Tired Road Warrior

Time recently listed Will Allen as one their 100 Most Influential (10 May 2010).  His kudos were written by Van Jones (founder of Green for All and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress):

“At one time, the term urban farm sounded like an oxymormon.  No longer.  A new movement is sprouting up in America’s low-income neighborhoods.  Some urban residents, sick of fast food and the scarcity of grocery stores, have decided to grow good food for themselves.

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The following, written by Bryan Walsh, appeared in Time Magazine (1 Mar 2010):

“What do dieting and energy policy have in common?  The SnackWell effect.  The comes from those tasty little cookies that are advertised as being lower in fat and sugar.  And they are–which often leads dieters to eat more of them than regular cookies and then wonder why they’re not losing weight.

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LDS Church officials have recently been showing off their new “green” stake center in Farmington UT.  According to Dean Davies, managing director of physical facilities for the church, the meetinghouse will be about 30 percent more energy efficient that others the standard Mormon meetinghouse.  It has 156 solar panels on the building south-facing roof.  The building is well insulated, uses highly efficient windows, carpet made from recycled materials, tankless water heaters, and European-style toilets that offer a choice of flush options.  The heating and air-conditioning system is fully automated for optimum efficiency.  Sensors will turn off lights when people are not in the rooms.  Recycling bins for paper, glass, and plastics will be a first for an LDS chapel.  Outside, about 70 percent of the landscaping is in rock or bark, and the irrigation system has sensors to assist with water conservation.  “We want to be responsible members of the community . . . and I mean the community of man.”

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Traveling around southern Utah and northern Arizona, particularly in isolated areas, I’ve observed a wide variety of hogans (or hooghans), the primary traditional structure of the Navajo people.  When enjoying the Colorado Plateau, the older hogans seem very much a part of the natural landscape. 

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After flying from Utah to New Mexico, we headed north out of Albuquerque and then turned left at Taos.  After crossing the volcanic Rio Grande Canyon, we arrived at Earthship, a troglodyte community located in the New Mexico desert.  While waiting for our host, we walked around the visitors center . . . and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into?

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