My local public radio station recently aired a call-in show to discuss Houston-based Tecton Energy’s plan to explore in the Galisteo Basin, on about 65,000 acres where they have purchased mineral rights. This has caused friction among residents of the Galisteo Basin and in neighboring Santa Fe.

Bob Gallagher of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association describes Tecton as “a new generation of oil business dedicated to establishing its credentials as a responsible and environmentally sensitive player in the community.” If so, why would Tecton’s chief representative on the program refer to homes in the proposed drilling area as “fixtures”? In their environmental commitment they state, “We will seek to restore any abandoned area to its original or better condition.” The drilling sites are certainly not abandoned in the view of residents, wildlife, and those who believe that some natural places just need to be left undeveloped, especially when solar and wind energy are viable choices.

The Galisteo Basin is a gorgeous drop from the deeper hues of piñon and juniper dotted hills at the tail end of the Rocky Mountains into an expansive pastel landscape punctuated by mesas. At its far northeastern reach rests the hamlet of Lamy, where the Bioneers headquarters occupies the Old Lamy Schoolhouse.

Tecton’s bad choice of words in their efforts to convince our community to go along with their oil and gas exploration reminds me of James Hillman’s observation, when he gave a plenary presentation at Bioneers 2006:

“In the end it comes down to words, to language... Street smarts and hood talk, the favelas and barrios use country language, similes, slang, stories, gossip and a close look at character. Community, capital enterprise, meetings, learning and teaching and the arts of course, all begin outside the purview of the nation and often in the little business of the big city. In fact, big cities are where the positive moves of taking back the country from the nation are beginning and have already begun.”

I think this applies to smaller cities too, in taking back the community from the corporations. Tecton will not find a sympathetic audience by using corporate and counterfeit words. To learn more about the oil and gas exploration debate in Santa Fe County, visit http://drillingsantafe.blogspot.com/