s
¡OYE!
LISTEN!
A conversation in Las Cruces, New Mexico, among artists, scientists and friends lamenting climate change and what can be done about it,--see Naomi Klein's "This Changes Everything"-- sparked "Oye! Celebrating Visions for the Future." The October 2015, 24-hour festival helped bring together people who are working to reduce carbon and who are interested in Las Cruces becoming the southwest's first Eco-City.
An Eco-City Commits to:
Alternative transportation
Green construction
New buildings--built only with alternative energy sources;
Old buildings--alternative energy conversions under way
Recycled water systems
Carbon-free energy
Creative Food Production
Human Ingenuity and Cooperation
!OYE! continues to encourage smart environmental action and is a participant in the 2017 Earth Day celebration.
Stop by the !OYE! booth and say hello.
As an Earth Day, 2017, participant !OYE! is sponsoring four presentations and a Pachamama symposium and one of the day's 25 booths.
Do let us know if you will be attending a presentation by registering on the Presentation pull down.
A FUTURE PROJECT:
!OYE! Proposes Planting a Miniature Forest in Downtown Las Cruces
Our plan is to sponsor a project based on the work of Shubhendu Sharma, an engineer who has determined that thick urban forests of native plants can be developed within ten years in any climate.
We have begun talking with local arborists and the urban forestry unit, a part of the Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Department, to propose the forest be located on a specific piece of land in Las Cruces. We do not have such a space as yet but our preference is to start the production of a thriving forest of native plants in the downtown area of Las Cruces within the next few years
The system is based on technology Sharma learned working as an engineer for Toyota. When introduced to the idea of fast-growth urban forestry, he perfected a system and then founded Afforestt to pursue the idea.
“It’s the natural process of growth, but amplified,” says Sharma.
Through an intensive process of building nutrients three feet deep in the soil and carefully plotting out a mix of trees, a small plot of land can become a dense forest.
“Because these forests grow 30 times faster and are thirty times more dense, the carbon sequestration happens at a rate that’s 30 times higher,” Sharma explains.
The mini-forests are able to absorb more particles of pollution, provide new habitat for endangered species, and conserve water that would otherwise run off pavements in storms. The forests can reduce urban temperatures by around five degrees, and help reduce energy used for cooling, Sharma says. Because he only uses native species, the forests can also eventually survive without watering or other maintenance.
The OYE Committee: Brenda Lazada Johnston,
Julius and Sam Siegel,
Margaret Bernstein
Deirdre Price
¡OYE!
LISTEN!
A conversation in Las Cruces, New Mexico, among artists, scientists and friends lamenting climate change and what can be done about it,--see Naomi Klein's "This Changes Everything"-- sparked "Oye! Celebrating Visions for the Future." The October 2015, 24-hour festival helped bring together people who are working to reduce carbon and who are interested in Las Cruces becoming the southwest's first Eco-City.
An Eco-City Commits to:
Alternative transportation
Green construction
New buildings--built only with alternative energy sources;
Old buildings--alternative energy conversions under way
Recycled water systems
Carbon-free energy
Creative Food Production
Human Ingenuity and Cooperation
!OYE! continues to encourage smart environmental action and is a participant in the 2017 Earth Day celebration.
Stop by the !OYE! booth and say hello.
As an Earth Day, 2017, participant !OYE! is sponsoring four presentations and a Pachamama symposium and one of the day's 25 booths.
Do let us know if you will be attending a presentation by registering on the Presentation pull down.
A FUTURE PROJECT:
!OYE! Proposes Planting a Miniature Forest in Downtown Las Cruces
Our plan is to sponsor a project based on the work of Shubhendu Sharma, an engineer who has determined that thick urban forests of native plants can be developed within ten years in any climate.
We have begun talking with local arborists and the urban forestry unit, a part of the Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Department, to propose the forest be located on a specific piece of land in Las Cruces. We do not have such a space as yet but our preference is to start the production of a thriving forest of native plants in the downtown area of Las Cruces within the next few years
The system is based on technology Sharma learned working as an engineer for Toyota. When introduced to the idea of fast-growth urban forestry, he perfected a system and then founded Afforestt to pursue the idea.
“It’s the natural process of growth, but amplified,” says Sharma.
Through an intensive process of building nutrients three feet deep in the soil and carefully plotting out a mix of trees, a small plot of land can become a dense forest.
“Because these forests grow 30 times faster and are thirty times more dense, the carbon sequestration happens at a rate that’s 30 times higher,” Sharma explains.
The mini-forests are able to absorb more particles of pollution, provide new habitat for endangered species, and conserve water that would otherwise run off pavements in storms. The forests can reduce urban temperatures by around five degrees, and help reduce energy used for cooling, Sharma says. Because he only uses native species, the forests can also eventually survive without watering or other maintenance.
The OYE Committee: Brenda Lazada Johnston,
Julius and Sam Siegel,
Margaret Bernstein
Deirdre Price