John ‘Skip” Laitner is an economist, enjoying a desert year while on research sabbatical from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Skip is discovering some surprising insights from his time in the desert that can inform the way one looks at the economy and social systems. In a series of posts entitled Desert Year, Skip lends us his new insights, as well as his 40 years of experience as an energy and natural resource economist, to probe the economic, climate, and energy challenges that confront us.
I pulled up short, turning slowly onto a street that led through a private neighborhood. I thought I might walk perhaps 10 minutes before I resumed a slow jaunt. As I crested a long hill I spotted a lean, weathered man in perhaps his early 70s who was out in his yard doing some chores. He was just a few yards away and as I approach his driveway he commented, “I haven’t seen you around here before.” Which I took, from the slight tone in his voice, to be Western speak for, “You sure you belong in this neighborhood?”
“No,” I replied, “I live about a mile over. I’m just out on a run and thought I’d check out a new area.” I grinned and waved at him, and kept moving on past. Curiously, I also noted the street sign which read, “Via Amable.” This seemed to be an amalgam of Latin and Spanish which I think translates into something like, “friendly path” or “friendly way.” That translation seemed lost on my inquisitor. And then I got to wondering. . . what exactly is in a name?
There is another street I sometimes run past, “Sempre Verde,” which also appears to be a mixture of Latin and Spanish that roughly translates as “always green.” Which is a curious thought for the Sonoran Desert. Yes, plants like the Saguaro, the prickly pear cactus, and the Palo Verde (“green stick”) all have a bark or outer skin that is always green. They’ve adapted to the combination of abundant sunshine and a lack of water by integrating chlorophyll into their trunks. This means is a form of greater efficiency as they have to rely less on their leaves to produce their food and energy. But, as delightful as it is, I would hardly call the desert always green. (more…)
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