The WestSouth Journal

    California     The year was 1976.  I lived in Los Angeles. I was five.      The United States was stoking American patriotism by celebrating its 200th year with Bicentennial celebrations. Newly-minted quarters, parades, and an election year helped push us beyond the Nixon and the Vietnam era.      I had two favorite things: going to the beach and, oddly, the NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor.       The Nightly News was my favorite show, even after The Muppet Show aired later that year.  I thought of it as a live version of National Geographic magazine. And, although many of the news stories seemed far away, I followed them closely.       A man named Bruce Jenner won a gold medal at the Montreal Olympic Games. The Space Shuttle Enterprise was unveiled, and, as my Republican father bemoaned, Jimmy Carter became President. There was even a mass shooting nearby my home town at Cal St...

Matador Bowl, Bull Creek, Latirs The Lonely Latirs I have only gone into the Latirs alone. I’ve never seen another soul out there.   It’s like another world where only land exists. It’s meditative. On the walk away from the truck I shed the final bits of humanity around me and breathe in the solitude. Being alone up there, I feel different. I am more aware.   More focused. I see, hear, and feel more clearly.   I move consciously. I travel faster sometimes.   Others, I go more slowly. I like going my pace. I cuss out loud.   There’s a bit of that at least. Otherwise, I’m quiet. As people, I think we are used to sharing experiences. We are accustomed to having that feedback each step of the way. It allows us to manage ourselves in comparison to others. We can lean on others’ interpretations of what is going on around us. We bond with each other through the common experience. Solitude is different. The bond the experience...

New Mexico’s Energy Future Part 1: New Mexican Sun Leap Year (2/29) Snowpack had been reduced significantly due to a powerful February sun. This February the New Mexican snowpack got annihilated by the sun. In fact, in New Mexico the sun is often associated with dwindling water supplies, disappearing range resources, and heat.  New Mexico’s state symbol, the Zia, is a sun.  It is a part of the state's cultural heritage. With 278 sunny days in Albuquerque annually (that’s 76% of the year) 1 , New Mexicans should ask, “Where is all of that energy going?” The short answer is, mostly nowhere. Both government and private industry are beginning to notice the bright side of New Mexico’s solar abundance.   And, with climate change heating things up, solar energy is a growing piece of New Mexico's energy future.  Below is a map put out by the State of New Mexico showing current renewable installations around the state. Solar capacity in...

No Fracking in Sandoval’s Precious Lands On March 23 rd the Sandoval County Commission should deny the Sand Ridge solicitation to frack within Sandoval County. Take one look at the New Mexico Environment Department’s ‘sensitive aquifer map’ of Sandoval County and it is clear.  Fracking would be a catastrophic and irreversible disaster for the water that the people and economy of this region depend upon.  The majority of the below map is coded as highly or moderately sensitive aquifer.  (Source: https://www.env.nm.gov/fod/LiquidWaste/mapping.html ) It should be considered that fracking requires water, and public paid-for roads to transport that water.  Indeed, as reported by Gasland, “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation estimates each well, per frack, will require 2.4 to 7.8 million gallons of water. This translates into roughly 400 to 600 tanker truckloads of liquids to the well, and 200 to 300...