Green Options

A big factor limiting solar and wind power growth across the US is the current transmission network. It is disconnected. A new project proposed by Tres Amigas LLC in New Mexico would link the nation’s main power grids and, therefore, give hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of households links to already existing renewable energy sources.

The Mexican gray wolf population continues to struggle at just 52 wolves. However, listing the species as a “distinct population segment” may hold the key to recovery.

The Center for Biological Diversity issued a press release today to announce that they have filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to formally separate the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) from other wolf populations in the United States and list it as either an endangered subspecies or a “distinct population segment.”

Although a 1982 reintroduction effort along the Arizona-New Mexico line hoped to result in at least 100 wolves in the wild, and 18 breeding pairs by 2006, the most recent survey - conducted in 2008 - found only 52 wolves. Unfortunately, illegal shootings, combined with complaints by ranchers who claim to have lost cattle to wolves (wolves that have been involved in three livestock kills in a year can be killed or trapped by federal agents), have taken their toll on the reintroduction plan.

More money was distributed today by the Department of Energy. 141 million dollars to be more precise. This time Hawaii, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands and Texas will play beneficiaries of the Recovery Act.

As a part of the Department’s State Energy Program, which has been apportioned $3.1 billion, states and territories propose plans to prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And that’s where this $141 million will be going. Each state receives funding according to its needs (population based), with Texas receiving more than half of the allotted $141 million dollars. They will receive $87.5 million.

Food Not Bombs, a group dedicated to non-violent social change through feeding the needy, continues to find itself at the center of controversy as they enter their 30th year in existence.

Groups in New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, and Connecticut have run afoul of local laws that seek to stop them from handing out free meals in public places to those in need.  Though all Food Not Bombs groups are independent, they share the common goals of feeding vegetarian meals to the hungry while also protesting war and poverty.

Food Not Bombs finds food that would otherwise be discarded - from restaurants, grocery stores, and other sources and prepares meals to anyone and everyone.

Back in September, rumors began circulating that the famous actor Val Kilmer was considering a run for governor of New Mexico in 2010. He’s now confirmed the rumors.

One in 12 American’s water supply comes from the Colorado River. Increased mining and drilling for oil, natural gas, and uranium on its shores is threatening that supply.

[Creative Commons photo by Wolfgang Staudt]

The areas along the river are already suffering from drought, and getting at the resources there uses and pollutes the precious remaining water. Research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography estimates that the river could dry up in as little as 13 years.

If you’ve ever wondered what Churro wool was, then look no further than Tierra Wools. Complete with a full history of the breed of sheep, Tierra Wools also offers all of their Churro yarn and other wools as certified organic.

For the curious amongst you, Churro sheep were introduced to the New World because of their hardiness and adaptability to the new climate. They are an old breed dating back to the 1500’s. They were adopted by the Navajo and Pueblo Indian Tribes, soon after their journey.

Their fiber is similar to that of merino, but was eventually found to be secondary to other breeds and their stock was rapidly diminished. Today, it is rare to find pure bred Churros because they had been pushed to the brink of extinction, for many reasons. Largely found in the Southwestern part of the U.S. their fiber carries a luster not found in other wools. It has less lanolin then other wools as well and popular among spinners because of this.

The latest political celebrity scuttlebutt is that famous American actor Val Kilmer might be considering a run for Governor of New Mexico in 2010.

Last week I wrote about the US Senate race in Colorado featuring Democratic congressman Mark Udall - now is the time to feature his cousin, fellow congressman and fellow senatorial candidate, Tom Udall of New Mexico. Udall received some great news in the past week when the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee canceled all their ad buys in New Mexico. Given their prior commitment to refuse spending money in races they couldn’t win, they seem to have taken all steps in conceding the race, short of actually pulling their candidate. In this now-uncontested race, Udall faces current GOP Congressman from New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional district, Steve Pearce. As with all of the senatorial and congressional races that I’ll be highlighting this fall, the Senate race in New Mexico has significant implications for environmental policy. Now that the GOP has all but bailed on Pearce, we can even be a bit more certain about what those implications will be.

Across the U.S., researchers, startup companies and investors are exploring the potential of creating large amounts of green, renewable fuel from the humblest of sources: algae.

If you think the energy/food potential for hemp is underutilized, wait’ll you get a gander at algae. This little microorganism really packs a punch.

According to The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know is Wrong (2006, Harmony Books) (I highly recommend it, by the way — it’s packed with fascinating information and weird insights), algae breathes out more oxygen than all the world’s land-based plants and trees combined. Certain types of algae also deliver a whopping amount of protein and nutrients per farmed acre (20 times more than soy beans, in the case of spirulina).

Years of legal wrangling have finally produced a long-awaited report on the current and potential effects of climate change on the U.S. And it should come as no surprise that regions already hurting — Alaska and the arid Southwest — are among the areas expected to feel the greatest pain from continued climate change in the future.

The report, Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States, was released today by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. According to the Government Accountability Project, the study was “years overdue under a requirement of law” and was prepared only after a federal court order last year set a release deadline of May 31, 2008.

Among the report’s highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective):