When oil became scarce in the 1970s, New Mexico’s
solar industry quickly boomed and then busted. State tax subsidies
had helped sell complicated new systems that sometimes didn’t work,
and by the mid-80s many people ditched their solar designs. In an
effort to rebuild its solar industry, the New Mexico Natural
Resources Department has published a colorful and easy-to-read
48-page book, The New Mexico Home Solar: A Source Book, written by
Ingrid Kelley. Kelley says what endured were simpler passive solar
designs that save both energy and money, and her guide introduces
home-builders to these time-tested techniques. She describes how to
make bricks from newspaper and walls from tires as well as
traditional adobe techniques and how to choose a site and work with
building codes. Photos and simple illustrations accompany her
descriptions, and a glossary of building terms runs alongside the
text. The final pages contain a list of solar building
organizations, workshops, videos and a bibliography. To receive a
free copy, write the Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico
State University, Box 3AE, Las Cruces, NM 88003
(505/646-3425).Suburbs and ranchettes sprouting across the Western
landscape often add pollution to already burdened watersheds.
Residential pollution sources include oil, pesticides, and
fertilizers washed off driveways and yards. The University of
Nevada Cooperative Extension in Reno has launched an effort to
reduce nonpoint pollution of the Truckee River by educating
residents about sources of pollution and ways to conserve water. A
64-page, graphic-packed booklet, Protecting Our Water Resources,
provides detailed explanations of how property owners can help
maintain good water quality through careful use of pesticides and
fertilizers, landscaping to control erosion, maintaining septic
systems, and protecting wetlands. A special section addresses one-
to 10-acre ranchettes. “We’re all part of the problem,” says author
John Cobourn, “and can all be part of the solution.”
Free copies of Protecting Our Water Resources
can be obtained from the University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension, Box 8208, Incline Village, NV 89452
(702/784-4848).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline From driveways to watersheds.
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