AT Cole joins us to share his efforts working with his wife to restore their ranch in souther New Mexico after it had suffered from decades of over grazing and poor land management practices. We discuss cienegas, land restoration methods and hear about their successes and leasons learned. You can learn more at their wonderful website for the ranch:

https://pitchforkranchnm.com/

One of our best interviews for it's thought provoking ideas! Dr. Andreas Hernandez teaches in the Sustainability Studies Program at UNM. With a broad background and breadth of experiences, Andreas challenges us to think creatively about what sustrainability means, and what it will take for us to get there. 

Neal Denton, who was the Sustainability Officer for the city of Santa Fe, gives us a peek behind the curtain in to what Santa Fe is doing to promote sustainability. We get in to details of what sustainablity means, some of the city's programs, and what are some of the challenges we face. 

Christian Casillas from the Coalition of Sustainable Communities walks us through the current status of community solar in New Mexico, describes the progress that has been made, and the amazing potential the future holds! A few links from the show:

https://www.coalitionscnm.org

https://www.coalitionscnm.org/community-solar

https://csnewmexico.com

https://www.prc.nm.gov/utilities/community-solar/

Carol Ann and Mike Fugagli join us to discuss their impressive project of using Johnson-Su composting method to Engage Youth, Improve Soil Health and Sequester Carbon. They share about the educational components of the project, working with the local school system, how the Johnson-Su composter works. Some useful links: 

Johnson-Su composting overview 

Upper Gila Watershed Alliance

Mia Mottley at the Opening of the #COP26 World Leaders Summit

The wonderful and thought provoking Naomi Ortiz joins us to educate Sandra and myself about a very important topic that isn't discussed very much, specifically the intersection of disability justice and climate justice, and how inclusion in climate activism could look. 

Keep reading to learn more about Naomi's work and content Naomi mentioned in the podcast.

Naomi's books:

• Reimagining our relationship with land and challenging who is an environmentalist in the Arizona U.S./Mexico borderlands, is investigated in “Rituals for Climate Change: A Crip Struggle for Ecojustice” (punctum books).
• “Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice” provides informative tools and insightful strategies for diverse communities on addressing burnout.

Resources Naomi mentioned in this episode:

1. Disability and Climate Change: A Public Archive Project bears witness to the harms disabled people face amidst climate disruption—and it documents the wisdom disabled people bring to navigating this crisis.  The stories in the archive are fresh conversations with disability-identified activists, advocates, artists, first responders, policymakers, and other communal leaders.
2. The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon: Outdoor Adventures Accessible by Car, Wheelchair, and Foot, published by FalconGuides

Dr.Atcitty is a senior scientist at Sandia National Labs where he works on renewable energy systems. He is also a member of the Navajo Nation, and is deeply engaged with bringing renewable energy and energy sovernty to Navajo communities and indigenous communities across the country. He shares with us many great stories of his work, and of life in these communities. 

Tom Solomon from 350newmexico.org joins us to discuss the climate related bills that did, or didn't make it during the 2023 legislative session. We also discuss how NM compares to other states, some of our greatest successes and some areas that could really use improvement. Plus the lightening round!  

Sarah Pierpont is the Executive Director at New Mexico Recycling Coalition and stops by to discuss the 5 Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot) with us, and shares some inspiration, practical tips for reducing your waste, and some of the worst things people try to recycle. 

Judith Polich writes a climate change column for the Albuquerque Journal, and covers a wide variety of climate related topics. We talk to her about how to engage people in climate action, how readers respond to her articles, and of course the lightening round!