and other air pollutants reached a level deemed unhealthy for children, older adults and people with lung disease. According to the American Lung Association, more than half the people in the U.S. live in areas with unhealthy levels of smog.

Children who grow up in areas with high levels of smog may develop diminished lung capacity, putting them at greater risk of lung disease. Additionally, children exposed to smog in the womb can experience lower birth weight and growth retardation. Even for healthy adults, repeated exposure over time permanently damages lung tissues, decreases the ability to breathe normally, and exacerbates chronic diseases like asthma.

Smog also negatively affects species’ habitats in watersheds, impairs visibility in national parks, and damages forests. Smog exposure can also reduce yields for economically important crops such as soybeans, kidney beans, wheat and cotton.

Power plants in the top eleven most polluting states—including NM—were responsible for 50 percent of the total nitrogen oxide pollution emitted from power plants that year.

ENM’s report comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is set to finalize a standard in July to help reduce smog pollution. Some members of Congress and industry lobbyists are attempting to block the EPA’s rules.

PNM Seeks to Overturn Landmark Carbon Pollution Rules

The NM Environmental Law Center has filed motions on behalf of New Energy Economy (NEE) to intervene in two pending appeals filed by PNM against the Environmental Improvement Board’s (EIB) adoption of the state’s carbon reduction rules. PNM is appealing both the NM Environment Department’s cap and trade rule, and NEE’s greenhouse gas cap rule – both adopted last year.

NM Gov. Susana Martinez is adamantly opposing greenhouse gas regulation and, citing the adoption of these regulations, fired all of the former EIB members on her first day of office. The new, Martinez-appointed EIB met behind closed doors with its attorney and is actively opposing NEE’s intervention in the pending appeals.

“The carbon pollution reduction rules were adopted based on their scientific and economic merits,” said Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director of NEE. It is clear that Gov. Martinez’s EIB has an ideological bias against the carbon pollution reduction rules and has prejudged the merits of this important public policy.”

PNM’s efforts to stop or repeal the carbon pollution reduction rule have previously been rejected by the NM Supreme Court and the former EIB. A previous attempt by the Martinez administration to stop publication of the rule was ruled unlawful by the state Supreme Court in January. The carbon reduction rule also survived the 2011 legislative session intact despite the introduction of seven bills to repeal or undermine it.

For more info, visit www.nmelc.org.

Share the Gifts from Your Garden with Hungry People

With “Plant a Row for the Hungry” The Food Depot is encouraging home gardeners to plant an extra row in their backyard gardens and donate the produce for distribution to people in need. Gardeners can drop their donations off at The Food Depot, 1222 Siler Road in Santa Fe or an emergency food pantry or soup kitchen in their community.

“We’re committed to providing healthy nutritious food to our partner agencies and those in need. While we pick up produce from grocery stores, the farmers’ market and local farmers, we simply cannot obtain enough produce to meet the growing need,” said Sherry Hooper, The Food Depot’s executive director. “The cost of procuring good produce continues to rise due to increased fuel prices. “Plant a Row for the Hungry” offers a simple way for our community’s gardeners to get involved in the battle against hunger,” said Hooper.

The Food Depot is committed to ending hunger in northern NM. As the food bank for nine northern NM counties, program provides food to 120 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, hot meal programs, homeless shelters, youth programs, senior centers, homes for the mentally disabled and shelters for battered persons. The food bank distributes an average of 300,000 pounds of food and household products each month, providing more than 400,000 meals to people in need – the most vulnerable – children, seniors, working families and those in ill health.

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Local governments and communities large and small around the world are embracing Zero Waste as a key tool to meet their goals for addressing climate change. New Zealand is the first country to have adopted Zero Waste as a goal nationally.

In the U.S., California was the first state to adopt Zero Waste as one of eight goals in the 2001 Strategic Plan of the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board. Over 20 communities there are working to develop and implement plans to reach that goal.

The links between Zero Waste and climate change are significant. Solid wastes buried in landfills create methane gas in the anaerobic conditions. Methane gas is 21 times as potent as carbon dioxide in impacting the planet’s climate. And for every ton of waste that reaches municipal landfills, 71 tons have been created “upstream” from mining, manufacturing and distribution of wastes.

Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WARM model to calculate the effect of recycling and composting all the materials currently discarded in California, that state’s Resource Recovery Association Recyclers Global Warming Council calculated that it would be the equivalent of taking all the cars off the road in California.

Therefore, it’s key to climate change isto keep all organics out of landfills. In fact, Zero Waste or dramatically increased local waste reduction efforts is one of the single most effective ways that local governments can immediately address climate change.

There are many “Cool Cities,” “Green Cities” and sustainability programs now developing for local governments to participate in. Over 900 communities worldwide are part of the ICLEI network of Local Governments for Sustainability. ICLEI is working with over 400 communities in the U.S. to address solid waste issues as part of their sustainability planning. However, the only local sustainability program that has included Zero Waste as a goal so far is the UN-sponsored Urban Environmental Awards, which have been adopted by over 100 cities worldwide.

The Zero Waste International Alliance definition of Zero Waste:

“Zero Waste is a goal that is both pragmatic and visionary, to guide people to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that may be a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.”

Communities can significantly change what is “economic” in the local marketplace with policies such as changes in rate structures; changes in compensation, fees and taxes for waste handlers; zoning overlays for reuse and recycling businesses; permit requirements; conditions of land use permits; and many other legal tools. Communities only need as large a plan as required to get their elected officials to approve the program, policies and budget to move forward.

In North America, ZERI-trained System Designer Gary Liss & Associates has worked or is working with the following communities to develop plans for Zero Waste:

California:

• Burbank

• Culver City

• Del Norte County

• Los Angeles

• Oakland

• Palo Alto

• San Jose

Other United States

• Albuquerque, NM (selected sites)

• Austin, TX

• Carroll County, MD

• Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District

• New York City (reviewed Citizens Zero Waste Plan)

• Telluride, CO

Other North America

• Nelson, British Columbia

For a full list of communities around the world that have adopted Zero Waste as a goal, go to:

http://www.zwia.org/zwc.html

Gary Liss may be contacted at gary@garyliss.com. For more info, visit www.garyliss.com

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The settlement requires LANL to capture and eliminate toxic runoff and provides for greater public participation and oversight. A new storm water discharge permit issued by the EPA as a result of the appeal is one of the most stringent in the U.S. It requires LANL to install pollution control measures, increase monitoring, capture, and in the next five years, eliminate runoff from over 400 waste dump sites, some of which have discharged pollutants into the Río Grande, a source of drinking water for Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The lab must install control measures at all sites by May 1, and eliminate toxic discharges from 63 “high priority sites” within three years.

Joni Arends, Executive Director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) said, “This is an enormous victory for community people standing up for clean water. Together, we held the polluters and regulatory agencies accountable for protecting human health. We’re looking forward to ensuring that the lab and the regulatory agencies implement the permit so that the Río Grande and downstream communities will be protected from contamination running downhill from LANL.” CCNS has been monitoring LANL for over 20 years.

“This is a huge victory for clean water and the protection of people’s health,” said Brian Shields, Executive Director of Amigos Bravos. “The settlement agreement is an example of what can be achieved through perseverance, independent analysis, and tremendous support from the community.”

The Cerro Grande fire in May 2000 compelled CCNS and Amigos Bravos to conduct a two-year study of LANL’s discharges into the Pajarito Plateau and the Río Grande. CCNS and Amigos Bravos became plaintiffs in the case, along with Gilbert and Kathy Sanchez and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (Santa Clara Pueblo), and the NGOs Tewa Women United, Southwest Organizing Project, Rio Grande Restoration, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, the NM Acequia Assn., Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group, and the Don Gabino Community Acequia Assn. Together the groups formed Communities for Clean Water, whose mission is to protect the region’s waters for drinking, recreation, cultural practices, wildlife, and production of healthy food.

A full copy of the complaint, settlement agreement, and new storm water permit can be found at www.amigobravos.org/lanl.php.

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