A dear friend of mine lived on Sanibel Island, just off Ft. Myers, Florida, until recently. Hurricane Ian devastated the island. She lost her gallery business, her home and her community. She is now a climate refugee. Globally, billions may be climate refugees in the near future. The southwest has…
The new climate bill’s rebates and incentives will pay you to decarbonize your home. We all want to do what we can to reduce global warming and leave our children and grandchildren a livable planet. Most of our homes use fossil fuels. I have a gas stove and a gas…
I moved to Santa Fe in the late 1980s. Very few homes had air conditioning. Summer temperatures seldom got above the low 80s. The nights here at 7,000 feet were cool. Monsoons were regular and plentiful. Well-insulated homes and adobes were known to stay cool in the summer. Most of…
I went to the Solar Fiesta held in Albuquerque at the UNM campus June 24. I got to check out a fleet of different electric cars, talk to solar installers, and see new solar applications and designs. I met some great vendors and advocates and learned a lot. I specifically…
On Feb. 28 history was made: 175 nations agreed to begin writing a global treaty that will restrict the growth of plastic pollution. Writing for The New York Times, Hiroko Tabuchi said, “The agreement commits nations to work on a broad and legally binding treaty that would not only aim…
One of the hats I wear is State Parks Advisory Board (PAB) member and the chair of PAB’s climate change committee. Last year we sent a survey to all state park managers to get information on how climate change was affecting each of our 35 state parks from the perspective…
Sometimes it is hard to comprehend the path forward. The new U.N. International Panel on Climate Change report released in early April is dire. We are not going to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius target. That will mean, in the best case, there will be more heat waves, more horrendous…
I guess I am not your average tourist. Most people would not be excited about visiting a landfill, even a state-of-the-art facility like Santa Barbara County’s Tajiguas Landfill and Resource Center in mid-coast California. Here is what makes this facility interesting: All recyclables are hand-sorted. All trash goes through a…
You may not realize it, but agriculture is a major contributor to climate change. Reducing agricultural emissions will be no small task. It means we have to focus on improving soil health so it will retain more CO2, cut back on commercial fertilizers and pesticides, reduce consumption and food waste,…
What is the Green Amendment and what would it do? Democrats in the New Mexico House and Senate have introduced an amendment to our state’s Constitution that would give New Mexicans a new human right, the right to a healthy environment, in House Joint Resolution 2 and Senate Joint Resolution…
