Desert Light

“My first memory is of light — the brightness of light — light all around.” ~ Georgia O’Keeffe

It struck me the minute I stepped off the plane. That light! After spending hours in airless airports, I thought I landed in a foreign country. At first glance, the Albuquerque landscape seemed barren, thirsty dry and dramatically not green, like my east coast home, that had finally begun to recover from the depths of winter.

Unlike Georgia O’Keefe who came to the desert of New Mexico on a vacation and felt an immediate affinity, I landed in the desert for a conference. Inspired by O’Keefe’s enthusiasm for brightly colored paintings of the earth, sky and mountains, before dawn each day of my NM trip, I grabbed the down jacket I hoped to retire for a few days, and stepped out onto the balcony to watch the sunrise over jagged mountains. It was easy to imagine O’Keefe’s desert abstractions as the day crept in. The sunrise was dramatic, but nuanced, as it revealed colors in contrast to the dusty groundcover. Moments before sunrise, coyotes, dogs and rustling creatures I could only hope were elusive roadrunners, sounded a wake-up call in unison.

I knew it would be dry, but was it supposed to be bone-dry?

As drought bakes California, we tend to forget climate change is also ravaging other areas of the west. Changes in New Mexico’s climate are taking a toll.

“In this parched state, the question is no longer how much worse it can get but whether it will ever get better — and, ominously, whether collapsing ecosystems can recover even if it does. The statistics are sobering: All of New Mexico is officially in a drought, and three-quarters of it is categorized as severe or exceptional.” ~ LA Times 

After the last conference session, I decided to see what was beyond the Santa Ana Pueblo. I wanted to catch a glimpse of a roadrunner and was told by a conference attendee who lived in the area, the highly adaptive bird can survive on very little water. But it’s been unusually dry, even for NM, even for roadrunners, which is why they have been spotted along the path leading to the Rio Grande River behind the pueblo.

I hiked the path down to the river slowly because the heaviness of the high altitude was beginning to take hold. Dry heat is deceptive. While I didn’t spy a roadrunner, I did stop to catch my breath and marvel at the Rio Grande in all its muddy spring glory.

Unlike other places I visit for work, New Mexico is a wistful dream I can’t seem to get out of my head…and I don’t really want to.

Photos: Ronnie Citron Painting: Georgia O'Keefe Museum

Going Somewhere

After a few stunning fall weekends by the ocean gazing at skiddish water fowl preparing to flee to their warmer homes, I've come to love ducks. My new favorite ducks are called, Buffleheads. These snappy looking guys with the colorful name, bob their big heads and tiny bodies around the Massachusetts shores where I've been lucky enough to visit. I'm told by New Englanders that they arrived weeks earlier than usual and are hanging around longer.

I watched the ducks manage their changing positions while they bobbed -- diving into the water for bugs and tiny fish. Their brilliance seemed to be adapting to each and every ripple and wind shift. At one point during all their bobbling, the flock of ducks stopped, spun their heads around and switched into carefully negotiated new positions -- ducks in front moved to the middle or back, ducks in back paddled up to the front. Then they bobbed along floating to a new location. They were going somewhere.

Not often, but every now and then, a rogue duck would drift away. The pack would slow down to watch, and one or two ducks would glance back -- then they'd all circle round and fold the wandering character back into the fray. They were going somewhere.

In this time of rising seas, diminishing shorelines and stranger than strange weather, skilled ducks adapt. Do they have a choice? They are going somewhere.

Photo: An adult bufflehead drake swimming, Shutterstock

Life Before Air Conditioning

I’ve run the “Mothership” around here for years, and have lived through a litany of complaints from my kids about the rising heat and the need for air conditioning.

“Why don’t we put in a pool like Rebecca’s family?” Not. “It’s too hot to go out, we’ll just watch TV all day.” Not. “We can’t sleep upstairs, the walls are melting. We’re sleeping downstairs on the couch.” OK.

And like all parents, I pull the generational "before you were born" -thing with my kids:

“When we were young, we ran through the sprinkler...A little sweat didn’t kill us...Have you ever heard of a fan?” 

Then came my final stand, “Do you know Americans use twice as much energy air-conditioning our homes than we did 20 years ago…and more than the rest of the world’s nations combined?” 

Although I live in what is considered to be a cooler Northeast climate, the rising temperature in my neck of the woods has left me sweltering.

I threw eco-caution to the wind and started my own whiny campaign to bring air conditioning into my home. Come hell or high water, and both seemed to be happening, I needed cool air to think straight. I tried rationalizing my case to my ultra-conservationist husband.

Me: “Do you know how much extra laundry I’m doing cleaning sweat-soaked sheets, tee-shirts and towels? Running the dryer day and night will kill the environment. An air conditioner could help!”

Husband: “You’re exaggerating, my dear. And the electricity generated to power air conditioning carries a larger environmental consequence. In burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas to supply electricity to homes and workplaces, power plants discharge clouds of soot and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Among these are mercury and carbon dioxide. Did you know air conditioner use in the U.S. results in an average of about 100 million tons of CO2 emissions from power plants every year ? Also, you emailed me this blog post, 10 Design Tips To Help You Live Without (Or Use Less) Air Conditioning"

Me: “Pleeeze, don’t throw posts back at me, I’m a blogger. Bloggers can make anything sound sexy. I can’t work. My keyboard is damp…sticky. I’m sure the Apple manual clearly states, moisture on the keyboard will not be covered under warranty.”

Husband: “Air conditioning is a twisted way to stay cool. If you want to stop warming the planet why would you want artificial cooling? There’s nothing natural about that.”

At this point, guilt got the better of me and I gave up, realizing it was just too damn hot to bicker.

Then it happened. After hours of pushing a hand mower (4 acres of grass and no riding mower...of course) in the latest brutal heat wave, my sweet husband’s defensive brain fried, and he ran to the hardware store and bought one of those portable air conditioners.

Kidding aside, in the age of climate change, can we possibly put air conditioners into the deep freeze? Probably not. My family held out as long as we could, but bucking a culture that is not making the connection that what we’re sending up into our atmosphere is reigning down on us in the form of hot and hazardous weather, is a daunting prospect. But if we adjust our ethos, and take serious measures to power our homes (and air conditioners), using clean renewable energy – wind and solar, and stand with President Obama's ambitious climate action plan to stop global warming, we have a fighting chance.

Will our leaders compromise and put an end to the warming trend? Or will our kids have to sweat it out hugging air conditioners instead of trees?

Keep MLK’s Dream Alive

As we pause to reflect on the ideals of racial equality and social justice Martin Luther King stood for, the convergence of MLK’s dream of non-violence could not be more at a crossroads.

We honor MLK on the same day as the inauguration of the first black president to his second term. Like many of you, I feel a deep privilege to have President Obama lead our country.

MLK urged non-violent activists to transform the strength of their passion and the justice of their cause, into "compelling power." He taught us that we are not powerless -- when enough people are outraged, we can put a stop to destruction.

Whether the intersection of plaguing issues are those of the 1960’s -- civil rights and anti-war, or the issues that threaten to potentially devastate our future -- climate change and gun violence; it’s time to take a close look at those who represent the public good, and demand a better future.

This starts with President Obama, but it also lies with us — the American people. We must remain committed to MLK's spirit of cooperation and collaboration, and use our voice against those who fight to destroy MLK’s dream of freedom, justice, and equality for all.

As Pres. Obama said in his second inaugural speech, "We are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together."

I sincerely believe if we are going to live up to the extraordinary vision of MLK, we must open our hearts to peace and dedicate a portion of our lives to a better future -- together.

Credit: MLK Patchwork Portrait by MelindaJonesArt via Apartment Therapy

We Deserve Nothing Less

“2012 was the hottest year on record for our nation. It was a year rife with droughts, cialis wildfires and extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy. In addition, cialis the number of weather catastrophes driven by climate disruption across the world has tripled since 1980, buy cialis with the greatest increases in North America. The situation is dire and requires nothing short of bold, decisive action by President Obama and our leaders to cut our addiction to fossil fuels and build a clean energy economy.” ~ Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club 

Do you consider this statement to be true? I do.

If you think this is just an environmentalist being an alarmist, read this.

We need a plan that provides jobs, strengthens the economy, and fosters renewable energy innovation and technology.

And we need it now.

President Obama has the perfect opportunity to use his historical inaugural address to prove that he will be a leader in tackling climate change. If you believe our planet and our families deserve nothing less, please sign this. Thanks!

Poster via lithospherial