LET IT SNOW!

    Day after day of steady snow fall is a welcome sign of resiliency for our community. Not only does it guaranty large amounts of tourist dollars for our local economy, it is the watery savings account we will draw on year round.

    The snow tourists ski on today will be a time release water source. Swelling streams for rafting in Spring and prolonging acequia waters for longer summer irrigation. A healthy water table level here depends on abundant winter snow.

Contribution by Christopher Heron (from February 2015)

Streams, rivers, and fishing

Spring run-off helps make us resilient because it helps provide water for our irrigation, and keeps our fresh water rivers flowing where we get our fish from instead of buying fish from the store that wasn't even raised in New Mexico.   

This is a brown trout that I go fishing for to eat with my family. Instead of going to the store for fish we go to the river that is close by. I believe this is resilient because we are eating local fish, that have not been caught in a different state and brought here.

Contribution by Andre Santistevan, April 2015

Local food . . is for animals too

Irrigation of the alfalfa field to provide food for goats and to sell around the local community is resilient because we don't have to buy feed that comes from miles away when we can produce it right out of the back yard.  

Contribution by Andre Santistevan, April 2015

Hunting, resilient and accountable

We hunt for our food. We hunt during hunting season to harvest elk and deer meat. I think this makes us resilient because we actually know where our meat comes from and are not buying meat that is shipped from hundreds of miles away.

Contribution by Andre Santistevan, April 2015

Local orchards

The irrigation of the apple orchards makes us resilient because we are able to harvest apples for our family to eat and spread around the community (if the blossoms don't freeze). 

Contribution by Andre Santistevan, April 2015

Firewood and resiliency

I believe the use of firewood is resilient because it leaves less of an impact on the environment compared to natural gas, propane, electricity, etc.

I also think it helps clean up forest because we basically remove all the dead wood. Oh and we pass down what we do to our younger generations.

Contribution by Andre Santistevan, April 2015 

Making our community resilient by making choices

What can individual families do to make a difference? Not all families have the resources to purchase solar panels nor can they buy them because they do not own their home.  Sometimes little things/changes can make a huge difference. 

Light bulbs:

For starters, families use electricity. Light bulbs are simple and often overlooked in most homes' total energy consumption. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that if every household in the United States replaced just one standard incandescent light bulb with an energy-efficient one, the nation would annually save about $600 million in energy costs - enough to power 3 million homes for a year. Changing light bulbs to LED, using solar outdoor lights, and stringed LED lights indoors and outdoors saves individual electric costs along with using less as a whole community.

Recycle:

Recycling is also easy to forget as we get caught up in our busy lives. Many can feel overwhelmed with the idea and act of it. As a society, recycling can have a high initial set up cost and sometimes may not be cost effective. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Recycling helps protect the environment, reduces energy consumption, reduces pollution, helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2 and CFCs, promotes judicial and sustainable use of resources, conserves natural resources, reduces amount of waste to landfills, and helps create green jobs.

Gardening:

Grow your own veggies. Not only does this help a family budget but it also helps build pride in providing food for your family. A pack of herbs from the grocery store can cost anywhere from $3 to $6 and you use the pack for one, maybe two meals. Growing your own herbs with seeds cost $1 to $2. Also, getting children involved – learning how to plant, water, and take care of the plants – is educational, exciting, and positive for their future. Learning how to be in control of what you put in your body is empowering. 

I also stated in a different article about the benefits of having your own chickens/eggs.

Rainwater Harvesting:

There are many pros and cons to collecting rainwater. I’m mostly focusing on small amounts and used for gardening. Living in the desert area, keeping a garden from drying out can be challenging. Since it doesn’t rain a lot nor is it consistent, having a barrel to collect water is beneficial. Rainwater is healthier for plants, according to Harvesth2o.com - there are no chemicals in rainwater, other than possible pollutants, your plants will respond better. Also, watering with your well water or city water for gardening uses drinking water. With areas like California drying due to climate changes, we need to be resourceful and responsible with water.

(photo of taos plaza – photo credit: taos.org)

Shop Local:

"Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local consumers. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs."

- Michael H. Shuman, author of Going local: Creating Self-reliant communities in a Global Age

Choosing a greener alternative is important for sustainability and resilience but where you shop in many cases is the most important factor - shopping locally is significant for environmental and economic sustainability. When you shop locally you are supporting members of your own community who are also vested in the heath and success of the community.  Also traveling less and requiring fewer things to be shipped means less carbon, pollution and traffic congestion.

Contributed by January Sadler, April 2015