Ask not what did you do, but what are you still doing about it now. The Earth Day Network reports that 1 billion people marked the eco-holiday on April 22. But with consciousness-raising taking place on such a massive scale, it’s easy to overlook the everyday people who fight to keep our corner of the planet clean and healthy. For them, eco-activism is not a once-yearly event.
The Good Fight is a Weekly Alibi feature (looks like a series) reporting on the on-going efforts of daily eco warriors, although I'd add local and individual efforts modeling good practices.
Enter the citizen eco warriors. These are people who in their free time—after work, after the kids are asleep—pore over reams of documents, learn about bureaucratic processes and permits, and put up a fight on behalf of their neighbors. They study, they attend meetings, they write letters, they become experts on industry and its effects.
The warriors pop up in Alibi environmental news stories, sometimes celebrating successes or mourning losses. These are the self-appointed guardians of our chunk of desert. When put together, their stories paint a picture of an evolving city and state.What are we doing right here in Mountainair? Is our community evolving too or stalled? Not, let's hope, devolving. Since sustainability and environment are part of the iCreate mission (which some days is murkier to suss out than others), keeping track of not just our efforts but what others in our community are doing, individually or collectively.
Community Garden: Earth Day Warm-up last Saturday (Joan Embree's more detailed report to follow shortly). This was the first weekly Saturday workday of the season and, for now, every Saturday 10am-12n. "This coming Saturday, April 28," garden manager Joan Embree notes, "we will still be digging and amending beds. We will need to assess our watering capabilities (timers, hoses. etc.,) to see what we lack with this bigger version of a garden," adding, "Hope to see old and new gardeners back at our 2012 location this weekend."
Torrance County Recycling program, Mountainair Center ~ not much new to report (maybe someone will send us something) other than that there is one and we should report.
Upcoming opportunities: Environmental Information Management Institute series of one week courses, Monday, May 28 to Friday, June 15, 2012. More information at http://elibrary.unm.edu/courses/eimi
Know of other programs, local eco-activists, individuals or groups making a difference, setting an example? Please let us know about them.
