An alternative for the Navajo Indians!

I always thought the Indians in the United States are very concerned about their lands. When I worked in New Mexico with the Mescalero in the Sierra Blanca region, the preservation of historical and cultural sites had a very high priority. The tribe preserved the land, kept the forest clean of weeds and brush, so much so that the Spotted Owls actually migrated to their lands rather then staying in the federally preserved areas.

Recently I read a small article in The Economist (Vol. 384, #8539) titles “The politics of Indian coal”. This article put the energy policies of New Mexico’s governor and presidential hopeful, Bill Richardson, under the spotlight. The Navajo tribe is contemplating to build a 1500 MW coal power plant on land owned by the Navajo Nation.

The situation of the Navajo Indians is surely not very good and a source of income would help the unemployed adults, most of which have to live with less then $8000 annually, according to The Economist. On the other hand, putting more then 11.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year in the air is not really a way to proceed in this day and age. The cost is probably very high to the lands, especially if one looks at the lack of any clean up at existing sites, like Wyoming.

With better and better technology for wind energy, like the one which AMC LLC is involved in through Suzlon Energy Ltd and H&F Industrydata GmbH, the introduction of the new 5 MW turbines would be an alternative option. The same 1500 MW as from the coal plant could be generated with 300 of the new turbines and no unsightly holes will have to be ripped into the ground to get to the coal, not to speak of the enormous air-pollution.

Maybe I should write to the Chief of the Navajo and suggest this alternative…

Axel Meierhoefer, President AMC LLC