A man teaches his son to ride a bike at dusk. We sometimes talk about the desert as a place that lacks color, but in Albuquerque rich shades of blue and red cover the mountains and the sky day and night.
This is Sayrah Namaste, she is the director of the American Friends Service Committee New Mexico program.
Hosts Michaela Mast and Harrison Horst stand in the center of the University of New Mexico’s campus between meetings.
Javier Benavidez is a community organizer in Albuquerque. He is heavily involved in local politics and is a strong advocate for environmental justice in the state.
Standing in the foothills of the Sandia mountains, you can see just how far the city sprawls. As the sun set we enjoyed looking out over the high desert and watching the lights turn on below.
Joan Brown is a Franciscan sister and the executive director of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light. She is very active in the Albuquerque area on issues surrounding environmental protection and social justice.
For the week we spent in Albuquerque, we used the student union building at UNM as our office. We met here for many of our interviews, and between meetings we took advantage of the free wifi and air conditioning.
Marianne Engelman-Lado(left) is an attorney and a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Her work focuses on environmentally overburdened communities. On the right is one of her students and mentees, Jill Howell.
Standing at the foothills of the Sandia mountains, we got a feel for the high desert. These mountains border Albuquerque to the East, forcing the city to sprawl West.
Antonio Maestas grew up in Albuquerque and recently moved back after graduating college. He works for an organization called Juntos as a community organizer and environmental justice advocate.
A panorama of the University of New Mexico campus.
This map of New Mexico shows the number and placement of all energy-related sources of pollution in the state. Mapping out drill sites, coal mines, and Superfund sites allows us to see where these facilities are concentrated and who is harmed most by the pollution.
Much of the architecture in Albuquerque is based on the original designs of the Pueblo Indians. Here at the University of New Mexico, this influence can be seen in the shapes and materials that mimic adobe homes.
As Sayrah says, it’s easy to see the desert as a barren place, but if you look closely you will see that it is teeming with life. Just like the people of Albuquerque, this cactus has to be resourceful and resilient to make a home here, but it has found a way to thrive at the base of the Sandias.
Harrison and Michaela listen as Jeanne Elmhorst talks about the geography of Albuquerque. Jeanne and her husband Tom hosted us during our visit to Albuquerque.
