earth odyssey january 2009

4 Help protect Arizona’s bald eagles

5 Vintners growing greener grapes

An Educational Guide to Sustainability and Spiritual Well-being

Vol. 1, No. 5 January 2009

6

INSIDE: 8 Agroecologist asks can the Southwest feed itself?

24 Calendar of events

Earth Odyssey • www.pinonpinepress.com January 2009

Black Canyon City Office of Tourism

Camp Verde Camp Verde Public Library Artisans Gallery and Bookstore

Cave Creek Cave Creek Coffee Company & Wine Bar

Chino Valley Chino Valley Public Library Chino Valley Senior Center

Christopher Creek Creekside Restaurant Double D Store, Café & Bar Kohl’s Ranch Tall Pines Market

Congress Country Corner Congress Library

Cordes Junction Arcosanti Over the Hill Coffee Shop

Cottonwood Cottonwood Chamber Cottonwood Public Library Mt. Hope Natural Foods

Dewey Dewey Public Library Dewey Senior Center

Flagstaff Animas Trading Co. Arizona Music Pro Coconino Center for the Arts Crystal Magic Flagstaff Visitors Center Public Library Sacred Rites

Jerome Firehouse Jerome Gallery Jerome Public Library

Mayer Mayer Chamber of Commerce

Mayer Mercantile Mayer Public Library Mayer Senior Center

Paradise Valley Whole Foods

Payson Back To Basics Bashas’ Fiesta Business Products Fireside Espresso Café Green Scene Solar National Bank of Arizona Payson Center for Spiritual Awareness Payson Feed Store Payson Public Library Plant Fair Nursery Re-Runs Rim Country Chamber of Commerce Scoops The Bookstore and More Town of Payson Municipal Building Town of Payson Parks & Recreation Vita Mart

Pine Ponderosa Market The Crystal Lotus The Herb Stop

Prescott Cat’s Meow Cuppers Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Library Habitat for Humanity Restore Hastings Books Music & Video Highlands Center for Natural History La Fonda Mexican Restaurant On The Mesa Pangaea Prescott Chamber of Commerce Prescott College Library Prescott Public Library Raven Café Roosters Café The Art Store The Catalyst Tim’s Toyota Wild Iris Coffee House

Yavapai College

Prescott Valley Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. Dippin’ Dots Healing Essentials Prescott Valley Public Library The Honeyman Natural Food Stores

Sedona Crystal Castle Sedona Arts Center Sedona Chamber of Commerce Sedona Public Library

Scottsdale Whole Foods

Tempe Borders Book Store Ejoy Internet Café

Tucson Casbah Café Epic Café Hippie Gypsie Third Eye Arts Worldwide Wraps

Skull Valley Skull Valley General Store

Star Valley Kelly’s Sweet Revenge

Wickenburg DQ/Jack in the Box Ginny’s Vitamin Village Quarter-Horse Antiques Wickenburg Public Library

Wilhoit Wilhoit Public Library

Williams Williams Visitor’s Center JDs Espresso

Yarnell McGerk’s Mercantile Yarnell Grocery Yarnell Public Library

We encourage our readers to patronize the merchants who support Earth Odyssey. Earth Odyssey can be found in the following locations:

“I love Earth Odyssey, where can I find it?”

If you would like to see Earth Odyssey somewhere you frequent, send us the information at [email protected] and we will see what we can do.

January 2009 Earth Odyssey • www.pinonpinepress.com

Columns

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Vol. 1, No. 5 January 2009

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MovieReviews

by Jason Allen

by Maya Joy Angelesby Maya Joy Angeles

Help protect Arizona’s bald eagles

Desert bighorn sheepPopulations remain low, concern is still high

Two businesses recognized for sustainable practices

Grant deadlineApply now for projects to conserve indigenous

healing practices or cultural traditions

Arizona: The 6 million person camping tripAgroecologist asks can the Southwest feed itself?

CSA accepting spring applications

Nutrition NewsFight breast cancer with fruits and vegetables

Sustainable LivingEconomic solution is a happier, sustainable planet

Puzzle pages

Calendar

Antique or JunqueTiffany utility box is still a prized possession

Green Minute

Yes! You can recycle thatGet creative with recycling, reusing products

NASA’s carbon-sniffi ng satellite to launch this month

EcoLivingTime to unite spiritual and sustainable practices

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ReStores help Habitat for Humanity help others

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ON THE COVER: Three sisters—Joelle, Nikki and Erin—enjoy their new room in their new home. Daughters of Joanna Carroll, the family was one of four to receive a new home through Payson Area Habitat for Humanity recently. See story on page 16. Photo by Pia Wyer

Cover story:

Two more

California

condor

chicks

fl ying free

Organic wines uncorkedVintners growing greener grapes

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Our MissionThe mission of Earth Odyssey is

to encourage individuals to develop sustainable lifestyles and healthier well-being by providing educational information needed to make wiser choices.

We envision an extended community of individuals who care passionately about their environment and their own spiritual well-being and recognize the symbiotic relationship between the two.

Magazine Staff

Publisher/Editor Ann Haver-AllenPhotographer/Photo Editor/Web Editor Pia WyerAdvertising Art Director/Writer Jason AllenAdvertising DirectorJohn DerhamAdvertising RepresentativesBill AllenKelly Shattuck

ContributorsMaya Joy AngelesLeilah BreitlerCherlyn FargoJohn HallShawn Dell JoyceMike MarinoAnne McCollamSarah McLeanPatricia MelchiJim ParksDominique ShillingBonnie WestPia Wyer

An educational guide

to sustainability and

spiritual well-being

Earth Odyssey is published monthly by Pinon Pine Press LLC and is available online at pinonpinepress.com. Send comments and suggestions to: [email protected] OR via U.S. mail to: Editor1042 Willow Creek RoadSte A101-PMB 486Prescott, AZ 86301Phone: (928) 778-1782

Th e opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or advertisers. Copyright © 2008. Pinon Pine Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission. For photo reprints, contact Pia Wyer at [email protected].

Printed by Valley Newspapers23043 N. 16th Lane, Phoenix, AZPrinted using soy inks.

Help protect Arizona’s bald eagles

Arizona’s bald eagles are begin-ning their breeding activities, and outdoor recreationists are asked to help protect important breeding areas by

honoring the closure of 21 areas across the state. Various land and wildlife management agencies close the breeding areas for part of the year, beginning in December, to protect the state’s 48 breeding pairs of bald eagles. Some of the closure areas are located near popular recreation sites.

“Even though the bald eagle is doing well in Arizona, they still require the public’s help to reproduce successfully and flourish in the state,” said Kenneth Jacobson, head of the Arizona Game and Fish Department Bald Eagle Management Program. “Human activity near active bald eagle nests can cause a breeding pair to leave its eggs uncovered, leading to a failed breeding attempt. It can take only 30 minutes for a breeding attempt to fail.”

The bald eagle was federally listed as an endangered species in 1978. Nationally, the birds recovered enough to be removed from the list last year, but they remain listed as an endangered species in Arizona.

In December, Arizona bald eagles begin re-building nests in preparation for laying eggs. During this time, land and wildlife manage-ment agencies enact the seasonal breeding area closures. Bald eagles nest, forage and roost at the rivers and lakes that have become some of Arizona’s most popular recreation spots, and this time of year can be challeng-ing for the birds.

“With the public’s help and cooperation, we can all take responsibility for ensuring that Arizona bald eagles breed successfully,” Jacobson said.

Seasonal ClosuresAlamo LakeA portion of upper Alamo Lake may be closed to boats from Jan. 1 to June 30. Con-tact the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region IV, Yuma, (928) 342-0091.

Lake PleasantNo vehicle, watercraft, or foot entry is al-lowed into the Lower Agua Fria Arm from Dec. 15 to June 15. Contact Maricopa County Parks and Recreation, (928) 501-1710.

Verde River Verde River below Sycamore Canyon Wil-derness is closed to foot and vehicle entry from Dec. 1 to June 15. Floating through is allowed. Contact Coconino National Forest, Sedona Ranger District, (928) 282-4119.

Verde River near Chasm Creek is closed to foot and vehicle entry from Dec. 1 to June 15. Floating through is allowed. Contact Prescott National Forest, Verde Ranger Dis-trict, (928) 567-4121.

Verde River upstream of the East Verde confluence is closed to vehicle and foot entry from Dec. 1 to June 30. Floating through is

allowed, but no stopping in the river or land-ing is permitted. Contact Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District, (480) 595-3300.

Verde River near Mule Shoe Bend, allows watercraft to float through but no stopping in the river or landing is allowed from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District, (480) 595-3300.

Verde River below Horseshoe Dam may be closed to vehicle or foot entry on the south-west side of the river from Dec. 1 to June 30. Floating through is allowed, but no stop-ping in the river or landing on the southwest side of the river is allowed. Contact Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District, (480) 595-3300.

Verde River below Bartlett Dam is closed to foot or vehicle entry from Dec. 1 to June 30. Floating through is allowed. Contact Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District,(480)595-3300.

Verde River at the Needle Rock Recreation area is closed to foot and vehicle entry on the east side of the river from Dec. 1 to June 30. Floating through is allowed, but no stopping in the river or landing on east side of river is allowed. Contact Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District, (480) 595-3300.

Tonto Creek Tonto Creek from Gisela to 76 Ranch is closed to vehicle, foot entry and floating through from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact Tonto National Forest, Tonto Basin Ranger District (928) 467-3200.

Tonto Creek inlet to Roosevelt Lake is closed to vehicle and foot entry within 1,000 feet of the nest on land and to watercraft within 300 feet on water from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact Tonto National Forest, Tonto Basin Ranger District (928) 467-3200.

Salt RiverSalt River from Horseshoe Bend to Red-

Photos courtesy First People of Canada and America: Turtle Island/ http://www.fi rstpeople.us

See Eagles, page 31


By Mike Marino

You’ve just installed new solar panels to harness lean, mean and clean energy from the sun. You recycle with the fervor of a religious zealot, and you’ve

taken your SUV to the junkyard to be crushed into an abstract work of heavy metal art, in favor of that smart new hybrid sitting in your garage.

The compost pile in your backyard is beginning to brew and ferment, producing an intoxicating anaerobic aroma that is noth-ing short of a green perfume. Soon, it will be spread with tender loving care over your or-ganic garden, which will release a sustainable cornucopia of fresh vegetables and spices.

You’ve done all the right things. You’ve gone green with a vengeance and it’s time to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. Wait! Be-fore you embark on Bacchus and uncork that bottle of vino, you do have to ask yourself one question. Are these grapes happily organic, or merely corporate grown grapes of wrath?

“Future Shock” and “The Greening of America,” were late ’60s, early ’70s hand-books for survival in the world rising to a new consciousness. They touted the mantra of back-to-the-earth simplicity and organics.

I first discovered these myself through an acquaintance from San Francisco, a Haight hipster and holy bhikku wino, who went by the name of Doc Yucatan. Doc spent hours discussing organic food growing, composting and self-sufficiency, and had visions of a Xan-adu of artists who would return to the soil to create art, and to consume what they grew.

One of the areas of particular interest in those post-Beat Generation dazed days was the growing of grapes for the production of wines. Let’s face it, no artist can create without a bottle of Annie Greenspring’s next to the typewriter. The idea was as American as, well, Concord Grapes.

Doc’s magic carpet ride of a visionary community of vinophiles never left the city by the Bay, but today, organic wine making is spreading like a wild grapevine and American vintners and others from around the world are leading the charge against profligate pesticide use and the redundant depletion of a soil’s nu-trients by over fertilization violating the fruits as though attacked by a madman on Viagra.

Fast forward to today. The green gold rush is good for the planet’s future as agriculture embraces its practicality, and the wine indus-try is not immune.

Two wine producers blazing the trail are Jasper Hills Winery in Australia, and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, parent company of Snoqualmie Wineries, in Prosser, Wash.

Organic in Australia

Downunder, in the land of the ‘Roo, dwell the Australians, and Ron and Emily Laughlin, have been grape-

growing greenies for decades, mate.Aussies have a fiercely independent nature.

Perhaps it’s because of its penal colony roots that has something to do with it, or more to

the point, vast pints of ale and beer that are consumed as though a national sport.

Weird looking critters like platypus and koalas, and other animals that defy explana-tion, could also play a role in defining their defiant national character. So it’s not surpris-ing that in the vanguard of natural vintning comes an Australian, (Strayan for the uniniti-ated) whose independent streak has placed the Laughtons on the pioneer pedestal of the Organic Hall of Fame, having embraced organic techniques back in the bad old days when chemicals were all the rage. In the process, Ron helped to establish, no, define the Heathcote region in central Victoria as a pre-eminent wine-producing region. Not bad for a beer-drinking, son of a sheep farmer, raised on a ranch near Sydney.

He eventually left the family farm and worked as a technologist with one of Austra-lia’s largest dairy cooperatives. While traveling to the milk factories in the northern part of Victoria, the landscape stood out and wine popped into his head. Call it a vino vishnu vision. Today, when you uncork a Shiraz, your pallate will go “Shazam.” Yes, it’s that good!

The question, though, is about the big “O,” organics. How committed are these vintners to the spirit of Mother Earth? Put it this way, Mother Nature’s soil in Jasper Hills vineyard is still a virgin.

Never once defiled by synthetic chemicals, the vineyard could wear white at a wedding. Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides are chemicals nongratis here, and on occasion, some elemental sulfur or Bordeaux mixture is applied.

So how does wine stack up in beer and ale

territory? Are people popping the cork and not just the can tab? According to Emily, they are.

“Yes, I do believe wine is becoming more popular in Australia,” she said. “There are some young people still drinking those (awful) alco-pop mix drinks, but there are many peo-ple you see with a wine. The number of wine bars around Australia is on the increase and I believe the stigma attached to wine is fading. People are wanting to learn more about wine, and particularly where it has come from.”

When it comes to harvest time, the harvest

does not take the over-mechanized corporate heavy metal approach either. It’s all done by hand—by friends, family and some serious wine-loving locals who know a good thing when they see it. According to Emily, it’s party time.

“You’d like to think it is a party atmo-sphere, but there are times when it is bloody hot and the fruit just has to come off,” she said. “It is good work though as people get to pick and chat amongst themselves. We have had many people come back year in year out,

Organic wines uncorked

Vintners growing greener grapes

Courtesy photo

Ron and Emily Laughlin, owners of Jasper Hills Winery in Australia, have been organic vintners since the vineyards were planted in 1975.

Courtesy photo

Th e soils at Jasper Hills Winery are derived from Cambrian age basaltic rock. Quite rare in the world

and particularly in Australia, here they are unusually deep, red coloured, well drained, gravelly loams on

undulating hillsides, but with good moisture retention.

See Organic, page 6


which is lovely.“We have many people from all around the

world who send e-mails asking to come and visit/work, particularly during vintage. It is very hard for us to accommodate everybody as we are a small family-run business and often there is not enough work or time to go around. We do have groups come to visit and Ron also goes to speak at the universities about organics/biodynamics.

“The way we grow and produce our wine is nothing new really; it’s just been a little forgot-ten since the chemical age came in (which was not all that long ago really). It is great that people are interested in visiting us or even just taking the time and thinking about what they purchase and where it has come from.”

The good stewards down under also produce their own compost—organic to be sure—for the vineyard and mucho mulch is applied over the soil surface.

“We use vine prunings, legumes and native grasses,” Emily said. “We also aerate the soil and we do minimal tillage to minimize what they call soil compaction.”

Wine in Washington

Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery, brought them into what would be-come the Washington wine-growing

region—the Yakima Valley. Think gluttony Washington, think apples, right? Ranier Cherries, right? Not grapes, right? Wrong. The valley is soil rich and a wine lover’s paradise.

It’s framed ecologically to the north by the ominous sounding Rattlesnake Hills and to the south by the Horse Heaven Hills. Toss in the roaring cascades of the Columbia River as an accent and you have ideal conditions for a variety of varietals.

Believe it or not, the Pacific Left Coast of the United States is the second-largest wine producer in America, after California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys of course.

Nestled snugly inside this geographic cocoon is Snoqualmie Wineries, where the goal is simply explained by Joy Anderson, Snoqualmie winemaker and keeper of the organic faith.

“Our goal is to produce the highest-quality wines possible, by utilizing environmental practices and natural resource stewardship,” she said.

This dedication is not a new explosive epiphany to them. The parent company, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, has for a longtime been dedicated to making sustainable and organically produced wines, so its green roots are deep.

“A critical goal of Snoqualmie’s sustainabil-ity and organics program, and of these move-ments in general, is to reduce our ‘ecological footprint,’ or the impact that our actions have on our natural surroundings,” Anderson said. “We have always believed that taking good care of our vineyards and our local environ-ment are essential steps toward making the best wines, and doing right by our local com-munity and environment. This philosopy is the core of our sustainability program.”

Even though the USDA organic param-

eters are ag specific, a true sustainable vintner program takes it a step further into the vine-yard and applies good stewardship practices to water management, energy, packaging, and of course, the management of waste from the wine-producing process.

While Washington state wine grape grow-ers self regulate their sustainable processes through a checklist program called Vinewise, there are currently no federal programs in place to certify sustainability. Leave it to the rest of the global community to lead the way through certification of sustainability, led in good part by the International Organization of Biological Controls.

Snoqualmie takes sustainability very seriously and employs every tool in their ag arsenal in the arenas of pest, soil and water management, energy and water conserva-tion, waste reduction and ultimately, voila! Organic wine-making for the real world.

“Some specific examples of our efforts in the vineyard include dramatically decreased use of man-made pest control agents and increased reliance on biodegradable soaps, oils and plant extracts for pest management; use of low-impact vehicles to increase fuel and work efficiency; planting a green cover of native grasses and cereal grains to reduce erosion and attract beneficial insects; and implementation of drip irrigation systems for increased water conservation and efficiency,” Anderson said.

Energy gluttony is the town drunk in today’s world of greenhouse emissions.

“In the winery, we have moved from propane-powered to battery-powered fork-lifts in the cellar and installed new, energy efficient lighting and motion light sensors

to increase energy conservation,” Anderson continued. “We use water-conserving nozzles on all hoses and store our wastewater on-site in retention pools that naturally evaporate through the year. We’ve reduced our solid waste through a winery recycling program of paper, cardboard, aluminum and grape pomace—the organic materials such as grape skins and pulp leftover from the wine-mak-ing process, which we sell for use as fertilizer and livestock feed.

Anderson explained a new event the win-ery uncorked this year that I had the pleasure of attending and tasting.

“Another aspect of sustainability is com-munity involvement,” she said. “Our winery is deeply rooted in our Prosser home and we were pleased to recently host the first annual Snoqualmie Greener Living and Harvest Celebration, a great event that aimed to both entertain and educate our neighbors about various aspects of green living.”

In addition to organic and sustainable wine tasting, there were a host of green builders and products on display for use in the home, garden and for landscaping, and tours of the vats where you could follow the

post-crush process to its logical conclusion...a glass of delicious wine, pure and “green,” although red in color, drinking a toast to Mother Nature while enjoying the jazz en-semble in the garden gazebo surrounded by vineyards, sunshine and scenery aplenty.

So, how in the sustainable universe of the organic solar system, does a product get labeled...the real deal? To receive the green thumbs up from the USDA, a product must be farmed, produced and certified according to a strict set of guidelines regulated by the USDA’s National Organic Program.

This way, the green-aware consumer can trust (as far as you are willing to trust a government agency) that the product is indeed kosher, or in this case, organic. The Snoqualmie manifesto is strict.

“Although the standard commercial winery practices of fermenting wine grapes into wine is a relatively natural process, there are a few standard inputs and practices that are not allowed in certified organic winery practices,” Anderson said. “For example, only mechanical or biological methods can be used to process and preserve the wines—no

Organiccontinued from page 5

Courtesy photos

Snoqualmie Wineries is located at 660 Frontier

Road in Prosser, Wash., and has three vineyards

within Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley and Horse

Heaven Hills American Viticulture Areas (AVA).

Each region produces grapes with fl avors unique to

the area. It is one of the fi rst wineries in Washing-

ton to make wines from USDA-certifi ed organi-

cally grown grapes, and as of 2008 has the largest

certifi ed organic vineyard in the state. Th e tasting

room and gift shop are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

daily, except Th anksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s

Day and Easter.

See Organic, page 7


ionizing radiation, waste substrates or geneti-cally modified organisms. Winery equipment must be cleaned with only earth-friendly cleaning aids before each organic produc-tion run. All of the ingredients and processes used to make the wines must themselves be certified organic, which for us means that our Naked wines are made with only certi-fied organic grapes in our certified organic winemaking facility.”

What do the labels mean?Here’s a quick summary of what the labels mean:• 100 percent organic: organically produced

ingredients and processing aids used in its production. If a wine earns this badge, it would be the equivalent of receiving the Purple Heart for heroism in combat under fire. At this point, no American wine has made it to the top of this ratings Mt. Ever-est, but vintners are getting closer to the summit each day.

• Labeled organic: it must consist of at least

Page Springs Cellars is nestled along the banks of Sedona’s famous Oak Creek and on the lower flanks of House Mountain volcano. Sandy, clay-loam overlays a matrix of basaltic clasts (chunks of extruded volcanic rock) that are cemented by calcareous (chalky, alka-line—limestone-like) sediments derived from a larger geologic structure called the Verde formation.

The “subsoils” are alkaline (much like the limestone of the Southern Rhone and Bur-gundy). These soils contribute character to grapes and their alkalinity tempers the vigor of aggressive Rhone varietals.

Generally speaking, Page Springs enjoys a Mediterranean climate. The bulk of the rain comes in the winter and summers are generally hot and dry. Summer highs are generally in the low 90s, with up to a 40 degree fluctuation from day to night, which is critical for the development of flavors and other grape components that are critical to

making fine wine.At Page Springs Cellars the grapes are

grown without the use of petrochemicals. The fertility program centers on encouraging and sustaining a healthy and productive soil ecosystem through using cover crops and ani-mal manures and staying away from indus-trial, “chemical’ insecticides and herbicides. Eric Glomski is owner and winemaker.

Page Springs employs chickens, geese and ducks to help with weeding and pest man-agement in the vineyards.

“By enlisting the help of our poultry friends, we can stay true to our commitment to sustainable farming and avoid the use of harsh chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers,” said Craig Martinsen, vineyard manager. “Our goal is to create a healthy farm ecosystem that supports the growth of premium grapes for wine production.”

For more information, see the Web site at www.pagespringscellars.com.

Three organic wineries in Arizona

Painted Lady Vineyard in Skull Valley is owned by Jodi Padgett and Fiona Reid. Th ey grow Gewurztra-

miner grapes organically, without the use of toxic chemicals, on a one-acre vineyard. Originally planted

in 2006 the vines suff ered two years of grasshopper infestations and late frosts, but this year, 2008, they

are fi nally seeing the fruits of their labor! Eric Glomski, their winemaker, of Page Springs Cellars, fer-

ments all the sugar out of the wine creating a beautiful dry Gewurztraminer, currently being made with

grapes from Monterey County, Calif. Spirit willing, 2009 will be their own Skull Valley-grown vintage!

Granite Creek Vineyards is a family owned and operated vineyard and winery in Chino Valley. Nestled in a unique valley at 4,600 ft., the vineyards are surrounded by rugged granite peaks and high elevation rolling prai-rie. Vines bask in the intense sunshine this fabulous microclimate provides with hot days and cool nights lasting late into the fall.

These perfect ripening conditions com-bined with organically farmed granite soil

Page Springs Cellars

Granite Creek Vineyards LLCand pure well water develop truly delicious fruit. The vineyard was established in 1974 by the Hoult family and has been managed organically its entire life.

The first certified organic farm in Arizona, Granite Creek Vineyards today is one of only a handful of wineries in the United States that make 100 percent Certified Organic wines without sulfites. For more infomation, see www.granitecreekvineyards.com/.

95 percent organically produced ingredi-ents, again excluding water and salt. Any remaining ingredients must appear on the NOP list of allowed ingredients. When it comes to sulfites, suffice it to say, the addi-tion of sulfites beyond those that naturally occur in fermentation is not allowed in this category.

• Labeled made with organic grapes: must contain at least 70 percent organically pro-duced ingredients. Any remaining ingre-dients must appear on the NOP list of al-lowed ingredients. The addition of sulfites up to 100 ppm is allowed in this category to preserve flavors, aromas and shelf life. This is the category in which most of the organically produced wines fall.So...in choosing a fine wine, the eco-

vinophile can go “O” with wines from the organic Outback of Australia to the Pacific Left Coast of America’s Northwest. It’s not just about white, blush and red wines going green, it’s about keeping our own earth-ship alive and in perfect organic orbit.

Organiccontinued from page 6

Painted Lady Vineyard


The recently completed survey of the desert bighorn sheep popu-lation on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in southwest-

ern Arizona is estimated at 436 sheep.The survey estimate is down from the

2007 survey estimate of 460 sheep, but it is up from the lowest recorded estimated level of the 2006 survey of 390.

Due to standardized survey methodology and scientific margin of accuracy, biologists’ analysis of the past three surveys indicates no significant decline or improvement to the herd’s population. Wildlife management agencies remain concerned about the low population levels on the refuge compared to the estimated 812 animals of the 2000 survey.

Seasonal rains were fair to good and improved habitat conditions throughout much of the refuge. All of the sheep appeared healthy during the aerial surveys. Biologists observed lamb-to-ewe ratios of 29 lambs per 100 ewes, which is above the long-term aver-age of approximately 20 lambs per 100 ewes for the refuge. However, a slightly higher lamb-to-ewe ratio has not yet translated into an increase in the population—it has only stabilized it.

Once a very robust population, the size of the herd on the refuge has dropped signifi-cantly since 2000. Wildlife experts attribute the decline to a variety of potential factors including drought, predation, water availabil-ity, disease and human disturbance.

Due to the significance of this sheep population, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and Arizona Game and Fish Depart-ment (AGFD) are conducting an ongoing, joint study to collect data on these and other suspected causes of the population’s decline.

“We recognize the importance of Kofa’s bighorn sheep and will continue to be proac-tive in managing this unique resource,” said Mitch Ellis, manager of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. “We’re also con-fident that effective and appropriate wildlife management within the wilderness context of Kofa will be achieved.”

In November 2007, 30 ewes were cap-tured and fitted with tracking devices to

monitor nutrition, movements and mortal-ity to assist in making active management decisions to assist in restoring the herd’s population. Testing results for pneumonia on captured sheep were negative; however, lab results for other disease analysis of blood samples are still pending. The project study is scheduled to run through the fall of 2010.

“The importance of the health of the Kofa bighorn sheep population remains extremely important to restoration efforts of the desert bighorn sheep in the entire Southwest,” said Gary Hovatter, Arizona Game and Fish chief of staff. “We remain committed to our ac-tive management and monitoring approach to improve the herd to its historic average population numbers.”

An extensive Web site dedicated to the Kofa NWR bighorn sheep is available at

www.azgfd.gov/kofa. The AGFD launched the site in November 2007. Everything from the latest updates, background information, frequently asked questions, past press re-leases, active management activities and more can be found at this one-stop resource center.

For the past 50 years, the Kofa has been an important source of desert bighorn sheep for the restoration and maintenance of bighorn populations across Arizona and throughout the southwestern United States, including New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.

Because of the findings of the 2006 survey, no new translocations from the Kofa herd are scheduled. The last translocation of sheep from the Kofa was in 2005. The USFWS and AGFD continue their combined research and active management strategy in the pursuit of a desert bighorn sheep herd that can once

2008 survey results for desert bighorn sheep

Populations remain low, concern is still high

again sustain a translocation program.The USFWS and AGFD have jointly

conducted Kofa bighorn sheep surveys since 1981. Prior to 1992, surveys were conducted annually. However, in 1992 funding con-straints reduced the survey schedule to once every three years. Because of the 2006 survey results, annual surveys were temporarily rein-stated. The AGFD organized funding using sportsman-generated department dollars and USFWS monies beginning in 2007.

The size, location and unfragmented nature of 1,038 square miles that make up the Kofa NWR, have long been recognized as a unique combination that has made its 435 square miles of sheep habitat especially productive. With the passage of the 1990 Arizona Desert Wilderness Act, 856 square miles of the refuge have been designated as wilderness.

Photo courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department

Desert bighorn sheep are shown in this undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish.


By Ann Haver-Allen

Two businesses have been recognized by Co-op America for their sustainable business practices.

The first company is Brook-lyn, N.Y.-based Mr. Ellie Pooh, which sells 100 percent handmade journals, stationery, office supplies and various grades of paper made partially from Sri Lankan elephant dung. Mr. Ellie Pooh received the Co-Op America 2008 Green Business Leader Award.

The second company is Eugene, Ore.-based Mountain Rose Herbs, which focuses on delivering exceptional quality certified organic products with a strict emphasis on sustainable agriculture. Mountain Rose Herbs received the People’s Choice for Green Business of the Year from Co-op America.

Mr. Ellie Pooh

Sri Lanka is home to about one out of 10 of the world’s estimated 40,000 Asian elephants still living in the wild.

Elephants are not killed in Sri Lanka for their tusks, their hides or for meat—they are killed because they interfere with agricultural crops.

Mr. Ellie Pooh is working toward finding ways to change the perceptions of farmers, who are being encouraged to see the el-ephants as a sustainable economic resource.

Along with Maximus, their Sri Lankan part-ner and paper-production company, Mr. Ellie Pooh plans to introduce “Project Peace Paper,” which would open paper recycling plants in rural areas, train villagers in paper-making techniques and sell finished goods worldwide in order to contribute to the local economy.

“Mr. Ellie Pooh paper products are 100 percent recycled, made up of 75 percent elephant dung and 25 percent post consumer paper,” said Karl Wald, founder of Mr. Ellie Pooh. “There are no toxic chemicals used in the paper-making process, only basic bonding agents such as alum and rosin, along with wa-ter soluble salt dyes for coloring. As no bleach or acids are introduced during manufactur-ing, the handmade papers are pH neutral and can be used in multiple situations.”

The Green Business Leader Award recog-nizes the extraordinary leadership efforts of one business that has used its position in the marketplace to organize consumers and busi-nesses together to build a more socially just and ecologically sustainable economy.

“We’re pleased that green business peers awarded the prize this year to Mr. Ellie Pooh, which works toward resolving the elephant-human conflict in Sri Lanka to try and prevent more of the world population of Asian elephants from disappearing,” said Green Business Program Director Denise Hamler. “This company’s green and sustain-able aims and practices are truly a model for other corporations.”

Mountain Rose Herbs

Since 1987 Mountain Rose Herbs has focused on delivering exceptional quality certified organic products with

a strict emphasis on sustainable agriculture. Mountain Rose Herbs, which employs 60 people, produces only about 80 gallons of waste each month, the equivalent of an aver-age four-person household. They are working toward a goal of zero waste.

Additionally, the company is working to protect our environment, support the local economy and move America toward more sustainable transportation in this country by having their commercial fleet of trucks run on 100 percent locally produced biodiesel, made from waste vegetable oil, one of the cleanest modes of transportation available.

“The environmental ideals and practices incorporated by this company are an ac-curate reflection of the principles that all of us adopt in our personal lives,” said Shawn Donnille, Mountain Rose Herbs Operations Manager and Director of Quality Control. “None of this would be possible without the enthusiasm and commitment exercised by each employee, and we could not do it without them.”

Mountain Rose is committed to being 100 percent organic, and has been since 2001, when they decreed that no conventionally grown materials would enter their warehouse

again. They are also committed to their sourcing, which means providing quality green products to their customers, as well as protecting workers all along the supply chain. They are also one of the only companies in the United States to carry Fair Trade Certi-fied™ herbs, which guarantee that workers at the beginning of the supply chain receive a

living wage and work under fair conditions. They also offer other Fair Trade items in their product line.

Mountain Rose Herbs uses 100-percent post-consumer recycled paper in their catalog, post-consumer recycled packaging for shipping orders, and uses office supplies, including paper clips and push-pins that are made with recycled content. They also power their building on 100-percent renew-able energy, use energy-efficient computers, and only use green, natural, and biodegrad-able cleaning products inside their facility.

About Co-op America

Co-op America is the leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Co-op America provides the

economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individu-als to solve today’s social and environmental problems. Co-op America’s green economy programs encourage corporate responsibil-ity, tackle climate change, build fair trading systems, advance healthy, local communities, and provide green purchasing and investing information for families and businesses.

Two businesses recognized for sustainable practices

Ringing Rocks Foundation is now accepting letters of intent for the 2009 grants. The grants are for $500 to $5,000 and are available for projects

intended to conserve indigenous healing practices or cultural traditions.

Eligibility critera includes:• Programs must support indigenous heal-

ing practices and/or indigenous cultural practices

• The project must have support from the indigenous community it serves

• Organizations must be recognized as a charity by their governments

• The organization must be “grassroots” with a budget of not more than $1 million

• The project and/or organization must be in agreement with the mission of Ringing Rocks Foundation, which is to conserve indigenous healing practices and cultural traditions through education, documenta-tion and grassroots partnerships.For consideration, submit a completed

eligibility statement along with a one-page letter of intent in English briefly describing

the organization along with type and amount of funding sought. Letters of intent are due no later than 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 2, 2009.

If requested, full proposals will be due Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Notification of awards will occur in June.

Send your letter of intent to:Discretionary Fund CommitteeRinging Rocks Foundation3190 West Hwy. 89A, Suite 100Sedona, AZ 86336-5571For more information, see www.ringin-

grocks.org/.

Courtesy photos

Above, Mr. Ellie Pooh paper products are 100

percent recycled, made up of 75 percent elephant

dung and 25 percent post consumer paper. Th e

company sells note paper, greeting cards and scrap-

books, among other items. For more information,

see www.mrelliepooh.com. For more information

about Mountain Rose Herbs, see www.mountain-

roseherbs.com.

Grant deadlineApply now for projects to conserve indigenous healing practices or cultural traditions


Dominique Shilling, MAFA, is a counselor and

astrologer with a practice in the Valley. For an

appointment, contact her at Way to the Light

Within, (602) 279-2941 or check out her Web site

at www.way2light.com.

Read your Sun, Ascending, and Moon sign. An astrologer can help you find all of the planets places on the day that you were born. Included this month, you will find the planet that rules your sign.

j Capricorn—December 23–January 20The belief that you will find a way no matter what happens will get you through. Energy spent wisely will reap rewards. Your natural gifts of patience and perseverance can be very helpful at this time. Balance logic and faith.

k Aquarius—January 21–February 19A lot of different information and feelings could be coming in all at once. Think about what you really want so you can make wise choices. New information or idea could help you in your work and career. Your open mind is a good thing and could lead to inter-esting rewards.

l Pisces—February 20–March 20Expect the unexpected. Will that be good for you or bad? What you focus on expands, so direct your thoughts toward the blessings that are yours. Venus is in Pisces now so en-joy her gifts of beauty, love and good things in your life.

a Aries—March 21–April 19Career and reputation could be the focus for

you now. Put energy into improving your fu-ture. Heed any signals telling you to take care of your health. Do what you know will work. You will see improvement. Take time out to be with friends and people you love.

b Taurus—April 20–May 20Travel, short or long distance, is possible this month. Where do you want to go? Being in the company of a friend could be very good for you now. Lessons about romance and/or cre-

ativity can help bring improvement. Patience can help you accomplish an important task.

c Gemini—May 22–June 21Focus on home and security, see what needs improvement. You may decide to do repairs, perhaps the kitchen area. See what needs attention. Geminis usually have strong intu-ition. Yours is likely to be even better now. Do something creative. Ask for something you want.

d Cancer—June 22–July 23Think twice before making any promises that you may not be able to keep. Take care of yourself before attending to the needs of others. It is possible that a new person comes into your life or an acquaintance becomes closer. Meditation, lucid dreaming and abil-ity to intuit are easier now.

e Leo—July 24–August 23What you focus on expands, turn your mind to the good things in your life. Healing and improvement comes to the things and situ-ations you put positive energy into. Notice and dwell on that which is good in your life. Work, health and relationships are highlight-ed this month.

f Virgo—August 24–September 23Unusual or unexpected news or changes

possible in a relationship. Romance is an attitude more than something that does or does not happen to you. If there is something that you have been putting off, do it before someone else tells you to.

g Libra—September 24–October 23Your home and feelings of security could be the focus for you this month. Libra natives can be kind, caring, strong and creative. Communicate with someone you love. New information comes about your work and/or matters of health. Venus puts a positive spin on it.

h Scorpio—October 24–November 22 You can be powerful and empathic. Com-munication is an important area for you right now. Say something that you need to say. Ask for something or tell someone how you feel. Love and romance could be interesting. If you are not in a relationship, Venus beckons you on. You have a choice.

i Sagittarius—November 23 –December 22 Look at what you value in your life. Count your blessings. This is a good time to trust your feelings. Changes around your home could be interesting. Lessons about your pur-pose, reputation or career are up. Don’t take the easy way, be patient and do what it takes to get what you want.

Capricornus is the 10th astro-logical constellation in the Zodiac. In Latin, Capricornus means horned goat. The astro-logical reference to this sign

was shortened to Capricorn. It is depicted as the Sea Goat, which is pictured as the top half of a goat with the bottom half as the tail of a fish. There are many different myths about this dim constellation. Some believed that Capricornus was the Gate of the Gods, a region in the sky where souls passed when humans died.

In Greek myth, Capricornus was associ-ated with Pan. During a picnic, a monster at-tacked the gods. The gods turned themselves into animals and fled, but Pan couldn’t de-cide what to be. Finally, he jumped into the Nile River, at which point he transformed. His lower half was in water, so it became a fish. However, his upper-half was still dry, so it stayed a goat. The earliest images of the creature represented by Capricornus have been found in tablets from 3000 BC.

The Zodiac with its 12 constellations is among the oldest sky patterns recognized by human civilizations. Babylonian astronomers noticed that the sun, moon and planets ap-peared to travel this path through this circle. The seasons were measured by the sun taking what is now known as year’s time to pass through each of the different sets of star pat-terns. To the Babylonians, they were thought to have more significance because they were touched by the sun.

Most of this month is spent with the sun in the constellation of Capricorn. It marks the beginning of winter as this sign starts on Winter Solstice, or the first day of winter, every year.

This month’s Retrograde Planets: Mercury goes retrograde on the 11th at 7 degrees Aquarius and will not be direct until the first day of February at 21 Capricorn. Mercury’s backwards path will take from 7 down to 0 degrees Aquarius, and then as it enters back into the sign of the SeaGoat, it will go from 29 down to 21 Capricorn. Saturn started into retrograde motion on Dec. 31 at 21 degrees Virgo and will continue in retrograde motion until May 16, 2009.

The following paragraphs are broken down by weeks.

Mercury enters the constellation of the

Water Bearer (Aquarius) Thursday the 1st. Then, on Saturday, Venus moves into Pisces. Venus in this water sign of Pisces can influence behavior toward compassion and understanding.

Sunday the 4th’s Venus Pisces sextile Pluto Capricorn helps us to be more in touch with our own emotions and those of others. Jupi-ter moves into Aquarius on the 5th. Friday’s Sun in Capricorn sextile Uranus Pisces makes this a great day to get away from the usual.

This month’s full moon will be at 21 Can-cer on Saturday the 10th at 8:27 p.m. MST. The moon is the ruler of the sign of Cancer, so she will be where she is most comfortable. Once the moon is full, it starts shrinking again or waning. So this would not be a good time to start new ventures. But it is a great time to let go or get rid of things. Full moon energy strengthens or deepens our feelings. Many will notice heightened intuition at this time.

Mercury stations retrograde at 7 degrees of Aquarius on Sunday the 11th. See above sec-tion on Retrograde Planets for list of degrees and sign changes it will pass through. The Sun in Capricorn trine Saturn Virgo is good for self-discipline and enhances organiza-tional ability.

Sunday the 18th’s joining of Mercury and Jupiter in Aquarius puts positive energy on the mind and communication. On Monday the Sun moves into the constellation of Aquarius. Then on the next day, Mercury is conjunct the Sun at 0 degrees Aquarius. Thursday’s Mars in Capricorn sextile to Uranus Pisces puts

energy toward the unusual and unexpected in a positive way. Venus Pisces conjunct Uranus sets the tone. All good in our lives is like a beautiful creation that comes from the stillness within and transcends.

Peace from within is mirrored in our daily relationship to our world. The 23rd’s Sun Aquarius conjunct Jupiter can make it easier to solve problems. Saturday the 24th, Mars in Capricorn trine Saturn Virgo enhances physical energy and discipline. Venus Pisces opposes Saturn Virgo, so father would say no to daughter; boss will not let you leave work early to go to yoga class; and on top of that, everyone would have to work late anyway. One thing that Saturn represents in our lives is authority figures. Whether Saturn is personified or not, authority could be very stern under this opposition. We also have Venus Pisces sextile Mars Capricorn. The Venus/Mars connection brings emotion and physicality together with love and energy. So when you are finished with the required tasks, this night could be time for some steamy romance.

Monday the 26th’s Mercury Capricorn sextile Venus Pisces makes this is a great day for connecting with others, whether it is one-on-one or at gatherings. Overtone could be of a practical or spiritual nature. The new moon on Tuesday 26th is in Aquarius and will be exact at 56 minutes past midnight. Venus conjuncts Mars bringing the feminine and masculine energies together in the heal-ing sign of Pisces.

Monthly horoscope from Dominique

Dominique takes an in-depth look at the stars

Photo courtesy NASA

A globular cluster in the Milky Way galaxy taken

by the Spitzer Telescope.


By Timothy Crews

Before coming to Arizona, my family lived for two years in Hawaii, the most remote archipelago on the planet, more than 2,400 miles to the closest

continental land mass. From where we lived, we could see the barges navigating into Hilo Bay, full of precious cargo—Cheerios, toma-toes, Spam, wheat flour, beer, and yes, even taro, that staple of the traditional Hawaiian diet, now 88 percent imported.

I guess we like islands, because after Hawaii, we moved to Prescott, Arizona. Here the barges of Cheerios and tomatoes move across asphalt-covered desert. Along with the other residents of the state, we’re on a 6 mil-lion person camping trip.

We have found campsites with great views and lovely weather. Most of us are well fed—as long as we don’t have to rely on this place for food.

At Prescott College’s Jenner Farms, we wonder what would happen if, for one reason or another, the camping trip was cut short. Could the high desert produce its own food?

In 1950, about 58 acres of irrigated cropland existed per Arizonan. Today, that number has dropped to four. Even so, if water and land currently designated for agriculture were protected permanently for that use, we could feed Phoenix, Tucson and the rest of us—even if drought and global warming reduced per capita cropland to two acres. Our states’ cropland, however, is being treated by governments and chambers of commerce as a Godsend—not because we have somehow managed to protect a resource that may prove invaluable in feeding people of this area for centuries to come, but because its conversion allow us to invite more people onto the camping trip.

The great irrigation irony is that for many crops it takes up to twice as much water to grow the same yield under arid conditions as places where water is abundant. Like people, plants lose less water in humid weather.

But then, native ecosystems seem to do fine growing on low and erratic rainfall. Why not make an agriculture that builds on these native plant strategies in the Southwest?

This is a very old and a very new idea. Since well before European contact, Native Americans across the Southwest have grown and managed many native species. These native crops that could play a role in future diets of all Southwesterners.

The idea of developing approaches to farming that mimic the structure and func-tion of native ecosystems is also very new. For three decades researchers and interns un-der the leadership of Wes Jackson at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, have pursued this goal of a Natural Systems Agriculture.

In Kansas, prairie—largely perennial grasses and forbs—serves as the model. At Prescott College we’ve been asking, what would a Natural Systems Agriculture (NSA) look and taste like in the arid Southwest?

In designing NSA cropping systems over

the last eight years, Prescott College agroecol-ogy students have recognized and incorporat-ed wild and semi-domesticated crops such as prickly pear cactus, mesquite and wolfberry, foods stewarded by pre-historic and modern Native American peoples of the region.

Our efforts have also been informed by aridlands ecology and evolutionary biology. We have incorporated work by Tony Burgess of the Earth Institute at Columbia Univer-sity, to identify the water-obtaining strategies of Southwestern plants, mixing water storers with efficient water users, for example, to minimize competition and maximize the likelihood of obtaining a harvest in an unpredictable environment. In addition to crop plants, we also consider whether do-mesticated livestock can function as part of a Southwestern NSA.

Could a natural systems agriculture actually produce a meaningful amount of food? Our calculations suggest that the answer is posi-tively yes; that is, if the people will eat what the Southwestern landscape will serve up.

We estimate that 90,000 acres under NSA production would be required to feed the 80,000 people of our metropolitan region a vegetarian diet, just over an acre per person.

At the moment it may seem far-fetched to think of wolfberry stew and prickly pear pads being served at the finest restaurants in Prescott. But given the inevitable end of our current fossil fuel bonanza, global climate change and the water shortages we’re likely to see with population growth, I can think of a worse things for dinner than fragrant mesquite-flour cakes on the grill, nopalitos salad and a side of tepary beans.

It’s food for thought.Timothy Crews teaches environmental studies

at Prescott College. He is the director of the College’s Wolfberry Farm, where he researches nitrogen fixation and cycling in farming and native ecosystems. He earned his Ph.D. in eco-system biology in 1993 from Cornell University.

Agroecologist asks can the Southwest feed itself?Arizona: The 6 million person camping trip

Photos by Ann Haver-Allen

Above, mesquite beans can be ground into a delectable fl our for baking or making hotcakes. Below,

prickly pear fruits can be eaten as is or used to make jams and jelllies.

Courtesy photo

Wolfberries can be added to pancakes, oatmeal,

granola...think blueberries and be creative.


a week as a preventative, and several times daily when there is active infection.

Medicinal mushroomsMedicinal mushrooms, such as reishi and shitake are not only immune system tonics, they possess antibacterial properties. Both can be used to stimulate the immune system to produce more T-cell activity, as well as interferon, a natural compound that fights viruses. Reishi and shitake are adaptogenic, revitalizing and regenerating the body; they directly suppress infections.

GarlicGarlic is a strong antibiotic, anti-viral and antibacte-rial. The Russians call garlic a natural antibiotic and have referred to it as Russian penicillin. To avoid contagious dis-eases while visiting friends and family at the hospital, my grandmother would always put one whole clove of garlic into her mouth.

To maintain a healthy immune system the above herbs can be taken together on a daily basis for extended periods with no ill effects. But herbs alone are not enough. Healthy foods, adequate sleep and regular exercise are necessary.

What we think, and how we express our emotions are an important part of build-ing a strong immune system as well. Long-standing low-level depression, smoldering anger that is never expressed, bitterness and vengeance projected into the future are all known to depress immune functioning. Prayer, affirmations, positive thinking and laughter builds a powerful immune system.

The FDA has not approved these statements. The information given is not meant to act as a prescription, medical advice or therapeutic ad-vice. Consult your healthcare professional prior to using botanicals discussed in this column.

The products discussed in this article can be purchased at The Herb Stop, 4004 N. Highway 87 in Pine. If you have questions, Leilah can be reached at (928) 476-4144 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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(602) 253-1223

For 31 years, the Alpha Book Store was located at 1928 E. McDowell Road. The move was necessitated because the landlord had a new vision for his property.

The phone number is still the same

(602) 253-1223

For 31 years, the Alpha Book Store was located at 1928 E. McDowell Road. The move was necessitated because the landlord had a new vision for his property.

The phone number is still the same

Winter is when we are most likely to catch a cold or the flu. There-fore, it is important to strengthen the immune

system to protect the body against infections. A strong and healthy immune system can

recognize and destroy anything foreign in-vading the body, including bacteria and other unfriendly particles. Prepare yourself now and strengthen your immune system with one or more of the following herbs:

AstragalusAstragalus is widely used throughout the Orient as a tonic food and medicinal plant. It is sold as dried slices of root, 6 to 12 inches long (they look like tongue depressors). Research has shown that this root and its extracts are powerful stimulators of the im-mune system.

In Asia the roots are frequently boiled along with other herbs in chicken broth to produce a tonic/medicinal soup. Consumers in the United States use astragalus to prevent colds and other diseases, to increase overall energy and to nourish the adrenal glands.

AmlaAmla is also known as Indian gooseberry. It is believed that this fruit contains a high amount of absorbable Vitamin C, 20 times the vitamin C content of an orange.

The usual complaint people have about those over the counter vitamin C pills is that they create high acidity in the body (canker sores, fever blisters, etc.) and also that they are excreted out of the body within half an hour.

High vitamin C containing amla, on the other hand, stays in the body for many hours, researchers say, alkalizing the body, enhancing and protecting the body’s immune response against colds, flu and other infec-tions.

Rosehip Rosehip is the fruit of the rose that develops after all petals have fallen off the blossom. Rosehip contains the highest amount of vitamin C and vitamin C complex includ-ing bio-flavonoids, which are necessary to enhance the body’s ability to absorb it.

Rosehip has 60 times the amount of vita-min C than is found in lemons and known to prevent and treat common cold, flu, pneumonia and many other diseases. Here is a delicious way to get your daily dose of vitamin C:

Rosehip JamPlace some rosehips into a bowl and cover with organic apple juice. Let this sit over-night. Enjoy for breakfast, or anytime!

EleutheroEleuthero is one of my favorite herbs, as you probably know already. Eleuthero is the single most effective immune tonic in the

herbal realm. It helps the immune system respond quickly to infections and mitigates the effects of stress.

As I have mentioned before, studies con-ducted in Europe concluded that when 500 mg of Eleuthero was consumed daily without let up, those studied had 100 percent protec-tion from every viral infection known to man!

SumaSuma is referred to by the Indians in Brazil as “para todo,” meaning for everything. Suma is similar to Eleuthero. It is a great booster for the immune system giving protection against viral infections.

Suma is also known as an “adaptogen,” helping the body adapt to many and varied environmental and psychological stresses. Suma increases vitality, regulates blood sugar and enhances energy.

EchinaceaEchinacea is a very popular American wildflower and garden plant, the purple coneflower. It’s also one of America’s most popular herbal products to prevent and treat the common cold, influenza and infections. Echinacea stimulates the immune system; it triggers the production of white blood cells, interferon, leukocytes, T-cells and B-lympho-cytes, as well as directly inhibiting the growth of most bacteria and viruses.

USDA botanist James Duke, Ph.D., says that “echinacea is so powerful that root extracts of the plant have shown to act like interferon, the body’s own anti-viral com-pound.”

Echinacea tincture is definitively my first choice for countering infection. During the fall and winter season, I take it several times

Herbs to keep cold at bay this winter


The Grand Canyon—a vast region of gorges and craggy spires so immense that it far exceeds the boundaries of any human definition of a park—is

not just a spectacular landscape, but an ecosystem filled with prime wildlife habitat. As such, it is an important geographic focal point for the recovery of the endangered California condor.

This year, two wild chicks hatched and fledged in Grand Canyon National Park, bringing the Arizona population close to 70 and the world’s total population (captive and free-flying) to well over 320.

While 70 and 320 may seem like disheart-eningly small numbers, as recently as 1982, the world population was down to just 22 birds; and by 1987, all of the world’s remain-ing California condors were in captivity.

Today, about half of the world’s condors are free-flying; and since recovery efforts began, nine chicks, including 2008’s two Grand Canyon chicks, have been hatched and fledged in the wild in Arizona.

California condors are North America’s largest flying land birds with a wing span of more than 9 feet. They are primarily soarers, sometimes going for miles without a single flap of their wings. As a result, they prefer to live in areas with mountains, gorges and hillsides, which create updrafts and provide favorable soaring conditions. Condors also require caves, ledges or large tree cavities for nesting.

The Grand Canyon area would seem to be perfect condor habitat, and evidence indicates that the birds did nest in the canyon for thousands of years. However, as climates changed after the last ice age and, more recently, as human impacts increased, the condor’s range shifted and numbers dwindled. The last wild condor in Arizona was sighted just south of the Grand Canyon in 1924.

It was not until reintroduction in north-ern Arizona began in 1996 that condors were once again seen flying over the Grand Canyon; and in 2003, Arizona’s first “wild-hatched” chick in more than 100 years hatched in Grand Canyon National Park.

The parents of that historic chick, condors 127F and 123M, were one of only two con-

dor pairs to successfully hatch and fledge a chick in Arizona this year. Their chick, 472, was seen taking short flights at the canyon in October.

The second chick, 476, belongs to first-time parents 133F and 187M. Its mother,

condor 133F, has her own place in condor history. She is the last remaining bird from the initial Arizona condor release in 1996. Her chick was seen taking its first short flights in September.

Though it is further from the brink of

extinction than it was a quarter century ago, the California condor’s long-term survival is far from assured. The birds are normally long-lived, and don’t reach maturity until they are about 6-year-old. As a result, they are not prolific reproducers, usually only tending one egg every other year. Yet, they are regularly faced with threats such as lead poisoning from spent ammunition, predation and accidental and intentional shooting.

The recovery plan for the California con-dor calls for the maintenance of three distinct condor populations—two in the wild and one in captivity—each having at least 150 members and including at least 15 breeding pairs of birds.

There is a long way to go to reach that goal; but recovery efforts by committed organizations continue. The Peregrine Fund, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are only a few of the many organizations that have banded together to work on condor recovery.

Each year, more and more people from around the world come to Grand Canyon National Park hoping, while they are here, to observe the majestic flight of the California condor. Here, rangers, wildlife biologists and volunteers have an opportunity to not only learn about condors, but also to share what they are learning about the birds’ unique qualities, their needs and what each of us can do to help protect them.

Here, the spectacular landscape has be-come more than just ecosystem and habitat; it has become home to one of the world’s rarest birds, classroom to those who wish to learn about them and a place where we can all learn to hope when two more California condor chicks hatch and fledge in the wild.

To learn more about California condors, the on-going recovery effort and what you can do, visit the Arizona Game and Fish De-partment on-line at www.azgfd.gov/condor or the Peregrine Fund at www.peregrinefund.org/conserve_category.asp?category=California%20Condor%20Restoration.

To learn more about California condors in Grand Canyon National Park, visit the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/california-condors.htm.

Two more California condor chicks fl ying free

Photo by Mark Lellouch, NPS

California condor near the South Rim Village in the Grand Canyon National Park.


It’s all happening! The purpose of this column is to inform readers of things that are not commonly reported in the mainstream mass news media. In previous issues, I have reported

on certain Earth changes that are somewhat uncomfortable to grasp as truths. In this month’s column, the report is similarly filled with information about which many would not want to be knowledgeable.

Ignorance of environmental catastrophes, however, will only exacerbate the political conditions that allow a climate of “do-nothing” attitudes. This is unacceptable; so, here you go!

To introduce yourself to the subject of this column, please consider an analogy. Let’s say you just found your “dream home” on some perfect property. You have fallen so in love with this property, that you have signed a lease of perpetuity giving you the right to live there for your entire life, with the only stipulation being that you are responsible for all maintenance efforts.

The property is 100 acres is size. Approxi-mately 30 acres of the land has a beautiful landscape of forests, rocks, flowers and wild-life, and a large house very suitable for the needs of your family. The remaining 70 acres of the property comprises a large lake. You love the water, and have visions of gliding across your lake in a little sailboat flowing in perfect harmony with all that is.

You move onto your new property, and on your first venture into the lake, you notice, just under the surface of the water, a huge mass of floating pieces of plastic.

On further inspection you see that most of the lake is filled with a layer of plastic debris; tons upon tons of the stuff! You can hardly believe your eyes! You get your scuba gear on to inspect the depths of the stuff, but you can’t even swim through its density. There appears to be no way to get rid of the stuff without a huge capital outlay requiring a very labor-intensive removal process.

This perfect land is analogous to a very real pollution catastrophe located in a little lake in our “side yard,” which we like to call the North Pacific Ocean. There is approxi-mately 100 million tons of plastic garbage swirling around in the North Pacific. It is like a very thick plastic soup that floats just under the surface of the water and covers an area from a few hundred miles off the California coastline and extends nearly to Japan. This incredible area of pollution is estimated to be the size of the entire North American land mass! For the past 50 years of plastic manufacturing, we have been dumping this

nonbiodegradable product throughout the globe and much of it is polluting our seas!

The North Pacific Ocean is typically in high pressure weather systems, with minimal winds and minimal subsurface currents, thereby providing the perfect location for the world’s garbage to accumulate.

An estimated 20 percent of the plastic garbage is simply thrown overboard from ocean-going vessels, and the remaining ma-jority comes from littered rivers discharging into the oceans. I have found in my research many cases of companies making special trips out to sea for the sole purpose of dumping garbage and hazardous waste products that are difficult and expensive to obtain legal permits for landfill dumping.

There is an EPA Criminal Investigation Division, which is assisted by the Coast Guard, in fining certain companies who are caught making illegal dumps of garbage into the seas, but these perpetrators are very dif-ficult to catch.

Holy mackerel! Let’s consider the beings populating the oceans. Approximately 90 percent of the biomass in the seas is com-prised of Lantern Fish, those silvery varieties of small species in the lower depths of the sea. Every night an estimated 600 millions tons of Lantern Fish swim upward toward the surface to gorge on zooplankton, made up of organ-isms that are often too tiny to be seen, such as shrimp-like krill, jellyfish and arrow worms.

Now, with the partial degradation of floating plastics breaking down into minute multi-colored polymers, it is very confusing to the Lantern Fish. They actually fight over who gets to eat the most plastic!

Dietary Epiphany: I used to think that we humans were the only species careless enough to ingest synthetic additives in our food. We are in danger of some serious mutations of our species if we don’t clean up our act on

land. I would have thought the Lantern Fish would have been intuitive enough to not fol-low in our “footsteps!”

Of course, the commercially harvested “game” such as tuna, seals, whales, squid, swordfish, mahi-mahi, sharks, salmon and many others feast on the Lantern Fish, which may be as big as 6 inches at maturity.

So, the plastic that was thrown into the sea ends up on many of our dinner plates. Hello! This is not the recycling program we had intended! We could also consider the immense volumes of garbage that has settled to the sea bottom to disrupt the ecosystem of the benthic communities that we know so little about, located so many miles below the surface of the Pacific.

This pollution problem is much bigger than what was presented in our little anal-

ogy. In our analogy, the 70 acres of lake area could have been cleaned out, and the plastics could have been trucked to the local landfills. However, the enormity of the crisis in the North Pacific is not as simple. If we could figure out a way to dredge all of the plastic onto land, what then? Which country would be granted the honor of receiving it? It will take the cooperation of many countries to devise some reasonable solution.

Also note……the Mediterranean Sea is similarly polluted with unconscionable vol-umes of plastic waste, and all of the oceans of the world have very specific issues with pollution. Unlike the land pollution and the air pollution, the pollution in the seas is “out-of-sight and out-of-mind.”

Political buzzword: Our politicians seem

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of the Interior

Marine debris littering coastlines and deep water areas ranges from empty soda cans and small plastic

objects to derelict fi shing gear and abandoned vessels. An expanse of debris circulation in Pacifi c Ocean

currents threatens many of the 267 species of birds and wildlife that scientists estimate are impacted

worldwide by this problem.

Illustration by Greenpeace

Th is graphic illustrates the prevailing oceanic currents that lead to the vortices of plastic (indicated by yellow dots). Around 100 million tons of plastic are pro-

duced each year of which about 10 percent ends up in the sea. About 20 percent of this is from ships and platforms, the rest from land.

A plastic crisis lurkes in our oceans

See plastic, page 15


to be quick to attach themselves to certain causes they like to refer to as war. There is the “war on drugs,” the “war on poverty,” the “war on terror.” Should we now have a “war on garbage?” A “war on spineless politicians?” Alternatively, we should shift from war to something more positive—like a compre-hensive analysis followed by a cooperative implementation of working solutions to our garbage problem.

An ocean clean-up process is only one step in solving the problem with plastics. We must change our usage. It is not enough to simply recycle what we use, because there is too much plastic created for 100 percent recycling. A huge percentage of the discarded plastics are made up of grocery bags, other bags, containers and product wrappings. These can all be eliminated by creating the containers and wrappings out of a biode-gradable substance, and we already have the technology in place: “Corn Plastic.”

For the past two decades, the process of creating plastic from non-petroleum sources has been viable. Using corn byproducts, the production of Polylactic Acid (PLA) pellets has enabled the production of containers very similar to the conventional petroleum-based clear plastics. In the past, this PLA pro-cess has been relatively expensive, but with newly devised methods, it is cost-comparable to the petroleum-based (PET) plastics.

The health food chain “Wild Oats” and others have adopted this method of packag-ing. If we can make it happen politically,

PLA plastics could be a big step toward the solution of our plastics problem.

PLA uses approximately 65 percent less energy to produce, and has approximately 68 percent less greenhouse gases emitted in the process. But most importantly, it can be composted along with other organic sub-stances. It takes approximately 90 days to de-compose, and it is a process requiring higher temperatures than what you can generate in your backyard pit. So, as the commercial composting facilities get established, it is becoming a hopeful and probable solution.

At the present, the PLA containers are viewed by recycling facilities as contami-nants. PLA containers look identical to the PET containers and are therefore difficult to separate for efficient creation of recycled PET plastic products. We need to move politically toward the outlawing of the production of PET containers while at the same time forc-ing widespread efficiencies in composting the PLA containers.

GOOD NEWS: There are technological so-lutions to all of our environmental challenges. I believe in the inevitable resolution of our pollutions issues. The sooner we all become knowledgeable about our problems, the sooner we politically will be able to act upon the adoption of available solutions and the development of new and improved solutions.

John Hall is a co-owner of the Crystal Lotus Gallery and Spiritual Life Center, located on Highway 87 in Pine, Arizona. Telephone (928) 476-3410.

Plasticcontinued from page 14

Prescott College Community Supported Agriculture (PCCSA) is taking new members for the spring season, which runs Jan. 7 through April 29, for a total cost

of $275. The PCCSA is a year-round coop-erative shareholder program that provides a weekly distribution of locally grown produce to members.

Members for the spring season can expect turnips, beets, carrots, kale, chard, spinach and salad mix, grapefruits and other citrus, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower; basil, dill, ci-lantro and other herbs, and much more from farms within 100 miles of Prescott.

The PCCSA was started by Prescott Col-lege students in 2000, based upon the Japa-nese model called teikei, in which a group of members buys directly from one farm and provides a livelihood for that farmer.

The PCCSA model varies in that it buys from many local farmers, allowing a year-round operation with lots of variety while providing many farmers a guaranteed market for their goods.

The PCCSA is dedicated to supporting sustainable local agriculture by provid-ing farmers with a direct marketing model

through a membership base that invests in a season of farm-fresh produce. The PCCSA is open to the community. Contact Erin Lingo at (928) 350-1401 with questions.

Prescott College offers a resident bachelor of arts program and low-residency bachelor’s and master’s degrees and Ph.D. in which students complete their studies in their home com-munities with the help of faculty mentors. All programs emphasize student-directed, experi-ence-based learning by doing, environmental and cultural awareness and social justice. For more information, contact Mary Lin, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at (928) 350-4503, or [email protected].

Courtesy photo

Erin Lingo and son pick up turnips at Crooked

Sky Farm for the Prescott College Community

Supported Agriculture program, which is currently

taking applications for the spring season.

Community Supported Agriculture accepting spring season applications


By Ann Haver-Allen

What does an antique sewing machine, a Constantini Pietro dining table with six chairs and a slightly used 42-inch wide screen TV have in common?

These items are among thousands donated to the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Prescott. The ReStore is the apex of recycling and reusing products and keeping them out of our landfills. In fact, recycling is such an integral part of the ReStore, that the O in the logo is a recycling symbol.

But recycling at the ReStore is not equiva-lent to our due diligence of sorting and depositing our aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboard. Recycling at the ReStore is a much higher order.

It goes something like this: donations are made to the store; donations are sorted into those that are sold and those that are imme-diately recycled; donations that are sold net funds that pay administrative costs for Habitat for Humanity, thereby allowing 100 percent

of all other donations to go directly into building homes; a needy family acquires one of those homes after partnering with Habitat though a stringent qualifying process.

It’s recycling that begins on the individual level and spreads throughout the community.

ReStore Donations

The Prescott ReStore carries just about everything you would need to setup a household, including kitchen appliances, bowls, knives, spoons, forks,

glasses, cups, furniture, lighting, rugs, bedding, nick-knacks and art. The store also carries a wide variety of appliances including stoves, refrigerators, microwave ovens, telephones and answering machines. For the finishing touches, how about a computer or stereo system?

“You can find everything here from ancient hand tools to brand new Craftsman® power tools to fantastic antiques and burl wood furniture,” said Gary Janchik, direc-

tor of the Prescott ReStore. “If you don’t see what you want today, come back often. We get new stuff in all the time.”

Janchik said it’s that mystery of what will be found in the ReStore that keeps customers coming back. He compared it to a garage sale with the possibility of finding a treasure at a super cheap price.

ReStore customers help ensure success with a give-and-take philosophy. Many customers arrive with a donation and then come inside to shop.

Donations for the ReStore come from individuals and businesses alike. Businesses are struggling in the current economic cli-mate, and that harsh reality has significantly affected donations.

“We have a lot of contractors who donate their excess materials,” Janchik said. “When those come through the store, it’s a real bonanza for us. But that’s not happening as much during this economic downturn. A lot of the small contractors have had to go to Phoenix to find work, so that dries up a lot

of our resources.”Another harsh reality, Janchik said, is the

number of stores that are closing their doors.“As they close, they have been gifting us

with stock,” he said. “It’s a wonderful way for them to take a very difficult part of their life and turn it into something positive. Our success really is due to the generosity of our community.

“It’s really had to grasp the cycle unless you become part of it,” Janchik said. “It looks warm and fuzzy on the outside, but once you get inside, it really is warm and fuzzy. There is an aspect to giving that nothing else can touch.”

Janchik said ReStore shoppers hit every social stratum. He noted that it’s not uncom-mon to see a Porsche or Lamborghini in the parking lot parked right next to an old pick-up truck. He said that illustrates the diversity of customers who visit the ReStore—those who cannot afford to shop elsewhere and those who could shop anywhere, but choose the ReStore.

Photo by Pia Wyer

Th e ReStore in Prescott has 14,600 sq. ft. of new and used merchandise. Th e ReStore is open Monday through Saturday and the store phone number is (928) 771-1777.


“My biggest challenge in this store is acquir-ing donations,” Janchik said. “At times when the economy was fantastic, we would have a line of cars going around the building to drop things off. That’s not happening now. January and February are traditionally our slowest times of the year and with donations already down, it’s kind of bothering us because it’s also a critical time for people who need things.”

Sorting, selling

The ReStore is a first-rate second-hand store, Janchik said, and as such, when donations arrive, they are sorted into those that are sold and those that are im-

mediately recycled.“We are very careful about the quality of

product that we sell in the store,” Janchik said. “If someone donates a refrigerator, it has to be plugged in and running when we pick it up. People want second-hand items cheap, but they don’t want garbage. There’s no attraction to buying garbage.”

Telephones, televisions, stereos and com-puters are all checked out to ensure that they are in working order before being placed on the sales floor. Products not worthy of being resold are recycled.

Janchik said recycling electronics and card-board has gotten much more difficult with the economic downturn, and that he now uses a recycler who works out of Phoenix for the electronic waste.

“We have always recycled cardboard,” he

said. “Right now, that’s very difficult. It’s tough to find a recycling vendor who will come out and pick it up. We may have to transport the material ourselves.”

Although many businesses are mouthing green this and green that, Janchik said that the ReStore really is green and environmen-tally sensitive.

“It pervades everything we do,” he said. “In every aspect of Habitat, we are very frugal. We get recycling. It’s why in our logo for the ReStore, you will see the recycling symbol in the O. It’s not just by chance and it’s not just trendy marketing. It’s one of our core values for what we do. It works out eco-nomically, but it also feels good knowing that all the items for sale in the ReStore would have ended up in a landfill.”

The role that ReStore plays is even larger than recycling and keeping products out of landfills. The ReStore makes products avail-able to those who would not normally be able to obtain them. Products such as computers.

“Some people don’t have $500 to $600 to buy a new computer,” Janchik said. “We sell computers for $40 to $100. Is it the newest operating system? No. It is probably a year or two old? Yes. But it still has a lot of function-ality and benefits people who cannot buy a new product. And that’s always satisfying to see someone come into the store and find what they need.”

An eyeglass station is a new component to the ReStore that Janchik has added.

“I can’t imagine anything worse than living without glasses if you didn’t have money to

Photo by Pia Wyer

Kelly Atkin and daughter Sage, were one of the four families to receive a new home from the Payson Area

Habitat for Humanity.

Photo by Pia Wyer

Bruce Hopkins, President of the Payson Area Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors, welcomes four

families to their new homes.

Photo by Pia Wyer

At the dedication of her new home, Joelle Huff man poses with Carol Drury, her Big Sister from the Big

Brothers/Big Sisters organization..


buy them,” Janchik said. “Not being able to drive or read. It’s just a monster. People are constantly donating eyeglasses to us, so that opens the door to giving glasses to those who need them. I’ve got a station in the store where you can pick up glasses if you need them or drop them off if you no longer need them.”

Janchik said capitalizing on that opportu-nity is instrumental in the ReStore philosophy.

“We try to look at everything that we can possibly do to help out,” he said. “I think it helps us grow and it fosters a greater apprecia-tion in the community of what we do and how we do it. The more transparent we are about what we are doing, the more we will succeed.”

Business model

Donations sold in the ReStore pay administrative and overhead costs for the local Habitat for Humanity. In Prescott, the ReStore averages about $12,000 in earnings each

week. That pays salaries, utilities and build-ing rental. This means that 100 percent of all other donations go directly into building homes.

“The goal of the ReStore is to earn enough revenue to pay for all the staff, administra-tive fees, utilities and other overhead items,” Janchik said. “At that point, when someone makes a donation, it goes directly into our building program.”

Janchik said that while Habitat houses are built with a lot of volunteer labor, Habitat does employ individuals who procure land and who oversee the jobsite.

“We are basically a volunteer-driven organization,” he said. “But at key points you have to have professional expertise to run the jobsite, to organize the volunteers and to essentially make the engine run.”

Habitat has two or three home designs that are very consistent, which allows con-struction materials to be purchased in mass, thereby reducing costs. Because building the

MYTH: Habitat for Humanity gives houses to poor people. TRUTH: Houses are not given to anyone. Habitat for Humanity builds houses with people in need and then sells the houses to homeowner partners through interest-free loans. Because houses are built principally by volunteers, mortgage payments can be kept reasonable to those unable to obtain conventional financing. Habitat homeowners typically have incomes that are 30 percent to 50 percent of the median income in the area. They are required to invest hundreds of hours in “sweat equity”—that is, time spent building their own home or other Habitat houses.

MYTH: Habitat builds houses only for minorities. TRUTH: Habitat doesn’t build houses for anyone. We build houses with people in need, without regard to race. Three criteria drive the family-selection process: need; ability to repay the mortgage; and willingness to partner with Habitat.

MYTH: Habitat homeowners are on welfare. TRUTH: While some Habitat homeowners do receive public assistance, most work at low-wage jobs. Habitat works in good faith with people who often are at risk in society, knowing that owning a home is not the answer to every problem, but that it can be an important step—often the first step—toward helping people break out of the cycle of poverty.

MYTH: You have to be a Christian to become a Habitat homeowner. TRUTH: Habitat for Humanity was founded as, and unashamedly remains, a Christian ministry. However, homeowners are chosen without regard to race, creed or nationality.

MYTH: Habitat houses allow people to move from poverty to fancy new houses. TRUTH: Any newly built house is going to be a dramatic change for a family that has been living in a shack, hut or rundown apartment. But Habitat houses are not extravagant by any standard. Habitat’s philosophy is to build simple, decent houses. Under house design criteria approved by Habitat for Humanity International’s board of directors, living space in a three-bedroom house, for example, is not to exceed 1,050 square feet. The average cost in the United States of a three-bedroom Habitat house is approximately $59,000.

MYTH: Habitat houses lower neighborhood property values.

TRUTH: Many studies of low-cost housing show that affordable housing has no adverse effect on other neighborhood property values. Habitat firmly believes its approach to affordable housing improves neighborhoods and communities by strengthening community spirit and increasing the tax base, while building better citizens through the cooperative efforts involved in Habitat construction.

MYTH: Habitat homeowners sell their houses and make a large profit because of the original low cost. TRUTH: Special second mortgages that are “paid off ” by living in the house, as well as first buyback option clauses that many Habitat affiliates put into their agreement with homeowners, help alleviate concerns that some people may have regarding the resale of houses.

MYTH: Habitat for Humanity is a Southern poverty program. TRUTH: Habitat for Humanity International started in the Southern United States and remains based in Americus, Ga. It is a global partnership, however, drawing families in need together with volunteers and resources to build simple, decent houses all over the world. Habitat has worked in more than 3,000 communities in some 100 countries.

MYTH: Habitat for Humanity is an arm of the government. TRUTH: Habitat for Humanity International is an independent, nonprofit Christian housing ministry. It is not an arm of the government, nor an arm of any particular church denomination.

MYTH: Habitat for Humanity was started by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. TRUTH: Habitat for Humanity International was started in Americus, Ga., in 1976 by Millard Fuller, along with his wife, Linda. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are longtime Habitat supporters and volunteers who help bring national and international attention to the organization’s house-building work.

MYTH: Habitat for Humanity operates through chapters in states and countries throughout the world. TRUTH: Habitat does not operate through centrally controlled chapters but through locally run affiliates. Affiliates are grassroots organizations of local people coming together to address local housing needs. Each affiliate is an independent nonprofit organization that operates with specific service areas under a covenant relationship with Habitat for Humanity International.

Habitat for Humanity Myths and Truths

Photos by Pia Wyer

A selection of items available for purchase from

the Prescott ReStore on a recent December day

include, from top left, an antique sewing machine,

moulding, a huge selection of windows and a

power saw.

Photo by Pia Wyer

John Ayers from Chino Valley said he always look at the ReStore fi rst when he needs something, in prefer-

ence to buying retail.


houses is “formula,” Janchik said most of the materials are purchased because donated materials are generally in smaller amounts.

“We want a consistent quality product,” Janchik said. “The homes we build are typi-cally small, but they are very high quality. We build on low-cost property in viable areas that are close to town centers where people have their children in school.” He added that they are working hard to improve green building techniques to increase efficiency.

Janchik said Habitat has a stringent screening process for potential homeowners, including earnings limitations and a com-mitment to work hundreds of hours on the homes of others in the program. He said that “partnering” with Habitat is vital to the process. Families must commit to work on other people’s homes.

“The work is done on everyone’s home,” Janchik said. “So it’s not this selfish feeling of working totally for oneself. It’s a wonder-ful feeling that you are working through the community. You meet other homebuilders. They work on your home. That’s really what fuels the process.”

Families, homes

Many of the families who earn a Habitat home have never owned a home before.

Janchik said that part of the home ownership process is to

teach prospective homeowners about how a

Cottonwood

Home Improvement ReStore250 E. Cherry St. Ste. 1Cottonwood, AZ 86326Phone: (928) 649-6788

FlagstaffFlagstaff HFH ReStore1411 S. Milton RoadFlagstaff, AZ 86001Phone: (928) 779-1314

MesaMesa ReStore1135 S. DobsonMesa, AZ 85202Phone: (480) 969-2143

PaysonPayson Area HFH ReStore403 S. Ash St.Payson, AZ 85541Phone: (928) 474-4247

PeoriaHabitat Home Improvement Store9133 NW Grand Ave.Peoria, AZ 85345 Phone: (623) 776-2287

PhoenixPhoenix ReStore 115 East WatkinsPhoenix, AZ 85004Phone: (602) 258-4196

PrescottPrescott Area ReStore 1061 Commerce DrivePrescott, AZ 86305Phone: (928) 771-1777

Sierra VistaSierra Vista Area Habitat ReStore1234 E. Fry Blvd.Sierra Vista, AZ 85635Phone: (520) 458-0016

TucsonTucson HabiStore3840 S Palo VerdeTucson, AZ 85714Phone: (520) 889-7200

WickenburgWickenburg Area HFH ReStore370 Center St.Wickenburg, AZ 85358 Phone: (928) 684-2220

YumaHabitat ReStore of Yuma2325 S. Engler Ave. Ste. CYuma, AZ 85365Phone: (928) 344-5788

mortgage works, where the money is going and what they will achieve through home ownership.

Habitat for Humanity is the mortgage company. New homeowners receive a 30-year, zero percent mortgage, which is based on the home’s construction cost. For five years, Habitat holds the equity that accrues in the home. After the five-year period, the equity transfers to the homeowner and they can sell if they so choose. If the homeowners leave before the five-year period expires, they realize no equity.

“These are people who have typically had a difficult time financially and they want an opportunity to bring themselves up,” Janchik said. “It’s a hand up, not a hand out. We want a show of responsibility. We want to see their commitment to the program and mak-ing their payment on time each month.”

After a family is accepted into the Habitat program, the wait for a home could be as long as two years.

“It’s a long, drawn-out process that really tests the fortitude of the people who want to be engaged in it,” Janchik said. “The timeframe varies greatly depending on what we have on hand and how many volunteers are available. The economy also affects the process.”

He said that clearly the Habitat program is not for everyone and occasionally, people do fall out of the program. The process, he said, is designed to attract highly motivated people willing to put in their volunteer hours and

build homes for themselves and others.“There’s no ambiguity about the process,”

Janchik said. “We bring them through so that they understand every step of the way. They know what is expected. When some-one is motivated to work on other people’s homes, it shows their willingness to partner with us and it’s that partnering that is a large part of what we are ultimately trying to achieve. We want them to be involved with the next generation of homeowners.”

Potential homeowners are not permitted to “pick and choose” which home they will move into, although Habitat does try to consider family roots.

“We try to offer them possibilities close to where their families are,” Janchik said. “We try to take into consideration where the chil-dren are in school. We want to try and keep them in that area.”

In 2008, the Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity passed the benchmark of building 50 homes. While the economy will ultimately dictate the building program for 2009, the or-ganization has set a goal of eight new homes.

“The reason people want to be engaged with Habitat is far removed from what busi-ness transactions are,” Janchik said. “You re-ally can’t put a dollar symbol on how good it feels to donate to someone who really needs your help. It’s almost a higher calling or a love for community that motivates people.”

To make a donation to a ReStore in your area, see the store listings at right for contact information.

Habitat Stores in Arizona

Photo by Pia Wyer

Gary Janchik, Prescott Re-Store director, looks at some new power tools recently donated by a Prescott business.


Happy New Year and many blessings to all! Wow! A new year is upon us and this is definitely an exciting time of transformation and

change in the United States and around the world. Most of us are feeling some impact from these changes in our own personal lives. Transformation brings with it the op-portunity for growth, renewed energy and a welcome change for the future! The begin-ning of a new year always seems to bring an opportunity for us to consider what has been working in our lives and what we might want to change.

It seems that every New Year we make heartfelt resolutions to create positive changes in our lives, in our relationships and in our communities. And for most us, it is with the greatest of intentions. But as time goes by, we lose our resolve and slip back to our old habits, which may not be serving us in positive ways.

We then wonder what happened to the courage of our convictions to make changes. It seemed so do-able at the time. What hap-pened to our committed intentions? How do we create a change that will be permanent and beneficial in the long term? Why is it that most New Year’s resolutions are forgot-ten after the first week?

An important aspect to creating change at

any time in our lives is to be open to it. Not only on the mental level, but also the emo-tional and subconscious levels. Change is, for some people, a very intimidating thing. We tend to get comfortable with the familiar aspects of our life. Even if some of those aspects are not healthy or prosperous, they are familiar and predictable, and we already know the outcome of our actions.

Making a change, even with the best of intentions, means delving into the unknown. We can predict what may happen or what the change might feel like to us, but ulti-

mately it is still unknown until we experience it. Sometimes we experience the uncomfort-able feelings of change before the realization of the benefit, and this is where we often give up on our goals. If we can hold steady by seeing or visualizing the outcome of the desired change, our commitment can remain strong throughout any difficulties we may experience in achieving our goal. Continued practice of effective visualization techniques can provide much needed reassurance.

Visualization techniques can create a feeling of actually experiencing what it is that we de-sire. It can reinforce our commitment to keep-ing our actions and intentions in line with the goals we are setting for ourselves. Remember when you were a kid and your mind would wander in fanciful ways? Our parents and teachers used to say we were daydreaming. This was a form of creative visualization. Vi-sualizing assists the subconscious in releasing the fear surrounding changes by mentally and emotionally experiencing the desired change before we physically achieve it.

You can practice visualization at almost any time. Obviously, not when you are driv-ing or working, or in class,—but whenever you have a quiet moment, just sit back and relax, close your eyes and begin to focus your mind on the vision of what you would like to manifest in your life.

By focusing your conscious stream of

thought you can create an image in your mind of whatever you want…such as your New Year’s resolution.

Once you get the image or clear focused idea, allow yourself to really feel it, as though the experience is happening right now. Let yourself feel all of the sensations of the vision as though you are right there, in the present moment. This is how we create a new vibra-tion for the universe to act upon.

Once you have experienced the visual-ization process, it becomes easier to recall the vision. Whenever you begin to feel like you are being pulled off-track by negative thoughts or feelings, just remember the feel-ing of the visualization and bring your heart center back to the focus of your goal.

This process will continue to strengthen your ability to achieve your dreams and resolutions.

Remember that whatever we want to cre-ate in our life must first come as a thought, and is then strengthened by our visualizing it again and again with feeling, so that the energies of creation can move us in the direc-tion of our dreams.

“As a man thinketh in his mind…so is he.” Peace and Blessings, Maya Joy AngelesMaya Joy Angeles is a co-owner of the Crystal

Lotus Gallery and Spiritual Life Center, located on Highway 87 in Pine, Arizona. Telephone (928) 476-3410.

by Maya Joy Angeles

Visualizing helps achieve dreams, resolutions

Practicing gratitude does take a bit of attention and time, but it shouldn’t be reserved only for that one big day each year. Grati-tude makes us feel good and has

actually been proven that it changes lives.When you’re feeling grateful, your mind

is clear, you have a sweeter relationship to the universe and its creator and you become more aware of the big picture. It becomes a bit more difficult to see the world as some-thing you have to put up with; rather the world becomes a friendly place to live.

According to the latest research on grati-tude, grateful people really are different than those who aren’t so grateful. Here are some of the qualities of grateful people:• Lower levels of stress and depression• Greater capacity for empathy• People see them as more generous and

more helpful than others• A tendency to see the interconnectedness

of all life• A responsibility and commitment to others• Place less importance on material goods,

theirs and others• Less likely to judge others based on mate-

rialism• More likely to share what they have with

others who don’t have as much• More satisfied with life and have more

vitality and optimism• Higher levels of positive emotions

Are you a grateful person? You can be with a little practice. “Practicing gratitude helps people extract the most out of life.

People can also experience an overall shift to a more benevolent view of the world. I think it’s kind of a spiritual shift for some people because it makes them more aware of life as a gift,” says researcher and psychologist Dr. Robert Emmons of U.C. Davis.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow,” says Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More. Now who wouldn’t want that?

Gratitude can be expressed in many ways. You might feel it inside with a warmth in your heart, or perhaps you express it in the outer world through acts of kindness toward others. Every moment offers an opportunity for thanks. And every “thank-you” can return you to the present moment (another way to

become present to what is REALLY going on). Here are some quick and easy ways to start making the shift.... to sense gratitude. It isn’t about being phony, pollyanna-ish or “faking it”. Gratitude practices do refine your focus and sensitivity to the good things in life.

Keep a gratitude journalTake a minute or two every night before

you go to sleep, or first thing in the morning when you wake up (just before you medi-tate), and write a list of a few things you are grateful for. Some days it’s simple to come up with them and other times it might feel like you can’t think of even two things. That’s when you might remember how amazing it is that your heart has been beating since before you were born, that you can breathe or that you can see or write. Things on your list don’t have to be new and different.

When I do this practice, I find myself tuning into gratitude more often. It’s like re-tooling my awareness to look for material for my journal. You might be driving to work or walking to school one morning and notice the way the clouds form in the sky, or the way the sunlight reflects off the leaves of a tree, and in-stead of ignoring it, perhaps you notice it. You take it in and make a mental note to include that in your gratitude journal. Perhaps when you’re having lunch with a friend, she grabs the check and pays it. And not only do you thank her, but also you make that mental note to write it down again. In essence, you simply notice how blessed you really are—how sup-ported you are in this life.

Create a daily thanksgiving ritual Gratitude practice is about welcoming the present moment. Receiving. Every moment, there is an opportunity to practice gratitude. But some of us need reminders—cues. I remember to say thank you when I first awaken. It sets the day for me. And, every meal is an opportunity to say thank you. A formal prayer isn’t required—you can easily bring your attention on what you’re grateful for in the moment. At our group meditations, before we eat, we bring our awareness to the elements, nature and every one that had to come into being to create the moment and the meal. We express gratitude for the abundance that is present in our lives. Emerson used this thanksgiving prayer:

For each new morning with its light,For rest and shelter of the night,For health and food, for love and friends,For everything Thy goodness sends.Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple

Abundance, says “You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” I believe her.

Sarah McLean is the director of Sedona Med-itation Training & Retreats and is certified and recommended by Dr. Deepak Chopra. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], phone at (928) 204-0067 or fax at (866) 654-1705. You can also visit online at http://www.SedonaMeditation.com.

Gratitude can turn your life around


For anyone who has had breast cancer, this is important news. A recent study finds that certain breast cancer survivors who load up on fruits and vegetables, eat-

ing far more than current U.S. guidelines, can slash their risk the tumors will come back by nearly a third. The finding only held for women who did not have hot flashes after their cancer therapy, the researchers said, suggesting that the fruits and vegetables act on estrogen.

Their analysis may explain why some stud-ies have shown that eating more fruits and vegetables lowers the risk that breast cancer will come back, while others do not. It may depend on the individual patient, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Lead researcher Ellen Gold of the Uni-versity of California, Davis wrote, “Women with early stage breast cancer who have hot flashes have better survival and lower recur-rence rates than women who don’t.” That confirms what other studies have found.

This study showed that women who had hot flashes after treatment for breast cancer had lower estrogen levels than women who did not.

As estrogen drives the most common type of breast cancer, this suggests that eating extra servings of fruits and vegetables—above and beyond the five servings a day recom-mended by the U.S. government—may lower harmful estrogen levels in cancer survi-

vors, the researchers said.The researchers took a second look at data

from 2,967 breast cancer survivors, ages 18 to 70 years, in a study aimed at seeing whether a diet low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables might keep their cancer from coming back. Additionally, the diet has been shown to lower overall risk of ever getting breast cancer in the first place.

The women were on average 53, and half were told to double their fruit and vegetable intake to 10 servings a day, eat more fiber and lower fat intake more than government recommendations of “five-a-day.”

About 30 percent of the original 3,000 breast cancer survivors said they did not have hot flashes—a common side effect of breast cancer treatment.

The researchers looked at the data on these women specifically and found that only 16 percent of those who doubled up on fruits

and vegetables had their tumors come back after seven years, compared to 23 percent of those merely given advice on food guidelines. Women who had been through menopause lowered their risk by 47 percent if they loaded up on salads, fruit and other plant food.

The bottom line is that a diet with higher vegetable, fruit and fiber and lower fat intakes than the five-a-day diet may reduce risk of additional events in HF-nega-tive breast cancer survivors. —Journal of Clinical Oncology. For more information, http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/JCO.2008.16.1067v1.

Q & AQ: Are all citrus fruits high in vitamin C? A: Citrus fruits, which include the com-

mon orange and grapefruit, as well as the tangerine, clementine, tangelo, kumquat and ugli fruit, are all excellent sources of vitamin C. On their own, one standard serving of these fruits packs from 20 to 70 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C. Although this doesn’t quite meet the daily recommended needs for adults (current recommendations call for 75 mg of vitamin C a day for women and 90 mg for men; daily goals for children range from 25 to 75 mg, depending on age), you can easily obtain your daily quota by adding up the smaller contributions of the other vegetables and fruits that you need for overall good health. Besides citrus fruits, other pro-duce rich in vitamin C includes strawberries,

kiwi, cantaloupe, broccoli and bell peppers. —American Institute for Cancer Research.

RecipeThis recipe for Chicken-and-White Bean

Chili, from Southern Living’s December 2008 magazine, uses rotisserie chicken from the supermarket to make a quick, healthy dinner.

Chicken-and-White Bean Chili3 to 4 cups chopped cooked chicken 4 (16-ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained4 (4-ounce) cans green chilies1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium fat-free chicken broth2 tablespoons chili seasoning mixGarnishes: sour cream, fresh cilantro

Stir together chicken, beans, chilies, chicken broth and chili seasoning in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and fresh cilantro. Makes 11 cups.

Per cup (without garnish): 295 calories, 26.7 g protein, 38.3 g carbohydrate, 4.1 g fat, 38.2 mg cholesterol, 9.9 g fiber, 700 mg sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian in Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at [email protected].

Fight breast cancer with fruits and vegetables

The worldwide economic downturn we are currently in the grips of follows hot on the heels of an era of unparalleled growth and wealth.

Even though the gross domestic product in the United States has tripled during the past 54 years, we can’t seem to shake that sinking feeling that the third-class passengers on the Titanic must have had.

But those economic indicators don’t tell the whole truth—not by a long shot.

Uncounted in our GDP are the social and environmental tolls rampant economic growth has had on our families and the planet.

For many around the world, it’s hard to be happy when you fear for your descendents’ future.

It is equally difficult to put a price on the crucial services with which nature and its ecosystems have provided us for so many years. Perhaps a truer gauge of human prog-ress would be a measurement that takes into account economic progress, environmental impact and human well-being.

Enter the Happy Planet Index, by the New Economics Foundation. The big difference between the HPI and GDP is sustainability. The HPI is based on the principle that most people do not want to be rich; we want to be happy and healthy.

Also, richness comes with an environmen-tal cost that usually is paid by other people,

including future generations.Globally, the United States has the highest

score in terms of per capita GDP, which means we are a country of wealthy worka-holics, but the second-lowest score in terms of per capita happiness on the HPI. (Russia scores the lowest.)

Indonesia, on the other hand, is almost exactly the opposite of the United States. Indonesia has a GDP per person that is the lowest in the world (less than $10,000) but is ranked highest in terms of happiness.

What this means is that impoverished and war-torn countries, where people have a life expectancy almost half our own, actually rank higher on the happy scale than we do.

Take Burkina Faso, where the life expec-tancy is 47 and the environmental footprint is a skinny 1.1; it rates 30.1 on the HPI. Two slots down on the list, you will find the United States, with a life expectancy of 77, a fat environmental footprint (9.5) and an HPI rating of 28.8.

We live large, but apparently we are not too happy about it.

So what would make America a happier place? According to the New Economics Foundation’s “Global Manifesto for a happier planet,” we could:• “Eradicate extreme poverty,” which “un-

dermines people’s ability to provide for their families. We urgently need to rede-sign our global systems to more equitably distribute the things people rely on for their day-to-day livelihoods,” including income and access to land, food and clean water.

• “Improve healthcare. High life expectancy in a country reflects good healthcare and living conditions, and has a positive rela-tionship to people’s sense of well-being. The World Health Organization estimates that everyone in the world could be pro-vided with a good level of basic healthcare for just $43 per person, per year.” Crucial to global health are clean water, stopping the spread of HIV, AIDS and malaria and reducing child and maternal mortality rates.

• Relieve international debts. Developing countries are forced to pay back ridicu-lous interest rates and debts instead of providing citizens a basic standard of liv-ing and a basic education. In the United States, we need tighter regulation of inter-est rates to protect people from predatory creditors.

• Shift our values away from individual materialism and toward stronger, more

connected communities. Life satisfaction depends heavily on living a more mean-ingful life—a life that is rich in family interactions, community involvement and volunteerism.

• Have a sense of our own power and autonomy to be happy. “Promoting open and effective governance nationally and internationally, including the peaceful resolution of conflicts and elimination of systematic corruption, is important for all of us achieving greater well-being in the long term.”

• Start paying the full environmental cost of consumer goods and making manu-facturers responsible for the “cradle-to-the-grave” life cycles of the goods they produce. Our wealth is built by leaving a balance due for future generations; we are using up the environmental assets of our children and grandchildren. “Ecological taxation can be used to make the price of goods include their full environmental cost, and to encourage behavior change.”

• Take responsibility for climate change and cut emissions now. Much of our wealth has been built by generating greenhouse gas emissions during the past 200 years. Of all countries in the world, the United States most needs to step up to the plate to curb emissions by 80 percent or more in the next 40 years.For more info, see www.happyplanetin-

dex.org.

Economic solution is a happier, sustainable planet

By Shawn Dell Joyce


Sudoku!Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains numbers

1 through 9. Th e puzzle has only one solution. Th e solution is on page 28.

Word PowerBald Eagle Appreciation DayBird DayDimpled Chad DayFree Thinkers DayFruitcake Toss DayFun At Work DayMacintosh Computer Day

National Clean Off Your Desk DayNational Hugging DayNational Joy Germ DayNational Pie DayNew Year’sNothing DayReligious Freedom Day

Saint Basil’s DayStephen Foster DayVietnam Peace DayWomen In Blue Jeans DayZ Day

January has a day for everything! Find this list of 20 designated days in January.

Dichotomy (noun) Pronunciation: [dI-’kah-tê-mee] Definition: A division of two mutu-ally exclusive, if not contradictory, categories; binary classification. Usage: The adjective is “dichotomous.” The verb, “dichotomize,” is often (mis)used to mean “classify into mutually exclusive categories,” i.e., without limitation to two. Dichotomy is also often confused with bifurcation, branching into a

fork of two lines. A dichotomy is the result of bifurcation, but not bifurcation itself. Sug-gested Usage: We still tend to think the world a dichotomy of Oriental and Occidental cultures, but the dichotomy of communist and noncommunist nations would seem to have disintegrated. The dichotomy of men and women in so many recent books often minimizes the common humanity they share.

Earth OdysseyEarth OdysseyCalendar listings in

FREEare always

Send info (who, what, when and where) to: [email protected]. Remember to provide a telephone number or other contact information. Put “calendar submission” in the subject line. The deadline is the 15th of

the month for publication the following month ( Jan. 15 for February publication).


Solution on page 28

The Benson Family Nature Store is located at the Highlands Center1375 Walker Road, Prescott • (928) 776-9559

Educational books, puppets, toys and puzzles

focused on nature.

Highlands Center Insignia—help spread the word with a

Highlands Center T-shirt, cap or water bottle. Coming soon: fleece vests.

Newest title to hit the shelves—I Love Dirt! 52

activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature.

Check out our latest selection of natural history books and

field guides.Selection of wildflower and grass seed available.Local retailer of Soil Secrets products www.soilsecrets.com.Coming soon: Highlands Center apparel for the

youngest members of the family—infant and toddler sizes.

Emily, Sydney, Nathan, Michael, Kaylee and Destiny each recycled a different number of cans (25, 20, 18, 22, 17 and 23) as well as a different number of junk mail letters (113, 127, 121, 135, 108 and 131).Figure out how many cans and junk mail letters each person recycled.1. If the number of cans Nathan recycled was

doubled, he would have recycled 50 cans.2. Michael recycled less than 114 junk mail

letters.3. Nathan recycled the most number of cans.4. Destiny and Michael recyled a total of 273

cans and junk mail letters.5. Emily recycled 117 more junk mail letters

than the number of cans she recycled.6. Sydney recycled 111 more junk mail let-

ters than the number of cans she recycled.7. Emily recycled the most number of junk

mail letters.8. Michael recyled a total of 135 cans and

junk mail letters.9. Nathan recycled less than 114 junk mail

letters.10. Kaylee recycled more than 20 cans.

Solutions on page 28

1. What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

2. You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?

3. I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?

4. What goes around the world but stays in a corner?

5. I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right, and in the middle. But I still hold water. What am I?

6. Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die. What am I?

Riddle Me This


Recurring EventsMonday nights, 7 p.m.—Self Search/Chan-neled Readings, The Way To The Light Within, Phoenix. This class has been going on for more than 12 years now. In the first part of the class, Dominique uses her psychic ability and StarWheel™ tiles to give each par-ticipant a mini reading. Bring your questions about anything you want to know, because in the second part of the class Dominique con-nects to her own as well as your guides, to get answers and guidance for you. Dominique is also a medium and can connect with and give you information from departed loved ones or friends. $20, Call (602) 279-2941 to reserve your place.

Thursdays—Vibrational Realignment, a unique form of spiritual healing, with Mike Davis at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info or an appointment, call (928) 862-0594.

Nonrecurring EventsJan. 3, 8 a.m.-Noon—Monthly Family Bird-walk, The City of Chandler Environmental

Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 3, 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m.—Meditation for Beginners, Sedona. For more info, see www.meditateinsedona.com or call (928) 204-0067.

Jan. 4, 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.—Meditation for Beginners, Scottsdale. For more info, see www.meditateinsedona.com or call (928) 204-0067.

Jan. 6, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.—Vyktoria performs at the Cave Creek Coffee Co., Cave Creek. For more info, call (480) 488-0603 or e-mail [email protected].

Jan. 7, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.—Birdwatching for Kids, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For those aged 6-13. Cost $8. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.—Designing a Veg-etable Garden, Part 1, with Heather Welch. For more info, see www.phoenixpermacul-ture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 7-18—Entering the Maya Myster-

ies with Carla Woody, Alonso Mendez and Carol Karasik. Spiritual travel to Mexico and Guatemala visiting hidden sacred places and engaging in nearly extinct ancient ceremonies with Don Antonio Martinez, the last Spirit Keeper of the Lacandón Maya. For more info, contact Kenosis at (928) 778-1058 or [email protected].

Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.—Lecture Series with Mike Davis, CEO of Energy Medicine Foundation: “Get Rid of Holiday Stress! The subconscious roots of overeating and anxi-ety.” There will be hands-on demonstrations and special offers for all attendees. For more info, call (928) 862-0594.

Jan. 8, 6 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Moonwalk, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Participants under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult. Bad weather may cause this program to be altered or cancelled. Cost: $5. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 9, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.—Music of The Spheres Concert at Relics, Sedona. Vyktoria on guitar and vocals, Bill Rhodes on key-boards. Original acoustic and “synthphonic” space music. $10. For more info, call (982) 282-1593 or e-mail [email protected].

Jan. 9-11—Finding the Gift in Shift Confer-ence, Radisson Poco Diablo Resort and Spa, Sedona. Featuring Heather Clewett-Jachows-ki, John English, Sunny Dawn Johnston, Sandy Cowen, Michael James, Rev. Mark Pope, Anya Mann, Judy Erwin, Randall Libero, Gavin Carruthers and others. Sarah McLean will facilitate a morning meditation each day. Music with Guy Matthews and Taka and much more. For more info and tickets, see stellarproductionslive.com or call toll-free (866) 304-8700.

Jan. 10—9 a.m.-3 p.m., Annual Planning and Retreat for the Citizens Water Advo-cacy Group. Prescott Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Building, 945 Rancho Vista Dr. This is a member’s only event. Renew your membership or consider becoming a new member now.

Jan. 10, 5:30 p.m.—“The Gift of Rela-tionship.” Hear John English speak at the Third Annual Finding the Gift in Shift Conference in Sedona. This three-day event, which begins on Friday, is being held at the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort. For more info, and tickets, call toll free (866) 304-8700 or visit www.stellarpro-ductionslive.com.


Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 2, with Heather Welch. For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 15, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.—Tour the Hassay-ampa River Preserve: Birding, Botanicals and the Bigger Picture. This easy walking tour is one and a half miles long on sandy, level trails and concludes with a delicious picnic lunch near the preserve’s historic visitor cen-ter, built in the 1860s. Limit 20. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the educa-tion tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Registrar at (480) 481-8146.

Jan. 15, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.—Desert Safety for Kids, The City of Chandler Environ-mental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For ages 6-13. Cost: $8. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 15, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.—City of Scottsdale Solar Lecture. Presented by the AZ Dept. of Commerce Energy Office and the AZ Solar Center. Location: Scottsdale Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road. For more information call Dan Aiello at (602) 952-8192 or City of Scottsdale at (480) 312-2245.

Jan. 15-18—16th Annual Wings Over Willcox Birding and Nature Festival, Willcox Community Center, a celebration of birds, nature and culture, includes guided tours and field trips for bird watching, photography, geology, ranching, agriculture, history and more, free seminars, a crafts and trade show, live animal educational booths, workshops, banquet, silent auction and keynote speaker. For more info, call (800) 200-2272 or visit www.wingsoverwillcox.com.

Jan. 17, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.—Open-ing the Energy Gates Chi Gung for Vitality Class. Learn Tai Chi health exercises used effectively in China for chronic fatigue, burnout, immune deficiency, cancer, degen-erative diseases, arthritis, heart disease, pain, and high performance. Backway’s, 250 S. McCormick St., Prescott. For more info, call Susan Kansky (928) 925-342.

Jan. 17, 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 1, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central. For more

info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 17, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.—Energetic Reso-lution Technique Group Healing Session. Rapidly clear root causes underlying physi-cal and emotional issues. Backway’s, 250 S. McCormick St., Prescott. For more info, call Susan Kansky (928) 925-3426.

Jan. 17-18—Experiencing Deeper Medi-tation, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Enjoy a weekend of meditation and spiritual practice at Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach. This conference features international teacher and author John Van Auken and other well-known presenters from a variety of medita-tion traditions. To register, call 1-888-273-0020 or visit http://www.areconferences.com//conferences.html.

Jan. 17-24—Mexico: Ancient Mysteries for Modern Times with Dannion and Kath-ryn Brinkley. For more info, contact Karen Koebnick, Sedona Spiritual Journeys, at (866) 304-8700 or www.stellarproductionslive.com.

Jan. 18, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.—Primordial Sound Meditation workshop, Sedona. For more info, see www.meditateinsedona.com or call (928) 204-0067.

Jan. 20, 8:30 a.m.—Tour the APS Solar Test and Research Center (APS STAR Center®). At APS STAR Center®, APS tests and devel-ops technologies for converting solar energy into electricity. APS uses APS STAR Center® to learn how to produce low-cost electricity from sunlight, using current and emerging photovoltaic solar technologies. Reservations required. Call (602) 250-4990.

Jan. 21, 1 p.m.—The Arizona Depart-ment of Water Resources is in the process of amending its existing Adequate Water Supply Rules as required by SB 1575. They will ac-cept public comment on the proposed rules. Location, ADWR, 3550 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, second floor, Verde Conference Room. For more info, see www.azwater.gov.

Jan. 21, 4 p.m.-5 p.m.—Teens Rock! (Arizona Geology), The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Geolo-gist Gregg Mitchell will teach kids about the rocks, minerals, landscapes and hazards that make Arizona a unique geologic wonderland. For ages 13-18. Cost: $6. For more info,


call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 3, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central, SE corner of Central Avenue and McKinley Street. For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 22, 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m.—The Second Annual Business of Green Media Confer-ence, Performing Arts Center, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. For more info, see www.businessofgreenmedia.com.

Jan. 22, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.—Snakes of Ari-zona, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For ages 6-13. Cost: $8. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or see www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 24, 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 2, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central, SE corner of Central Avenue and McKinley Street.For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 22-23—Conference Registration Now Open: Adaptation to Climate Change in the Desert Southwest: Impacts and Opportuni-ties. Keynote Speaker: Thomas Schelling, 2005 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics. For conference information and registration visit: http://www.law.arizona.edu/adaptation-conference/.

Jan. 23, 8 a.m.-Noon—Geology Hike at South Mountain. The four-mile roundtrip hike is lead by naturalist Eric Garton from the Garden’s education department. Infor-mational handouts, bottled water and snacks provided. Limit 12. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Registrar (480) 481-8146.

Jan. 23-25—Go Green Expo, Los Angeles Convention Center. Go Green Expo will use solar power to generate electricity, calculate the carbon output and offset the emissions, and use recycled and recyclable materials throughout the show floor. For more info, see www.gogreenexpo.com.

Jan. 23-25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily—Care-

free Fine Art & Wine Festival, downtown Carefree, at 101 Easy St. This festival features renowned artists from throughout the United States and fine wines from around the world. The festival also marks the return of Arizona’s largest wine-tasting event, providing a unique opportunity to sample an extensive collection of domestic and imported wines. For $10, patrons will receive an engraved souvenir wine or beer glass with six tasting tickets. Admission is free on Friday, $2 on Saturday and Sunday and parking is free.

Jan. 24, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.—Geologic Hazards in the Valley, The City of Chandler Environ-mental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Join geologist Gregg Mitchell for a discussion about some of the natural geologic hazards we face in the East Valley. For those 18 and older. Cost: $16. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 25, 8 a.m.-Noon—Geology Hike on the Go John Trail. Explore the geology of the upper Sonoran Desert north of Phoenix along Cave Creek Regional Park’s popular Go John Trail. Join geologist Richard Allen, naturalist Eric Garton and Park Ranger Jim Terrell for this six-mile loop hike featuring geology interpretation as well as discussion of the plants and animals of this diverse area. Limit 15. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Registrar@ (480) 481-8146.


Jan. 27-Feb. 3, Thursdays, 6:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Astronomy 101, The City of Chan-dler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For

those13 and older. Cost: $13. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 4, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central. For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 28, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.—Progres-sive Rock Concert at Relics, Sedona. Vyktoria Keating and Bill Rhodes perform unique arrangements of progressive classic rock songs from Yes, Genesis, ELP and more! $10. For

They sit in a tight circle, a dozen men in a spare room that barely contains them all.

Facilitator Richard Man-sbach asks one of the men

how well he feels the others have “played back”—acted out—the story he’s just shared about what he imagines will happen next week when he’s released from prison, his home for the past three years.

The man is clearly moved: the other men have listened deeply and taken the time to enter his story, and his life, in a way he’s never experienced before.

Playback Theatre, a unique performance technique that blends personal expres-sion with entertainment and community participation goes beyond theatre to create “opportunities for transformation” in both performer and audience, Mansbach said.

He’ll be teaching a six-week workshop in Playback Theatre at Prescott College this January. Classes run 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday evenings from Jan. 14 to Feb. 18. For information and to register, contact Jill Hewins at The Center for Extended Studies and Lifelong Learning at (928) 350-4110 or [email protected].

Created in 1975 and now performed around the world, Playback Theatre is a unique form of improvisational perfor-mance that celebrates and honors people’s personal stories. In a playback event, someone in the audience tells a moment or story from their life, chooses the actors to play the different roles, and then all those present watch the enactment as the story “comes to life” with artistic shape and nuance. Actors recreate these stories on the spot through the art of movement, music, dialogue, metaphor and imagery. Playback

Theatre now has troupes all over the world.In this workshop, participants will play,

awaken their senses, exercise themselves as artists, practice compassionate listening and learn the fundamentals of Playback Theatre.

Mansbach has been involved with Play-back Theatre for the past 15 years as a performer and director, and as a facilitator in a workshop format with men’s groups, marriage enrichment groups, students and faculty in school settings and with work inside prisons. This workshop, designed to teach and practice the method, will culu-minate in the public presentation of the Tucson Playback Theatre group on Feb. 14 at Prescott College.

This performance is open to the public and will be held in the Crossroads building on campus from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is $10 for general public, $5 for students. Work-shop participants receive free admission.

The workshop is sponsored by the new Center for Extended Studies and Lifelong Learning at Prescott College. The Center’s mission is to offer community classes, travel programs and professional development op-portunities in the greater Prescott area.

Prescott College offers a resident bachelor’s program at its main campus in Prescott, as well as low-residency bachelor’s, master’s and doctor-ate degrees in which students complete their studies in their home communities with the help of faculty mentors. For more information, contact Mary Lin, M Ed, Director of Market-ing and Public Relations, at (928) 350-4503, or [email protected].

Courtesy photo

Playback Th eatre Facilitator Richard Mansbach

will teach a six-week workshop at Prescott College

this January.

Prescott College Presents Playback Theatre Workshop


more info, call (982) 282-1593 or e-mail [email protected].

Jan. 28, 7:15 p.m.—ASEA Sedona Chapter Meeting, Sedona Winds Retirement Home, 405 Jacks Canyon Road. For more info, con-tact Bill Buckner, [email protected] or (928) 203-1018, Sedona.

Jan. 29, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.—Rancho de lost Caballeros hike. Head out Wickenburg way for this popular seasonal outing featuring cowboy naturalist Richard Fredrickson and Eric Garton of the Desert Botanical Garden’s education department. For additional info, or to register, go to www.dbg.org and click on the green education button located at the top of the menu bar, or call (480) 481-8146.

Jan. 29-Feb. 19, Thursdays, 6:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Astronomy Lecture Series, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. This unique four-part lecture series by astronomer Howard Israel covers fascinat-ing topics in the exciting field of astronomy, from the origins of astronomy to current and future research. Topics: Jan. 29—A Grand Tour of the Solar System; Feb. 5—Myths and Legends of the Sky; Feb. 12—Astronomy on the Cheap; and Feb. 19—The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe. For those 13 and older. Cost: $8 per week. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 30, 7 p.m.—So-bonfu Somé, Dagara Healer from Burkina Faso in western Africa, Ringing Rocks Foundation, 3190 West Hwy. 89A, Se-dona. Sobonfu Somé was destined from birth to teach the an-cient wisdom, ritual and practices of her ancestors to those in the West. Sobonfu, whose name means “keeper of the rituals” travels the world on a healing mission sharing the rich spiritual life and cul-ture of her native land Burkina Faso, which ranks as one of the world’s poorest countries, yet one of the richest in spiritual life and custom. Sobonfu has written two books, “The Spirit of Intimacy” (William Morrow) and “Welcoming Spirit Home” (New World Library), her newest offering, which draws on rituals and practices involving communi-ty, birth miscarriage and children. Seating is limited, reservations required. For more info, or to make reservations, call (928) 282-1298.

Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.—Nature Photogra-phy Workshop for Adults, The City of Chan-dler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Cost: $20. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Jan. 31, 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 3, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central. For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-Noon—Bald Eagle Natural History Workshop. Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists will conduct an edu-cational seminar on bald eagle natural history at its Pinetop office. The program is free, but reservations are required. The program will consist of a classroom presentation and discussion of bald eagle life history, behavior patterns and their current status in Arizona and North America. This will be followed by an optional field trip to a local lake to ob-serve eagle behavior first-hand. Participants are advised to dress appropriately for weather conditions that day, and to bring a set of binoculars or spotting scope for improved observation. Interested participants must pre-register on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the Pinetop office at (928) 367-4281.

Jan. 31—“Your Relationships—A Pathway to Personal Power.” A one-day experiential workshop with John English in Reno, Nev. For more info, call toll free (866) 304-8700 or visit www.stellarproductionslive.com.

Jan. 31—“Empower Your Child With Heart Intelligence,” presented by DreamTime LLC, guest speaker and holistic practitioner, Leann Christian, a one-day workshop in Scottsdale. For more info, call toll free (866) 304-8700 or see www.stellarproductionslive.com.

Feb. 3, 9 a.m.-Noon—Beginning Bird-watching at Desert Botanical Garden and Beyond, classroom session. Former president of the Audubon Society of Portland Carlos Oldham shares his amazing birding enthu-siasm and expertise. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Regis-trar@ (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 4, 6:45 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Introduc-tion to Birdwatching, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For those

16 and older. Cost: $12. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 5, 8 a.m.-11 a.m.—Beginning Bird-watching at Desert Botanical Garden and Beyond, field trip. Former president of the Audubon Society of Portland Carlos Oldham shares his amazing birding enthusiasm and expertise. Designed specifically for beginning birders or anyone wishing to become more familiar with birds, this class combines inter-active classroom sessions with fun outdoor field trips to great local birding hotspots. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botani-cal Garden Registrar@ (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 5, 4 p.m .-6 p.m.—Nature Photog-raphy Workshop for Students, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For ages 6-18. Cost: $38. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 6, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.—Star Party, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Cen-ter, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chan-dler. Members of the East Valley Astronomy Club will bring their telescopes to Veterans Oasis Park to allow park visitors to explore Arizona’s amazing night sky. This public program is free. If it’s cloudy, call to find out if the program will be held. Participants under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 7, 8 a.m.-Noon—Monthly Family Birdwalk, The City of Chandler Environ-mental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Volunteers from the Desert Rivers Audubon Society will lead guided birdwalks through Veterans Oasis Park. Participants will observe the many spe-cies of birds that populate central Arizona’s desert and wetland habitats. Birdwalks depart from the Environmental Education Center about every 30 minutes. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 7, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.—Land Navigation with a Map and Compass (Basic), The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. For ages 16 and older. Cost: $28.

For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veter-ans-oasis.

Feb. 7, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.—Wallace Desert Garden. Take advantage of this unique op-portunity to see an exclusive private collec-tion of desert plants from around the world without leaving the Valley of the Sun. Price includes snacks, bottled water and a tasty picnic lunch. Limit 20. For more info, or to register, go to www.DBG.ORG and click on the green education button located on the top menu bar, or call (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 7, 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.—Designing a Vegetable Garden, Part 4, with Heather Welch, downtown Phoenix Public Market, meeting room 721 N. Central. For more info, see www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/designing-a-vegetable-garden.

Feb. 7—“Your Relationships—A Pathway to Personal Power.” A one-day experiential workshop with John English in Novato, Calif. For more info, call toll free (866) 304-8700 or see www.stellarproductionslive.com.

Feb. 8—Bikers Soar for Wildlife Fundraiser. The Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center Auxiliary (AMWCA) annual “Bikers Soar for Wildlife” fundraiser to support the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center (AMWC). For those who don’t know, AMWC is often the best hope for an injured or orphaned wild animal. The Center takes in more than 1,000 animals annually, many with severe injuries that require months of nursing care from the volunteers at the Center. Happily, about 65 percent are successfully returned to the wild. Those that cannot be released are used in our educational programs or placed with zoos or qualified facilities. For more info, call (623) 587-0139 or see www.azwildlifecenter.net.

Feb. 8, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.—Family Fun Hike at Javelina Canyon. Recommended for ages 7 and up with an accompanying adult. We will discover the Javelina Canyon Trail, an easy two-mile roundtrip hike, starting from the Beverly Canyon parking lot south of Baseline Road at the end of 46th Street. Limit 15. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botani-cal Garden Registrar@ (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 10, 9 a.m.-Noon—Beginning Bird-watching at Desert Botanical Garden and Beyond, classroom session. Former president of the Audubon Society of Portland Carlos


Oldham shares his amazing birding enthu-siasm and expertise. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Regis-trar@ (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 10 & Feb. 17, 6:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Astronomy 102, The City of Chan-dler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. This hands-on course teaches students techniques for observing the heavens. Topics include naked-eye observing; selecting, using and maintaining telescopes; using digital cameras for astrophotography; observing the sun safely; and using other astronomical tools, such as star charts, software, binoculars, filters and tracking devices. For those 13 and older. Cost: $13 for both weeks. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 11, 6:45 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Introduc-tion to Birdwatching, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. This class covers the where, when and how of birding in central Arizona, including bird identifica-tion, equipment and birding opportunities. It includes two Saturday field trips with dates and times to be determined in class. Option-al guidebooks will be available at a discount-ed price. For those 16 and older. Cost: $12. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veter-ans-oasis.


Feb. 12, 4 p.m .-6 p.m.—Nature Photog-raphy Workshop for Students, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Young photographers can learn how to create great pictures of nature with any camera. A combination of classroom review and in the field “learn as you do” make this class fun for

all ages. Students must supply their own digi-tal camera. For ages 6-18. Cost: $38. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 12, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.—Lecture Series with Mike Davis, CEO of Energy Medicine Foundation: “Energy Medicine: What is it, and Why You Need to Know.” There will be hands-on demonstrations and special offers for all attendees. For more info, call (928) 862-0594.

Feb. 13, 7 p.m.—Roanna Kagenveama, Hopi Wisdom-Keeper, Ringing Rocks Foun-dation, 3190 West Hwy. 89A, Sedona. Ro-anna Kagenveama is a Hopi Wisdom-Keeper, artist and musician raised in the traditional way of her ancestors. She is a member of the sand clan, who have inhabited the mesas in Northern Arizona for the past 700 to 800 years. Roanna has performed many ceremo-nies and workshops in the United States and twice traveled to Japan, teaching about Hopi customs. She will share her story and her wis-dom for the benefit of all peoples. Seating is limited, reservations required. For more info, or to make reservations, call (928) 282-1298.

Feb. 13—FREE presentation at Borders Paradise Valley, 4555 E. Cactus, Phoenix. Topic to announced at a later date. For more info, call toll free (866) 304-8700 or visit www.stellarproductionslive.com.

Feb. 13-15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily—Scotts-dale 5th Avenue Fine Art & Wine Festival. Back by popular demand, Thunderbird Artists returns to 5th Avenue in downtown Scottsdale. The Scottsdale 5th Avenue Fine Art & Wine Festival will feature more than 125 juried fine artisans from throughout the United States, wine and micro-brew tasting, live musical entertainment, chocolates and more!


Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m.—What is Wilderness, a Two-Part Series, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Arizona is home to some of the most beautiful and pristine wilderness that America has to of-fer. Learn about the current efforts by the Arizona Wilderness Coalition to help protect and conserve our wilderness, and find out what YOU can do to help! This program is free, but pre-registration is required. For those 13 and older. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 18, 6:45 p.m.-7:45 p.m.—Introduc-tion to Birdwatching, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. This class covers the where, when and how of birding in central Arizona, including bird identifica-tion, equipment and birding opportunities. It includes two Saturday field trips with dates and times to be determined in class. For those 16 and older. Cost: $12. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 19, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.—Rancho de lost Caballeros hike. Head out Wickenburg way for this popular seasonal outing featuring cowboy naturalist Richard Fredrickson and Eric Garton of the Desert Botanical Garden’s education department. This easy hike will treat nature lovers to a fabulous array of Sonoran Desert upland plant and animal species, local history and fascinating ecology. We will travel to beautiful Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg for this excursion, loaded with nature interpretation and hands-on demonstrations, followed by a delicious lunch at the ranch’s historic cowboy-inspired dining room. This leisurely loop hike is ap-proximately one and a half miles long with minimal elevation but does have some short, steep sections and areas of loose rocks and gravel. Lunch, gratuities, bottled water and

snacks are included. Limit 20. For additional information or to register, please go to www.dbg.org and click on the green education button located at the top of the menu bar, or call (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 19, 4 p.m .-6 p.m.—Nature Photog-raphy Workshop for Students, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Young photographers can learn how to create great pictures of nature with any camera. A combination of classroom review and in the field “learn as you do” make this class fun for all ages. Students must supply their own digi-tal camera. For ages 6-18. Cost: $38. For more info, call (480) 782-2890 or visit the Web site at: www.chandleraz.gov/veterans-oasis.

Feb. 20, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.—Hike Through Time - Geology of the Superstition Moun-tains at Hackberry Springs. Geologist Richard Allen leads this exciting hike on First Water Trail to Hackberry Springs in the Superstition Mountains to discover the geo-logic history and wonder of this legendary area. Learn about volcanic formations, rock types and the geologic forces that sculpted this unique region. This four-mile, moder-ate hike includes plant, wildlife and ecology interpretation by naturalist Eric Garton from the Garden’s education department. Infor-mational handouts, bottled water and snacks are provided. Limit 12. To register, log on to www.DBG.org and click the education tab, or call the Desert Botanical Garden Regis-trar@ (480) 481-8146.

Feb. 21, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.—Open-ing the Energy Gates Chi Gung for Vitality Class. Learn Tai Chi health exercises used effectively in China for chronic fatigue, burnout, immune deficiency, cancer, degen-erative diseases, arthritis, heart disease, pain, and high performance. Backway’s, 250 S. McCormick St., Prescott. For more info, call Susan Kansky (928) 925-3426.

Feb. 21, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.—Energetic Reso-lution Technique Group Healing Session. Rapidly clear root causes underlying physi-cal and emotional issues. Backway’s, 250 S. McCormick St., Prescott. For more info, call Susan Kansky (928) 925-3426.

Feb 21–22—The International Green Ideas Show, Albuquerque, N.M. Here is the one exposition in the Southwest to specifi-cally showcase the earth-friendly products, programs and services of inventors, compa-nies and concerned groups from around the world in a popular consumer show format. For more info, see www.igishows.com/.

Feb. 28, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.—Resonance Repat-terning Group Healing Session. Rapidly clear root causes underlying physical and emotion-al issues. Backway’s, 250 S. McCormick St., Prescott. For more info, call Susan Kansky (928) 925-3426.


Logic Puzzle Solution: Michael recycled 22 cans and 113 junk mail letters. Emily recycled 18 cans and 135 junk mail letters. Destiny recycled 17 cans and 121 junk mail letters. Nathan recycled 25 cans and 108 junk mail letters. Sydney recycled 20 cans and 131 junk mail letters Kaylee recycled 23 cans and 127 junk mail letters.Riddle Me This Solutions: 1. A towel. 2. An ear of corn. 3. A nose. 4. A stamp. 5. A sponge. 6. Fire.

Puzzle Solutions

by Anne McCollamCreators Syndicate

Tiffany utility box is still a prized possessionQ: Please look at my enclosed photo of a

handkerchief box. It is marked “Tiffany Stu-dios, N.Y., No. 831.” It measures approxi-mately 7 inches by 7 inches by 2 inches, and we think the pattern is “Pine Needles.” Be-neath the bronze pattern is caramel-colored glass—the overall condition is excellent.

Any information on its history and value will be greatly appreciated.

A: You have a utility box with beading, ball feet and a hinged lid; it is part of a desk set. You are correct: It is Tiffany’s “Pine Needles” pattern. The number “831” is a design number. Founded in 1900 by Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York City, Tiffany Studios designed splendid art glass objects, windows, leaded glass lampshades and decorative acces-sories. Although the pattern, “Pine Needles,” was available in around 30 different pieces, a typical desk set included an ink well, stamp box, utility box, letter holder, calendar holder, pen tray, blotter and letter opener.

Your box was made sometime between 1906 and the 1920s and would probably be worth $2,000 to $2,500.

Q: This mark is on a porcelain hot choco-late set that I inherited from my grandmoth-er. All in mint condition, the

set includes six cups, six saucers and a pot. Each piece is decorated with pastel roses, green leaves and gold trim. I know the set is old—I am 70 and it was given to my grand-mother as a high school graduation gift.

Could you please tell me when my heir-loom was made and its worth?

A: Your hot chocolate set was made by Zeh, Scherzer and Co. They have made por-celain in Rehau, Germany, since 1880.

Your set was made around 1915 and would probably be worth $175 to $225.

Q: I have a complete service of Lenox china dinnerware; the 12-set dinnerware was purchased in 1956. In addition, I own 20 accessory pieces. All are marked with the gold Lenox logo, except one of my vases has a green mark.

Why did Lenox change their sign from gold to green?

A: Actually, it’s the other way around. Lenox China Co. used their green mark as early as 1906. In 1953, a marketing decision was made to change to the now familiar gold mark. That being said, your vase is older, albeit possibly only by a year, compared to the other pieces in your collection.

Q: I inherited a small coffee grinder from my grandmother. I was told it is about 200 years old. It is made of wood and cast iron; the overall measurements are 4 inches wide by 5 inches tall. There is an iron receptacle

for the coffee beans on the top and an iron handle, which is turned to grind the beans. The crushed beans empty into a drawer be-low. On the side is a triangle with the words “Gesetzlich--Friedrich.”

Can you tell me if my grinder has any value? If not, should I throw it out?

A: First, let me say, your coffee grinder is not anywhere near 200 years old. It was made around the turn of the last century. In any event, antique coffee grinders are popular country-kitchen appliance collect-ibles—many can be found for sale on eBay or in antique shops. Your coffee grinder was made in Germany, and the word “Gesetzlich” means registered or patented with the Ger-man government.

Don’t throw it out. It might be a welcome gift to someone in your family as a me-mento of a grandparent or a reminder of a time-gone-by. The value of your circa 1900 grinder would probably be $25 to $50.

Q: I’ve had the pictured child’s ironstone divided bowl for at least 40 years. My daughter used it when she was little. The unmarked bowl is approximately 7 inches in diameter and still in very good condition.

Any information about its vintage and value will be appreciated.

A: Many makers of children’s dishes did not mark their products. Of course, collec-tors always prefer pieces that are labeled; nonetheless, marked or unmarked children’s dishes continue to appeal to collectors.

Judging from your description, your child’s feeding dish was made in the United States around 1940 and would probably be worth $50 to $75.

Q: My grandmother gave me a porcelain bowl, which she purchased at an auction of items belonging to child movie star Jackie Cooper around 60 or 70 years ago. It is dec-orated with violet and white flowers against

a white background and trimmed with gold. It is in pristine condition. I have enclosed a drawing of the mark that is on the back of the bowl.

Can you can tell me about its maker, if it’s worth anything, and how to sell it?

A: Beyer and Boch, who produced porce-lain in Volkstedt, Thuringia, Germany, from 1853 to around 1960, made your bowl. They used this mark from 1905 to 1931.

An object originally belonging to a famous person can add to its value, but it must be validated by written documentation.

Even though it may be accurate, an oral history is anecdotal and not a dependable source. Selling on eBay or to an antiques dealer are options—remember that you would most likely be paid around half of the bowl’s value if you sell to a dealer.

Your circa 1930 bowl would probably be worth $50 to $75.

Q: I have a Hohokam Native American clay pot that was found in Arizona in 1961 during a hunting trip. It was above ground and sitting under a huge rock. We took the pot to the Heard Museum in Phoenix; we were told a Hohokam tribe member made it around A.D. 1100. The pot was used for cooking and storage.

The overall measurements are 7 inches in diameter and 10 inches tall. Still in extraor-dinary condition, it has a red finish and an elliptical pattern around the upper portion.

Any information you can provide would be helpful.

A: The Hohokam people lived in south-western Arizona near Phoenix and Tucson from the first century A.D. to around 1450. They developed an advanced agrarian culture and engineered canals to irrigate the arid land-scape. As a rule, women were the potters using the rich clay deposits found in the region.

The Hohokam made copper bells using the “lost wax” method of casting. Just as mysteriously as they appeared in Arizona, they vanished in the mid-1400s.

Your clay pot should be personally exam-ined and appraised by an expert knowledge-able in ancient Southwestern pottery. Its value would probably be at least $1,000.

Q: I have a cigar humidor that was left in an old house my mother bought when I was a child in the early 1950s. It stands ap-proximately 10 inches tall. Decorated with a brown glaze, it is in mint condition. On the bottom are the words: “Dumler Breiden.”

What can you tell me about it?A: Dumler Breiden Co. has produced

stoneware in Hohr-Grenzhausen, Palatinate, Germany, since 1883.

Your early 1900s humidor would probably be worth $150 to $225.

Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters.

A utility box, created by Tiff any Studios, would

probably be worth $2,000 to $2,500.

A child’s ironstone divided bowl, with an un-

known producer, would probably be worth $50 to

$75.


Movies that won’t make you dumber

MovieReviews

by Jason Allen

Well, it’s a new year and a new ruler is nigh who has promised to be the bringer of change. We will see. This month’s

movie, “The Corporation,” is a view of a very large part of what is wrong in the global community, and indeed with our nation, and if any change for the better is to come, this issue must be addressed.

If you are one of the types who tries to find a single scapegoat for the sad state of our world, (oppressive, toxic, selfish and war mongering) then you need to go ahead and buy this one. It is just as important a refer-ence material as an encyclopedia.

“The Corporation” is the most compre-hensive and balanced documentary I think I’ve ever seen. It draws a very striking and scientific similarity between the corporate mentality and that of a psychopath.

“The Corporation” walks through the be-ginning of the life of the corporation, where they had specific charters with specific tasks, amount to be paid and lifespan. And also, they could not own property or other corpo-rations, and their shareholders were liable.

Well, as you can imagine, corporate law-yers didn’t care for this one bit and around the turn of the century they fought and won to have these restrictions lifted by the Supreme Court.

Corporations were given the title of a “legal person,” which meant that they had all the rights of a person, specifically under the

14th amendment,—which was designed to protect newly freed slaves from having their property seized. But corporations didn’t have any of the punishments of a person—“No soul to be saved, no body to be incarcerated.”

Well, if a corporation is a person, then what sort of person is it? The movie makes the case for psychopath by going through a checklist of traits for a psychopath, which are: 1. Callous unconcern for the feelings of

others. 2. Incapacity to maintain enduring relation-

ships. 3. Reckless disregard for the safety of others. 4. Deceitfulness: repeated lying and conning

for profit. 5. Incapacity to experience guilt. 6. Failure to conform to social norms with

respect to lawful behaviors.

They have a little section on each of these topics. The deceitfulness section’s main topic is the scandal involving one of Monsanto’s chemicals Posilac (rBGH).

This is a hormone that has been given to cows to increase milk production—one of the few products on Earth that we have entirely too much of. (Many countries pay farmers to not produce milk).

Posilac causes a myriad of health issues, including excessive pain to the cows as their utters become swollen and infected. The infection is pumped out right along with the milk, and if you drink milk, you have most likely had your fair share of puss-contami-nated milk (I know, gross, right?).

The chain of events that led to its wide-spread use is nearly as terrible as the Aspar-tane story from November, which culminates with two investigatory journalists being forced to rewrite their story about it 83 times before being fired for not reporting fabri-cated lies. Who was responsible? Well, none other than Fox News. The reporters took Fox to court, where it was ruled that falsifying news is not illegal (Wow).

They continue to damage the biosphere. Every living system and life support system of Earth has been in decline for 25 years due to such practices as ocean dumping, air pol-lution and deforestation.

One of my favorite segments is about the scientific approach to effectively marketing products to children, so that they nag their parents into purchasing them—not to design better products for children, but to sell prod-ucts directly to children, who developmental-ly don’t yet have the cognitive reasoning skills to fight off $12 billion of marketing a year.

Another big pro for this movie is that it features Noam Chomsky. If that name is for-eign to you, be sure to go look him up. He’s authored his own library, as well as made several films (“Manufacturing Consent” and “Imperial Grand Strategy” are my favs) and he has been noted as one of the 10 most important thinkers to have ever lived.

I’m surprised the movie doesn’t cover the deregulations of the last 20 years or so, but I really have nothing but great things to say about “The Corporation.”

Movie looks inside ‘corporate’ personality

Green Gizmos

Black & Decker invented the first por-table electric drill in 1917, and the compa-ny is still ahead of the curve. It’s introduced three smart gizmos to lighten homeowners’ impact on Mother Earth—and save them a few bucks along the way.

The Lights Out AutoSwitch is a motion detector and timer combined into a sleek unit that fits over a light switch. Walk into a room, the lights go on; walk out and the lights turn off in a specified number of minutes. ($30)

The Power Monitor has a sensor that hooks up to the electric meter outside the home and wirelessly transmits the us-age data to a handheld display. The unit shows how much juice is being drawn and how much it costs. You can then change your energy use to minimize expenditures. ($100)

The Thermal Leak Detector is a hand-held device that contains infrared sensors to find hot or cold spots. See where you’re heating (or cooling) the great outdoors. ... So you’ll know where to caulk. ($40)

BiomimicryA new United Nations survey says that

big firms like General Electric and Procter & Gamble have, in their search for new ideas, been turning in greater numbers to Mother Nature. Janine Benyus, of the Biomimicry Guild (that wrote the report),

points out that life—in its 3.8 billion years of inventing—has created an enormous number of “blueprints, designs and chemical recipes.”

The white edelweiss flower has tiny hairs containing chemistry that protects the flower from ultraviolet light in its high mountain habitat—and that could lead to better sun creams. The finely pitted surface of a lotus plant’s leaf repels water, and that very design has been imitated in roof tiles of 300,000 European buildings.

A formaldehyde-free plywood glue is based

on the powerful substance that glues mussels to rocks near the ocean. And a Canadian company will soon be producing cement based on the way oysters build their shells.

... And lest we forget, the way prickly seeds stick onto your pant leg after a walk in the woods led the way to a clever product called “Velcro.”

Chinese Pollution ProtestSeveral months ago, residents of the Chi-

nese town of Xiamen did something unheard of in this country of powerful Communist rule—they protested a government action. The object of this protest was the proposed construction of a chemical plant. Stranger still is the result: The protest succeeded; the chemical plant was never built. Now a new plant, three times larger, is proposed for the city of Taizhou, and the residents there are readying a new protest.

The chemical to be produced is para-xylene, an ingredient in polyester, and it’s to be part of a larger multibillion dollar petrochemical-processing complex. Taizhou is already bristling with chemical plants, and despite the government’s statement that the opportunity will “enrich the people of Taizhou,” the people, who have long com-plained of tainted air and water, are enraged.

“We want clear water and green hills, not toxic cash,” said one posting.

The method of protesting involves resi-dents taking mass “strolls” over to the site.

We wish every success to the courageous “strolling” citizens of Taizhou.

Young Green EntrepreneurIt’s not out of the ordinary for a CEO

to ring the opening bell at NASDAQ, but it’s noteworthy when the CEO is only 13-years-old.

The bell ringing occurred on Oct. 16, 2008. Leanna Archer is the CEO—and as the developer of a natural hair care com-pany called Leanna’s Hair Inc., she’s the youngest CEO ever to have the honor.

The story is that she started with a family formula for hair repair at the tender age of 9. Word spread, and soon orders from stores and online customers were pour-ing in. Then came publicity surrounding Leanna after being sited by Inc. Magazine as one of the 30 coolest entrepreneurs under 30 years of age.

Time management must be one of Lean-na’s strengths, as she’s balanced the running of her company, new product development and motivational speaking (regarding going into one’s own business) with her studies as an honor student in middle school.

And for what are the profits earmarked? Tuition at Harvard. Surprised?

For more information on Leanna’s com-pany, visit http://www.leannashair.com.

Questions can be sent to Jim Parks at [email protected].


Creative recycling can be fun as well as profitable. I always look for artistic ways to be creative, mostly because I enjoy finding ways to reuse

things . A few years ago, I found myself mak-ing money off the things I came upon while walking my dogs in alleys. On occasion, I found myself dumpster diving to see what I could reuse.

It was fortunate for me that my neighbor was a true diehard dumpster diver. One morning, I awoke to my neighbor knocking on my door. “Patricia,” he said, “I have some-thing for you, come on over.” I grabbed a cup of coffee, slipped on my shoes and stumbled next door to see what he had for me.

On his back porch were 15, 34’x34” swatch booklets from a furniture store dump-ster, along with large random pieces of fabric and upholstery. A swatch is a piece of cloth, fabric or upholstery used in display booklets for picking designer material for customizing furniture, curtains, etc.

There was so much free material I wasn’t sure what to do with it.

After a couple of months went by with all that beautiful material starring at me, I de-cided I would explore mixed media art with

the material that was gifted to me. I had found a piece of plywood and an old

frame in the alley. So I took the plywood to Home Depot and had it cut to fit into the old frame. I refinished the frame with some left over paints. I then went out and bought some glue and started to design my first mixed media piece of art out of the material given to me.

The very first thing I decided to make was an icon of Saint Francis of Assisi. I was so impressed with my first attempt at creating that I decided to make a Mother Teresa with the other piece of plywood and swatch mate-rial I had left over. Within a year, I created eight large icons.

Four of the icons sold, and they netted me $7,000. In my wildest dreams, I felt my work had value, but to my surprise this recycling business was really paying off.

That material turned out to be a cache of treasure for me. I not only gained great confidence in myself for the art that was produced from dumpster material, but also

I found myself pondering on the alternative creative uses for all the leftover remnants I came across in my life.

That trash from a dumpster awoke in me my true creative spirit. It showed me the beauty and the treasure hidden within and without.

I have been blessed with an opportunity to make a difference, eliminating waste by taking trash and turning it into treasure. Be creative; find the artist within. We just have to reach inside and pull it forward. We all need to be aware of ourselves and our environment.

If I can do it, so can you. Life is rich with opportunity for reuse and recycling. Try making something new out of something old for your New Year.

You may be pleasantly surprised at your own inner talents. Happy New Year and don’t forget to plant a tree.

Patricia Melchi is a writer, artist and avid recycler who lives in Tacoma, Wash. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

Photo by Patricia Melchi

Patricia created this series of religious icons using free materials. Four of the mixed media icons sold for $7,000.

Get creative with recycling, reusing products

NASA’s first spacecraft dedi-cated to studying carbon dioxide, the leading hu-man-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in

Earth’s climate, is at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California undergoing final launch preparations.

After final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated onto an Orbital Sciences Taurus rocket in preparation for its planned January 2009 launch.

The observatory will help solve some of the lingering mysteries in our understand-ing of Earth’s carbon cycle and its primary atmospheric component, carbon dioxide, a chemical compound that is produced both naturally and through human activities.

Each year, humans release more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmo-sphere through the burning of fossil fuels. As much as 5.5 billion tons of additional carbon

dioxide are released each year by biomass burning, forest fires and land-use practices such as “slash-and-burn” agriculture. These activities have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by almost 20 percent during the past 50 years.

While scientists have a good understand-ing of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels, their understanding of carbon dioxide from other human-pro-duced and natural sources is relatively poor. They know from ground measurements that only 40 to 50 percent of the carbon humans emit remains in Earth’s atmosphere; the other 50 to 60 percent, they believe, is absorbed by Earth’s ocean and land plants.

Scientists do not know, however, precisely where the absorbed carbon dioxide from human emissions is stored, what natural processes are absorbing it or whether those processes will continue to work to limit in-creases in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the

future as they do now. The observatory’s space-based measure-

ments of atmospheric carbon dioxide will have the precision, resolution and coverage needed to provide the first complete picture of both human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

These measurements will be analyzed to yield monthly estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide over 621-square-mile regions of Earth’s surface to an accuracy of 0.3 to 0.5 percent.

Scientists will analyze these data using global atmospheric chemical transport models, similar to those used to predict the weather, to locate carbon dioxide sources and sinks.

The observatory will launch into a 438-mile near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit inclined 98.2 degrees to Earth’s equator, mapping the globe once every 16 days.

The mission is designed to last two years. This coordinated flight formation will en-

able researchers to correlate the observatory’s data with data from the other NASA space-craft, including nearly simultaneous carbon dioxide measurements from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program mission managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Orbital Sciences provides mission op-erations under JPL’s leadership. Hamilton Sundstrand in Pomona, Calif., designed and built the observatory’s science instrument. NASA’s Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is respon-sible for launch management.

For more information about the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, visit: http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov.

NASA’S carbon-sniffi ng satellite to launch this month


Tips for visiting Eagle areas

If you are visiting bald eagle country, an advance call to the local land management agency

(USDA Forest Service district, etc.) or the Arizona Game and Fish Department may help

you plan your trip to avoid disturbing bald eagles. By following these simple guidelines, we

can all help ensure that our living wildlife legacy will last for generations to come:

Enjoy bald eagles from outside the closures, especially during critical nesting times (Decem-

ber to June). Th ese areas are posted with signs and/or buoys, and most have daily nestwatch

monitors. Anyone approached by a nestwatcher and asked to cease an activity or leave a closed

area should comply. A few good places to see bald eagles without disturbing them (during

December and January) are at Lake Mary and Mormon Lake near Flagstaff or on the Verde

River Canyon Train in Clarkdale.

Bald eagles protecting an active nest will let you know if you are too close. If a bald eagle is

vocalizing and circling the area frantically, you are too close and need to leave the area quickly.

Bald eagles incubating eggs or brooding small young should never be off the nest for more

than 15 minutes.

Pilots should maintain the FAA-recommended 2,000-foot AGL advisory when fl ying over

bald eagle habitat along the Salt and Verde Rivers, Lake Pleasant and Alamo Lake. Th ese

areas are designated on the Phoenix Sectional Aeronautical Map. Special brochures for pilots

regarding this advisory can be obtained by calling the Arizona Department of Transportation

or the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s nongame branch at (623) 236-7506.

Help from anglers is especially needed. Monofi lament and tackle has killed two nestlings

and has been found in two-thirds of all bald eagle nests in the state. Every year we remove

this potentially lethal material from nests and/or entangled nestlings. Ospreys, shorebirds,

waterfowl and songbirds also succumb to this litter. Do not discard any type of monofi lament

along rivers and lakes, but recycle it at fi shing stores. Keep your monofi lament fresh; do not

use old brittle line. Make sure to use the correct test line for the fi sh you are trying to catch.

Also, do not cut the line when an undesirable fi sh is caught and return it to the water with the

hook and line attached.

You can help bald eagle research and recovery eff orts by reporting any harassment or shoot-

ing of bald eagles. Call the Arizona Game and Fish Operation Game Th ief Hotline at 1-800-

352-0700 or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement at (480) 967-7900.

mond Flat allows watercraft to float through, but no stopping in the river or landing is allowed from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact Tonto National Forest, Globe Ranger Dis-trict, (928) 402-6200.

Salt River near Meddler Point is closed to vehicle and foot entry within 1,000 feet of the nest on land, and to watercraft within 300 feet on water from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact Tonto National Forest, Tonto Basin Ranger District (928) 467-3200.

Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam, is closed to vehicle or foot entry on the south side of the river from Dec. 1 to June 30. Floating through is allowed. Contact the Tonto National Forest, Mesa Ranger District, (480) 610-3300.

Becker LakeA portion of the lake may be closed to watercraft and a portion of the shoreline may be closed to foot entry from Feb. 1 through June 30. Contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region I, Pinetop, (928) 367-4281.

Luna LakeLuna Lake is closed to vehicle and foot traffic on the north side from Jan. 1 to June 30. Contact Apache National Forest, Alpine Ranger District, (928) 339-4384.

Eaglescontinued from page 4

Lynx LakeNo vehicle or foot traffic allowed on the east side of the lake and a portion of the shoreline is closed to watercraft from Dec. 1 to June 30. Contact the Prescott National Forest, Bradshaw Ranger District, (928) 443-8000.

Lower Lake MaryNo vehicle or foot traffic allowed on a por-tion of the north side of the lake from Jan. 1 to Aug. 30. Contact the Coconino National Forest, Mormon Lake Ranger District, (928) 774-1147.

Greer LakesA portion of the lake may be closed to water-craft and a portion of the shoreline may be closed to foot entry from March 1 through July 31. Contact the Apache Sitgreaves Na-tional Forest, Springerville Ranger District, (928) 333-4372.

Woods Canyon LakeA portion of the lake may be closed to watercraft and a portion of the shoreline may be closed to foot entry from April 1 through Aug. 31. Contact the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, Black Mesa Ranger District, (928) 535-7300.

For more information, call Arizona Game and Fish at (602) 942-3000, or visit the Web site at www.gf.state.az.us.

Photo courtesy First People of Canada and America: Turtle Island/ http://www.fi rstpeople.us


Eco LivingBy Christopher

J. Peacock

Welcome to a new world. A world where “sustain-ability” and “going green” are the buzz words that everyone is

using (or at the least they are marketing the terms to earn business.) Time will tell if these words lead to the actions needed to make a significant difference in our lives and the world in which we live.

This new world is one that has been re-quested by many over the years—it is finally arriving.

Whether out of necessity, desire or for profit, the fact remains that sustainable living is a growing trend and will not be leaving our spheres of influence anytime soon.

Welcome to a new year. With a new administration coming in, an economy strug-gling to adjust to the times and individuals looking for meaning in their lives this year will surely bring more changes.

Sustainability and spirit are the focus of this publication, and appear to be on the minds of most of the readers, if not the entire nation. With this new world and New Year, how are you going to work toward a new way of living?

Perhaps you already recycle, drive an eco-friendly car, ride your bike or walk whenever you can, live in a home that uses alternative energy, shop at your local farmer’s market, tell everyone you know to “go-green” and are

active in your community. For most of us, we may only being doing a small part—which is great—it’s better than doing nothing at all.

If you are not doing all of these things, I would challenge you to do what you can in the coming year to make substantial changes in your life.

If you want some more suggestions, there are plenty of resources available. I would like to focus on a few choices we can make—cer-tainly not an exhaustive list, but one that I hope readers and practitioners can find value in for the coming year.1. Investment in eco-friendly/sustainable

business2. Active involvement in local policy setting3. Unite your spiritual and eco-life practices

Let’s start with the corporations. If you have any investments left (it has been a hard year and is a topic of a completely different discussion) consider balancing your portfolio in more “green funds,” or in businesses that are working toward a greater sustainability.

Sure, some companies merely give lip service to the idea of sustainability. Most companies, however, are serious about going green and changing their practices.

Really, should we be upset that some of these companies who stand behind their sus-tainable business practices might earn more profit? Certainly not. T. Boon Pickens is not investing in alternative energy to lose money, but he is trying to make a positive impact while increasing his earnings.

There are a great deal of other environmen-tal entrepreneurs who are trying to make a dif-ference. Check out www.E2.org to learn more.

I also encourage you to get more involved in your communities to promote sustainable building and business practices.

Many local governments across the coun-try are adopting LEED standards in new construction for municipal projects, and for new communities being built.

Help your local government understand the financial and environmental impact of building more sustainably and adopting poli-cies for such practices.

This will help encourage more projects like the Embry Riddle Business Technology

Center that is being planned in Prescott. The project is being planned to meet LEED stan-dards, and will be the focus in an upcoming article for Earth Odyssey.

Finally, I challenge all of you to continue working on your own spiritual growth. The world’s religions all have aspects of sustain-ability—learn what those are and integrate them into your daily practice.

Be mindful of your relation to spirit and the environment. If you can, go one step further and encourage those in your spiritual community to take on a project that leads to more sustainable life practices.

The point is that everything is intercon-nected—the time of pigeonholing one practice from another is ending. Unite your spiritual and sustainable practices.

Find ways to make adjustments to your way of living in the coming year one step at a time. Big or small, change is change and each step forward makes an impact.

This is the time of year to set your inten-tions and we always have only the moment of NOW to start implementing our goals. Welcome to a New Year. Welcome to a New World.

Christopher is an executive coach and busi-ness consultant focused on sustainable practices. He also serves as the marketing and business di-rector for a civil engineering firm in the Prescott area. He can be reached at [email protected].

Time to unite spiritual and sustainable practices

earth odyssey january 2009

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