Saturday, October 20, 2018

New Mexico - Solar Fiesta 2018!

We had a much needed good night of sleep at our hotel, thanks to having covered so much driving (11 hours!) the day before. After a quick breakfast, we were off to Solar Fiesta 1018, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We reached the venue by 930AM. It was a quaint and cute little parking lot area where many venders had already begun setting up. It was a windy morning, but we still set up our banner and booth, using rocks to hold the flyers down. I sold a book right off the bat, to the guy who owned the neighboring booth. A nice start to the day! I was scheduled to be on a science panel at 11AM. The panel went well. I was one of four presenters. We each spoke for 7 minutes, followed by QnA. I lived-stream the talk through Instagram, which was a first for me! Returning to our booth was a joy. We both enjoyed the opportunity to chat with passers-bys about our climate tour and the work we’re doing. Lots of people were excited by our work and very supportive of us. A dozen or so people even picked up a copy of Beyond Debate! At one point, I slipped away to do some video recording of the event. There was great live music and tasty vegan cookies and pizza prepared by a solar cooker. Who could complain!? There was also a cool rainbow colored Tesla, among other electric cars on display. 


We packed up at 4PM. By that time we were quite tired from the sun and many hours talking. We were very excited for our evening’s destination. We were off to Santa Fe, where we would get a long-awaited day of rest and vacation. Arriving to Santa Fe we were greeted by a beautiful sunset. After a quick stop to the hotel to change and relax, we hit the town for dinner. Fall was definitely in the air. A great change from the past couple months of blistering heat we’d experienced! Our night in Sante Fe was fantastic. Athina and I have been very tired in these recent weeks as we’ve headed across the south. Living out of a suitcase, being on stage all the time, and driving long distances can really wear you out. Santa Fe would be our breath of fresh air, and an opportunity to recharge and just enjoy our surroundings!

Click here to learn more about "On the Road for Climate Action!"

-Shahir Masri, Sc.D.


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