Navajo Going Green For Energy! Attention: Veterans
Gallup Independent
By Kathy Helms
Dine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK - Recently when Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly visited Niagara Falls and listened to the roaring water, it reminded him that water is power, and power is forever.
“As long as the sun shines there is power, clean power. The wind’s the same way. As long as the wind blows, it provides power,” Shelly told a crowd gathered Friday at Navajo Nation Museum for “Bridging the Gap; Solar Power for All,” moderated by Anna Rondon.
“We’re in dire need for energy and dire need for new technology,” Shelly said. One possibility is developing a wind farm at Big Boquillas Ranch, owned by the tribe. “We have enough developers coming to our doors right now that we can now negotiate with them.’ So many developers, in fact, that there is talk of “weeding out some of these alternative energy companies and putting a moratorium on it and selecting two or three for solar and wind power,” he said.
In addition, Shelly said his plan is to have Community Health Representatives gather the names of their elderly clients who don’t have electricity and see if the Nation can get funding to supply them portable power. “If that’s the case, the portable power has to be manufactured somewhere. These are things that can provide economics and also jobs,” he said.
Sandra Begay-Campbell of Sandia Lab said the Ramona Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians, a small landlocked tribe in southern California, is using a hybrid wind/solar energy system to live totally off the grid.
Cal Curley, field representative for U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, delivered a message from the congressman, who was unable to attend. “America’s energy policy undermines our economy, our security, and our world’s fragile ecosystem.”
Humans have managed to overwhelm the earth’s carbon cycle, radically altering the carbon balance that has sustained life on earth for millennia, he said.
“The result is we are literally frying our earth. Scientists say that global warming will have the effect of virtually moving New Mexico 300 miles to the south and depositing us in the Sonoran Desert. If that happens, our way of life won’t just change, it will end.
“Some people claim that we are not yet running out of easily available oil or that the climate is not changing that quickly,” according to Udall. “I look at it like this. We are driving toward a cliff. I don’t want to spend a lot time arguing about how far off that cliff is. I want to stop hitting the gas pedal.
“The good news is that we have the power to solve both of these problems. We can make our economy produce high-paying jobs and we can do it by putting our people to work building a more sustainable energy economy.” he said.
Dr. James Davis, chief of staff for Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan, said Morgan is working on a plan to do just that. Morgan has connected with the green jobs group in Flagstaff. “We have a new project that we’re working on, which tries to bring outside groups to the Council and allow it to explore possibilities into the future.
“One project that we’re doing currently is regarding that, exploring the whole notion of energy and green jobs. This is wonderful because Navajos, traditionally, have been aware of the environment; but finally we’re marrying concepts with action.” Morgan will be presenting legislation possibly during winter session.
Eni Begaye of Green Economy Coalition said they are talking about diversifying and creating green jobs that are low- or non-polluting. “Essentially what we want to do is create a Navajo Green Economy Coalition that would allocate funding to organizations or businesses through an RFP granting process for entrepreneurial efforts, to do start-ups and get these businesses off the ground and rolling.”
The coalition made up of a multistakeholder group would oversee allocation of the funds and would work with entities within the Navajo Nation which are trying to develop wind and solar projects. It also would establish within each of the five Navajo agencies, offices that could work with existing community development offices to help communities come up with those plans.
“To get the funding is only the beginning. The rest of the plan is helping the communities come up with long-term sustainable employment sources,” Begaye said. Funding could go to small-scale wind projects, textile mills that handle wool produced locally, a weaver’s co-op, or a farmers market, for example. Begaye said they will be asking the Navajo Nation to put $10 million toward green job investments into the fund.
Gordon Isaac, also of the Coalition, said about eight chapters already have approved supporting resolutions.
Fred White, deputy director for the Division of Natural Resources, said there is approximately 5,000 megawatts of wind energy power available within the Navajo Nation. “If developed, the Navajo Nation could be a major player in energy development in the Southwest and western United States.” The military is the largest user of electricity in the United States, according to Begay-Campbell.
At Navajo Technical College, professor Raymond Griego and his students spent four years building their own 500-watt-per-hour wind turbine from scratch and braving the elements to erect it.
The wind turbine’s blades are made from 2 by 6s and took an entire semester to carve. Griego said the turbine works on an alternator theory, sort of like a car. “The whole idea for this was to attract people from our community to learn how to build one of these,” he said.
They are now working on a 2.5 killowatt wind turbine with the help of Terry Battiest of Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, who also presented information on NTUA’s electricity alternative for Navajo homes, which includes 640-watt solar and 880-watt wind hybrid systems for about $95 a month.
“Hybrid,” in this case, means combined wind and solar sources.
David Brunt said Gallup Solar is hoping to collaborate with communities, elected officials, utilities and industry to bring solar power to all people in the area. They are looking at two potential sites: Prewitt and Gamerco. “Someday in the near future our whole energy base will change,” Brunt said.
Gallup Solar received capital outlay of $45,000 from the New Mexico Legislature and is putting out an RFP on a partnership. “We’ve talked with PNM, trying to get them to locate a plant in Gallup,” he said. He also spoke Friday with Steven Begay of Dine Power Authority in hopes of partnering with DPA.
“Gallup Solar is not just a utility-scale solar plant. It’s a paradigm shift in people’s thinking,” Brunt said.
Michael Sawyer, president of Global Energy Systems Inc., hopes to bring commercial-scale solar projects to Native American tribes and communities such as Gallup. “Pending governmental subsidies through tax credits we will be beginning the largest installation for Native American tribes in the United States. ... Our smallest system is 25 killowatts and will power five to eight homes,” he said.
David Melton of Sacred Power Corp. also hopes to bridge the gap with “Solar Power for All.” Sacred Power built a solar carport at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque and is now thinking about solar plug-in chargers for electric vehicles.
VETERANS:
Submitted by Abeartracks@aol.com
Native Americans who leave and relocate from their reservation/Indian lands are subject to the same taxes applicable to all other citizens of that state. However, they do not lose their immunity from state taxes if the only reason for leaving the reservation is for military service.
This law was NEVER enforced and all Native Americans who served in the armed forces had their military pay taxed by their states until the year 2001.
Will the new president/vice-president enact legislation to recover money that was illegally taken from all these servicemen and women?
Ask him!!!
GET OUT THE NATIVE VOTE!!!!
General Election Voter Registration Deadlines
Don't miss out.
Find the voter registration deadlines for your state. If you have any questions, contact your local
Board of Elections or Secretary of State.
State Voter Registration Deadline
Alabama Fri, Oct. 24 Alaska Sun, Oct. 5 (postmark by Sat, Oct. 4) Arizona Mon, Oct. 6 Arkansas Mon, Oct. 6 California Mon, Oct. 20 Colorado Mon, Oct. 6 Connecticut Tues, Oct. 21 Delaware Sat, Oct. 11 District of Columbia Mon, Oct. 6 Florida Mon, Oct. 6 Georgia Mon, Oct. 6 Hawaii Mon, Oct. 6 Idaho Register at Polls Illinois Tues, Oct. 7 Indiana Mon, Oct. 6 Iowa Fri, Oct. 24 Kansas Mon, Oct. 20 Kentucky Mon, Oct. 6 Louisiana Mon, Oct. 6 Maine Tue, Oct. 21 Maryland Tue, Oct. 14
Massachusetts Wed, Oct. 15 Michigan Mon, Oct. 6 Minnesota Same Day Registration at polling place Mississippi Mon, Oct. 6 Missouri Wed, Oct. 8 Montana Mon, Oct. 6 (or same day at elections office) Nebraska Fri, Oct. 24 (mail by Fri, Oct. 17) Nevada Tue, Oct. 14 New Hampshire Same Day New Jersey Tues, Oct. 14 New Mexico Tues, Oct. 7 New York Fri, Oct. 10 North Carolina Fri, Oct. 10 North Dakota N/A Ohio Mon, Oct. 6 Oklahoma Fri, Oct. 10 Oregon Tue, Oct. 14 Pennsylvania Mon, Oct. 6 Rhode Island Sat, Oct. 4
South Carolina Sat, Oct. 4 South Dakota Mon, Oct. 20 Tennessee Mon, Oct. 6 Texas Mon, Oct. 6 Utah Mon, Oct. 6 or in person Tue, Oct. 28 Vermont Wed, Oct. 29 Virginia Mon, Oct. 6 Washington Mon, Oct. 4 (or Mon, Oct. 20 in person) West Virginia Wed, Oct. 15 Wisconsin Wed, Oct. 15 (or on Election Day at polling place) Wyoming Can register at polls
http://www.rockthevote.com/voting-is-easy/important-dat...
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
ATT: NEW - News Blog - American Indian Report - AIR BLOG
http://falmouth-air.blogspot.com
'NCAI Program Brings Wall Street To Tribal Schools'
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
By Kathy Helms
Dine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK - Recently when Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly visited Niagara Falls and listened to the roaring water, it reminded him that water is power, and power is forever.
“As long as the sun shines there is power, clean power. The wind’s the same way. As long as the wind blows, it provides power,” Shelly told a crowd gathered Friday at Navajo Nation Museum for “Bridging the Gap; Solar Power for All,” moderated by Anna Rondon.
“We’re in dire need for energy and dire need for new technology,” Shelly said. One possibility is developing a wind farm at Big Boquillas Ranch, owned by the tribe. “We have enough developers coming to our doors right now that we can now negotiate with them.’ So many developers, in fact, that there is talk of “weeding out some of these alternative energy companies and putting a moratorium on it and selecting two or three for solar and wind power,” he said.
In addition, Shelly said his plan is to have Community Health Representatives gather the names of their elderly clients who don’t have electricity and see if the Nation can get funding to supply them portable power. “If that’s the case, the portable power has to be manufactured somewhere. These are things that can provide economics and also jobs,” he said.
Sandra Begay-Campbell of Sandia Lab said the Ramona Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians, a small landlocked tribe in southern California, is using a hybrid wind/solar energy system to live totally off the grid.
Cal Curley, field representative for U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, delivered a message from the congressman, who was unable to attend. “America’s energy policy undermines our economy, our security, and our world’s fragile ecosystem.”
Humans have managed to overwhelm the earth’s carbon cycle, radically altering the carbon balance that has sustained life on earth for millennia, he said.
“The result is we are literally frying our earth. Scientists say that global warming will have the effect of virtually moving New Mexico 300 miles to the south and depositing us in the Sonoran Desert. If that happens, our way of life won’t just change, it will end.
“Some people claim that we are not yet running out of easily available oil or that the climate is not changing that quickly,” according to Udall. “I look at it like this. We are driving toward a cliff. I don’t want to spend a lot time arguing about how far off that cliff is. I want to stop hitting the gas pedal.
“The good news is that we have the power to solve both of these problems. We can make our economy produce high-paying jobs and we can do it by putting our people to work building a more sustainable energy economy.” he said.
Dr. James Davis, chief of staff for Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan, said Morgan is working on a plan to do just that. Morgan has connected with the green jobs group in Flagstaff. “We have a new project that we’re working on, which tries to bring outside groups to the Council and allow it to explore possibilities into the future.
“One project that we’re doing currently is regarding that, exploring the whole notion of energy and green jobs. This is wonderful because Navajos, traditionally, have been aware of the environment; but finally we’re marrying concepts with action.” Morgan will be presenting legislation possibly during winter session.
Eni Begaye of Green Economy Coalition said they are talking about diversifying and creating green jobs that are low- or non-polluting. “Essentially what we want to do is create a Navajo Green Economy Coalition that would allocate funding to organizations or businesses through an RFP granting process for entrepreneurial efforts, to do start-ups and get these businesses off the ground and rolling.”
The coalition made up of a multistakeholder group would oversee allocation of the funds and would work with entities within the Navajo Nation which are trying to develop wind and solar projects. It also would establish within each of the five Navajo agencies, offices that could work with existing community development offices to help communities come up with those plans.
“To get the funding is only the beginning. The rest of the plan is helping the communities come up with long-term sustainable employment sources,” Begaye said. Funding could go to small-scale wind projects, textile mills that handle wool produced locally, a weaver’s co-op, or a farmers market, for example. Begaye said they will be asking the Navajo Nation to put $10 million toward green job investments into the fund.
Gordon Isaac, also of the Coalition, said about eight chapters already have approved supporting resolutions.
Fred White, deputy director for the Division of Natural Resources, said there is approximately 5,000 megawatts of wind energy power available within the Navajo Nation. “If developed, the Navajo Nation could be a major player in energy development in the Southwest and western United States.” The military is the largest user of electricity in the United States, according to Begay-Campbell.
At Navajo Technical College, professor Raymond Griego and his students spent four years building their own 500-watt-per-hour wind turbine from scratch and braving the elements to erect it.
The wind turbine’s blades are made from 2 by 6s and took an entire semester to carve. Griego said the turbine works on an alternator theory, sort of like a car. “The whole idea for this was to attract people from our community to learn how to build one of these,” he said.
They are now working on a 2.5 killowatt wind turbine with the help of Terry Battiest of Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, who also presented information on NTUA’s electricity alternative for Navajo homes, which includes 640-watt solar and 880-watt wind hybrid systems for about $95 a month.
“Hybrid,” in this case, means combined wind and solar sources.
David Brunt said Gallup Solar is hoping to collaborate with communities, elected officials, utilities and industry to bring solar power to all people in the area. They are looking at two potential sites: Prewitt and Gamerco. “Someday in the near future our whole energy base will change,” Brunt said.
Gallup Solar received capital outlay of $45,000 from the New Mexico Legislature and is putting out an RFP on a partnership. “We’ve talked with PNM, trying to get them to locate a plant in Gallup,” he said. He also spoke Friday with Steven Begay of Dine Power Authority in hopes of partnering with DPA.
“Gallup Solar is not just a utility-scale solar plant. It’s a paradigm shift in people’s thinking,” Brunt said.
Michael Sawyer, president of Global Energy Systems Inc., hopes to bring commercial-scale solar projects to Native American tribes and communities such as Gallup. “Pending governmental subsidies through tax credits we will be beginning the largest installation for Native American tribes in the United States. ... Our smallest system is 25 killowatts and will power five to eight homes,” he said.
David Melton of Sacred Power Corp. also hopes to bridge the gap with “Solar Power for All.” Sacred Power built a solar carport at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque and is now thinking about solar plug-in chargers for electric vehicles.
VETERANS:
Submitted by Abeartracks@aol.com
Native Americans who leave and relocate from their reservation/Indian lands are subject to the same taxes applicable to all other citizens of that state. However, they do not lose their immunity from state taxes if the only reason for leaving the reservation is for military service.
This law was NEVER enforced and all Native Americans who served in the armed forces had their military pay taxed by their states until the year 2001.
Will the new president/vice-president enact legislation to recover money that was illegally taken from all these servicemen and women?
Ask him!!!
GET OUT THE NATIVE VOTE!!!!
General Election Voter Registration Deadlines
Don't miss out.
Find the voter registration deadlines for your state. If you have any questions, contact your local
Board of Elections or Secretary of State.
State Voter Registration Deadline
Alabama Fri, Oct. 24 Alaska Sun, Oct. 5 (postmark by Sat, Oct. 4) Arizona Mon, Oct. 6 Arkansas Mon, Oct. 6 California Mon, Oct. 20 Colorado Mon, Oct. 6 Connecticut Tues, Oct. 21 Delaware Sat, Oct. 11 District of Columbia Mon, Oct. 6 Florida Mon, Oct. 6 Georgia Mon, Oct. 6 Hawaii Mon, Oct. 6 Idaho Register at Polls Illinois Tues, Oct. 7 Indiana Mon, Oct. 6 Iowa Fri, Oct. 24 Kansas Mon, Oct. 20 Kentucky Mon, Oct. 6 Louisiana Mon, Oct. 6 Maine Tue, Oct. 21 Maryland Tue, Oct. 14
Massachusetts Wed, Oct. 15 Michigan Mon, Oct. 6 Minnesota Same Day Registration at polling place Mississippi Mon, Oct. 6 Missouri Wed, Oct. 8 Montana Mon, Oct. 6 (or same day at elections office) Nebraska Fri, Oct. 24 (mail by Fri, Oct. 17) Nevada Tue, Oct. 14 New Hampshire Same Day New Jersey Tues, Oct. 14 New Mexico Tues, Oct. 7 New York Fri, Oct. 10 North Carolina Fri, Oct. 10 North Dakota N/A Ohio Mon, Oct. 6 Oklahoma Fri, Oct. 10 Oregon Tue, Oct. 14 Pennsylvania Mon, Oct. 6 Rhode Island Sat, Oct. 4
South Carolina Sat, Oct. 4 South Dakota Mon, Oct. 20 Tennessee Mon, Oct. 6 Texas Mon, Oct. 6 Utah Mon, Oct. 6 or in person Tue, Oct. 28 Vermont Wed, Oct. 29 Virginia Mon, Oct. 6 Washington Mon, Oct. 4 (or Mon, Oct. 20 in person) West Virginia Wed, Oct. 15 Wisconsin Wed, Oct. 15 (or on Election Day at polling place) Wyoming Can register at polls
http://www.rockthevote.com/voting-is-easy/important-dat...
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
ATT: NEW - News Blog - American Indian Report - AIR BLOG
http://falmouth-air.blogspot.com
'NCAI Program Brings Wall Street To Tribal Schools'
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
posted by BobbieoAZ @ 10:08 AM
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