CMC student gains aerial view of environmental issues
Hearing my alarm on Monday morning was the most pleasant wakeup I have ever had. For the first time in a while, I skipped the snooze button and jumped out of bed with enthusiasm. It was still dark outside but my spirit was bright and I was more than ready to indulge myself in an incredible learning experience. Jenna, Xavier, Ashley and I all met downstairs for breakfast. We still hardly knew each other but after conversing over a cup of coffee, I realized we were going to have an excellent group dynamic. We all had very similar ethics on environmental issues and I couldn’t wait learn with them. With that thought in mind, we geared up my Subaru and we made way for the Airport. On our way there, the eternal sunshine permeating on the Aspen valley put all of us in the happiest most enthusiastic state of mind. Never have I ever seen a group of students so excited to engage in a learning experience such as this one. An unforgettable adventure was underway.
Arriving at the airport, we drove our cars right up to the Eco Flight aircrafts. Upon seeing these beautiful machines, I was blown away by their size. They were so small! It then became clear to me as to why we were instructed to pack light for these aircrafts had less cargo space than a two door sedan. We squished our small packs into the tiny trunk of these Cessnas and everybody finagled their way inside the planes. After seating myself and buckling in, we went for the end of the runway. Takeoff was underway. Bruce Gordon (President and Pilot of Eco Flight) flipped the fuel over to lean, confirmed takeoff and punched the throttle. Racing down the runway I could feel the plane battling the eternal force of gravity under my feet. Eventually, the bumpiness of the ride became incredibly smooth and I felt my stomach drop. Everything below me began to get smaller while I heard Bruce mention over the radio, “First stop, Farmington New Mexico!”
As we got out of the Aspen Valley, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Maroon Bells from 12,000 Feet. A place that I have been to many times had a completely different view from a plane. It was so majestic flying through the mountains I was stunned. As we got out of the Maroon Bells, the beauty of the natural world was put on an abrupt hold when I started seeing natural gas rigs below. The destruction they caused to the environment could be clearly be seen and I began to think about Steamboat. I knew Routt County had natural gas rigs but I had no idea how destructive natural gas was to the visual aesthetic of an ecosystem. My mood was slightly tainted by this but as the San Juan Mountain Range rapidly approached, I forgot about natural gas.
As we got out of the San Juans, I saw a dark haze in the distance. We were getting close to Farmington. Out my left window, I saw the hazy and dark skied town of Farmington. Out my right Window, I saw the beautiful pristine and clear skies of the San Juans. As we approached Farmington, I wasn’t looking forward to stepping out into the polluted air. When we landed in the Farmington airport, Mike Eisenfeld (San Juan Citizens Alliance), Robyn Jackson, Sierra Frank -Ignacio and Adella Begaye (Dine Care), Quinn Mentoya (Young Activist) and some Navajo Youth members were eagerly waiting our arrival. We made quick acquaintances and we as the now bigger group all piled into the Cessnas to see the coal plants from up above.
As soon as our plane got in the air, it became immediately apparent as to where the smog was coming from. Out in the distance I saw two coal fired power plants spewing pollution into the air. Down wind was Farmington and all the material coming from the Coal plant was being deposited over in Farmington. As we got closer to the plants, the smog worsened. Vee Newton, a Navajo community member of the Burnham Chapter area pointed out a spot not too far from the coal plant and he said “look, that’s where my grandmother lives.” He didn’t look too delighted and I felt sick to my stomach upon seeing how close his grandmother lived to the plant. I thought about Steamboat and the coal plant that lives just 20 miles out of town. I began to worry for I didn’t want Steamboat to become this polluted. After circling the plants several times, it was time to bail and get out of there. When we landed, we rendezvoused at the airport restaurant to discuss what we had just seen.
While our lunches were being prepared, we engaged in a very emotional conversation about the Farmington coal plants. Vee Newton began to tell us his story and his relationship with the coal plant. Before he could finish, his eyes began to tear and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He apologized and had to leave the room. The room was silent for everybody could feel his pain. Time began to creep up on us and once again we had to continue with the Flight Across America. We said our goodbyes and shortly after we were up in the air again en rout to our next stop, The Grand Canyon.
We pulled into the Valle Airport right outside the Grand Canyon. Immediately after landing, we went to the hotel to check in our things. We were on a tight schedule so we only had a few minutes to relax because at 6:30 we were scheduled to eat dinner with some important people regarding some of the sites we saw and were about to see.
When 6:30 rolled around, Roger Clark (Grand Canyon Trust), Cristina Gonzales-Maddux (Graduate Student, Northern Arizona University), Carletta Tilousi (Havasupai Tribal Council) and Hertha Woody (Navajo Leader) were waiting to greet us. It was a big dinner and we were tired but excited to hear what these remarkable people had to say. Roger Clark talked about the issues surrounding the Grand Canyon area and how some of the uranium mines around the Grand Canyon area. “In 2006, the price of uranium started climbing exponentially. All of a sudden in 2 years, 10,000 uranium claims were placed in the area around the Grand Canyon area.” Cristina Gonzales-Maddux talked about her research as a graduate student in how toxins transport in and out of Uranium mining sites. Hertha Woody spoke about how her Navajo community members are on the verge of destruction due to the uranium mines. The dinner was filled with intellectual conversation and I learned a lot about how uranium is taking over the Grand Canyon region.
After dinner it was time for me to call it a day. Starting in Aspen before the sun came up to then travel all the way to the Grand Canyon when the sun went down was plenty of events for me to handle in one day. My neck raw from my camera strap finally was removed for the first time all day and I was too tired to do anything else. The next day was only hours away.
Check out the Gallery of Day 2