How to sustain the sustainable

May 15, 2018

Wendy Parker

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“Santa Fe truck Stop rejected; other development approved.”

Santa Fe, Sweetie, let’s sit down and have a talk about being “sustainable.”

I know it’s uncomfortable, but these things really need to be said out loud.

I realize, in a perfect world, big bad trucks and all the hideous things they bring into your community (like groceries and toilet paper) don’t exist. Everything you buy magically appears on shelves. Cookies are baked fresh by Keebler elves in a tree behind every Wal-Mart, and small woodland creatures sew beautiful ball gowns while you sing gorgeous little ditties about happiness and rainbows.

But honey, this isn’t a perfect world. It’s also not sustained by Disney magic.

Your world, no matter how serene or sustainable you’d like it to be, is brought to you by truckers, who happen to drive the trucks that contain everything you need for your utopia to remain Zen.

And here’s another little nugget for you.

If you live in New Mexico, you’re sustained by oil.

Oh, that’s right, I said it.

If you’re living where the oil boom is happening, darling. You’re sustained by the “dirty” oil, whether or not it fits into the recycling club rules. That oil, and the truckers and trucks it takes to get it, pay large chunks of real American money in taxes to help sustain the state of New Mexico.

Sunshine, let’s get off our high horse and realize your fantastic community would be a dirt lot in the middle of a pizza-oven climate without the truckers it takes to bring the trailers full of things you need. Like air conditioning units. You know, the ones that blaze from sunup to sundown in every single commercial establishment in New Mexico. Yeah. Those. I don’t hear anyone griping about the “sustainability” of those.

I also must have missed the part of history in which casinos became pillars of the community, where nothing involving prostitution or illegal activity ever happens. Theoretically, of course. We’d never make such a blanket-statement about casinos, now, would we? Because casinos are well-regulated and watched closely, right?

Oh, wait. So are truckers.

Now Sugar, I understand about the boogey monster. I’ve seen it. There are most definitely places on the road that suffer as a result of poorly managed truck stops.

That’s right. I said it.

There are also truckers who don’t treat the property with respect. However, decent truckers, who do have respect and consideration, would like to avoid these places, but guess what? They have no choice when nice places like your community refuse to allow them the opportunity to enhance cities with a working partnership to maintain and improve standards of living for both truckers and your local vicinity.

It’s a lot to digest, so take your milk and cookie break to think about it. You know, that magic 30-minute break safety advocates are so excited about. What’s that? You don’t know what a milk and cookie break is?

Sweetheart, we have so much more to talk about.

Baby steps, Santa Fe. Baby steps.