Alex T writes: “After a thoroughly enjoyable morning with David and Amy Goodman this weekend, I had lunch with some folks who are battling Lexam, a Canadian Oil and Gas company who are planning to sink a couple of exploratory natural gas wells in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge in the San Luis Valley.  While we’ve talked about this issue on ChannelBV before, having just returned from the sand dunes, I stopped to grab a photo of Sun Edison’s brand new 8.5 Megawatt Solar Power plant (appears to be part of the San Luis Valley Rural Electric Coop’s supply system).  I couldn’t help but think that this project, that takes advantage of a resource (the sun) that the San Luis Valley has an enormous supply of, and that puts no irreplaceable assets (such as the valley’s water aquifer) at risk, should be a no-brainer.  And yet, a company that has no stake in the community, feels free to risk the future health, safety and sustainability of life in that valley.

I think the metaphor that springs to mind is this:
‘Hey, I see you’re drinking clean water out of that cup.  What I’m going to do, is punch a hole through the top and bottom of your glass and run a few thousand gallons of toxic slurry through a straw, through your water, down below your cup to reach this other toxic, but useful substance below.  But don’t worry, it will probably be just fine.  Feel free to keep drinking.’  

With better energy alternatives on the table and around the corner, I applaud local communities who have the vision to prioritize and protect the future of their part of the world.  The good people of SLVDweller (a community not unlike ChannelBV) have been keeping very close tabs on this issue - click through to read more.  While the Arkansas river valley bears the scars of our mining past, I hope that when we are presented with future options for the valley in regards to energy or development or resource extraction, we approach them with our children and our grand-children’s children in mind.  What’s your vision for Greater Buena Vista in 2108?

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