february 2012 edition

Vol. 4, No. 2February 2012 New Mexico’s FiFth Largest circuLatioN Newspaper

PrescriPtion for Healing our Bodies and tHe eartH

greening your Brain

community, Heal tHyself

sustainaBle HealtH for our times

Ne w s & Vi e w s F r o M t h e su s t ai N ab L e so u t h w e s t

HealtHy living issue

Green Fire Times • February 20122 www.GreenFireTimes.com

Everyone Rides Free!We serve Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe & Taos Counties,

The Pueblos of Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, Santa Clara, Tesuque and San Ildelfonso.

RDT operates Monday to Friday

For Schedules and Connection Info

Visit www.RidetheBlueBus.com or call 1–866–206–0754

DUMP THE PUMP! SAVE MONEY!

February 2012 • Green Fire Times 3www.GreenFireTimes.com

Vol. 4, No. 2 • February 2012Issue No. 34Publisher

Green Fire Publishing, LLCSkip Whitson

Managing editorSeth Roffman

ARt DIReCtoR Anna C. Hansen Dakini Design

CoPy eDItoR Stephen Klinger

Publisher’s assistants Barbara e. Brown, Karen Shepherd

CoNtRIButING WRIteRSJuan estévan Arellano, Camilla Bustamante, Faren Dancer, Anthony Fleg, M.D., Susan Guyette, Dr. Amanda Hessel, Jan-Willem Jansens, Ingrid Lane, tori Lee, Bruce Poster, Vicki Pozzebon, Seth Roffman, Michele

Rozbitsky, erin Sanborn, Susan Waterman

CoNtRIButING PhotograPhers

Juan estévan Arellano, Anna C. Hansen, Alan Hoffman, Jan-Willem

Jansens, tori Lee, Seth Roffman

advertising salesSkip Whitson 505.471.5177Dan Godfrey 505.323.5619John Black 505.920.0359

Ralph A. Vigil 505.603.2879 Janice Lee Mak 505.310.5926

Jack King 505.884.4497

distribution Barbara Brown, Nick García, Dan Godfrey, Andy otterstrom (Creative

Couriers), tony Rapatz, Wuilmer Rivera, Skip Whitson, John Woodie

Webmaster: Karen Shepherdoffice Assistants

Claire Ayraud, Sally Calvin

CIRCuLAtIoN22,000 copies

Printed locally with 100% soy ink on 100% recycled, chlorine-free paper

GReeN FIRe tIMeSc/o the Sun Companies

Po Box 5588Santa Fe, NM 87502-5588

Ph: 505.471.5177Fax: 505.473.4458

e-mail: [email protected]

© 2012 Green Fire Publishing, LLCGreen Fire Times provides useful informa-tion for anyone: community members, busi-ness people, students, visitors—interested in discovering the wealth of opportunities and resources available in our region. Knowledge-able writers provide articles on subjects rang-ing from green businesses, products, services, entrepreneurship, jobs, design, building, en-ergy and investing—to sustainable agricul-ture, arts & culture, ecotourism, education, regional food, water, the healing arts, local heroes, native perspectives, natural resources, recycling, transportation and more.GFT is widely distributed throughout north-central New Mexico. Feedback, an-nouncements, event listings, advertising and article submissions to be considered for publication are welcome. Contact Skip Whitson at 505.471.5177 or e-mail [email protected].

wiNNer oF the 2010 sustaiNabLe saNta Fe award For outstaNdiNg educatioNaL project

ContentsPrescriPtion for Healing our Bodies and Healing tHe eartH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

give Yourself tHe greatest gift: a HealtHier You in 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

del are llano: una vida Buena Y sana (Y alegre)–a sound, HealtHY (and cHeerful) life . . 9

sostenga: tradition of nutrition and culturallY aPProPriate food . . . . . . . . . . .11

everYdaY green: greening Your Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

newsBites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 29

Healing and transformation in 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

curanderismo festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Healing witH flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

reconnection tHeraPY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

sYmPtoms: Your BodY’s secret Healing messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Healing tHrougH Horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

faren dancer’s unicoPia green: PlanetarY Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

oP-ed: tHere is no invisiBle Barrier tHat seParates air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

tHe local voice: communitY Heal tHYself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

retire Your waY: tHe new retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

wHat’s going on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Cover: Hiking at kasHa-katuwe tent Rocks national MonuMent, 2011 PHoto: © Jennifer esperanza • www.Jenniferesperanza.com

Green Fire Times is not to be confused with the Green Fire Report, an in-house quarterly publication of the New Mexico environmental Law Center. the NMeLC can be accessed online at: www.nmelc.org.

© A

nna

C. H

anse

n

The SecoNd ANNuAl heAlThy liViNg ediTioN oF greeN Fire TimeS

The articles in this, the second annual Healthy Living edition of Green Fire Times, represent a variety of perspectives related to health and the healing arts. We invited our readers to submit articles, and by presenting these perspec-

tives, we are not necessarily endorsing particular modalities or approaches; rather, we are providing a forum that, to some extent, reflects the unique multicultural and philosophical makeup of our region.

You will find here age-old traditional cultural approaches, such as Indo-Hispano curanderismo, a metaphysical perspective, as well as a contemporary, holistic medical view. The thread that connects most of them is the relation-ship between our personal health and the health of the Earth. Environmen-tal degradation has a direct impact on the health of our population, which in turn places demands on our healthcare resources.

Each dimension of health—physical, social, emotional, mental/intellectual, spiritual and environmental requires balance.


HealtH and Wellness

continued on page 8

“Eat wholesome food in moderate amounts; do

frequent, aerobic exercises but don’t over-exert the body; get enough sleep, rest and re-laxation; think good thoughts and approach life with imagi-

nation and a positive attitude.”

This prescription for health and healing is rather universal. You

can find all or parts of it in any popular magazine at your supermarket’s check-out lane, remember it from the wisdom your grandparent may have taught you, or receive it as advice from a healing arts practitioner or family physician.

Would this prescription also serve us to bring healing to the Earth and to our relation with the Earth? Would it help us live more sustainably? Why might a nature magazine, an experienced outdoors-person or farmer, or an en-gineer or restoration biologist give you a similar prescription for how to relate to Mother Earth? Might there be a re-lationship between our personal health and the health of the planet?

While this prescription is tested and true for a person’s physical health, so-ciety as a whole does not at all seem to advocate it or support it! To the con-trary, many people consume foods and other products that are far from whole-some and in amounts unhealthy for their bodies and for the Earth. Many

PresCriPtion foR Healing our Bodies and Healing tHe eartHJan-willeM Jansens

lead sedentary lives and have lost touch with their bodies and the physical ex-ertion that used to be necessary to stay alive. Our contemporary ways of rest-ing, relaxing and rejuvenating our bod-ies and minds are dominated by tech-nological and consumptive recreational activities and gadgets that often use up lots of Earth’s resources, pollute and destroy the land and disrupt traditional communities.

The way our public media, political discourse, judicial systems and capital-ist market systems are structured leads many people to believe and expect that freedom, peace and security come with free trade and consumption of what-ever we want, no matter the true (and often hidden) cost and sacrifice.

FoodI still remember the first day I set foot in a supermarket after I returned to Europe from Niger in West Africa, where I had lived at the edge of the Sahara for three years. As soon as I stepped into the store, it was as if thousands of products were scream-ing out to me in colorful shapes and displays, and with special advertis-ing images and supported messages broadcast over the store’s intercom: BUY! BUY! BUY! You have to have this! Now reduced in price!

It was overwhelming. I experienced more of a culture shock returning to my “own” world than when I arrived in Niger. Admittedly, most markets

in West Africa are also very lively and colorful, and those vendors also want you to leave with their products. Yet, there is always the process of build-ing personal connections in the mar-kets and stores. Most of the products are local, grown with few external or technological inputs, and the packag-ing is minimal.

Most food products sold in New Mexico travel 1,500 miles or more to reach our stores. Their produc-tion, transportation and preservation require large quantities of fossil fuel; they have been processed in ways that require many times their volume and weight in water; and they create large amounts of by-products that, at best, are composted, and at worst, are discarded as waste. Most of our pro-cessed foods are produced with large amounts of corn and soy. Technologi-cally important building blocks of our food staples, these crops are grown in ways that have cumulatively led to massive soil erosion, water depletion, oil and gas extraction, road building, large-scale land development, and ag-ricultural systems that have rejected more diversified, small-scale and lo-cal farming practices. In sum, the by-products of these forms of food production contribute to the causes of human-induced climate change, as well as to large-scale land degradation and increased drinking water pollu-tion and downstream flooding.

I believe that the super-sized, conve-nience-oriented mass consumption of food and other products lies at the heart of the human and environmen-tal health problems of our “developed” society. After my supermarket culture shock, it dawned on me that our chal-lenges with the sustainability of our lifestyles, the pollution we create, the degradation of our social systems and sense of community, and our growing health problems and healthcare costs are all related. These problems reflect how we relate to other people and to our natural environment, how we in-creasingly fail to see things whole in the world, and how we continue to consume products, services and infor-mation without asking any questions about what we really need and what the consequences are of our consump-tive behavior.

Fortunately, I am not alone in my re-alization that to heal ourselves and the Earth, a change is needed in our con-sumption patterns. Since my arrival in Santa Fe in 1993, I have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of local food production and people’s awareness of the importance of wholesome food. A growing number of individuals and communities in northern NM have stepped up their food production ac-tivities in backyard gardens and com-munity gardens. The recent Sustainable Growth Management Plan for Santa

the outdoors of northern NM offer great hiking opportunities. It’s also a great way to bring kids outdoors to encourage their imagination and exploration.

eldorado Community School garden—example of local food production.

Cou

rtes

y Ja

n-W

illem

Jans

ens

(2)


Personal HealtH

Happy February to our Green Fire Times readers. With the

holidays now a distant memory, most of you are back to work, working for a cleaner, greener planet. Beyond our work and activism, you probably spend time doing all you can for your part-ners, children, and family members.

A simple question remains—how much time and energy do you spend on your health? Does it even make it on the top ten of your priority list? And if the answer is “no,” are you will-ing to change that to a “yes” in 2012?

As a family physician, one thing that I find in listening to people tell me about their lives is that most of us (health professionals included) have our own health as a very low prior-ity in our lives. I will hear people tell me how they go out of their way in sacrificing for their job, their children, their significant others and their com-munities. Rarely do I hear the same degree of effort being put toward ap-preciating one’s own body and health.

I like to give the simple scenario of an alien looking in from outer space and seeing New Mexicans rushing around 8-10 hours a day for their jobs, but un-willing to take 30 minutes of the day to exercise, relax or prepare a healthy meal. Ironically, we are ignoring the very bodies that allow us to do the oth-er things we are so focused on doing. An analogy would be a race car driver who felt they were too busy with racing to worry about things going on under the hood or what type of fuel they put into the car. That vantage point gives a true look at how we value our health.

My hope is that you will take some time this month to think about how you can make your health a more cen-tral part of your life in the months ahead. What activities do you already do for your health? What areas of your health would you like to improve?

I do not think there is a recipe I can give for how to do this, but I will of-fer a few thoughts to help start you thinking in this realm:

Exercise is powerful medicine! Wheth-er it is to relieve stress in a healthy way, a time to breathe, relax and medi-tate, or being done for specific health benefits (e.g. preventing high blood pressure, improving sleep, treating fi-bromyalgia), our bodies are meant to move! And for those of us who value Mother Earth and the simple pleasures of nature, a nice walk in the woods, a jog amongst canyons and mesas is one of the simplest ways to connect to the world around us. In terms of exercise, a simple goal is to work toward a lifestyle where you are getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five days a week. Pick something that is fun to do, and get a friend of family member to go with you—both of these will make it more likely to be successful.

You may find it helpful to write down your goals, and to make monthly jour-

nal entries a way to track your own progress. Some people find that giv-ing themselves grades helps as well: if improving your diet was an area of focus, you might give yourself a diet grade on a 1 to 10 scale. If your start-ing point is a 5, the initial question be-comes, “What can I do to get to a 6?”

Small changes will be more sustain-able! Many New Year’s Resolutions are long forgotten a few months later because they involve such large changes to one’s life that they are hard to sustain. Pick small challenges, and once you have accomplished each one and sustained it for 1-2 months, pick new goals to work toward.

Consider all of the dimensions of health—spiritual, mental/emotional, physical, and intellectual. For some of us, the most important health is-

1091-A Siler RoadSanta Fe, NM [email protected]

www.santafeschoolofmassage.com

“Not only did the people at SFSOM teach me to be the best massage therapist I can be, they taught me how to be the best person I can be.”

Spring Classbegins March 19th 2012

Early Bird Enrollment Special

Apply early for the Spring class & be eligible

for our special rate

Formerly the Scherer Institute

Sarah Rogers, M.D., LMT, Graduate 2010 Santa Fe

give YourselF tHe greatest giFt: A HeAltHier You in 2012!antHony fleg, Md

School-BASed heAlTh ceNTerSThe us department of Health & Human services (HHs) has announced anoth-er round of grants to expand school-Based Health Centers in rural new Mex-ico communities. Centers funded include: Ben archer Health Center, Hatch ($500,000), las Clinicas del norte, inc., el rito ($300,000) and the new Mexico department of Health, santa Fe ($112,000).

“school-Based Health Clinics (sBHCs) provide students with medical attention when they need it, catching problems early on and preventing bigger problems later in life. They keep nM students healthy and learning,” says Beth Hamilton, executive director of the nM alliance for school-Based Health Care.

new Mexico has more than 80 school-based health centers, which provide qual-ity health services where the students are—in school. These centers are an impor-tant safety net, providing easily accessible healthcare when, in many cases, the closest clinic or hospital is miles away.

sBHCs in new Mexico have gained increasing public and media attention thanks to continued expansions funded in part by the affordable Care act. last July, the HHs department distributed $95 million to 278 school-based health center programs for capital improvements, including six in new Mexico.

a few notes about school-Based Health Care: • SBHC is an innovative first line of defense in the effort to provide inexpensive

care, reduce bad outcomes and encourage a prevention model. • An estimated 1/3 of NM students use school-based health centers for primary care. • With parents’ permission, the centers provide basic health care services

including immunizations, nutrition advice, mental health services, and help with peer pressure and bullying.

• BHCs are vital to ensuring students who don’t get medical treatment any-where else can get it at school.

More information about school-Based Health Centers in new Mexico is avail-able online at the nM alliance for school Based Health Care website: www.nmasbhc.org. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization that collaborates with other partners to promote and facilitate comprehensive, culturally competent healthcare, including health education, in schools.

sue might be to find ways to reduce the stress we bear at the workplace, or even a small step of beginning to take lunch breaks. Others may feel that more attention to their spiritual practice, beginning to learn a new language, or finding healthier ways to resolve conflicts in relationships are important. What is most impor-tant is that you choose the areas that are most important for you, and then work on specific goals in those areas.

Best wishes for the blessing of health for you, your family, and our commu-nities in 2012!

Anthony Fleg is a family physician with the Native Health Initiative, a partnership to address health inequities through loving service (www.lovingservice.us). If you have questions or comments, please email him at [email protected]


continued on page 10

RoadsROADS!!! We have proven solutions for your ongoing problems with your dirt and gravel roads. Our surface drainage systems, once installed, are guaranteed to reduce your need for road maintenance. They will retain the surfacing materials in place, eliminate washouts and erosion, eliminate mud holes, and harvest the road water runoff to increase forage. We employ the principles of surface hydrology in our design and construction of dirt road drainage systems. We also do uplands arroyo/gully erosion control, stream channel stabilization/ restoration, wetland restoration, and irri-gation diversions. We are a licensed and insured New Mexico General Contractor providing services statewide to public and private entities. References and resume available on request. Rangeland Hands, Inc., 505-470-3542 or 505-455-0012. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.rangelandhands.com

PRescRiPtion foR Healing continued from page 5

Fe County reports USDA data for 2007 that show an increase in farms, especially small farms up to 180 acres, compared with 2002. Gross income from crop sales in Santa Fe County in-creased from below $6 million in 1993 to nearly $8.6 million in 2007. It ap-pears that some kind of prescription for healthier and more sustainable eat-ing, living and consuming is gradually spreading throughout the region.

The message that is being developed about healthy food has many dimen-sions. The core revolves around eat-ing food that is organic or, as much as possible, grown within a radius of 300

miles. Additional healthy food habits are of course to eat less (just enough), seek an optimal diet for your needs, and minimize meat consumption. Many local and regional organizations work on various aspects of these mes-sages, such as Farm to Table, our local farmers’ markets, food co-ops, and lo-cal and regional business alliances that promote local food.

All these “new” ideas about food con-sumption have important health ben-efits for the Earth as well. Local food requires far fewer external inputs for its preservation, storage and transpor-tation. Local food, at least in northern NM, is typically grown with local, re-newable surface water supplies (river/acequia water), and few or no fertil-izers, herbicides, pesticides or other high-tech inputs that degrade and pollute soil and water. Local food is grown for local niche markets, where people understand that the produce looks natural and is not necessarily homogeneous, unlike produce grown

to pass food grading systems that en-sure standardized visual characteris-tics. Therefore, the volume of rejects and waste is far smaller.

Going forward, we will need to pay much more attention to what food we offer children in our schools. While, for example, NM Consumers Alliance is lobbying for changes in national legisla-tion to reduce or cut out the influence of corporate food distributors on food of-fered at schools, locally each of us must work with our educators, school admin-istrations, and the students and their parents, to build awareness about healthy food production and consumption pat-

terns. Together we can make huge strides in combating obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular ill-nesses, while starting corrective action on how our food is pro-duced and how we may heal the Earth from the impacts of misguided food pro-duction practices.

Many schools are currently experi-

menting with the development of

school gardens and Farm-to-School food programs. I believe that there is huge promise in building connections between schools and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or oth-er local farms and ranches to realize more wholesome food options in our schools. At the same time, we will in-crease the markets for local farms, thus harnessing greater economic strength for our local and organic food systems.

PHYsiCal exerCiseWhen my parents were young, many people still walked to work or to go shopping. In those days, many more people were involved in primary production sectors, such as forestry, farming, ranching, horticulture and fisheries. These professions required a significant amount of outdoor work and physical exertion. These activities also embodied a vast knowledge base about how to interact with the land, and this knowledge was shared by a significant part of the population.

Kids connecting with nature—Gonzales Community School students bird observation class

Cou

rtes

y Ja

n-W

illem

Jans

ens


settlements should be made, but also the importance of seeds, of “la memoria de la planta,” of how to not only survive, but thrive, in a specific environment. One might call this philosophy one of “querencia,” or sense of place.

Farmer, researcher and community leader, Juan Esté-van Arellano has devoted most of his life to document-ing the traditional knowledge of the Indo-Hispano in northern New

Mexico, especially as it relates to land and water. He has served as mayordomo of the Acequia Junta y Ciénaga in the vil-lage of Embudo, and he is the translator-editor of the book Ancient Agriculture.

traditional PersPectives

When we talk about traditional healing arts we usually think

of the “sobador,” masseuse; “curandera,” traditional healer; “partera,” midwife, or the different types of medicinal herbs that people consume, from osha to “hierbabuena,” peppermint; or any of the many plants used for medicine by traditional cultures.

But rarely do we think about the philo-sophy of the people and how it relates to health, because most don’t think of uneducated people as having philoso-phy. But in the Indo-Hispano cultu-re, when talking to traditional people about health or life, they always talk about “una vida buena y sana,” a sound and healthy life, to which someone will usually add, “…y alegre,” and cheerful.

And this type of philosophy is usually tied to the environment. All one has to do is look carefully at the “ordenanzas,” or ordinances that settlers had to abide by when looking for a piece of land to settle. Below are examples from Book Four of the Laws of the Indies that give us an idea of how the Spanish Crown was very concerned as to where the peo-ple were to settle, so that they could have “una vida buena y sana.”

This idea was developed by Dr. Tomás Atencio and his wife, Consuelo Pacheco, based on their work in mental health and public health, and from the oral histories gathered by asociados of La Academia de la Nueva Raza during the ‘70s and ‘80s.

del are llano / From The Arid lANd

unA VidA BuenA Y SAnA (Y Alegre) a sound, HealtHY (and CHeerFul) liFe Juan estévan aRellano

When looking at the health of the peo-ple, the land and water are very impor-tant, for without water nothing can be done—food can’t be grown, houses and churches built, etc. El agua es vida, water is life.

Before a particular area was selected as a settlement, certain criteria had to be met. For that we go to Book Four, Ti-tle 7, Law 1: The new settlements shall be established under the conditions of this law. [Ordinances 39 and 40] … In… inland settlements, the set-tlers shall choose the site from among those that are unoccupied, or may be occupied by Our order, without being prejudicial to the Indians or natives, unless it is with their free consent.

When they make the plan of the place, they shall divide it into its squares, streets and house-lots, marked out with straight lines, starting from the main square and proceeding from it with the streets to the entrance and principal roads.

They shall leave enough open area that, even if the settlement greatly increases, it will always be possible to follow the plan and expand in the same way.

They shall try to have water close by so that it can be conducted to the town and properties, distributing it if possi-ble, in order to make the best use of it.

They shall try to have the materials that are needed for buildings, farm-lands, cultivation, and pastures, so as to do away with the considerable labor and expenses that result when the ma-terials are far away.

They shall not choose sites for settle-ment in places of very high elevation, because of troubles with the winds and the difficulty of service and trans-portation. Nor shall they choose sites in places of very low elevation because persons are apt to become ill.

Settlements shall be made in moder-ate elevations which benefit from ex-posure to the winds from the north and the south; and if there are moun-

tains or hills, the settlements shall be on the east and west sides.

If high places cannot be avoided, they shall make the settlements in places where they are not subject to clouds, observing whatever is most conducive to health, and considering unforeseen circumstances that can occur. They were also to be aware of poisonous animals and water where it remained stagnant.

Elders, among them Dr. Devon G. Pe-ña’s grandmother, Margarita K. Peña, was very philosophical when talking about seeds, “La semilla es la memoria de la planta, de como vivir bién en este lugar,” the seed is the memory of the plant, of how to live well in this place.

This philosophy of wholeness, wholis-tic health, of “una vida buena y sana y alegre,” comes not only from where

lAwSuiT AllegeS BiAS AgAiNST hiSpANic rANcherSThe us Forest service is being sued by a group of Hispanic ranchers and río ar-riba County over access to grazing allotments on historic land grant areas. The suit alleges that the agency’s 18 percent grazing reduction order ignores historic property rights and threatens to undermine the ranchers’ livelihoods, as well as some of the basis of their cultural traditions.

The Forest service, in a March 2011 letter to Congressman Ben ray luján, ex-plained that management practices by the ranchers on the Jarita Mesa and ala-mosa grazing allotments had contributed to overuse of meadows, even though those areas had been operating below their permitted numbers of livestock for over a decade. The agency also said that the allotments wouldn’t be able to recover.

There has been a long history of management disputes of northern New Mexico’s land grants. a number of communities in the area depend on surrounding lands for firewood and livestock grazing. The federal government returns half of grazing fees to help fund local schools and public projects. The land grants were established at the end of the Mexican-American War through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

© Ju

an e

stév

an A

rella

no (2

)

A presa (diversion structure) of the Acequia Junta y Ciénaga

Apodaca, within the embudo land grant: (l-r) Jicarilla Peak, the Chimayoso and truchas Peak. this settlement adhered to the ordenanzas of 1573 and Laws of the Indies, and built at middle grounds; not on high elevations.




Yet, in the period between 1982 and 2007, we lost more than 41 million acres of rural land (farms, ranches and forestry operations) to development in the US. In NM we lost 33% of our prime farmland during that period, according to the same study by the National Resources Inventory.

As a result, today only a select group of people still work outdoors, and most people have lost an immediate connec-tion with the land. Outdoor work has become labeled as lower-class work, and most contemporary farmworkers are immigrant laborers. Many farmers, ranchers and foresters have no successors and struggle to find people who want to continue their businesses. Simultane-ously, much practical knowledge of the land dies out, and there is a growing need for people with practical knowl-edge of ranching, farming and caring for the land who can educate and motivate young people for careers in food produc-tion and environmental stewardship and restoration.

Many people live sedentary lives, far away from nature and rural (food)

production areas. This shift from ac-tive to passive lifestyles for the masses in our country has gone hand-in-hand with the increase of the services sec-tor, the ongoing separation of duties, the development of supermarkets, the increase of vehicular transportation, and, most recently, the Internet. The celebrated lifestyle of doing things quickly, with the least effort, and from behind a computer screen, has left people without a natural opportunity for any daily physical exercise. Many

people also have lost touch with the outdoors. They may only go outside to walk to their car or the bus. Fear and certain risks of the outdoors further discourage people from working or recreating outdoors or from walking or biking to certain local destinations.

As a result, many people greatly lack the physical exercise necessary to stay healthy and to understand and appre-ciate the outdoors. Additionally, our younger generation is left with what

Richard Louv called “nature-deficit-disorder.” In his now-famous book of 2005, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Dis-order, Louv rattled the cages of educa-tors, health practitioners and environ-mentalists alike by indicating that we collectively lose our connection with nature, leading to health problems and a degraded environment. Espe-cially our youth are suffering from this loss of connection with nature, which Louv relates to the increase of learn-ing disorders, physical and emotional health problems, and an entire lack of understanding about our food systems and their relationship to our personal health and that of the planet.

Many modern health problems associ-ated with lack of exercise and activities outdoors can be countered by simple outdoor activities. New Mexico’s cli-mate and landscape fortunately offer a plethora of opportunities to spend time outdoors, exercise, grow food and engage in environmental stewardship work. Long-time residents and newly arriving ones alike choose to live here

tree planting event in the San Marcos arroyo—an example of volunteer steward-ship in the outdoors, bringing kids into nature



traditions of HealtH

Chimney Cleaning, Woodstove RepaiR and installation, insuRanCe inspeCtions, peaCe of mind

HAVE LAND WITH NO POWER? WANT ENERGY SECURITY?

YOU NEED A MOBILE SOLAR POWER STATION

Panels & frame are stored in the trailer and this plug-in ready, 840 watt mobile power station can be towed anywhere off-grid. Less than one hour of set-up and you can power the tools to build a house, then power the completed house or sim-ply own a unit in case of emergency. Ideal for renters who want to take it with them. Ideal for outdoor events (wedding receptions, etc.) where a gasoline generator is too noisy or smelly. Ideal for back country living. Can be customized to suit your needs.1-800-347-1794, ext. 1235 for free, 24-hour recorded information

[email protected]

Effective public health promotion and education requires a genu-

ine approach and understanding that the power of healthy choice rests with the individual—an individual who is likely culturally influenced. Whitney and Rolfes (2011) identified that the strongest influences on food choice are personal preference, habit, eth-nic heritage and tradition. Second-ary influences are social interactions, availability and economy, positive and negative associations, emotions, val-ues, body weight image and nutrition-al value. Personal preference and habit are strongly influenced by ethnic heri-tage and tradition. Nutritional value is reported among the least influential reasons a person would eat a certain food, and availability and economy are strong factors in the hierarchy of decision-making.

¡sostenga! tradition of nutrition and CulturallY aPProPriate Food

Every country, and every region in that country, has ways of combining foods into meals. Meals established by traditions of recipe, preparation and ceremony of consumption are defined collectively. Food is a part of culture and culture is a part of individual identity as a mechanism, a tool, by which heritage is established. Societal and ecological influences implicate the relation of people to place and the food system in which they participate; food is about people and place.

Diabetes is a food-related disease that can be addressed with “culturally ap-propriate” food options. Heritage foods elicit “I like it” and “I’m accustomed to it,” says food scientist and nutrition-ist, Cecelia García of New Mexico State University. In a discussion with García, she shared that when working

with diabetics to modify food preparation she often heard statements like, “I always have red chile with my eggs,” or “I must have bread with ev-ery meal.” Gar-cía said that verdolagas, quelites, torta de huevo con chile rojo, and salmon are integral to her values as meals she eats during Lenten season. She added that she, as a diabetic, is able to control her diabetes through diet and still eat the traditional northern New Mexico meals. Positive associations of family and community abound with ethnic heritage foods, particularly during a specific season.

Tradition as sustainability, particularly when traditional foods were estab-lished when people were more active, requires that physical activity continue as part of the overall lifestyle. “Keep-ing with our food traditions and in-troducing more physical activity is not a bad idea. Growing a garden is not a bad idea,” García said expressively. The effort of growing and preparing brings a consciousness and respect for being a part of the food we eat.

Colonization, sYMBiosis and MutualitY

Michael Pollan wrote extensively on the degeneration of food in America in The Omnivore’s Di-lemma: A Natural History of Four Meals,

caMilla BustaMante

Cecelia García


sostenga continued from page 11

published in 2006. It is well known that diets high in fats and simple car-bohydrates are often cited as leading culprits for poor health. When evalu-ating culturally appropriate food, it is important to consider the influence and integration of the early Spanish menu in northern New Mexico. The Oñate inventories, available at the Special Collections Center for South-west Research at the UNM, establish the introduction of livestock, such as sheep, pigs and cows, which increased the fat content in the Native diet. The inventory includes avas, garbanzo and fruit trees as well as other varieties that did not survive, such as olive trees and certain tropicals.

There is evidence that the early Eu-ropeans learned from their Native neighbors, particularly in the inte-gration of the staples of the three sisters, frijoles (beans), maíz (corn), and calabaza (squash) as well as chile. These are foods that were more eas-ily preserved and available during the winter months. Native Americans in-tegrated mutton, pork and beef into their menu. Like peoples of many cul-tures, they ate a tortilla speculated to have been predominantly corn until flour became more available. Though certain varieties of wheat existed, the Santa Fe Trail provided bleached flour in abundance. For approximately two centuries in northern New Mexico, in relative isolation, there were ex-changes of menus and preservation practices. It is hard to attend an event in New Mexico over the holidays where posolé isn’t served. This tra-ditional dish applies Native science, and was taught to immigrant Span-ish families to prevent mold growth by storing maíz concho (corn) with “cal,” otherwise known as calcium hy-droxide, which made the maíz “pop” when cooked. The Native Americans provided the chile and maize and the Spanish provided the meat.

Although considered by some to be a traditional Native American food, frybread is laden with cholesterol and saturated fat, and reportedly originat-ed around 1860, when Navajos were imprisoned for a four-year period at Fort Sumner and given white flour, lard, salt, sugar and powdered milk. Today it is often found at powwows across the country.

HealtH MaintenanCeCurrent knowledge about personal health maintenance through modera-tion and exercise, as well as viable and relevant ingredient substitutes, have re-opened the door for evaluating the cul-turally appropriate diet as the most vi-able option for health. Home grown or locally grown food further casts a net of protection, as knowledge of the origina-tion and management of food reduces the potential for exposure to pathogens.

Foods considered part of the tradi-tional northern New Mexico diet evolved because they were traditional-ly safe. Pre-canning and refrigeration, food was dried and re-hydrated and boiled for preparation. Boiling beans kills microbials.

“We are no longer as active as we were,” states Cecelia García. “We need to be conscious of our more sedentary life-style and need to be sensitive to chron-ic diseases, and modify recipes and products to the extent they are going to support us... Yes, you can eat lamb; just do it in a healthy way. You don’t need to use your renderings to fry your eggs…”

Being conscious of our food and preparing it by hand makes us more aware of the ingredients and quan-tity. A person knows how nutritious a meal is going to be by the choices made when putting the ingredients together. Our relationships with our food and each other call for “respeto y permiso” in the interest of further mutuality and cul-turally appropriate community health.

Camilla Bustamante, P h . D . , M P H , i s Dean of Community, Workforce and CTE at Northern New Mexico College.

© A

nna

C. H

anse

n

Posolé and beans with cilantro garnish


nutrition


We all value our brains, but do we know how to take really

good care of them? With all of the news about increases in Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory problems, ac-ceptance of a likely fate is easy to slip into. A total of 5.4 million Americans now have Alzheimer’s disease (dou-bled since 1980) and this number is expected to be as high as 16 million by 2050 (Centers for Disease Control 2012, www.cdc.gov). Clogged arter-ies can cause dementia. Contributing factors are deficient diet, lack of exer-cise and environmental factors such as pollution and heavy metals.

The better news is the improvement possible for mental clarity and high-lev-el functioning through excellent care of your brain. There is much we can do to nurture, restore and even slow the aging process. Why should this be of concern? Children’s brains are developing, and after adolescence we are all aging. So whether considering the future of your child’s brain or your own, improving the odds with good care and nutritional support can foster a positive, sustainable outcome in aging.

Poor nutrition, eating damaging foods, environmental toxins, inad-equate sleep and lack of exercise are all factors that can contribute to rapid degeneration of the brain. How we care for our brains greatly influences mental functioning and quality of ag-

susan guyette

GREENING YOUR BRAIN

ing. Several nutritional and environ-mental strategies are critically impor-tant for protecting your brain.

nutRitional stRategies Nutrition is considered to be the most important factor for staying mentally fit. Recommendations of David Perlmutter, M.D. in the Better Brain Book and Ken-neth Guiffre, M.D., author of The Care and Feeding of Your Brain, and Jeff Vic-toroff, M.D. in Saving Your Brain, point the way. Keep in mind that standard recommendations for good arteries and circulation also apply to the brain, since blood to the brain is necessary to carry nutrients and oxygen.

nutRients needed foR BRain suPPoRt include: Omega-3 and Omega 6 Fatty Ac-ids (“good fats”) are essential brain food because the brain is made of fat. (Trans-fatty acids create rigid, tough, slow brain cells.) Food sources: algae, spirulina, seafood, fresh greens, wal-nuts, pumpkin seeds, Omega-3 en-riched eggs. The local pursulane plant is considered a “smart food.”

Vitamin C levels are almost 15 times higher in the brain than in other areas of the body. Vitally important to brain function, Vita-C is an antioxidant necessary for the manufacture of neu-rotransmitters, especially acetylcholine, the most important for memory pro-cessing. Food sources: parsley, sprouts,

citrus fruits, algae, spirulina, strawber-ries, broccoli, pota-toes, kiwi, red peppers (chile!), cabbage and leafy greens (kale, dan-delion greens, mustard greens, collard greens, Swiss chard and local, wild greens).

Vitamin E is an an-tioxidant also, and along with the mineral selenium, neutralizes free radicals that acceler-ate brain aging. Vita-E prevents de-terioration of the brain, but may also possibly restore damaged neurotrans-mitter receptor sites on neurons. Food Sources: cruciferous vegetables (broc-coli, beet greens, watercress, collard greens, Swiss chard, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), nuts and seeds, nut oils, peanut butter, wheat germ, whole wheat and other grain sprouts.

Selenium is an elemental metal with antioxidant properties, working syner-gistically with Vita-E. Food Sources: Brazil nuts, broccoli, brown rice, dairy products, dulse, garlic, kelp, molasses, onions, vegetables, wheat germ and whole grains.

Magnesium is a free-radical scavenger that helps increase the antioxidative power of Vita-E. Food sources: ap-ples, blackberries, blueberries, celery,

cherries, figs, grapes, oranges, lemons, limes, papaya, peas, plums, potatoes, squash and walnuts.

Carotenoids are antioxidants potent in scavenging free radicals. Food sources: carrots, sprouts, apricots, sweet pota-toes, spinach, celery, squash, red pep-pers, tomatoes, oranges and kale.

Vitamin B12 is considered “brain food,” for it is involved in the synthesis of methionine needed for protein syn-thesis, which produces the protective sheath that surrounds neurons and

Better Brain trail MixWalnutsRaisins

Brazil nutsPumpkin seedsSunflower seeds

Dried apples or apricots

© A

nna

C. H

anse

n (2

)


enables them to record and retrieve memory. Food sources: sea vegetables (dulse, kelp, kombu, nori), soybeans, eggs, brewer’s yeast, dairy products and spirulina.

Water is important (those eight glasses a day) for keeping the brain hydrated, critical for functioning and transporting nutrients.

Nutrients that scavenge free radicals are highly beneficial since these waste-products bind to proteins, membranes, DNA and the protein enzymes that help repair DNA—weakening the cells, impairing cell function and short-ening cell life—causing impaired brain function and even cell death. Antioxi-dants absorb or scavenge free radicals.

Foods to avoid include fish with high mercury content (think big), fatty cuts of meat, fried foods, refined grains and starches (think white), bad fats, caffeine, high-sugar condi-ments, added-sugar beverages, sugars and artificial sweeteners, and snack foods loaded with sugar and bad fats. Instead eat whole, natural foods.

While supplements are important, they are additions to eating the right

foods (whole, nutritious, non-pro-cessed) as a first strategy. Supplements most often recommended include B vitamins, selenium, acetyl-L-carni-tine, lecithin, ginko biloba, ginseng, vitamins C and E. Many traditional medicines recommend herbs as well.

avoiding environMental toxinsThe central connection is that all neu-rological disease begins with free radi-cals and inflammation. Neurotoxins off-gassing from synthetic chemicals in our everyday environments impair brain function by adding to inflammation and storing chemicals in fatty tissue.

eveRyday gReen continued from page 13

Pesticides are neurotoxins—they kill insects by destroying their nervous systems. As larger creatures we are not killed instantly, however, human ner-vous systems are impacted. There is a clear link between exposure to pesti-cides and increased risk for Parkinson’s, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), as well as other neurological diseases. Addition-ally, pesticides contain heavy metals.

Electromagnetic Fields: EMF given off by cell phones, televisions, com-puters, microwave ovens and close proximity to power lines can alter cel-lular metabolism and be toxic to the brain. An excellent source of informa-tion is The Instinct to Heal by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D.

avoiding HeavY MetalsAluminum: There is an abnormally high concentration of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, up to 30 times more than the normal lev-el. Even though there is some debate as to whether this aluminum is from absorbed sources or naturally occurs in the brains of these patients, choosing aluminum-free products is the safe al-ternative. Sources of excess aluminum are: baking powder, antacids, drinking water, deodorants, shampoo, cookware and processed food. Avoiding eating canned food and soft drinks may re-duce aluminum intake.

Lead is a neurotoxin particularly harmful to children’s learning and behavior and can also affect adult mental performance.

Mercury, a neurotoxin, is found in large fish and amalgams in teeth.

getting enougH sleePSleep is important for avoiding mem-ory problems, impaired concentration and difficulty coping with minor ir-ritations. Why? Sleep deprivation re-

duces the time the brain needs to do “housecleaning,” such as taking up se-rotonin and norepinephrine, and pro-cessing memory traces from the day important to retention. Time length as well as quality of sleep affects our getting through all four sleep stages adequately in a night.

In summary, brain zappers include poor nutrition (most often from eating pro-cessed food), environmental toxins, al-cohol, bad fats (trans and saturated), ex-cess protein, heavy metals, sugars, coffee, cigarettes, a sedentary lifestyle, as well as stress. Brain boosters are: eating the brain-support foods, eating organically, exercising to increase circulation, mental stimulation to the brain, relaxation, ad-equate sleep and meditation.

The downward slide nationally of good brain health is connected with eating the products of big agribiz, toxins in everyday products and the environment, as well as overuse of the pharmaceutical industry. Although memory loss and incidence of Al-zheimer’s at an earlier age continues to rise, many solutions for good brain health are within reach. Whether your interest is in avoiding diseases of the brain or in just being sharper, every day, good brain care is worth the time.

Hey, we need to keep our brains to come up with solutions for the adaptation!

Susan Guyette, Ph.D. i s Mét i s (Micmac Indian and Acadian French) and a planner specializing in cultural centers, cultural tourism and native foods. She is the co- author of Zen Birding: Connect in Nature and the author of Planning for Balanced Development (www.santafeplanning.com)

© A

nna

C. H

anse

n


because of the splendid beauty of our outdoors, its clean air, the surprisingly diverse natural habitat and the seem-ingly endless space.

I have been delighted with the rapid expansion of outdoor recreation op-portunities across the state during the last decade. The rapidly increased protection of open space through con-servation easements and public open space acquisitions or community pre-serves has allowed for the construc-tion of a web of trails for hikers, bikers and equestrians. Trails are also being developed in urban areas for “alter-native” commuting purposes. Bicycle clubs have formed to collaboratively maintain trail systems. Traditional outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, skiing and gardening are more popular than ever.

Yet, much more can be done to make physical exercise part of people’s daily pattern of activities, especially in our urban areas. Santa Fe and many oth-er towns are built for car traffic, and many roads are outright dangerous to travel on by bike or on foot. In many neighborhoods, the distances between residential areas and community fa-cilities are too large to comfortably

reach other than by car. The ongoing construction of parks, sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, and plans for rede-signing neighborhoods and commer-cial areas, are welcome solutions to outdated urban planning designs.

A unique opportunity I treasure in northern NM is that within a short distance we can physically participate in growing food and in land restora-tion and stewardship activities. Grow-ing food in school gardens, community gardens or in collaboration with a CSA farm offers great opportunities to re-connect with nature and get physical exercise. For young people it also is a valuable possibility to explore food and natural resource production careers. People with an interest in getting their hands dirty can also turn to organiza-tions, such as WildEarth Guardians or the Santa Fe Watershed Association, to learn firsthand what it takes to become a caregiver to the land. During stream restoration workshops, educational walks, tree planting events, and other educational activities we can connect with interesting areas and learn from peers about the land. In turn, such stewardship activities help build a con-stituency for the creation and main-tenance of our growing network of


NEWSB I TE SFilm FeSTiVAl To highlighT wATer iSSueS FeBruAry 10-11 iN AlBuquerque “It’s All About Water—Films and Conversation” will explore concerns about pol-lution and water sustainability, with a focus on the southwest, new Mexico and albuquerque. The festival will ask attendees to consider, “are we running dry? Why? What can and will we do about it?” “Participants will have a chance to talk about concrete actions we can take to address those concerns,” said organizer su-san selbin.

in panel discussions following the screenings, local experts will discuss issues ranging from natural gas development and mineral rights to the infrastructure problems of area water systems, water rights and the effects on acequias of devel-opment and growing cities’ water needs. The hot topics of fracking and tar sands development will also be addressed. Panelists will include city and state water pro-gram representatives, members of community organizations, environmentalists and activists. audience members will be encouraged to ask questions.

The festival will take place at the south Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd. SW. Admission is free and light refreshments will be provided. The event is from 5-10 pm Friday and 9 am-5 pm saturday. on saturday, audience members are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch. Sponsors include the NM Wilderness Alliance, Amigos Bravos, the Sierra Club, and Food and Water Watch. For details and a festival schedule, go to www.cabq.gov/sbcc.

AguA limpiA, SÍ!—cleAN wATer workShopSever wonder if it is safe for children to swim in your local stream or river or if water quality standards are being met there? The southwest rural Policy network and amigos Bravos are offering workshops designed to assist people and communities

throughout new Mexico, Colorado and arizona in identifying the major sources of pollution in their watershed. The workshops will train participants on how to identify where all that water goes – and what it picks up along the way after a big rainstorm, how communities can participate in monitoring water quality and ad-vocating for enforcement of water quality protection, and how to identify funding for river restoration projects.

amigos Bravos executive director, Brian shields said, “The objectives of the proj-ect include educating and training rural community members on how to use the Clean Water Act to reduce water pollution by ensuring that industrial facilities, local governments and businesses comply with ePa stormwater regulations.”

For information, contact rachel Conn or Brian shields at 575.758.3874, at [email protected] or http://information.www.amigosbravos.org

grouNdwATer reSTorATioN projecTS BeNeFiT From Nmed miNiNg SeTTlemeNTThe nM environment department has announced that six groundwater restora-tion projects will proceed in grant County. They will be funded from a $13 million settlement with Freeport-McMoran Copper and gold, inc. related to the release of hazardous substances from copper mining operations in southwestern nM.

The projects will include removal of hazardous substances at the san vicente Creek Mill, and work to prevent contaminants from reaching Santa Clara’s groundwater and wells. sewer lines will be improved and infrastructure will be developed at the Bayard wastewater plant to make possible groundwater conservation by using treated wastewater for irrigation.

trails, parks, wilderness areas, wildways and local farms and ranches.

rest and relaxationOur predominant soci-eties’ need for rest and relaxation has increased land development and the production of consumer goods. Many of our recreational activities are consumptive, polluting and disruptive of land and people. It is not unusual to find that people’s ways of reju-venating their body and spirit don’t include physical activity and are not emotionally or spiritually renewing. Instead, television, personal comput-ers and mass entertainment centers offer cheap and mostly passive means of relaxation.

The protection of peace and quiet, wilderness, wildways and night sky in our NM landscape is essential to a more natural and simple way of of-fering rest and relaxation amidst the hectic bustle of our society. We are blessed in northern NM with many remaining areas where these qualities can still be found. The conservation of these areas and the efforts to con-

nect them in corridors for recreational trails and to support the natural dis-persal of biodiversity is essential for fostering human, as well as plant and animal resilience.

Areas where natural wildness, night sky and the soothing sounds of wind and water are preserved are not far from home. Trail corridors, city ar-royos, greenbelts in neighborhoods, and open areas between communities can all accommodate signs of nature and peace and quiet to relax the mind and body. In turn, these areas are vital corridors for stormwater flows, path-ways for animals— from bobcats to mice, raptors to butterflies— and view lines that help us see the larger majes-tic landscape.

Such areas and pathways help us fos-ter mindfulness of our outdoors as


© S

eth

Roffm

an

Rafting the Río Grande near Pilar, New Mexico


© S

eth

Roffm

an

Humanity is in the midst of a great evolutionary time.

We are nearing the end of 25 years of purification that began in 1987 during what is known as the Harmonic Convergence. It is a chance to evolve to the more conscious way of living spoken of by the Hopi, Maya and many other indigenous cultures. We have been experi-encing a great amplification of the polarities of the dark and the light, the negative and posi-tive, and the great energies of destruction and creation.

Many have been experienc-ing being pushed to the edge of their sanity to deal with the demands and changes of this evolutionary vortex as we near the winter solstice paradigm shift of 2012, which will re-quire humanity to take a leap in consciousness unlike any other experienced on the planet.

According to many Mayan elders, the solstice of December 2012 is the epicen-ter of the alignment back to zero point, to Source, and a chance to rebirth to a higher level of consciousness. This date begins the possibility of a Great Cycle of wisdom, harmony, peace, love and the return of natural order. This won’t occur overnight, and there are cycles of preparatory initiations to assist us in resolving the old way of being. But the outcome is truly up to humanity.

The spiritual impetus to evolve and take more responsibility for what we create is affecting all aspects of life, from the psyches of humanity to our society, our religions, our governments, and in the natural environment we call home. But it all begins with our inner work. It has been stated in many prophecies that the “Great Change Times” would be coming, and we have a choice as to how the changes will be carried out.

The waves of the unconscious and shadow realms and the deep secrets of human-ity are entering conscious life. The spiritual barriers that have kept the negative energies in the underworlds are being broken open as Mother Earth twists and turns, responding to her own evolution, releasing all forms of negativity from her elements and cellular structure. Humanity is being pushed to respond to the breaking open of these long-held negative patterns and emotions.

We are being stretched to our limits to release our cataclysmic fears and trust our ability to create another more positive outcome. It is time to connect once again with our instinctual natures and the natural forces of Mother Nature, and to make a leap in consciousness, a paradigm shift unlike any we have ever been able to make in any previous era. This takes place by working on ourselves in very deep ways. As we heal, we heal the world.

In order for healing to occur we must ask the big questions: Are we willing to bare our souls in honesty and truth when it is time to look at ourselves in the mirror of self-reflection? Can we love ourselves and others back to wholeness? It is time to gather and heal the energies and lessons learned from the hidden parts

Healing and transForMation in 2012MicHele RozBitsky

of our psyches, as well as from the collective unconscious of our ancestors, our religions and our countries, and then to bring all back into harmony and whole-ness, so we can move forward in a profoundly new way of being. We are being asked to operate from a much more divinely aware part of our beings.

To the Q’ero, the descendants of the Inca of Peru, we are in the Great Cycle of the Taripay Pacha, the “Age of Meeting Ourselves Again,” a Golden Age during which we can step more fully into our energetic, spiritual bodies.

Many techniques and processes that can facilitate this work with the spiritu-ally unseen forces are appearing and being shared within the human experience. Some examples are shamanic healing techniques, meditation, healing ceremo-nies, Reiki, Chi-Gong, chakra clearing, Light Body, DNA activation and breath-work, to name but a few. It is becoming more natural for people to acknowledge and work with these energies in the quest for personal growth.

In my 20-plus years as a psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner, working in alignment with the healing forces of Earth and sky of Santa Fe and the surround-ing area, I have never seen such an amazing increase in the energies that are avail-able for individuals to heal and transform at very deep and core levels, with much less processing and more profound rapid change as I have in the last few years.

The Light that is present in the Santa Fe area for both artists and healers, and the many ceremonies going on by people of all colors and spiritual paths, visits of medicine people from all over the world, as well as the presence of so many types of healing modalities and the directive to keep working on one’s self, in the view of many of us, makes Santa Fe the mini healing capital of the United States.

A Kahuna (Hawaiian medicine man) friend called me recently and shared a vision he had that Santa Fe had reached “the state of empty” and was ready for renewal. He said that there were sites known and unknown in and surrounding the town that need to be activated in order to open up the area to access even greater levels of healing energy. “The healing powers do not just come from the healers,” he said, “but also from the sacred Earth we live upon. They need to be worked with and not taken for granted.” He will be coming to Santa Fe to col-laborate on this the week before spring equinox.

Hopi prophecy says that whatever occurs in the “Four Corners” area, from which they believe the present world we are in was birthed, profoundly affects our awakening into the next era.

So it is most important that we realize that we are in the time where we truly can become more conscious co-creators of our reality, with the use of our greater imagination and higher minds, and without the baggage of the past’s limitations, as we align with the spiritual energies awakening humanity and our beloved planet.

It is not always necessary to experience internal and external earthquakes to shake up the old paradigm that no longer serves humanity. We can make the shift by consciously working on ourselves. If we focus on healing now, the growth pains of this great paradigm shift can be more grace-filled.

Michele Rozbitsky, MALPCC, is a psychotherapist, shamanic practitioner, teacher and ceremonialist working in Santa Fe and long distance. She is the author of Journey to the Fifth World: Coming Full Circle in Healing and Transformation, a book that relates a healing path to and through 2012. You can see her on the OWN website on the Healing Dirt of Chimayo episode of Miracle Detectives by going to the links page of her website at www.journeytothefifthworld.com. For information on sessions, groups or workshops, contact her at [email protected] or 505.988.7542

Michele is on the development committee for the September 13-17 Seed Graduate Institute conference on 2012, Wisdom from the Origins, in Albuquerque. The conference will feature many indigenous elders. For information, call 505.792.2900 or visit www.seedgraduateinstitute.org


traditional Medicine

© S

eth

Roffm

an

© t

ori L

ee (3

)


Blasts from the conch shell still reverberate in the ears. Copal

smoke used in energy cleansings and healing wafts upwards, carrying the intentions of healers and learners who strive to impart and receive knowl-edge from nature. A soft drumbeat accompanies the sweet aroma of the smoke as it finds its way to the spirits of Earth and sky.

“The planet cannot wait any longer,” says Dr. Arturo Ornelas, Director of La Tranca Institute of Healing in Cuernavaca, México. “We must be-gin to address environmental and hu-man health problems holistically, not piecemeal. We must look to the natural world for healing.” Yet, in many cases we have lost the ability to speak with and listen to messages of healing from

the natural world. Nature has given us the plants and the techniques to heal ourselves, but communication has broken down. Dr. Ornelas and many curanderismo healers consider the pres-ent time to be an important period of transformation, one in which people must re-imagine patterns of organized religion, education and medicine to be-come more holistic and humane.

One of the most sustainable, com-munity-based healthcare models is curanderismo, folk-healing by trained healers who teach others how to help themselves using readily available objects, the body’s own energies, and various medicinal plants. This is often a viable approach for delivering basic healthcare to poor and/or rural popu-lations with limited access to (or com-

CuranderisMo Festival HeAling tHe PlAnet, HeAling ourSelVeStoRi lee

fort with) modern Western allopathic medicine.

The Curanderismo Healing Festival and Workshop, held during the sum-mer at the Institute for American In-dian Art’s Center for Lifelong Edu-cation in Santa Fe, brings together two dozen healers from Centro de Desarrollo Humano hacia la Comuni-dad (CEDEHC) with homeopathic healthcare practitioners from the Southwest. CEDEHC is a Cuer-navaca, México-based training cen-ter for traditional Mayan and Aztec medicine. Everyone in attendance at the healing fair is there to share, teach, learn and transform hearts and minds; in short, to help people heal them-selves, while recognizing the need to respect and regenerate the natural

world, upon which our collective sur-vival depends.

According to Dr. Allen Elkin, 80 percent or more of all general doc-tor office visits in the US are stress-related. The cost of stress-related illnesses, stress-induced chronic conditions, men-

tal health issues and lost wages and pro-

ductivity due to excessive absences, as well as the personal and social cost of stress and depression, run into billions of dollars annually. One of every six women in this country regularly takes prescribed anti-depressants. Accord-ing to curanderismo tradition, much of this suffering and expense can be eliminated through energy cleansing and rebalancing remedies and tech-niques. This means that in many cases there is no need for expensive, inac-cessible insurance-driven healthcare that treats only the symptoms of dis-ease, not the totality of an individual. Curanderismo healing allows an indi-vidual to participate actively in one’s own healing and rebalancing of physi-cal, mental and spiritual energies.

The Curanderismo Healing Festi-val has taken place in Santa Fe for the past three summers, but 2011 marked the first time a week-long healing workshop was held there. At the sessions over the weekend prior to the workshop, curanderismo heal-ers offer their expertise to hundreds of local residents. Sobadores or sobadoras provide various types of massage to relieve stress and rebalance internal organs so that anger no longer resides in the liver, nor fear in the lungs. Us-ing a heated glass cup applied to the skin to relieve stress, the massage helps the body heal itself. Other mas-sage techniques stimulate the immune system to promote long-term healing. A curanderismo healer carefully and sympathetically reads the person and then acts accord-ingly. By listening with the heart, a healer learns how to sense another body, includ-ing that body’s imbalances, whether physical or emotional. Healers also perform limpias or cleansings using raw eggs or healing plants. [Personal disclosure: I have moderate ar-thritis in my left hip and knee. Walking up stairs is sometimes troublesome. Walking down stairs is painful and occasion-ally not possible. After one limpias treatment using a raw egg to remove toxins from my body, I walked down two flights of stairs pain-free and without breaking stride.]

One of the most powerful forms of energy cleansing is susto to treat emo-tional shock or fright. The healer uses medical plants such as purple sage to sweep away negativity from the body. This healing technique is said to be of great benefit to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as those returning from Iraq and

tools of the healing trade—medicinal plants, smudge stick, copal resin, candles

A curandera reads a patient’s body, physically and spiritually, before initi-ating treatment.

Herbalist teacher Maestra Doris offers herbal remedies unique to each patient.

Healers treating people at tesuque Pueblo


PRescRiPtion continued from page 15well as of our inner selves. These are good places to organize community collaboration events, such as ecologi-cal stewardship and restoration work-shops, educational walks about wild-life or the area’s history, or art events, such as the 2010 Flash Flood in the Santa Fe riverbed that sought to stimulate community awareness about land and water use.

iMagination and attitudeA path of healing is often an explora-tion of new territory, both physically and mentally. Our wellness is based on our power to rejuvenate, and our rejuvenation is dependent on our abil-ity and mental energy to go beyond our conventional boundaries, to imag-ine a better future, to create new ideas and behavior and to realize that one has the power to pursue one’s dreams.

However, in a society where our phys-ical territory is mostly artificial and

indoors, where our information is fed to us by commercial media, and where our choices in life seem to be domi-nated by options limited to particular goods and services, it is possible to lose one’s natural compass. In the Ge-ography of Childhood, Gary Paul Nab-han tells the story about his explora-tion of nature as a child, and how it shaped his critical thinking, his way of observing and asking questions. The book provides a strong argument for exposing children to nature explora-tion, and to the endless opportuni-ties for wonderment and creativity. Yet, despite virtual travel opportuni-ties, the geography of many children’s

childhoods is shrinking, as may be their abilities to develop a sense of place, hope and resilience amidst the many challenges of our world.

As a result, many people are unable to see the connections between their personal health and that of their com-munity and their physical and natural environment. Many people have no hope or concept of their potential role in healing themselves or nature. As we have been told that physicians are spe-cialized to heal you when you’re sick, and engineers or environmental ex-perts will take care of the planet’s ills, healing has become the responsibility of others, and our own personal lead-ership and imagination are considered of lesser relevance. As health or well-ness is increasingly confused with the service of healthcare, or even worse, with the means to acquire the service, i.e. money, we are often made to be-lieve that money can buy us happiness, health and prosperity—regardless of our personal attitude.

Yet, in the end, sustained personal health and sustained environmen-tal and community resilience rely on unity of mind and spirit and an aware-ness and mindfulness about personal health, community, the Earth and their interconnections. As a center of the healing arts and a hub of many spiritual communities and gathering places, Santa Fe and its surrounding region offer exquisite opportunities for the exploration of the body, mind and spirit. Besides the many opportu-nities our region offers to be outdoors in nature, the native and historic cul-tures in this landscape can also offer great inspiration.

The simple common sense prescrip-tion offered in the beginning of this article will guide us to wellness, es-pecially if we make healthy choices about our food, our physical exercise outdoors, our ways of relaxation and our personal attitude. I believe that this will eventually lead us to a para-digm shift in which we will see that our ways to pursue wholeness, health and wellness are all the same for our-selves and for the Earth.

Jan-Willem Jansens is an ecological planner and consultant, and the former Executive Director of Earth Works In-stitute. He lives with his wife and two children in Santa Fe.

Kids admire traditional acequia- irrigated farm model at the New Mexico History Museum


Herbal Medicine

One of the greatest gifts of a gar-den and from nature is the heal-

ing power of flowers. Flower essences, imbued with the gentle subtle energies of the flowers and Mother Earth, are a readily accessible form of nature’s heal-ing potency. Flower essences are a por-tal from nature into feeling comfortable with oneself and with others. They are made from freshly harvested blossoms, and the “active” element is the energetic imprint infused into pure water.

Flower essences help harmonize a wide range of disturbing energy patterns and sustain emotional and physical well-being. For example, there are par-ticular essences that help release fear; others relieve stress, help foster har-monious relationships or a calm pas-sage through major life changes. Un-like herbal medicines and essential oils, flower essences contain only miniscule amounts of physical components from the plant source. Flower essences work according to their subtle energetic pat-terns, their life forces made available in potentized solutions.

In contrast, herbal medicines are made from the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of plants. The part that is used depends on the medicine and the source plant. The actual plant parts are processed into powders, teas, ex-tracts and tinctures, depending on the plant and the application. Specific compounds and molecules are active and effective in the extracts. Essential oils are usually harvested by distilla-tion from leaves and flowers to collect concentrated aromatic oils for various healing applications.

Flower essences can be made from flowers harvested from the wild or from garden-grown plants cultivat-ed under pristine conditions. The 38 Bach Flower Remedies are the best-known flower essences. Dr. Edward Bach discovered the first three flowers for his remedies in 1928 along the Usk River in South Wales. His research in bacteriology and homeopathy led to his understanding that a particular ill-ness could sometimes be explained as a physical response to a negative emo-tional state. Ultimately, his research

led him to discover the remedies. Each remedy embodied a positive energy pattern that could harmonize or re-solve a negative emotional state, often restoring physical as well as emotional health. Since Dr. Bach’s discoveries, several hundred flower essences have been described and are now available from different parts of the world.

Detailed study of the forms and gestures of plants and flowers re-veals that each type of flower contains a qual-ity that corresponds to a human emotion. The patterns of the flowers can be felt as life forces in nature and as ob-servable physical char-acteristics. The close observation process unfolds through a per-sonal interaction with each plant. “Flowers are the outward ex-pressions of particular patterns of life force, patterns which express themselves in us as thoughts and feel-ings” ( Julian Barnard, Bach Flower Remedies, the Essence Within). Hav-ing the direct experience of studying a plant enhances the use of the flower essence as a healing agent. The experi-ence reflects the energy pattern that is the healing factor of the flower in the potentized water. It is this energetic es-sence that harmonizes and heals a neg-ative emotional state and a concurrent physical manifestation.

Flower essences are easy to prepare. Beginning the process with a few mo-ments of quiet or a simple meditation helps create a receptive state before working with the flowers. The energies of the flowers are captured in water by exposure to full sun in the garden or in the field where they are harvested. The day should be clear, sunny and calm. Harvest the flowers in the morning. Fill a glass or crystal bowl with about two cups (500 ml) of pure water (no chlorine or fluoride here). Snip the blooms from the plant and float them

immediately in the water— avoid contact with your hand by al-lowing the flowers to drop directly into the water or carry them on a leaf. Use enough flowers to cover the surface of water.

The bowl should remain at the harvest site in full sun for three-to-four hours, or less if the blooms start to fade. When the flowers have transferred their healing potency to the water, remove the blossoms with a twig or stem of a plant. Mix the potentized water with an equal amount of bran-dy as a preservative. It is important to boil all glassware for 20 minutes prior to use. The source remedies are ultimately diluted two drops to 30 ml of brandy, a dilution of about 1:400. Combinations of three-to-six essenc-es (two drops each in 30 ml) of several flowers can be useful in addressing a particular condition of un-ease. Gen-erally four drops four times a day un-der the tongue is a standard dosage. The essences can also be sprayed in the mouth or in the environment.

A number of flowers that grow well in the high desert have been well de-scribed as flower essences. Chicory, Rock Rose (Helianthemum nummu-larium) and Mustard are Bach rem-

HeAlING WITH FloWerSsusan wateRMan

My Own Garden

edies. Chamisa, Cosmos, Dandelion, Echinacea, Evening Primrose, Man-zanita, Mullein, Nasturtium and Yar-row are just a few that have also been used extensively to make flower es-sences, each addressing a specific state of un-ease.

Julian Barnard, in his book Bach Flower Remedies: the Essence With-in, described the preparation for each of the 38 Bach Remedies. There are a number of online sources for flower essence information. The Flower Es-sence Society in Nevada City, Calif. offers extensive examples of plant studies and information on numer-ous essences on their website, www. fesflowers.com.

Susan Waterman has a Ph.D. in botany and over 25 years o f e x p e r i e n c e i n sustainable agriculture. For more info, visit www.harvestbyhand Questions? Email [email protected]

Flowers that can be grown and harvested in northern NM: chicory (top), California poppy (l) and columbine


How many days of food security do you or your city have? In the event of delivery disruptions, the aver-age city in the US only has 2.5 days of food.

The ancient Egyptians, Zoroastrians and Greeks, as well as modern scholars and scientists have known that food production, the distribution of energy, and independent sources of the other essential ele-ments (air, water, land) are a matter of national security and basic survival. Yet we are dependent upon a supply chain that could collapse.

This situation is a reflection of the fact that our mod-ern society has separated the vast majority of people, especially city dwellers, from the production of food and energy, and direct access to clean water. This is the most profound violation of Homeland Security and to our way of life in our nation’s history.

Free yourself from the current risks to the food and energy supply chain. We have a well-researched multi-faceted plan to address this situation. Please contact us to request an “Eden Gardens Project” proposal, which can include a campus design and layout complete with algae ponds, greenhouses, wind and solar energy generation, desalination plant, sub-soil heating, acequia, food canning, seed preservation—a completely energy-independent system for food, water and energy production.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE EDEN GARDENS PROJECT, contact Saneh Booth at sanehboothe@gmail or call 800-379-8048, ext. 103 to request a meeting. We will be happy to make public pre-sentations for interested groups if travel and venue arrangements are provided.

THE EDEN GarDENs PrOJECT an aNsWEr for NaTIONaL sECUrITY rIsK Saneh T. BooThe, Ceo of eden GardenS ProjeCT and CornuCoPia enTerPriSeS and Ben B. BooThe Sr., Ceo of BooThe & aSSoCiaTeS, inTernaTional ConSulTanT (uSiS, World Bank), BBar aPPraiSer


THE EDEN GarDENs PrOJECT an aNsWEr for NaTIONaL sECUrITY rIsK Saneh T. BooThe, Ceo of eden GardenS ProjeCT and CornuCoPia enTerPriSeS and Ben B. BooThe Sr., Ceo of BooThe & aSSoCiaTeS, inTernaTional ConSulTanT (uSiS, World Bank), BBar aPPraiSer

© 2

012

EdEn

Ga

rd

Ens

Pro

jEc

t Pl

an

nin

G a

nd V

isio

n, s

an

Eh &

BEn

Bo

oth

E •

illu

str

atio

n B

y l

isa P

EllE

tiEr


Please consider placing an ad in this publication

and supporting our work for a greener world.call skip Whitson at

505.471.5177 or anna Hansen at

505.982.0155

Jim Kentch, Lawyer

215 W. San Francisco Street # 202-CSanta Fe, NM 87501-2164

[email protected]

cuRandeRisMo festival continued from page 17

Afghan i-stan in great emo-tional and p h y s i c a l pain. Susto is also used to ben-efit victims of sexual and other types of

physical and emot iona l

assault. Curandera master herbalist Maestra Doris mixes herbal remedies based on the unique needs of each

person who comes to her for healing.

At last year’s curanderismo workshop, participants learned about medicinal plants and their uses. The Aztecs had a pharmacy of over 1,200 medicinal plants. Most interesting was instruc-tion from curandera/herbalist Alber-tana Sanchez Flores on how to devel-op connections with the natural world to transfer the plant’s healing proper-ties to the person in need. Commu-nicating with the healing essence of a plant allows the healer to use what-ever plants are locally available, even if that plant is not normally used to treat the specific condition presented.

The healing intentions of both healer and seeker are of primary importance.

Workshop students also were taught how to make tinctures using the em-pacho technique to heal problems in the digestive system, including vari-ous eating disorders such as stomach cramps and excessive weight gain or loss. Students also learned how to prepare herbal remedies to dissipate the negative energy one may expe-rience from mal de ojo or evil eye, which occurs when external factors cause pronounced physical and spiri-tual imbalance in another individual. Many of these healing techniques can

be adapted to treat babies and young children. All of the medicinal plants used in instruction are readily avail-able in Santa Fe.

As additional information on curand-erismo events in Santa Fe and Albu-querque in 2012 becomes available, it will be posted on the website: http://curanderismo.unm.edu

To r i L e e i s a freelance writer and would-be farmer in Pojoaque, NM. She writes on topics pertaining to social justice, sustainability and animal welfare.

Workshop participants learn to make healing tinctures.


alternative Healing


Throughout time, throughout cultures, there are always those born with the ability to heal, those who study how to heal, and those who, as they go

through their lives, discover that they have the gift. That was what happened to Eric Pearl, a well-known chiropractor, when he began to wave his hands over a client’s body after a chiropractic adjustment and spontaneous healing began to occur. After years of exploration and scientific research into the phenomenon, Pearl began to teach others how to do the work of what he calls Reconnective Healing and The Reconnection.

I am a Reconnective Healing practitioner here in New Mexico. I also work in the realm of sustainable business. Reconnective Healing is a unique form of healing that can shift the way one sees health into a paradigm of sustainability. As we consider making adjustments in our lives to live and work in ways more aligned with nature, our experiences of health and healing shift too.

So what is Reconnective Healing? The official literature states:

Reconnective Healing not only includes, but also expands beyond all known forms of “energy” healing. The Reconnective Healing spectrum is comprised of the full healing and evolutionary continuum of energy, light and informa-tion, and has brought about unparalleled world reports of healings from seri-ous inflictions such as: cancer, AIDS-related diseases, epilepsy, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, cerebral palsy, and many mental and emotional afflictions.

Reconnective Healing allows for healings that are not just physical, not just mental, not just emotional… it goes beyond that to bring you healing that includes the evolution of your very being and essence.

The Reconnection brings in “new” axiatonal lines that enable us to standard-ize unique vibratory levels and frequencies for healing, and ultimately, for our evolution. These axiatonal lines are part of a timeless network of intelligence, a parallel dimensional circulatory system that draws the basic energy for the renewal functions of the human body. The Reconnection brings in and acti-vates these new lines, allowing for the exchange of energy, light and informa-tion, or the reconnection of DNA strands and the reintegration of “strings.”

In simpler words, a client comes to a practitioner for his or her first Reconnective Healing session. Ideally, the client does not tell the practitioner why he or she is there. The practitioner follows his/her hands in spontaneous motions over the client’s body, never touching it. Both the client and the practitioner enter into the realm of incredible possibility.

As a practitioner, I experience this work as very palpable, strong and directive. It is real. It is about regeneration. It works with light, energy and information be-yond our limited conscious mind. It allows all results. It is unique. It works with people, animals and the Earth.

The very first Reconnective Healing session I did was with a goat—a goat less than a week old that had been trampled by a horse and left to die. On the second day without nourishment from its mother, the daughter of the household had her mom bring the goat to me. It appeared to have muscular and neurological damage, for its eyes rolled and it could not hold its head up nor stand. As my hands went over the goat, the goat began to respond with twitching and move-ment. On the second day, the goat had what appeared to be epileptic seizures. It would begin to roll its eyes back in its head, the head pulled back towards its rear, and then the goat would do uncontrollable back flips. Within the second day, as its head began to pull backwards, the goat would respond to my hands in the air by moving its head back to a normal position and walk forward. Within a

reConneCtion tHeraPY: SuStAinABle HeAltH for our timeSeRin sanBoRn

week, the goat was completely nor-mal. Today, she appears to be some-what blind in one eye, but can run, jump, play, eat, and is the sweetest goat you will ever meet. She is now 10 months old.

I worked on a woman who was hav-ing a problem with her knee. It had been years, and no doctor of any kind had been able to strengthen the knee or cure the pain and discomfort. This woman had heard stories of the phenomeno-logical experi-ences on the Reconnective Healing table. She wanted to see lights, hear voices, feel the tin-gling and more in her session. Alas, all she felt was warmth and a few odd thoughts float by. She was disappointed.

A couple of weeks later she had to talk with the team of doctors who are taking care of her father, who has Par- kinson’s. She saw herself from outside herself talking to the doctors. She was present with them while observing herself at the same time. She gave them permission to let him die the next time a severe episode occurred. The next morning she woke up and called. She said, “My knee is healed! I can’t believe it. It was because of what hap-pened yesterday with my father.” I worked on her father and he has not had an episode since and is still here going strong.

I chose to become a practitioner in part because I knew this was the next step in my evolution, and because of the following elements:

Anyone in the world can become a practitioner. This work is not limited to a special class of people. All people can receive the evolutionary continuum of energy, light and information and then work with others. This means that mil-lions of people can spontaneously improve many physical, emotional, mental and spiritual ailments.

A practitioner only gives two-four Reconnective Healing sessions to any client and only two Reconnection sessions. Once one is reconnected, one is recon-nected. This means that each individual can access the evolutionary continuum of energy, light and information on their own. It changes the paradigm of de-pendency on those in the medical profession or the dependency on the expert/patient relationship. Health is co-creative and sustainable.

The cost is quite reasonable. A session encourages both the practitioner and the client to walk into the un-known, share an experience and rejoice in what may occur.


Got Health?-Lose Weight-Make Money -

Get Healthy !

Take Biometics the liquid vitamin supplements !

Call Dan for more information at:

505.699.0499

www.animalacupuncturevet.com 505.820.2617

Dr. Audrey Shannon, DVM, has training in both Western veterinary medicine and in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine.

Her integrated holistic approach focuses on acupuncture and acupressure, with nutritional and herbal therapy to ensure your animal’s optimal health and well-being. Treatment is available for dogs, cats, and horses.

Appointments in the comfort of your own home.


alternative HealingReconnection continued from page 23

What does healing mean to you? Perhaps it is removal of a

symptom, alleviation of pain or being cured of a disease or condition. Many people believe that this is what heal-ing means. But, what if your symp-tom, pain, disease or condition is the answer you have been looking for and could be used to get you where you want to be in life? What if your symptom or condition has a message for you that could help you grow, gain deeper meaning and help you connect more to who you really are? There is a healing process that works with these indicators. It is called Reorganiza- tional Healing.

Most of our culture believes that, when a symptom or condition arises, some-thing is wrong with them and that they need to be fixed or the symptom removed for their health to be restored. However, in Reorganizational Healing, we see the symptoms that our body-mind produces as messages that some-thing needs to change, and those very symptoms and conditions provide us with the fuel that we need to make that change. When we choose to alleviate a symptom or remove a part of our body that is expressing a condition, we fail to receive the message and instead remove the fuel for our growth or change. We then, at best, remain the same as we were prior to the condition or symp-tom being present. If we do not receive the wisdom of our body through what it is expressing, it will find another way to get our attention. A new symptom or condition may manifest or the same one may return. When we choose the path of ridding our body of symptoms, we go through a continuous cyclical process of chasing symptoms.

We must start the healing process where we are. Often that means expe-riencing the sensations of discomfort that we have been trying to avoid feel-ing. When we avoid feeling sensations in our body we disconnect from parts

sYMPtoMs: Your BodY’S SeCreT Healing MessagesreorgAnizAtionAl HeAlingDr. amanDa Hessel

of our being. In this state of discon-nect, the brain and nervous system may not be able to fully respond to all the parts of our body. That means it may be unable to send appropriate signals to those parts to help them heal.

The first step in this process is to help our brain respond to all the parts of our body again. For this to be possible, we need to create safety in our bod-ies so that it is safe to feel what we have been avoiding. When we don’t feel safe our bodies go into defense. The muscles start to hold tension, the joints feel stiff, we lose range of mo-tion, our posture moves into protec-tion and our state of physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing declines.

There is a healing system called “Net-work Care,” which includes Network Spinal Analysis and Somatorespira-tory Integration, that works at the level of the nervous system to create new neural pathways for connec-tion and healing. This system helps the body move from a state of de-fense and overwhelm into safety and growth. Only when we feel safe in our body-mind can we heal, grow and cre-ate new choices for ourselves. When we are feeling overwhelmed we can-not hear our inner healing intelligence and wisdom, and we look outside of ourselves for answers and solutions. Through developing connection to our body and being we can create a healing experience that allows us to express and be who we are, and con-nect to ourselves and our world in more meaningful ways.

Dr. Amanda Hessel is a chiropractor and wellness educator specializing in Network Care. She may be contacted at the Scher Center for Well Being, 1602 4th St. in Santa Fe. 505.989.9373, www.healingwithoutlimits.com

This is sustainable health! It is incredibly empowering for all, with potentially awe-inspiring results. Instantaneous health is possible. All a Reconnective Healing prac-titioner can do is invite clients into the mystery and discover what happens. Both the client and practitioner must be open to outcomes. The healing process may not be linear, nor may the outcome be what one asks for. And no one can claim to cure anything. We all still get colds and may still die of an incurable disease, yet with Reconnective Healing and The Reconnection we do see many miracles.

Here are a couple of testimonials:“During my Reconnective Healing session, it felt as if every cell was activated. I could not lay still as tingling, warm power coursed through my body. I have since been more attuned to my energy field.”–CB

“When I did Reconnective Healing work I wasn’t sure what to expect. The ses-sion was comfortable and relaxing and very subtle. It wasn’t until after the ses-sion, that evening and into weeks later, that I felt uplifted and energized. That feeling of a sort of ‘quiet power’ has stayed with me till the present time, months later.” –MS

I’ve seen illnesses that have been diagnosed to take months to heal, leave the body in a week. I’ve seen people become clear in one session about a career direction they have struggled with for months. If you ask other practitioners about their experi-ences, the stories they can tell will astound you, make you shed tears of joy, and make you wonder if it is really possible. If you go to a seminar or training you will hear the stories of people who have had severe illnesses that are now gone. They can show the medical test reports and the x-rays of the before and after results. Hopefully then, your curiosity will peak, your heart will open and your mind expand.

Reconnecitve Healing and The Reconnection is an amazing healing opportunity for our time. It sustains the mind, body and soul in ways many experience as completely new. And it changes the seemingly impossible into the possible.

resourCes to investigateThere are currently about a dozen practitioners between Albuquerque and Taos to speak with about this work. They are listed online at http://www.thereconnec-tion.com/practitioner-directory. Seventy-thousand people all over the world are currently involved in Reconnective Healing, and the numbers are growing.

Founder Eric Pearl’s book is called The Reconnection. His website: http://www.thereconnection.com/. You can watch the DVD, The Living Matrix, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne-I7JTXCbo and see a young boy’s life change.

Enjoy the journey!

Erin Sanborn is a Reconnecting Healing practitioner. She has studied healing modalities since 1980. Her simultaneous professions are Alternative Healing and Organization Development. Erin lives in Taos, NM, and provides Executive Coaching and consulting services through Collaborative Green. 575.770.2991, [email protected]


2885 Trades West Road (off Siler)Santa Fe, NM 87505

910

consider placing an ad in this award-winning publication. call skip Whitson (505.471.5177)

or anna Hansen (505.982.0155)

YES! We have Gardenburgers and vegetarian items!

Pamela Marshall LBSW. M.A. L.P.C.C. 1844

2205 Miguel Chávez Rd. Suite F • Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505confluencemediationandcounseling.com

Resolving Conflict Through

Empowerment

505.989.3333 • 505.989.1442 Fax


equine-assisted tHeraPy

Healing Through Horses (HTH) is an Abiquiu, New Mexico-

based program dedicated to healing the human spirit through the horse. “Horses have the ability to read you without saying a word,” says Judith Schneider, HTH’s director. “The horse has a way of deeply touching people’s hearts and spirits. The experience can have a profound effect on one’s heal-ing process.” HTH offers a collabora-tive and alternative approach for those who have a desire to resolve past trau-mas, are willing to take an honest look at limiting beliefs, wish to embrace their mental and spiritual health in a courageous manner, and are ready to make changes to create a fulfilling life.

Most equine sessions at the ranch are two hours in duration. Over the years, Healing Through Horses has witnessed life-changing events in children, teens, adults, families and groups. Here are a few examples:

equine-assisted counselingA mother and son arrive for their first session. They are introduced to the horses and enter the arena to begin their journey. They are asked to simply walk up to the horse and say hello. The dynamics begin: Mom tells her son what to do and how to do it—without giving him an opportunity to explore and discover his own style. The child gives her “the look” and walks away angry. She, in turn, yells, “Come back and finish what you started.” The fam-ily is observed and meets up with the coach in the middle of the arena.

The mother is asked, “Where else does this appear in your life with your son?” She begins to cry. Her son says, “Every time I try to do something, she corrects me, and I hate it!” Because they have a difficult time communi-cating, a suggestion is made for them to come up with one word that will signal when someone is interfering with their forward motion of self-discovery. The son figures that if you can tell a horse to “whoa” and he stops, then his mother will know what this means and will follow the verbal cue. They both laugh and give each other a pinky shake to seal the deal.

Healing tHrougH HorsessetH RoffMan

They are offered another opportunity to walk up to the horse and say hello. This time they negotiate how they will approach the horse, and in essence de-velop a cooperative relationship with a mutual goal.

In a very short amount of time, they are able to identify how they get into power struggles that fuel arguments and unnecessary stress in their family. As their therapy progresses, they are more successful in speaking with each other and have perfected their “magic word,” which has meaning to both of them and allows for a bit of humor to decrease tension in their relationship.

equine RetReats foR woMenHealing Through Horses offers day-long or weekend retreats for women. These experiences allow them to get away from everyday demands and explore the extraordinary ways their interactions with the horses can reju-venate their spirits and assist them in personal growth. Time is provided for personal reflection with like-minded women.

As the day begins, each woman is of-fered an opportunity to create a sacred space for herself by sharing a sage blessing. Throughout the day they lis-ten to what each has discovered about herself. For example, some women share they were afraid when they ar-rived. This is explored, and it is not only related to the horses, but, in es-sence, how they walk in fear every day.

This awareness is taken into the horse arena. A woman volunteers, saying that she wants to become less fear-ful of horses. She hesitates, begins to shake and cry. She is encouraged to feel her fear in her body, recognize the somatic sensations and embrace it. As she approaches, her horse turns, looks at her and patiently waits for her ar-rival. She slowly places her body next to the horse and without hesitation, embraces the horse and sobs. Her healing partner remains with her un-til she is able to speak. She looks up to the sky and says out loud “What is the big deal? It is only a horse!” At this moment, she realizes she created barriers and limiting beliefs that have

prevented her from doing things she has longed to do. Why? Because she makes it larger than life! Continuing to share her thoughts, she says she fears that the horse will run her over, step on her, and she will end up in the hospital. She then is asked to put her “true” experience into words. She describes a sense of freedom she has never before experienced.

equine-assisted coacHingDuring a recent equine-assisted coaching session, a woman wanted to explore why she felt stuck and de-pressed. She described her experience: “Recently I spent time with Judith Schneider and her three horses. It was a pivotal experience. I had been deal-ing with feelings of loss and anxiety. I knew a lot about my situation, but I was still stuck and it was really painful. I am a good talker and thinker. I can talk and think my way into and out of any num-ber of situations, but I didn’t seem to be able to talk or think my way out of this one. With the help of Judy’s com-passion and the innate wisdom of the horses, their gut feelings

and reflection, I came to know my-self better, and best of all, to ac-cept my feelings. The result? Hope. By the time I left Healing Through Horses, I had made some genu-ine shifts in my thinking; but even more important, the way I felt had shifted. I felt heard and I felt hope.”

Healing Through Horses’ season has begun. “The horses,” Schneider says, “have been eager to get back to work.”

For more information, contact Judy Schneider at 505.685.0596, [email protected] or www.healingthroughhorses.net

Phot

os c

ourt

esy

Hea

ling

thro

ugh

Hor

ses

Healing through Horses’ director Judith Schneider with therapist


orgANic FArm coNF. FeB. 17-18 iN AlBuquerqueMembers of New Mexico’s $67 million organic farming industry, as well as ranchers, researchers and gardeners will be among those gathering on Feb. 17-18 for the Southwest’s premier conference on organic and sustainable agri-culture. The two-day nM organic Farming Conference, to be held at the Marriot albuquerque Pyramid north, provides more than 30 pro-duction and marketing workshops, an organic food luncheon on sat-urday and a large exhibitor hall for producers to learn about organic farming.

Jeff Witte, New Mexico Secretary of agriculture, and Jon Boren, nM state university Cooperative ex-tension service director, will wel-come conference participants on Friday. Bu nygrens, co-owner of veritable vegetable in san Francis-co, Calif. will be the keynote speak-er on saturday at 8:30 a.m. she will speak on “transforming our Food system: Honoring Hope and Hard Work.” Veritable Vegetable, estab-lished in 1974, is the nation’s oldest distributor of certified organic fruits and vegetables. Woman-owned and operated, veritable vegetable serves organic farms and independent re-tail businesses throughout Califor-nia, Hawaii and the southwest.

each day following the open-ing presentations, there will be 36 workshop sessions on a variety of topics in six categories: soil, crop, livestock, farm support, market gar-dening, managing problems and pe-tite production. Highlights include: Permaculture Case studies on the Farm, Soil Whispering: Making Your Soil do What You Want It to do, organic grape Produc-tion, native Pollinators, and seed growing 101. a few of the other workshops include: ruminant Pre-ventative Healthcare, Mushroom Production, integrated Pest Man-agement, and Cover Crops. Kyle skaggs and teague Channing will discuss working with draft horses and mules on their farms.

The event is organized by the non-profit organization Farm to Table, the nM department of agricul-ture and NM State university’s Cooperative extension service. registration is $100 for the entire conference or $65 for one day. For more information visit http://www.farmtotablenm.org, call le adams at 505.473.1004, ext. 10 or Joanie Quinn at 505.889.9921.


NEWSB I TE STwo mAjor reNewABle eNergy projecTS ANNouNcedus interior secretary Ken salazar, in a statement, said the government has ap-proved 25 renewable energy projects during the last two years. “We have made swift progress in carrying out President obama’s initiative for a rapid and respon-sible move to large-scale production of renewable energy on public lands,” he said. President obama’s stated goal is having 80 percent of the nation’s energy needs met by clean, renewable sources by 2035.

salazar announced two new renewable energy projects last month: a 300-mega-watt solar project in arizona and a 62-turbine wind farm in California that is projected to produce about 186-megawatts of electricity. The two combined, will produce enough energy to power 150,000 homes, the equivalent of nearly several coal-fired power plants.

reNewABle eNergy pASSeS NucleAr AS u.S. power Sourcerenewable energy sources—solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, wood burn-ing and biomass—passed nuclear generation as a sector of power in the u.s., ac-cording to an energy information administration report. The report, which cov-ered nine months ending in september 2011, showed 6.944 quadrillion Btus or “quads” of energy generated from renewable sources, compared with 6.173 quads from nuclear power. In the prior two years, nuclear power was significantly ahead of renewables. Total energy production in the u.S. was 58.123 quads in the first nine months of 2011, with most of that—45.006 quads—coming from fossil fuels. despite a tough year for the solar industry with the solar panel maker solyndra scandal, solar generation continued to grow significantly.

wellS FArgo FiNANceS mASSiVe Nm SolAr projecTWells Fargo & Company is providing equity financing for a 53.5 megawatt solar project in lea and eddy counties in southwestern New Mexico. The five site proj-ect, one of the largest photovoltaic power projects in the us, was fully activated in december. it was made possible through a power purchase agreement between sunedison and southwestern Public service Company. The construction and permanent equity financing was Wells Fargo’s largest renewable energy construc-tion loan to date. The company has invested more than $2.7 billion in re projects since 2006.

energy generated from the solar farms is being sold to xcel energy, inc. subsidiary of southwestern Public service Company. according to a news release, the solar farms are expected to produce more enough electricity over the next 20 years, to power over 8,000 homes per year, while offsetting 2.9 billion pounds of carbon di-oxide emissions over the next 20 years.

AppeAl oF STATe eNergy eFFicieNcy BuildiNg codeS rollBAck Filedlast month the New Mexico environmental law Center (NMelC) filed an ap-peal arguing that the nM Construction industry Commission violated numerous laws when it rolled back the energy efficient Building Codes adopted in 2010. The nMelC asserts that the Commission did not meet requirements that give the public the right to effectively participate in the making of laws and that require decision-makers to explain their actions. “The original energy efficient 2010 codes were adopted after over a year of weekly meetings and extensive review of technical, energy, and economic feasibility stud-ies,” says tammy Fiebelkorn, President of esolved, inc. “after all of this, consen-sus was achieved. The Commission did none of these things when it rolled back the codes. If the rollback wasn’t based on technical feasibility, energy use analysis or financial impacts, what was it based on?”

The filed brief argues that the comments that the Commission received in public meetings and in written submissions show the Commission had no substantial evidence to support the rollback of the 2010 codes, and that the Commission-ers made their decisions before their meeting on the codes, thereby violating the open Meetings act.

“it seems that these commissioners do not understand how new Mexico law han-dles rulemaking,” says douglas Meiklejohn, nMelC executive director and lead counsel on the case. “They do not have the power to change regulations that

have been adopted, simply to suit the current political climate. agencies must follow the basic laws governing substantial evidence and public processes. oth-erwise, regulations could drastically change with every election.”

The nMelC is representing southwest energy efficiency Project, environment nM, sundancer Creations Custom Builder, llC, esolved, inc., the sierra Club and individuals in the appeal. responses by those mentioned in the appeal are due in March.

climATe AdApTATioN STrATegy releASeddespite an ongoing debate as to whether global warming exists and whether car-bon dioxide should be considered a pollutant, federal, state and tribal agencies believe climate change is here, and are working on strategies to help communities and ecosystems adapt.

The National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Adaptation Strategy was released on January 20 by the uS Fish and Wildlife Service, the National oceanic and At-mospheric Administration and the New York division of Fish and Wildlife and Marine resources. The coalition’s website states: “Climate change is already here. it is clear from current trends and future projections that we are now committed to a certain amount of changes and impacts, making climate adaptation planning a critical part of responding to this complex challenge.”

The increasing frequency and severity of wildfires, rising sea levels and cata-strophic natural disasters such as floods and drought are all indicators of climate change, according to scientists. in the southwest, a long-term trend is predict-ed for less mountain snowpack, faster snowmelts, warmer night temperatures and drier summers. Prolonged drought and increasingly frequent wildfires are forecast for New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains. The Nature Conservancy is work-ing with land managers, biologists and others on adaptation plans for the area. in santa Fe, city planners are taking climate change factors into account as they model water resources for future development.

The Wildlife Adaptation Strategy website www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov seeks to provide a blueprint for collective action that promotes collaboration and communication. The site includes detailed international studies and informa-tion on what states and tribes are doing to ensure sustainability of resources in a changing climate. The public has until March 5 to comment on the plan.

iAiA To hoST climATe chANge coNFereNceThe institute of american indian arts in santa Fe will host a conference entitled “The art of Change: Climate Justice and indigenous solutions” on april 20-21. Internationally acclaimed author, economist and activist Winona laduke (ojibwe) will be the keynote speaker on april 20 at 7 pm.

The conference will include intergenerational dialogue about climate change and its effects on indigenous peoples locally and globally. Participants will consider questions such as: How are Native peoples and communities responding? What are some of the indigenous values, knowledge and stories that native communities and others can draw on in this transformational time? How can art be a force to fuel and inspire solutions and transformation? The workshop will include speakers and dia-logue about these topics as well as hands-on workshops on creative and practical re-sponses to climate change. The conference will be open to anyone who is interested in dialogue about these issues. details and a schedule will be released soon. Contact annie Mcdonnell: 505.424.5733, [email protected]

geNerAl millS’ ABq plANT AchieVeS leed goldgeneral Mills plant in northeast albuquerque has achieved leadership in en-ergy and environmental design (leed) gold certification. There are fewer than 10 food production facilities of the 8,000 around the world that have been des-ignated leed gold. The 160,000-square-foot expansion includes a recycling program that has greatly reduced the plant’s waste paper, plastics, cardboard and packaging. There has also been a 30 percent reduction in indoor water use. The fa-cility loans bicycles to employees for commuting and preferred parking spots are reserved for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles in the company lot. Chávez Grieves did the engineering. The project’s contractor was KBr Build Group.


Christie Baca RDH, CPDHJacquelyn Gomez DDSEsmael Valdez DDS

Divine Dental’s Eco-Friendly Office“Green Dental” Solutions

We use the DIAGNODENT laser cavity detector. Over 90% accurate, which means early detection of cavities, fewer fillings, and lower cost of dental treatments.BBio compatible Restorations using CEREC 3DCad/Cam system (chair side economical res-toration of Esthetic Ceramics). The Cerec system allows us to be conservative in preserv-ing the natural tooth structure as well as delivering a metal-free restoration in one visit.Mercury FREE office. We follow removal protocols for mercury fillings by following the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology guidelines.Special water filtration system that separates the mercury so it does not pollute the environment. In addition we use filtered water in all of our dental procedures.... not city tap water.Digital Radiography reduces radiation up to 90% more than traditional x-rays.

471-7000 550-B St. Michaels Drive Ste. 2 • Santa FeHablamos Español

“Gentle High-Quality Dentistry for Your Entire Family”

Please consider placing an ad in this publication.

support our work for a more sustainable world.

skip: 505.471.5177

anna: 505.982.0155


PersPectives


With an expanding sense of ur-gency resultant from so many

important issues that are present in this time and space, each person needs to take a step back and determine the most efficient use of their energy and effort. If we choose a course of personal activism as a means of adding our voice to the exploding dynamic of public outcry, we are aligning in purpose with the need for cultural transformation. Still many believe that nothing short of a paradigm shift in how we think, live and act, will bring about the necessary changes that will insure sustainability for future generations.

The corporate machine in partner-ship with much of the mass media has done a masterful job diluting the most important issues of our times. Over the past forty years our environment has become increasingly ill despite the numerous protections, including the creation of the Environmental Pro-tection Agency in 1970. Our air, water and land are continually compromised by federal and state government and the legal mandate of free commerce allowing the unobstructed extraction of fossil based resources. Of course this approach allows for massive prof-its by utility and extractive industry monopolies, but the trade-off for this exploitation of our environment and its inhabitants, was never considered for the long haul, only shortsighted gain.

It has been the business as usual mandate that resource extraction overrides the need to protect the Earth and its ecosystems. A random exam-ple is the current coal min-ing going on in Washington State. This “resource” is being extracted with irreparable damage to the environment, and subsequently shipped to China for their coal burning power plants, adding greatly to the emissions and toxic fallout on the populace. What does Washington State gain? Environmental devastation

in exchange for the profit gained by a private corporation that has master-minded this operation. Our govern-mental and judicial systems long ago adopted policies that provide these types of companies to make profits at the expense of the land and its peoples. Unless we continue to align in pur-pose to tip the scales toward fairness, quality of life and real protections for the Earth and its inhabitants, future generations will face a world dangling in the balance.

It is obvious that this imbalance, now so measurable throughout nature, be-gan within the minds of men. And, no doubt, greedy bastards disconnected from the greater good and hell-bent on profits at untold costs. Yet, we have seen throughout history that when the peo-ple find their voice and work together in solidarity toward the accomplishment of worthy goals, for what is right and good, the energy begins to move favorably in that direction. Even though tyranny ap-pears to be riding high, well funded, for-tified with armies, tanks and whatever, the expanding will of the people will ultimately win out. We have now begun in earnest toward an evolution of con-sciousness. Though in a stage of early in-fancy, this time of expanded perception will continue to grow and more of the populace will move toward a greater un-derstanding of unity consciousness. This awareness allows for a new understand-ing, we are all an integral focal point of creation, everything affects everything

else, and we’re all on this ride together. Humankind can learn much from the “primitives” who understood that basic stewardship of our home planet is essen-tial to our wellbeing, and, you know…bears don’t dump their steamy waste in their own caves.

So why has this intrinsic lesson be-come so far removed from reality? Here’s my answer based on a forty-five year journey in environmental issues and personal development. We have systematically been alienated from our connection with each other and our environment. Over recent decades the citizenry was purposefully reclas-sified as consumers. We have been driven from our inherent sense of community and imprinted that com-petition is the ultimate motivator, sort of the flip side of working in harmony and cooperation with others. We are now disenfranchised by government

that upholds the rights of the ruling few, while allowing the rest to feel downtrodden and powerless. We’ve been programmed to be motivated by fear, continuously reminded of our enemies, either real or imagined, and as a result we’ve allowed the exploi-tive policies toward the third world, and nature overall, to be the driving motivation of our culture.

But as we walk amongst the popu-lace focusing on what Earth citizens share in common, rather than be-ing immersed in our differences, we begin to observe how nature inher-ently provides an abundance of life’s goodness and the fulfillment of our needs. This awareness brings a pres-ence, a deep appreciation that allows for an easy flow of intention for what is right and good. We can more fully view the potential of tolerance, coop-

plANeTAry heAliNg BegiNS wiTh eAch oNe oF uS

Blue Marble 2012 NASA

Cre

dit:

NA

SA/N

oA

A/G

SFC

/Suo

mi N

PP/V

IIRS/

Nor

man

Kur

ing


Elektrik. Eccentric. Eclectic.An eclectic mix of informative and entertaining programs await you on KUNM –

your passport to the worlds of news, music, community and culture. Publicly supported. Publicly responsive. KUNM is an essential part of New Mexico’s day.

KUNM 89.9FM | STREAMING LIVE 24/7 AT KUNM.ORG


epA reporT liSTS Nm’S mAjor polluTerSnew Mexico appears to be just like the rest of the nation when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever list of high-polluting industries nationwide shows that 77 percent of pollution comes from power plants. in nM, the 16 power plants put out a total of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, methane and ni-trous oxide in 2010. The highest producer of greenhouse gas emissions was the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant, which released 13 million metric tons. That plant is operated by arizona Public service Co. on navajo na-tion land. The company has announced plans to close three of the plant’s five units. The second highest emitter listed is the san Juan generating station, which provides much of the power for PnM customers.

The state’s 44 natural gas processing facilities were the next highest green-house-gas emitting facilities, along with three oil refineries. Methane is the most emitted gas at the state’s landfills. Santa Fe’s landfill has a gas collection system that can collect up to 917 metric tons.

The report comes out as PNM is fighting an environmental Protection Agen-cy order to clean up its operations. The ePA is seeking a significant reduction in nitrous-oxide emissions to reduce haze and air pollution in the area. PnM says that the type of technology the federal agency is requiring is too expen-sive. on another front, PnM is challenging two state rules that would reduce or cap carbon dioxide emissions. PnM is also asking state regulators to grant permission to charge customers an annual fee for the cost of providing elec-tricity from renewable sources. That matter is before the Public regulation Commission. New Mexico’s renewable energy Standard requires that 10 percent of energy provided to customers come from renewable sources. The standard will increase to 15 percent by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020.

Climate change is at the forefront of our global political dialogues. It is dif-ficult to confront the overwhelming amount of data and the abstract nature

of climate change. The effects are observable on the large scale, but human sen-sory perception is too limited to observe the sheer magnitude of the problem. Air quality offers one tangible indicator.

The Environmental Protection Agency, with Lisa Jackson at its helm, has taken on a new angle in its battle against air pollution: haze. Now air quality is a matter of national aesthetics. What politician can argue that the pristine sight of the Grand Canyon and the structural integrity of Mt. Rushmore are not worth fighting for? Haze and acid rain directly result from nitrogen and sulfur oxide emitted by coal power plants. We see smog EVERYWHERE. We are all familiar with man’s re-cent addition to the American landscape: the thin hazy line of air pollutants.

The EPA’s recent mandates have met with overwhelming compliance from coal power plants across the country. In New Mexico, however, Public Service Com-pany of NM’s (PNM) San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) refuses to comply with proposed emission limitations. Our actions over the next several weeks and months could turn a new page for NM’s coal dependence. Millions of dollars are on the line, but the real cost of this decision is not in the short-term figures indus-try and state officials toss around. Will PNM spend the money to get a few more years out of the aged SJGS, or will they invest in renewables? PNM only mentions a fraction of SJGS’s costs. Billions more will be spent by NM’s citizens as our state faces increased drought, lung disease and water quality degradation due to increas-ing carbon dioxide levels. Coal-burning power plants are the largest emitters of C02 in America.

The EPA has proposed a method for reducing the nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels: The Best Available Retrofit Technology Act requires that PNM comply with the regulations by utilizing the most reasonable, cost-effective technological solution available. PNM is balking and wants to maintain the status quo, while claiming

they care about “poor New Mexi-cans.” Gov. Mar-tinez’s adminis-tration is backing PNM’s claims without any real analysis.

For now, the issue is tied up in court. This is the first and only plant-specific regulation. No other coal generator has fought against the EPA’s requests. Every day PNM spends avoiding the inevitable means higher NOx emissions, more air pollution, and more money in the pockets of PNM’s executives. New Energy Economy, National Parks Conservation Association, Diné CARE (working on behalf of the Navajo Tribe), the San Juan Citizen’s Alliance, and the Sierra Club have intervened, petitioning on behalf of the people of New Mexico.

The Clean Air Act harkens to the cruel reality: our air is not our own. We must take responsibility here, as it has effects far and wide. PNM’s arguments are con-strained to NM, but state and national boundaries are arbitrary when environ-mental degradation is concerned.

PNM says that the cost of any undue regulations will be passed down to consum-ers. Save money on your next energy bill, they argue. Save and create jobs, they cajole. We are not saving money; we are spending it as our state’s citizens and national parks’ tourists fall victim to lung disease. PNM’s actions are not creating jobs in coal, but in healthcare. We pay for PNM’s executive salaries with our lives. Join us in lobbying against dirty coal. Visit our web site and become involved.

Ingrid Lane, a student at St. John’s College, is an intern with the nonprofit New Energy Economy. www.NewEnergyEconomy.org

oP-ed: ingRid lane tHere is no invisiBle Barrier tHat seParates air

San Juan Generating Station near Farmington, NM.


local econoMies

We’re well into 2012 now, and I hope I’m not the first to say that

everyone, everywhere seems to be going through major transformations. In De-cember, 2011, I made a huge leap and decided that, based on my own interests, knowledge and skills, I would jump into the world of freelance, independent con-sulting on local economy issues. Since 2006, the economy was my head-on, my rock-up-a-hill, my cross, my work, my duty. Little did any of us know that the bottom would drop in 2008, and pushing the rock up the hill would only become more difficult. But what I am feeling and seeing today, as we settle into 2012, is the need to push the new local econo-my movement even further, in every city across America.

What is the new movement? Look around you. It’s Occupy Wall Street, it’s Move Your Money, it’s Buy Local, it’s Eat Local, it’s green jobs and climate change, it’s triple-bottom-line business, it’s waste streams into money streams, it’s sharing your best practices with your biggest com-petitor, it’s social media, it’s social capital. It’s a new and emerging economy. It’s a new way of doing business. I love the idea that a new economy is emerging all over this country. I want to continue to help those who are envisioning a future for their own communities that can be better.

The Santa Fe Alliance has had such great impact that I can now watch TV and see a commercial from a locally owned appliance store using Buy Lo-cal as their message for the holidays. We linked farmers and chefs to each other. We made Local a household idea again. We’ve explained the multiplier effect so that a fifth-grader can understand it. Literally. I have taught fifth-grade classes about local economies. Congress-man Ben Ray Luján put out a public an-nouncement in support of Buy Local as a way to keep New Mexico’s econo-my strong for years to come. Santa Fe County commissioners adopted a reso-lution to Buy Local. I don’t believe we’ve reached everyone. And that’s ok.

My goal is to help other communities now, to heal and transform their own economies and job losses by thinking Lo-cal First. Across America we are seeing more businesses take matters into their own hands to pay living wages, provide good benefits and give back to their com-munities. They care about climate change and green space in their towns. They want more jobs, better jobs, more meaningful jobs in their own back yards. And I want to help them achieve that transforma-tion through community activism train-ing, policy changes, business networking events and campaigns for Local First.

Transformation is a big concept, and while I feel like the results of our work on local economies are not easily measured, I do believe that the impacts are long lasting. It seems to be me that more businesses are taking on local, even advertising it more, than ever before. This is it. The time is now. The economy will not return to the old days of yore. It’s a new economy. A transformed one and we are all a part of it.

It takes a community to heal its own economy. What I hope for is a commu-nity to learn the impacts of supporting itself. Buy eggs from your neighbor, cre-ate a product for a local store to sell, be a responsible business owner and pay a liv-ing wage, give your employees the ben-efits they deserve so they can be happy participants in our community. Be good to each other, think local first, buy local first, eat local first, hire local first, think of our community first. That is how an economy is transformed, one person, one employee, one business owner at a time. Now that’s a multiplier effect!

ThE LocaL VoicE: CoMMunitY, Heal tHYselFvicki PozzeBon

eration, peace, love and harmony as fundamental in our capacity to heal ourselves and our communities. By honoring Mother Earth, we honor ourselves and all of life, and we find contentment in knowing that as we heal so does our environment.

Unicopia is spearheading a petition for a Renewable Municipal Energy Grid for Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. Though it is well known that Santa Fe has some of the least polluted, if not pristine, air anywhere, this comes at a large price. Most of Santa Fe’s electricity is sourced from coal burning power plants on Na-vajo land near the Four Corners. The toxic fallout of mercury, arsenic, lead, formaldehyde and more has caused major health issues to the populace. We have over 300 days of sunshine a

I am honored to have helped move it forward for Santa Fe, and to be a part of this community that embraces it so adoringly. I have described Santa Fe to many national colleagues as “fiercely lo-cal.” Be fierce in your localism, Santa Fe. Be fierce about community.

Vicki Pozzebon practices blatant localism as an independent consultant. She is the former Executive Director of the Santa Fe Alliance. Follow Vicki on Twitter: @vickipozzebon

year! Together we can move away from this antiquated energy source. Let’s build the necessary groundswell for a renewable, publicly owned utility for Santa Fe and SF County, and create a viable model for our clean, renewable, energy future. Go to www.unicopia.org and click Petitions. And while you’re there, support our mission and become a member. Also sign NM State Sena-tor Peter Wirth’s SB9 petition, closing the corporate tax loopholes and lev-eling the playing field for local New Mexico businesses.

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

PlanetaRy Healing continued from page 31

the Local Guide is available at locally owned businesses.


JAIN STUDY CIRCULARTHE JAIN STUDY CIRCULAR

HAS BEEN POSTED AT WWW.JAINSTUDY.ORG.

Please go our website and study the articles

presented in the new issue.We welcome your comments

and suggestions.


• Financial Security • Adaptability•Dependents and relationships• Perception of age

I will also discuss the importance of creating your own personal retirement plan prior to your retirement. Such a plan will provide you with your own roadmap to retirement. This will help you experience a purposeful retire-ment and avoid the boredom and even depression that all too many retirees face.

Bruce Pos te r i s a Certif ied Retirement Coach who has lived in Santa Fe for 34 years and previously owned South w es t Planning & Marketing. He can be reached at 505.690.8921 or [email protected]; or you can visit his website: www.RetireYourWay.biz

© A

lan

Hof

fman

transitions

This is the first in a series of articles on “The New Retirement” and

how to prepare yourself for this major life transition. While many retirement advisors focus solely on financial plan-ning, I will address 15 factors (includ-ing finances) important to a successful retirement. Having recently “retired” from my former life work as a research and planning consultant and business coach, I am eager to help others create their own retirement plans and find personal meaning in retirement.

According to Dr. Richard P. Johnson, a nationally recognized sociologist who has specialized in the field of retire-ment, “The New Retirement is not an ending; it’s a new beginning, the start of a new life journey of vastly expanded proportion.” Your retirement will prob-ably not resemble that of your parents. The whole notion of retirement has been radically changed. We used to think of retirement as the beginning of the end. Today we need to think of retirement as a new beginning.

The Old Retirement was viewed as more of a prolonged vacation that gave only shallow satisfaction, filled with endless television, golf and bridge. Society viewed retirees as no longer adding value to the world.

People are now retiring earlier than ever, with an average first retirement age of 57. Second and even third careers are not uncommon. Labor participation of persons over age 60 has been rising since the mid 1990s. This trend is likely to continue due to the loss of assets that

reTire your wAy

THe NeW reTIreMeNTBRuce PosteR

many persons experienced during the recent finan-cial melt-down, which is causing some people to return to the workforce after initially “retiring.”

If you are cur-rently 60 and married, one

of the two of you has a 41% chance of living to age 90. The New Retiree may be “retired” longer than he or she actu-ally worked. Moreover, the New Retiree seeks life enrichment, self-ownership, physical wellness, self-esteem and posi-tive involvement. He or she can be said to have found a new life purpose.

A complete cessation of work will not be the desired goal of the New Re-tirement. Rather there will be a new phase, or even new stage of life emerg-ing, a stage of life that Dr. Johnson calls the Renewal stage. The Renewal stage begins at the point where early retirement formerly began... prob-ably around 50-55 years of age. At this point the majority of workers will shift from their full-time active career to enter a new life endeavor that bet-ter aligns with their internal self, i.e. their interior or spiritual inclinations. This Renewal stage will provide an opportunity to finally get around to doing those things that one put off while working and raising a family, which could be anything from learn-ing to play an instrument to traveling to taking up photography or painting.

This new life endeavor will take as many different forms as there are retir-ees. While some will seek paid employ-ment, many others will create life en-deavors of a different sort entirely. This renewal phase has many facets: leisure activities, pursuing life goals, commu-nity service, interior spiritual growth, and a forum for finding personal meaning. What’s important is that the individual finds personal renewal and

that this stage ushers in something en-tirely new, something exciting, some-thing fulfilling, something invigorating and animating for the “retiree.” This is The New Retirement.

To achieve fulfillment in retirement, each of us must consider many factors and look deeply into him- or herself. This self-inventory is critical to identify-ing a mission for one’s remaining years and creating a New Retirement lifestyle.

In future columns I will address 15 life arenas and factors that contribute to retirement success. The 15 life arenas and factors include:

• Work reorientation and replacement of work functions

• Attitude and life satisfaction• Self-directedness• Health• Life meaning• Leisure interests


FeB. 9, 7 pmSpliT eSTATe ScreeNiNgCenter for Contemporary arts1050 old Pecos tr.emmy-winning film looks at what happens when oil companies own minerals under-neath homes and private surface property. discussion moderated by director/producer debra Anderson. Bioneers’“Walk in Beau-ty,” a short film about Navajo renewable en-ergy potential will be screened first. Present-ed by new energy economy 505.989.7262

FeB. 9, 7 pmmouNTAiNFilm oN Tourlensic Performing arts CenterA mix of films from mountain sports to amazing wild places. Be inspired, informed and challenged. Hosted by Wildearth guardians. $15. 505.988.9126, ext. 0

FeB. 11, 6 pmThriVe: whAT oN eArTh will iT TAke?Performance space, la tienda 7 Caliente road, eldoradoCreative discussion after screening of ac-claimed film. Free.

FeB. 11, 8 pmSoNgS oF peAce & juSTiceuuCsF, corner of galisteo & BarcelonaCharlie King and Karen Brandowo have re-ceived kudos from Pete seeger and tom Pax-ton. suggested donation: $10.

FeB. 13, 6 pmAcTiNg TogeTher oN The world STAgetipton Hall,sF university of art & designA documentary film and panel discussion. Courageous and creative artists and peace-builders working in conflict zones. Pre-sented by Theatre Without Borders and the SF Art Institute. $10/$5. http://sfaiblog.org/2012/01/20/acting-together/

FeB. 16, 6-8 pmreiki heAliNg circlestudio 11, 705 e. alamedaled by Wendy Jordan. open to anyone with reiki training. $8 donation. rsvP: 505.466.3040, www.JoyousJournies.com

FeB. 18, 10 Am-4 pmgArdeNiNg 101Center for spiritual living 505 Cam. de los MárquezThe basics of gardening in santa Fe. sF Mas-ter gardener course for beginning and new to sF gardeners. $40. details, registration: 505.471.4711, www.sfmga.org

FeB. 18, 2 pmForkS oVer kNiVeS ScreeNiNgsouthside library Community rm., 6500 Jaguar drivedocumentary examines possibility of con-trolling and even reversing degenerative dis-eases and weight loss by making plant-based food choices. discussion and snacks follow. Meetup.com/Santa-Fe-Veg

FeB. 23, 6:30-9 pmiNViTiNg New iNSighTacademy for the love of learning 133 seton village rd., seton village

pert panelists to discuss water and related is-sues in the southwest, new Mexico and al-buquerque. Free admission. (see story, page 15) [email protected], detailed sched-ule: www.cabq.gov/sbcc

FeB. 15-16AmericAN rAiNwATer cATch-meNT SySTemS ASSN. AccrediT-ed proFeSSioNAl workShopnM state university aBQ Centeropen to the public and industry profession-als. accredited level 200 level class. $625. scholarships available (www.greenjobs.state.nm.us/sespeligb.html) 505.577.8899, registration: www.arcsa.org

FeB. 11-12 or 18-19piNe Needle BASkeT weAViNgindian Pueblo Cultural Center2401 12th St. NWWith Mary lou olivas (Ysleta del Sur) $60. www.indianpueblos.org, 1.888.855.7902

FeB. 16, mArch 1, 12:30 pmyogA & urBAN gArdeNiNgrainbow Warriors, a 4-year educational pro-gram offering a holistic approach. sessions include traditional farming and gardening, aquaponics, natural building, nutrition and more. Collaborations with students to devel-op gardens and curriculums at educational facilities. 505.382.5275

FeB. 17-18, 7:30 Am-5 pmNm orgANic FArmiNg coNFereNceMarriott Pyramid north 5151 san Francisco rd. neThe Southwest’s premiere conference on organic/sustainable agriculture. over 30 sessions taught by organic producers and experts on crops, livestock, weed & pest management, market gardening, farm sup-port. registration for one day: $60; two days: $100. Presented by Farm to table, nM dept. of agriculture, nMsu Cooperative ext. service. info: 505.473.1004, ext. 10 or 505.889.9921. www.farmtotablenm.org

FeB. 18-19AlBuquerque home expostate Fairgrounds on Central ave. (see ad on page 2)

FeB. 23-2417Th wATer coNSerVATioN coNFereNceCrown Plaza Hotel1901 university Blvd. ne. “Collaboration for new solutions” integrat-ed architecture, Community organization, new technologies, adaptive agriculture, urban Forest, landscape ecology, sustain-able Sites. Speakers include William de-Buys, david gutzler, Ph.d., Karlis viceps, nate downey, Miguel santistévan, stephen W. Kress, Kathleen Wolf, Ph.d. and many others. registration: $200, $100 students. http://www.xeriscapenm.com

FeB. 25, 9 Am-5 pm; FeB. 26, 10 Am-4 pmxeriScApe expoManuel luján Building, expo nM over 200 exhibitors and 18 speakers. sessions on drip irrigation, appropriate plant selection, xeriscape principles, soil and more. speakers include Judith Philips, nate downey, george

radnovich, ryan daniell, richard Perce, Cheryl Kent, Mark Brotten and many more. raffle drawings. Free and open to the pub-lic. Parking: $5. sponsored by the xeriscape Council of nM. www.xeriscapenm.com

mArch 9-10, 8 pmdANciNg eArThdisney Center for the Performing arts, NHCC, 1701 4th St. SW“Nights of Stars-Moon-Water” - Award-winning international indigenous contem-porary ensemble. 12 dancers, musicians, plus songstress sina soul, performers from sF Indian School Spoken Word Team and spe-cial guests. tickets: $15-$25 at nHCC box office or through www.nhcccnm.org

dAilydegreeS oF chANge: Nm’S climATe ForecASTnM Museum of natural History & science 1801 Mountain rd. NWWith a focus on NM and the SW, this exhibit re-veals current and predicted impacts on humans, landscapes and ecosystems. tickets: $7, $6, $4. info: www.nmnaturalhistory.org, 505.841.2800

STudeNT iNTerNS For Ag projecTThe nonprofit Center for Natural and Tra-ditional Knowledge is looking for student interns interested in a hands-on urban ag-riculture project. [email protected], 505.382.5275

SANTA FEThrough mArch 27BuSiNeSS ASSiSTANce clASSeS For ArTiSTSsF Community gallery, sF Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcya series of evening classes and one-on-one consultations by appointment for artists, artisans and craftsmen interested in work-ing with the Creative tourism program. of-fered by the city of sF arts Commission and sF Creative tourism. 608.792.5746, rsvP: [email protected]

FeB. 4, 9 Am-4:30 pmAmericAN rAiNwATer cATch-meNT SySTemS ASSN. workShopgenoveva Chavez Community Centeraccredited level 100 class. $35 includes lunch. vendor open house 1-5 pm. 505.577.8899, [email protected], to register: www.arcsa.org

FeB. 4, 3 pmA 20-yeAr perSpecTiVe oN moNogoliAtipton Hall, sF university of art & design, 1600 St. Michael’s dr.speakers: dr. Candace Kaye and Captain Barry n. Kaye. Presented by the sF Council on Intl. relations. $15 members/$20 non-members. 505.982.4931, [email protected]

FeB. 9, 6-8 pmSANTA Fe girlS’ School opeN houSe310 W. Zia rd.6th, 7th and 8th grade girls can discover the ben-efits of a single-gender educational experi-ence. 575.613.0536, santaFegirlsschool.org

What's Going On! Events / Announcements

ALBUQUERQUEFeB. 1, 5:30-7:30 pmgreeN driNkSHotel andaluznM green Chamber of Commerce hosts its monthly networking event. [email protected], www.nmgreenchamber.com

FeB. 2, 7 pmproTecTiNg Nm: eleVATiNg commuNiTy righTS ABoVe corporATe righTSunM student union Bldg.a presentation by Thomas linzey, senior counsel for the Community environmental legal defense Fund. info: 575.666.2529, [email protected] or visit drillingmoracounty.blogspot.com

FeB. 3, 17, 7:30-11 AmurBAN ShAmAN: gATheriNg The heAlerS oF AlBuquerquea group for shamanic practitioners and heal-ers of all varieties. Patricio domínguez offers ceremony and teachings to support higher con-sciousness for healing. www.theCntK.org

FeB. 4, 9 Am-4 pmiNTro To SuSTAiNABle greeN BuSiNeSS prAcTiceSCNM Workforce Training Center 5600 eagle rock ave. neWhat does it mean to be sustainable in to-day’s competitive, resource limited environ-ment? discover green business winners and the operational, marketing, human resource and lean operational strategies that are working. explore green values that are turn-ing gold. [email protected], 505.224.5200

FeB. 5, 2-3:30 pmpoeTry reAdiNg ANd ArT exhiBiTioNdomenici education Center, natl. His-panic Cultural Center, 1701 4th St. SWPerformances by nM foster care youth and nM CYFd youth poets and mentors. art-ist-to-artist Program with littleglobe, inc. info: [email protected]

FeB. 6-11holiSTic mANAgemeNT iN prAcTice TrAiNiNgWith instructor Kirk Gadzia of resource Management services. First 3 days are an in-troductory training. The following 3 days are an advanced session. Participants will work through case studies detailing financial, graz-ing and land planning. learn to make better decisions on behalf of your financial, land and people resources. http://www.rmsgadzia.com/Services/2012 HMCInformation.html

FeB. 10, 5-10 pm; - FeB. 11, 9-5 pmAll ABouT wATer FilmS & coNVerSATioNsouth Broadway Cultural Center 1025 Broadway Blvd. SWScreening of award-winning films with ex-


Free evening of exploration: an interactive dialogue on learning and transformation. rsvP: 505.995.1860, [email protected], www.aloveoflearning.org

FeB. 23-26womeN TrAumA VicTimS reTreATdream Catcher retreat Center 68 Calle enrique4-day, 3-night workshop retreat. 505.474.4007 or www.dreamcatcherretreatcentersantafe.com

FeB. 27 ScholArShip deAdliNeSuSTAiNABle SkillS iNTerNShipampersand sustainable learning CenterCerrillos, nMFrom May 18-July 12 classes include: Pas-sive solar design and solar Cooking, native Plant Walk, High desert Gardening, rain Harvesting and greywater systems, land stewardship and erosion Control. intern-ship cost: $475/mo. Internship work projects include: sustainable Food systems, natural Building, organic gardening. details: www.ampersandproject.org

FeB. 29, 7 pmcArBoN NATioN Film ScreeNiNgSF Farmers’ Market Pavillionan inspiring look at many recent advances in clean energy and green technologies. $12, $10 for sFFM institute members and students. 505.983.7726, www.farmersmarketinstitute.org

mArch 1-4FAmily coNNecTioNS – ANimAlS ANd ArT workShopdream Catcher retreat Center68 Calle enriqueFor fathers and daughters ages 7-10 with art-ist/presenter eric Zerkel and his daughter Kira. First in a series. 505.474.4007, www.dreamcatcherretreatcentersantafe.com

mArch 2 eNTry deAdliNelANdScApe deSigN compeTiTioNopen to all builders, architects, landscape architects, nurseries, installers or teams. Winning entry will install their design at the entrance to the 22nd annual remodel-ers expo at the shellaberger tennis Center, april 28-29 and be prominently featured in Haciendas Home remodel magazine. rsvP to 505.982.1774, [email protected]

mArch 5 ApplicATioN deAdliNelocAl SuSTAiNABiliTy mATchiNg FuNdiNgeligible entities: Partnership between sus-tainability directors and local, place-based foundations. in partnership with the urban sustainability directors network (usdn), the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and livable Communities (tFn) has announced the local sustainability Matching Fund. tFn is a membership organization that helps grant makers across north america advance strate-gies to create fair, prosperous, and sustainable regions and communities. Info: http://www.fundersnetwork.org/files/misc/local_Sus-tainability_Matching_Fund_rFP_111213.pdf

BiodyNAmic compoSTMade from manure from alfalfa-fed cows, available for pick-up or delivery. 505.982-6879. For info, see Susan Waterman’s My own garden article in March 2011 gFt.

SATurdAyS, 4 pmuNicopiA greeN rAdioKtrC - 1260 ama weekly show with Faren dancer. our culture is requiring a major shift in how we relate to the earth. our fossil fuel-based economy is poised

for transition to a renewable future. each show explores the issues, politics, science, and the evolu-tion of consciousness impacting the balancing of life on our planet.

SuSTAiNABle growTh mAN-AgemeNT plAN For SF couNTyHard copies $20, Cds $2. Contact Melis-sa Holmes, [email protected] 505.995.2717 or the sgMP is also available on the county website: www.santafecounty.org/growth_management/sgmp and can be reviewed at sF Public libraries and the County administrative Building, 102 grant ave.

ecoVillAge projecT45 minutes from santa FeCreate a thriving Center where people come to learn about a new kind of future. 30-40 core members needed to begin in spring. ro-tating teams will camp out and implement a collaborative vision for long-term sustain-ability, mostly based on traditional hand-tended agriculture and permaculture tech-niques. [email protected], 505.382.5275

HERE & THEREThrough mArch 13“meNu For The FuTure” los alamos Co-op, 95 entrada dr. los alamos, nMseven session discussion course explores connections between food and sustainability. dinner & discussion series hosted by los alamos Cooperative Market. The food we eat, its history and by-products of our food systems. $25 for members, $30 non-mem-bers. 505.695.1579, www.facebook.com/losalamosCoop and www.losalamos.coop

FeB. 1-42012 ecoFArm coNFereNceasilomar Conference Center Pacific Grove, CAecoFarm’s flagship event brings food sys-tem stakeholders together for education, networking and celebration. www.eco-farm.org/programs/efc

FeB. 3, 11 AmdedicATioN/riBBoN cuTTiNg56C County rd. 65, dixon, nMCeremony celebrating successful construc-tion of solar Pv system by los ebanistas Construction inc. and sol luna solar, with usda rural dev. state dir. terry Brunner. 505.579.4512, [email protected]

FeB. 5, 2-4 pmArT opeNiNg For eVoluTioNAry moTherhoodZuly’s expresso Bar/restaurant,234 state rd. 75, dixon, nMrebekah Tarin’s show and sale of new and selected artwork. The transformative nature of engaged parenthood. 575.613.0536, www.brushfireartemasfina.com

FeB. 6-9 2012 wiNd power FiNANce ANd iNVeSTmeNT SummiTrancho Bernardo inn, san diego, CaWind industry deal-making and networking event brings together leading project developers, lenders, investors and others to discuss the latest developments. Provides a valuable forum about upcoming projects and opportunities. www. infocastinc.com/index.php/conference/527

FeB. 7, 10 AmSTATe eNgiNeer moTioN To diSmiSS heAriNgsocorro district Courthouse

200 Church st., 2nd Fl., socorroImportant Catron County / San Augustín Plains water transfer case. [email protected]

FeB. 8-9SouTherN plAiNS coNFereNce Muleshoe National Wildlife refuge Muleshoe, txdwelling in the Natural World. 23rd an-nual conference presented by ogallala Com-mons. landscapes, plants, animals and soils of the southern Plains. tours, workshops, presentations, discussions, music, locally produced food. 806.945.2255

FeB. 9-11iNTegrATiVe heAlThcAre SympoSiumHilton Hotel, nY, nYJoin 1,200 practitioners in the integrative healthcare community to hear from nation-ally recognized practitioners and experts in the fields of women’s health, environmen-tal health, ayurveda & traditional Chinese medicine, functional medicine, homeopathy and more. www.ihsymposium.com

FeB. 10 SpAce reSerVATioN deAdliNeTAoS ThiNkS locAl FirST guideBusiness directory marketing green business and educating consumers will be posted online and published in the taos news on March 8. 575.770.2991, nmgreenchamber.com/taos

FeB. 12, 1-4 pmcAmiNo de pAz School & FArm opeN houSe santa Cruz (near española)Meet the faculty, students and parents. info: www.caminodepaz.net or 505.747.9717

FeB. 14-16reNewABle eNergy world coNFereNce & expoConvention Center, long Beach, Ca“North America’s leading all renewable event” also there: solar Power genera-tion Conference. www.renewableenergy worldevents.com/index.html

FeB. 15 ApplicATioN deAdliNePaddle nation Project grantsindividuals between the ages of 18-28 or nonprofit organizations may apply for a pro-gram that aims to connect young americans with their waterways through recreational paddling. outdoor nation is an initiative of the outdoor Foundation. The project will award 10 grants of up to $2,500 each. Winners to be announced on March 9. Info: outdoornation.org/grants, www. outdoorfoundation.org

FeB. 19-20, 9 Am-1 pmiNTro To pueBlo weAViNgespañola valley Fiber arts Center, españolaWorkshop explores a brief history of the Pueblo textile tradition with expert Pueblo fi-ber artist louie García (Tiwa/Piro/Ysleta del sur). examine Pueblo weaving styles and de-signs. learn warp-faced weaving technique. $170/$210 plus materials. For more info and other related workshops: 505.747.3577, [email protected], www.evfac.org

mArch 1 deAdliNecAll For homeS For 2012 greeNBuilT TourusgBC-nM is now accepting applications from builders and homeowners for the June 9-10 “Healthy living, Healthy Families” tour. educate the public and future customers.

awards given for new or remodeled homes that have sustainable features or demonstrate green building. applications at www.usgbcnm.org or 505.227.0474, [email protected]

mArch 3, 4-10 Am-4 pmrAg rug FeSTiVAl & giFT ShowFarm & ranch Heritage Museumlas CrucesHandmade textiles, recycled, knitted and woven fashions, traditional woven basketry. Presented by the NM Women’s Foundation. 505.983.6155, [email protected]

mArch 7-9greeN eNergy SummiT ANd expoFrontier airlines Center, MilwaukeeThe New economic Wave. 9th annual event. attendees comprise a broad spectrum of business, energy, water and sustainability stakeholders. Post-summit workshops and tours. www.greenenergysummit.us

mArch 22-24drylANdS deSigN coNFereNceBurbank, Cainnovations in planning, landscape, engi-neering and architecture. Presented by arid lands Institute, Woodbury university. dry-landsconference.com

iNcuBATiNg New mexico rurAl Food producerSFree one-year project aimed at helping small food producers looking to expand. usda and south valley economic development Center have partnered to help small food producers in nM gain access to larger markets, received business training and assistance. Benefits of the program include: access to svedC part-ners in areas such as marketing, distribution, micro-lending and business assistance; access to SVedC retail buyers such as Whole Foods, John Brooks and more. For info, contact [email protected], 505.301.3689. www.svedc.org

WHat’s going on!

february 2012 edition

Documents