TimJFowler's blog

If the individual and idiosyncratic people of Santa Fe have a universal sport, it is hiking. Trail hiking is the simplest and most direct way to explore the mountains and arroyos that surround The City Different. Of course, A Walk in the Woods is also a superb way to escape (often with your dog) the paved confines of the city. Conveniently, you can celebrate America's 200,000 miles of trails (with a friend) this Saturday, June 6, 2009 at a National Trails Day celebration.

What holds more promise (for a gardener, anyway) than a tray full of seedlings? Our average last frost-free date is 9 days away and I am getting ready to harden off a tray full of seedlings that we started about 3 weeks ago. We are trying everything from arugula to kale, broccoli to tomatillos, and basil to fennel. This tray full of bright green baby plants reminds me of grade school science classes and egg cartons sprouting bean plants. What are you planting in your garden this season?

What a difference an administration makes! The EPA is working once again to protect the environment here in New Mexico and elsewhere. Specifically, the EPA is reconsidering the air (pollution) permit granted to the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant near Farmington, NM. This move revisits several exemptions made to existing air quality rules and allows the EPA to incorporate its new Supreme Court mandated role in regulating CO2 emissions. I don't think we can breathe easy yet, but fossil fuel air pollution just had a significant setback.

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What does Earth Day mean to you? Is it a call to action, urging each of us to respect and protect our planet? Or, is it just another marketing ploy, seducing us into buying another 'recyclable' gizmo? Some folks have grown so jaded by the commercialization of Earth Day (sound like another holiday to you?) that they are saying Screw Earth Day! Scientists and environmentalists have been ringing the alarm bells so loud and long that deafness has become an occupational hazard.

America has been known for years as a 'Land of Plenty'. Yet, even the Land of Plenty is not immune from economic recession. But, there may be a silver lining to this darkly clouded economy. The very American ideals of frugality and efficiency have reappeared after years of extravagant waste. I've heard that everything old is new again, including our grandparent's values of thrift and conservation. But just maybe there are some NEW frugal and efficient ideas we can try out too.

Not since WWII has the White House had a vegetable garden. Once again, a Victory Garden will grow at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. For those of us who love fresh, organic, home-grown fruits and veggies it is great to see a kindred spirit in the President of the United States. Today, the First Lady, Michelle Obama and students from Washington's Bancroft Elementary School broke ground on the South Lawn for a new White House garden.

No, this has nothing to do with sub-prime mortgages or the bank meltdown. This is about some very surly 'social' insects. I discovered wasps in our compost bin this summer. Or, more accurately, the wasps notified us that they had moved in. After my wife and I were each stung in two days I found a wasp nest in the compost bin. Given their anti-social nature and their new residence in the compost bin I couldn't use toxic insecticides. So I did some research.

The first signs of spring are popping up across town. Irises are sprouting in the front yard and garlic is appearing in the backyard. We're still two months away from the last average frost date, but many of the hardier plants are showing new growth, swelling buds and sprouting leaves. I expect we'll still see some snow, even well past the Spring Solstice. But, that's life in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

What: Global New Energy Summit
When: March 22 - 24, 2009
Where: Buffalo Thunder Resort, Pojoaque, NM

'Clean Coal' harnesses the awesome power of the word clean!

Get Clean Coal clean! by the Coen brothers

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