Ski resorts using recycled sewage to produce artificial snow is not new – especially in water-poor regions. But in the San Francisco peaks outside Flagstaff, Arizona, the prospect of introducing this alternative has spawned a legal battle with the Hopi who are taking the issue to court.

To the owners of the Snowbowl resort, and the surrounding communities, the lack of water to produce artificial snow has a direct impact on the bottom line. To the Hopi Indians who have tended the land for millennia, the sacred mountains are a bulwark of refuge and purity – and blanketing them with recycled refuse for a purely commercial enterprise is not an option.

So far, the Forest Service has already approved the expansion of the resort into the surrounding wilderness reserve, and it remains to be seen if the Hopi can appeal the water issue on the grounds of environmental violations, since processed waste water contains trace pharmaceuticals and other chemical substances that would be introduced into the local environment.

The variance between indigenous and modern Western viewpoints about land runs deep, and battles like this are just a small manifestation of the chasm that has always divided them. Because the indigenous approach to decision-making in issues that affect their people is so fundamentally different, it’s hard for those living in the mainstream outside tribal society to understand why the Hopi can fight this kind of issue with the same rigor that they would oppose, for instance, the dumping of nuclear waste. What many may see as a backward, stubborn adherence to tradition is a demonstration of an ancient way of thinking that is driven by profound respect for land and resources and a careful consideration of both the principles of the past and the rights of future generations.

The resort argues that the use of non-potable water for their purposes is in the end more efficient and environmentally friendly, since they would not be diverting valuable fresh water from elsewhere. But without taking sides in the argument, it’s hard not to observe the irony of the situation:

1. that an argument over water for a resort exists at all, when every day so many people around the world die of thirst;
2. that the very fact that it has come down to using recycled sewage suggests that a polar playground in the middle of a desert is perhaps a ridiculously extravagant luxury.

Maybe, in our scientific day and age, truly nothing is sacred anymore. Maybe if the leisure industry did not have such a powerful pull in our over-indulged society, the scruples of the Hopi and others would have more meaning for the rest of us. And maybe the time will come when we are forced into having the same kind of respect for our resources that the ages have taught the Hopi.

The San Francisco Peaks (Hopi “Nuvatukya’ovi,” Navajo “Dookʼoʼoosłííd“)
Image: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Shapotou, on the banks of the Yellow River in northern China’s Ningxia Province, is home to one of the world’s desert wonders. The “Musical Sands” of the desolate Tengger Desert, thanks to the properties of acoustic resonance, produce an orchestra of other-worldly sounds that have spawned centuries of legends and enthralled Western tourists.

Some of the planet’s tallest dunes reside in this brutally arid region on the skirts of the Gobi Desert. But it is also home to one of the most ambitious incentives aimed at reclaiming land that has become desertified as a result of human activity.

The recent stories of China’s war with its encroaching northern deserts, and the palpable effects on its cities further south, call to mind America’s own Dust Bowl experience in the not-so-distant past. Generations’ worth of aggressive agricultural expansion depleted the soil, leading to mass erosion, and subsistence farmers graze livestock in a climate where resources are increasingly scarce. Combined with severe drought, these forces have exhausted the landscape and created an avalanche of problems that threaten far more than the area’s natural productivity.

Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 2010.
Image: BBC News: “China sandstorm leaves Beijing shrouded in orange dust”

National Geographic: China’s Dust Storms Raise Fears of Impending Catastrophe

Wikipedia: 2010 China drought and dust storms

To counteract this dilemma, Chinese researchers in the 1950′s formed the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station to focus on rebuilding a stable eco-system that could slow the desertification process and serve as a buffer for the country’s temperate zones. They started from the ground up – literally.

The Shapotou sands of the 1950′s were essentially lifeless – the dry, pulverized, loess was devoid not only of vegetation to anchor the soil, but of the microbiological life that forms the building blocks of virtually all living systems.

The Shapotou dunes in the 1960s.
Image: Long Term Ecological Research Network

By laying out grids of microbe-inoculated straw, the scientists hoped to create a protective mulch that would help prevent the mass erosion of the sands and reintroduce microbial and fungal life fundamental to healthy soil.

This “microbe mesh” made growth possible for marginal desert plants, which further enriched the grid as each successive layer contributed to the life cycle through decomposition. The mulched land began to support larger plant and shrub growth, gradually reducing the amount of soil loss through wind, and critically, forming a self-sustaining green buffer around the desert zones.

Deutsche Welle: Grid of straw squares turns Chinese sand to soil

Image: Visit Our China

The verdict

Results released by the Chinese State Forestry Administration claim that in ten years the program has reduced the desertification rate by nearly half. Today, nearly half a century later, the greening of Shapotou has turned a wasteland into a thriving belt of orchards and vineyards.

(See some recent photos of Shapotou’s gardens on Flickr)

The Chinese government has since launched an intensive forest-building effort and is taking steps to protect existing forest areas. The trees serve as windbreaks and soil anchors, and their deep root systems access precious water reservoirs beneath the deserts.

Where the Yellow River meets the Tengger. Image: West-Saga.com

Their hope is to expand the green corridor throughout the Yellow River basin, and between the Tengger Desert and the Badain Jaran of the Mongolian border – two deserts threatening to merge into a “super dune” that would quickly encroach south, engulfing large swaths of northern China and endangering the densely populated cities of lower China.

In the 50 years since the start of this initiative, the bush zone between these deserts has shrunk in half, but now Chinese scientists and officials hope to reverse this. Their experience in Shapotou has provided them with a solution.

China Daily: China plants green belt to stop deserts merging

So is it too early to declare this initiative a success? There are mixed opinions. The cost in terms of money and effort is steep, and strict conservation policies put a strain on the region’s subsistence farmers – hundreds, even thousands of whom will be displaced from land being converted into the green zone.

But without drastic steps being taken to reverse the combined effects of climate change and intensive human use, that land won’t be there in the future for the farmers or anyone else to use. The short-term costs may be high, but the risk of doing nothing is much more pressing.

Humans dealing with the direct and indirect effects of their actions on Nature is not a new problem; but our precarious position in relation to the natural world is now more tangible than ever. Desertification is one of the biggest issues facing the 21st century environment. The Shapotou research program’s promising results so far are a profound example of what a very basic solution can do to answer a very complex problem.

A review & critical analysis of a compendium of works by the recently departed Iroquois scholar:

“A Seneca Nation elder, thinker and activist, John Mohawk (Sotsisowah) challenged readers to reset and then reboot their value systems—to consider the obvious that we are trained in school to ignore…”

“If you want to compare notes with a man who was a thousand years old in his thinking while also a contemporary of scholars around the world, this is the book for you. It does not get more Indian than this.”

I haven’t read the book yet myself but it’s on my must-have list. It is intriguing to hear the shrewd observations of a Native person, trained in Western academia, who recognizes the relevance of his own marginalized culture’s precepts. Few people are better qualified to voice such an objective assessment of modern Western society, its environmental role, and the crossroads it which it now finds itself. What an apt time for this publication.

Fulcrum Publishing: Product page

Host, Prof. Iain Stewart

Yet again, National Geographic has come out with another winner. I love this series (although of course it doesn’t need my promotion)! I give it five-stars as one of the best all-around documentaries I’ve seen.

Originally released by the BBC, and presented by a very engaging and accomplished host – Scottish scientist Iain Stewart – the series showcases some stunning cinematography from all over the globe (a real plus for nature lovers) and some top-of-the-line CGI graphics.

But what fascinated me the most about this series, and Stewart’s research, is the approach of connecting human history directly with earth science. These days it’s becoming common knowledge to associate modern human activity with climate change; but he presents the geology and pivotal historical events – both globally and regionally – as a deeply intertwined continuum. Watching these episodes makes you wonder, “Why didn’t anybody think of it that way before?”

The series covers a lot of the better-known examples – such as how the over-exploitation of resources contributed to the Mayan collapse, and how the volcanic eruption at Santorini ended the Minoan civilization and ushered in the end of the Bronze Age. But some lesser-known connections are also addressed, and some astounding facts that I’d never heard before. Did you know that so much of the world’s fresh water has been dammed and contained within the industrialized nations in the Northern Hemisphere, that the displaced weight of it has slightly altered the earth’s axis?

The science of the series is concrete enough that he can talk about our climate problems in broad context, without the political overtones. He’s quite clear on the score that humans (notwithstanding our fossil-fuel guzzling and resource polluting) are not about to destroy an earth that’s already been pulverized by space impacts, encased in ice, etc., just because the planet’s temperature rises 5 degrees. It’s not really the earth being threatened, it’s us – because we’ve reached a tipping point in our capacity to influence our environment, beyond what our modern civilization can adapt to.

That’s what makes a careful look at the cause-and-effect relationship between human actions and the natural world so relevant to us today. The issue goes so far beyond the smaller issues like saving individual species, or finding more efficient fuel sources; we have to get a handle on how we fit into the whole “planetary picture,” and how our presence has contributed to ongoing changes within an already dynamic environment.

Above: Still shot from a segment showing renewable infrastructure at its best – a living bridge made from rubber trees in Cherrapunjee, India.

This is the daunting task that the series tackles – but it rises to the challenge brilliantly. It’s a rare thing for a body of research to have such an integrated approach to exploring this interconnectedness on a historical level, not to mention with such an impressive presentation. It’s extremely well-researched without being overly academic. And the top-of-the-line nature photography has it coming out way ahead in terms of entertainment value.

If you like this one, you’d enjoy the earlier release Earth: The Biography which carries the same themes minus the historical bit. It centers on the development of the earth in terms of the whole solar system – more in the category of astronomy and physics.

As an appetizer, check out both companion sites on National Geographic. Thumbs up for wonderful photo galleries and a lot of good reading.

National Geographic: How the Earth Changed History

Earth: The Biography (series)

A similar production by National Geographic, America Before Columbus, contrasts the natural world & human footprints of the Old and New Worlds, with a comprehensive view of the Columbian Exchange.

Watch Planet Green Video: WAHLEAH JOHNS

Like many other Indian reservations in the West, the land of the Navajo Nation has long been a casualty of its rich fuel, metal, and mineral deposits. Countless corporations have been eager to capitalize on these resources – often at the expense of atrocious air and water contamination.

Among these is the Peabody Coal Company, first granted a permit in 2008. As part of its operations, Peabody was pumping around 3.3 million gallons of water per day from the Navajo aquifer to create a coal slurry that was piped to Nevada. There it helped to power the electric plants of one of the fastest-growing urban centers in the country.

Young Navajo Wahleah Johns helped to organize a community-based movement to bring an end to Peabody’s operations on the reservation. In a major victory for the Black Mesa Water Coalition, Peabody’s mining permit was repealed early 2010, meaning a new lease on life for the Nation’s only freshwater reservoir.

Victory for Black Mesa – Peabody Coal Mining Permit Denied

The Coalition’s efforts go beyond environmental activism, though – the organization’s main goal is building the Nation’s economy through sustainable development alternatives that are in sync with traditional principles, reducing dependence on industries such as coal mining as a source of income. What we call “green” is nothing new to peoples like the Navajo – it’s an ancient way of life.

Who are better candidates than the world’s indigenous peoples to help lead the way in finding dynamic solutions to environmental reform?

See also:

Fast Forward Episode Information: Wahleah Johns, Groundwater Advocate

Black Mesa Water Coalition – Official Website

Translating Green into Navajo: Alternatives to Coal Mining and The Campaign for a Navajo Green Economy

A must-see showcase of Native American communities across North America that are using their traditional understanding of ecology to restore and protect natural habitats. Photography by Jack Dykinga.

View this feature: NatGeo Photography – Native Lands

Have you noticed? I’m sort of proud of this little logo showing that my site is 100% wind powered. This blog, along with its companion photo blog and my home page, are all hosted by IPower, whose facilities across the country are run entirely on wind energy. Being green is such a big thing these days, and with good reason; so it’s nice to be able to make a little difference for the environment right here from my studio.

Usually my tips are geared towards art and photography, but in this case I’m taking a minute to promote the hosting service that makes all this possible. I don’t mind showing IPower’s ads on my page because I’ve been so pleased with their services over the years I’ve been with them. Besides being green, their servers are extremely reliable and their hosting plans come with an array of useful web tools including WordPress, ZenPhoto, and b2evolution’s PHP platform blog – all of which I use myself. They come with a host (no pun intended) of other features for all levels of users from beginners to programmers. Their interface is very user-friendly (and very clean and professional – no tacky ads) and their customer service is bar none.

Bottom line, if you’re starting a website, looking to switch hosts or just renewing your domains, I would strongly recommend looking into their services. Best of luck in the WWW!

Official Site of the Onondaga Nation
Syracuse Post Standard: People of the Hills

Raised on her family’s wildlife-conscious farm in Devon, England, she explores the stark realities of our dependence on oil and its consequences for the near future. The film embarks on a journey to find whether alternative farming methods can combine efficient food production with nature conservation.

This is definitely one of the best documentaries I’ve seen. It is excellently researched and well-presented, and stands apart from others by going beyond mere alarm-raising and presenting practical, ingenious solutions from forward-thinking problem solvers. As a bonus, the cinematography of Britain’s rural wildlife and the stunning landscape of Wales’s Snowdonia region is breathtaking.

I strongly urge you to see this film – you will never think of the food you eat, our environment, or our modern lifestyle in the same way again.

The whole program runs around 50 minutes, which you can watch right here (thanks YouTube!)

Part 1

See the other four chapters:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

See the program descriptions for the US broadcast here:
Link TV DocDebut: Rebecca’s Wild Farm