Away from the blistering heat, and rejuvenated by the scent of ponderosa pines filtering cool mountain breezes, those at the first Straw Bale Forums shared a Chautauqua-style experience of intellectual and creative growth and renewal. Mornings included presentations by authors and artists, followed by lively and interesting discussion. In the afternoons, guests scattered across the ranch to attend an art or creative writing workshop. The retreat culminated in a friendly show-and-tell the final evening, peppered with constructive critiques from the audience.
This summer's Straw Bale Forum had the same idyllic setting, but its mission had dramatically changed. Rather than focusing on individual art projects, participants gathered to build something as a group: a vision for a sustainable future for our region. This evolution of the Straw Bale Forum from a rustic-style salon of ideas to a think-tank generating specific outcomes was intentional and reflective of the urgency of our times. Wishing to broaden the event's reach and effectiveness, the forum's founders asked the Sonoran Institute to help better organize the discussions, and to round up a diverse group of academics, policy experts, state and local elected officials, business executives, and other leaders to debate the issues in hopes of finding common ground.
Greening Arizona
Themed "Greening Arizona," the four-day session in late July focused on how to successfully manage the challenges to achieving a sustainable future. Arizona, with its history of booming growth and threatened natural resources, is a microcosm of the West and a stark reminder of Wallace Stegner's proclamation that, "Aridity, and aridity alone, makes the various Wests one." Like their western neighbors, Arizonans are seeking ways to cope with seismic changes to their water and energy resources, land-use patterns, economy and climate, all of which are accelerated by a never-ending stream of new residents.
Participants of this year's Straw Bale Forum targeted three interrelated areas of concern: renewable energy, sustainable water, and land use associated with state trust land reform.
The Solar Capital of the World
With an abundance of sunshine, Arizona is well positioned not only to meet its own energy needs, but also to become an exporter of solar power. The discussion on renewable energy centered on whether Arizona wants to become the solar energy capital of the world and, if so, where the necessary facilities and transmission lines should be sited. To be competitive, attendees said, the state should offer incentives for companies to invest in R&D, manufacturing, and jobs creation. At the same time, consumers' willingness to reduce consumption and switch to alternative energy sources is critical and will require an education campaign to inform and motivate the public.
The Dance between Energy and Water
For many at Straw Bale Forum, the interdependency of energy and water was eye opening. We learned how much water it takes to produce energy, and how much energy it takes to deliver water across vast stretches of the desert. Participants agreed that the emphasis must be on conserving both. Considering Arizona's limited water supplies, the participants wrestled with the issue of how we can save our best water for our best uses, namely drinkable water. Identifying model codes and ordinances that encourage building and land-use regulation favoring conservation is a key to future sustainability. Again, public education in support of energy and water conservation is essential.
A Land Laboratory for Sustainable Best Practices
Finally, the Forum addressed Arizona's enduring quest for state trust land reform. For this effort to succeed, attendees said, the State Land Department must improve its long-term planning to ensure that it maximizes returns to the trust beneficiaries from the management of 9.2 million acres. The participants agreed that using revenues to become a self-funded agency may be part of the solution. In addition, attendees identified Superstition Vistas in Pinal County, a 275-square-mile parcel of undeveloped state trust land, as a possible laboratory for integrating best practices for sustainable land use, conservation, building density, multi-modal transportation, and renewable energy. These best practices and the lessons we learn from them could be shared with other Arizona communities, as well as across the West.
On the first day of the Forum, one of the policy leaders attending called upon all of us to "think about creating partnerships never before witnessed in human history," and challenged us to find a way to make Arizona the intellectual capital of the world's desert communities. This year's Straw Bale Forum started with that premise, with a new mix of leaders who listened carefully and with a spirit of compromise. Arizona needs this kind of leadership - public and private - to see all sides of the issues, and to affect the policies and public education that can make real change possible. So, as with the original Straw Bale Forums, this year's again offered participants a sense of renewal - of hope for our future and in the promise of our leaders. I look forward to working with all of you on their behalf!
