Meet our Guests: Peter Sanzenbacher

Peter Sanzenbacher

Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Shoshone, CA

11/16/21

     Wearing an out-of-place New England Patriots hat in the Mojave Desert near the town of Shoshone, California, Peter Sanzenbacher shares his main project for the past four years or so: conserving the California condor, an iconic species of the Western United States. He says that this species, which almost went extinct in the wild in the 1970s, faces difficulties surviving amidst a rapidly developing world. Today, the main cause of condor mortality on the landscape is lead poising, ingested from people shooting wildlife and condors scavenging the carcasses. However, another particular threat to the species has turned out to be the wind energy industry. As more and more turbines pop up, they become dangerous obstacles for birds that call breezy areas their home.

     As a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Peter attempts to bridge the gap between condors and hunters and wind businesses alike. He makes sure to emphasize that he is working with industry in partnership, not fighting against it. In conversation, Peter shares a guiding question of his recent work: “how do we approach this in a way where we can protect condors and have a source of renewable energy on the landscape?” Peter hopes his work can be a model for other regions encountering the conflicts between species conservation and green energy.

By Ruthie Colburn

Meet our Guests: Cameron Barrows

Cameron Barrows

Research Ecologist, University of California, Riverside

Sand to Snow National Monument, CA

11/14/21

     Bearing southern California’s beating sun like a true local, Cameron Barrows, a retired UC Riverside research ecologist describes his efforts to model climate change and its impacts on the habitat of the famous Joshua tree.

     This charismatic desert plant is in danger of becoming extinct in the coming years, a fact that has motivated conservationists in California to come up with plans to save it. One such scenario involves protecting the swath of land between Joshua trees’ current habitat and the land that models show could be their future habitat, creating a migration corridor for the species. Unfortunately, this corridor would be 100 miles long, and Cam is not convinced the trees could make the trek. From beneath his baseball ball cap, Cam chuckles incredulously, “we're talking thousands of years to get that 100 miles, and climate change is going to happen in 20 to 30 years.” At the breakneck pace of climate change, the species will not be able to move quickly enough.

     Cameron does see hope in “climate refugia” – the place where current and future habitats overlap – because the trees don't have to move. He says that these areas should be the top priority for Joshua tree allies. While this strategy would result in less acreage of protected habitat, Cam believes it will ensure the survival of the population of Joshua trees that still have a chance.

Given that Joshua tree habitat also serves as prime locations for solar panels, Cam says that the smaller land requirements of focusing on refugia will “open the door for people who want to do energy production that is going to get us away from fossil fuels.” He believes that to ultimately help Joshua trees and species like them, we need to be dealing with the root cause of their demise: humans putting carbon in the atmosphere.

By Kevin Faeustle

Meet our Guests: Vince Signorotti

Vince Signorotti

Vice President, Resource & Real Estate, EnergySource LLC

Calipatria, CA

11/11/21

     Vince Signorotti is a Vice President at EnergySource, a California-based renewable energy company focused specifically on renewable geothermal energy. At their John L. Featherstone geothermal plant next to the Salton Sea in southern California, EnergySource drills thousands of feet into the Earth to harness salty groundwater that has been heated by the planet’s internal energy. They pump this brine to the surface to generate electricity from the steam it produces. Vince explained that this is while the process is expensive, it is carbon neutral and produces only minor byproducts. This is one of eleven plants operated by EnergySource in the Salton Sea area that collectively produce 380 megawatts of energy for the greater Phoenix area.

     While touring the geothermal facility with Semester in the West, Vince explained with excitement that EnergySource has developed technology to extract lithium from the brine they use to generate energy. With predictions that all vehicles will be electric by 2035, Vince and his company expect demand for lithium to be used in batteries to increase dramatically. Unlike most other forms of lithium mining in operation today, EnergySource’s extraction technology requires a very small footprint: together with the geothermal equipment (which provides the electricity for the extraction process) the John L. Featherstone plant will take up only 33 acres on the surface. While this technology is not currently running they have plans to start building the additional infrastructure this coming spring.

By Wes Johnston

Meet our Guests: Frazier Haney

Frazier Haney

Executive Director, The Wildlands Conservancy

Sand to Snow National Monument, CA

11/13/2021

Frazier Haney, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy, works hard to protect wild lands. When the land outside Joshua Tree National Park was threatened with development they started “the campaign to fire people up” to fight a proposed wind energy project. Getting community members on board with preserving the local wilderness is a major part of Frazier’s advocacy. When talking about protecting wild lands, he proudly produced three thick reams of paper, bearing signatures against the wind farm on Black Lava Butte.  Frazier asserts, “you can’t stop a development based on beauty. But you can inspire people with beauty.” There is tension between preservation and developing green energy. While we need to transition away from carbon-based energy, he believes the place to build renewable energy technology is in already developed places. This could mean solar panels on top of buildings, or wind energy remade in derelict wind farm sites.

The Wildlands Conservancy acquires private land that may be developed near and between current wild areas. This is important because it allows animals to utilize larger ranges of land and migrate between different areas. Continuous undeveloped land is necessary for biodiversity and species longevity.  Frazier says of the Sand to Snow National Monument, “it’s a beautiful place. And I think that’s enough reason to save a place.”

By Reya Fore

Meet our Guests: Brett Isaac

Brett Isaac

Founder and Co-CEO, Navajo Power

Navajo Mountain, AZ / Navajo Nation

9/25/21

Brett Isaac grew up next to the Peabody Coal Mine and surrounded by the effects it had on his Diné (Navajo) community in Shonto. Specifically: contaminated drinking water, depletion of the drinking water aquifer, and respiratory illness among the local population. Additionally, the electricity generated by the coal from this mine was not accessibly to Diné families.

After graduating from Arizona State University, Brett came home to the Navajo Nation in hopes of bringing money and electric power back. He started by building solar panel arrays for individual houses far off the grid as well as providing mobile power units that have been used by Diné residents and by protestors at Standing Rock to power their camps.

In 2020, Brett co-founded Navajo Power: a public benefit renewable energy corporation that aims to brings the economic and environmental boons of solar energy to the Navajo Nation and other indigenous communities across the country. While he does not think solar energy is the “silver bullet” in dealing with climate change, he believes that it is a step in the right direction and sees first-hand how beneficial it is for the communities he has brought power to.

By Wes Johnston

Editor’s note: the photo of Brett Isaac above is from SITW 2016 as SITW 2021 met with Brett at night and did not get a more recent portrait.