Where to Find elpasonaturally Now

From now on, just go to www.elpasonaturally.com. That is where you will find the blog. You will need to click on the title of the blog post that you want to read. The newest will be at the top.

The contact page is accurate but the other pages will change and metamorphosize over the next few days.

If you want to view older posts, just keep coming here: www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com. 

Wordpress has so much more to offer and you will see that as the days and weeks go by. I than you for your loyalty.

We're Migrating!

See you in a few days on Wordpress!

3 Cheers Monday: Hooray for Gertrud Konings

Celebration of Our Mountains Field Trip.

Each Monday (or the best that I can), I'll post about someone in the preservation/conservation/environmental community who has done something recently that deserves "3 Cheers".

We begin with Dr. Gertrud Konings-Dudin. As you know the environmental community has met once to discuss how the various groups can collaborate. Gertrud seized the initiative. She has let everyone know that she will publish their events at the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coaliton site. Gertrud is the Chair and the Board's contact info is HERE. It's a group you may want to keep your eye on and join their efforts. 

You can read Dr. Konings-Dudin's extensive bio as a biologist, publisher and translator. Be sure to check out her Vitae. She led two very successful field trips for Celebration of Our Mountains in 2017.

Dr. Gertrud Konings-Dudin

3 Cheers for Gertrud!

The Friday Video: Meet Lauren Singer and Her Trash Free Lifestyle

Meet Lauren Singer. Be sure to subscribe to her YouTube page. She has great ideas for reducing trash and living a trash free lifestyle.

(Unfortunately, you will have to go to YouTube to view this video if you receive these posts via your smart phone. Soon, elpasonaturally will be transported to WordPress and won't have this problem. This transfer was in the making before I was elected to City Council and things came to a halt. We will be back on track in 2018.)

Introduction to Water Smart Landscapes

Click on image to enlarge

Nerd Nights

Photo taken on a Paul Hyder night time field trip for
Celebration of Our Mountains.

I've been critical of Insights mostly because they don't have the sponsorship base yet (which they could do with a good fundraiser for a commission). They also have not solved the problem of an open and vulnerable dino tracks and the need, because of their sponsorship base, to charge $15 per person for a dino tour ($60 for a family of four). 

However, they are now doing something really creative and it is drawing enthusiastic crowds. It's called "Nerd Nights". Check out the link and the fantastic program they are offering. The next event is "Sex, Drugs and Arachnids". If that doesn't catch your attention, nothing will. Check out the link above to learn more about the next Nerd Night on January 3, 2018 at G2's at 7 PM. You can find a map to G2's at this link also. Scroll down and you can book a reservation now.

Insights is not the only organization promoting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), beginning Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 9 AM, Celebration of Our Mountains will begin its new program: Celebrate STEAM. For the next 10 or so Saturdays there will be tours and special programs and events. More information is coming soon.

Unscientific, but still concerning

Click on image to enlarge.

I've written several times about the encroachment on state park land by GCC (previously Cemex). HERE is the most recent blog post. After the last post, Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition member, Steve Tures, emailed the map above. He said: "I did a rough and unscientific (read, not official or maybe wrong) attempt to see how close they [the park and quarry] are, and seems like they're really close or maybe over their line." He said that he fudged an overlay on what's publicly available on GM.

Tures seems to confirm what many others have also seen.

Of course, whether the quarry has encroached state land or not, they are quickly destroying this portion of the Franklin Mountains and could mine all the way to the ridge. 

Why does the City of El Paso and others do business with them?

Can El Paso Environmentalists Cooperate?

A bit over a week ago environmentalists from various El Paso groups came together to discuss collaboration. "Together we can do more" seemed to be the theme. The meeting aroused excitement and the group left planning to reconvene in January and, in the meantime, to develop a social media presence - one that can be shared by all the groups represented. 

There were representatives from the Audubon Society, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, CDEC, the Sierra Club, Celebration of Our Mountains, Insights, the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, EPCC and even a representative from the City of El Paso. Janaé Reneaud Field, the Director of Frontera Land Alliance, chaired the meeting.

One member suggested that coming together, sharing ideas, and building networks and resources might be the sole purpose along with a shared social media presence.

It's a great idea and a great start; but, will it last?

Judy Ackerman of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition probably made the most sense when she said that FMWC had always acted as the place for all of El Paso's conservation and environmental groups. It makes the most sense until you realize that FMWC has not been a true coalition. A list of groups included in their dossier seems only to be useful as a tool for political advocacy. FMWC is governed by its own Board rather than a true gathering of the coalition although some members of the board are indeed members of other groups if not their representatives. The chairing of the FMWC does not rotate among the various groups who, at least on paper, make up that Coalition.

Please understand, I think the highest of FMWC and their work. The leaders of FMWC are among the best and greatest El Pasoans. 

It would be simpler if this nascent Collaboration operated not just under the umbrella of FMWC but as the FMWC.

Whatever, I hope EP environmentalists can indeed be collaborative and be valuable resources one to the other.

Plan to Go to Ardovino's Holiday Market Sunday, December 3rd

One of the top holiday "must-do's" is Ardovino's Holiday Market. Because of all of the road work, follow these new directions to get to Ardovino's Desert Crossing:

Take Sunland Park Drive to Mc Nutt. Turn left onto McNutt and then right at the light at Anapra Road. The other option is to take Sunland Park to Futurity. Futurity ends at Racetrack and you will have to take a right. (Racetrack is only closed between Futurity and Doniphan.) MAP

Be sure to visit the ADC website.

Click on image to enlarge.

Survey the Quarry Now!

Recently elpasonaturally posted about the obscene destruction of our mountain by GCC, the new owners of former Cemex properties. GCC doesn't even dynamite just at night or early morning. They are blasting even during the day. They have no shame.

elpasonaturally has also pointed out the failure of the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Franklin Mountains State Park to do a survey. They complain that it costs too much and do not respond to calls asking them to do so.

Now another expert has said that undoubtedly GCC is encroaching on State Park land. Also, according to this expert, surveys are now done by drones for two or three thousand dollars. Hardly a big price tag.

Survey the quarry now. Stop buying from them. Shut them down forever. They are destroying our mountain.

Finally!

Click on image to enlarge.

Last Wednesday at the City's Open Space Advisory Board meeting, it was announced that the Hunt arroyo at Bear Ridge had finally been purchased using stormwater money. The purchase has been pending for seven years ever since Rick Bonart and Charlie Wakeem met with Justin Chapman of Hunt at the site. The Arroyo is very popular with hikers and mountain bikers and leads directly into the State Park. 

According to Bonart, John Balliew, CEO of El Paso Water, says that there are no immediate plans for stormwater improvement at the site. Keeping the land pristine is always good news.

This past September $185K was made available for a trailhead at the Bear Ridge Arroyo. The hope and expectation is that millions will not have been spent on procuring the arroyo and then doing nothing to build an attractive trailhead. Such is the case with the Palisades where a mere $124 was spent on a sign that is now badly deteriorated. A better example of what can and should be done is the Lost Dog Trailhead built with private-public funding for much less than what the City would have spent to create a beautiful entrance to a prominent trail.

The Chair of the Open Space Advisory Board, Sherry Bonart, says: "Let's hope that the city will step up and use 2012 QOL money to build trailheads at both Bear Ridge and Franklin Hills [another Hunt property up for sale].  It's a travesty to purchase these parcels for millions of dollars and not follow through with the necessary improvements to make them fully available for the public to use."


Not to mention, fully attractive to ecotourists.

The Quarry

It's like the title of one of those horrendous slasher films: Scream, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th: The Quarry. Of course I am speaking about the quarry at McKelligon Canyon, the GCC Quarry (formerly a Cemex operation). 

GCC continues to gouge the side of the mountain. Several persons have looked at maps and have suggested to me that the quarry has already intruded onto the State Park. Yet neither Texas Parks and Wildlife Department nor the Franklin Mountains State Park are willing to do a survey. It costs too much. Instead they take the word of the quarry owners.

What can be done to stop this obscene devastation of our mountain? There are many issues involved: mineral rights for the State of Texas, a private company operation, jobs and bidding laws (you can't just ask the City not to buy from the quarry). Perhaps the City can be persuaded to limit their buying from GCC. That may be a good start and would have the added benefit that the City find other means to do landscaping. (I still am incensed that the City's Parks Department paved natural desert paths at the Archaeology Museum with chat quarried and produced at the McKelligon Canyon Quarry.) Perhaps an ordinance banning certain landscaping products? Good luck.

Protests? A PR campaign? What?

I struggle with this. Perhaps some of you have ideas. The GCC Quarry needs to shut down . . . permanently.

Spend the Day at Keystone Heritage Park

Click on image to enlarge.

Aquifer Recharge Field Trip, Saturday 10/21, 10AM

Celebration of Our Mountains and El Paso Water have scheduled a very valuable field trip this Saturday at 10 AM. Recharging our aquifers is vital for our water supply and for our survival as a city in the Chihuahuan Desert. You will see a critical strategy that El Paso Water uses to recharge the aquifers.

Saturday, October 21, 2017, 10:00 AM
Aquifer Recharge Field Trip

Learn more about El Paso Water’s pioneering efforts to clean wastewater to drinking-water quality standards. EP Water has been using reclaimed water to recharge the Hueco Bolson Aquifer for decades. Hear more about water reclamation from Scott Reinert, El Paso Water’s water resources engineer. Meet at Painted Dunes Golf Club, 12000 McCombs St., inside the restaurant for orientation. Participants will caravan for a short drive to the recharge basins. Expect minimal walking during this 1.5-hour field trip. Bring comfortable shoes, water and a hat.

For more information, contact Scott Reinert, 915-253-2004, sreinert@epwu.org.


http://www.celebmtns.org/2017-events/2017/aquifer-recharge-field-trip

Celebration of Our Mountains on Facebook

El Paso Water on Facebook

Liz Walsh begins the Kevin Von Finger Speakers Series 10/24/17 at 7PM

Click image to enlarge.

Liz Walsh's talk this coming Thursday inaugurates the 2017-2018 Kevin Von Finger Speakers Series sponsored by the El Paso Group Sierra Club.

The series is named after the late Sierran and ecologist, Kevin von Finger.

October 24, 2017: "What's in a hueco?" - Liz Walsh

November 28, 2017: "Climate change and regional sustainability" - Deanna Pennington

January 23, 2018: "Trash and Recycling 101" - Ellen Smyth

February 27, 2018: "Creating Habitat for Burrowing Owls in El Paso" - Lois Balin

 

March 27, 2018: "Dude, come on, wolves need a decent life" - Rick LoBello

April 24, 2018: "The role of utilities in renewable energy and sustainability" - El Paso Electric

May 22, 2018: "The ecological and environmental consequences of the 'Wall'" - Paul Hyder

All talks are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7PM at the Centennial Museum at UTEP.

Sustainable, Reliable Water

I and my neighbors have been watching the construction of a "mammoth" water tower in our neighborhood. Those of us who live on the mountain side of Austin High School, now see the tower loom over that school. The cool video above was posted on the El Paso Water Facebook page on October 2nd. It tells how these new towers will make water more sustainable and reliable. (How do the people working inside get out?)

El Paso Water's Communications and Marketing, Christina Montoya, sent these factoids to me:

Additional water tanks in specific areas will allow EPWater to meet water demands when some parts of the system may be down in emergency situations.

o   In 2011, frozen equipment and hundreds of broken water pipes caused water tanks to be emptied faster than they could be filled.
o   These tanks will give us the flexibility to move water where it is needed most.
o   These and other improvements will make EPWater more resilient in a power outage or a weather emergency.

Three new water tank projects will accommodate growth in key areas.

o   Memphis Tank will hold 2.5 million gallons of water in Central El Paso
o   Airport Tank holds 4.4 million gallons in the Lower Valley – completed
o   Ventanas Tank will hold 2 million gallons in the far east - completed

EPWater is highlighting these crucial projects to highlight investments needed in infrastructure

o   Water infrastructure is often out of sight and out of mind so it is hard for customers to appreciate and understand it.
o   Investment in water infrastructure is crucial to maintain essential services and ensure public safety.

o   Projects like this are a big part of our efforts to provide reliable water service.

The graphics below show you just how these new tanks work. Just click on them or the title to enlarge.

How Water Works – Water Storage

How Water Works – Water Distribution Systems by jimhtolbert434 on Scribd

Thank you, El Paso Water!

Some FYIs

Hat tip to Judy Ackerman for sending me a link to an El Paso Times story, Bats are the overlooked wonders of our desert. Last June, Celebration of Our Mountains had a special bat watching event. Someone who follows the COM Facebook page just a day ago asked whether there would be another bat event. COM is ready. Hopefully Judy and Urban Biologist, Lois Balin, will repeat the bat watch next summer. 

Check out the concept being used in this store in Cape Town (a bit out of the way). It's a zero waste store called Nude Foods. Might be a good idea to start pushing that idea here. Read 10 Ways to Adopt a Zero Waste Lifestyle. 

Finally, here is a commercial site selling fermentation kits. I saw it on Facebook and it looks interesting. Bon appetit.

2 Things to look at today

Painted Lady Butterfly by Liz DeMoultrie

Some of our environmental clubs produce some good newsletters. At the top of my list is The Areole, edited by Ad Konings. It's the newsletter for the El Paso Cactus and Rock Club. The letter is good science, good news and good fun. The photography is beautiful. Read the recent issue HERE. Ask the editor to be put on the mailing list. EPCRC also has a Facebook page.

Next you have got to join, get notified and share the posts at Share El Paso-Plants and Animals. Liz DeMoultrie's photos are priceless. I swiped one for use with this post above. Follow the posted videos to their original sites.

Just the Science Please

This past week a friend of mine who is a Civil Engineer traveled with his wife to Washington D.C. for a climate change conference. He chose to go to this conference to fulfill a City of El Paso requirement for doing new urbanism projects. Fortunately for them, they enjoy visiting D.C. and Alexandria, VA.

The conference was supposed to be focused on climate change and new urbanism. Fine and dandy. The problem was that it became a pretext for pontificating about a number of what can be considered "left-wing" issues: diversity, racial justice, I-Hate-Trump and so forth. Agree or disagree with the political positions the panelists took, they strayed from the purpose of the meeting. There was no presentation of the science of climate change, the data, the measurements, the predictions, etc. Bottom line: it was a farce.

My friend is not anti-environmental. He cares but challenges whether political solutions can ever match market place economics when it comes to addressing environmental problems. 

As an environmentalist (I'm not a scientist - I've just been an activist) I agree that we should stick to the facts, stick to the science. Certainly there are a number of social and political problems that ought to be addressed and there will always be a number of opinions on how we should deal with those problems. However, mixing our political opinions with science is just not scientific. It turns a pursuit for the truth into a tool for demagogues. It becomes opinion and not a theoretical position based on our observations and measurements. 

Environmentalism would be better served by sticking to the science.

Take the Tour

This Saturday (September 30th) beginning at 9PM, you can tour two revolutionary plants here in El Paso. The first is the world's largest inland desalination plant, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant and the Enviro Water Minerals Plant. At KBH, unusable brinish ground water is made drinkable. At the EWM facility, takes the brinish water a step further and removes the minerals that have commercial value. EWM sells the minerals and returns the water to us.

The tour is definitely an event for everyone, especially families. 

For more information, go HERE.