Heroes Wanted: Beautiful Baja Sur Town Besieged By Powerful Entities, Needs Defending

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There are powerful forces at work in Todos Santos and it is not always easy to tell the bad guys from the good especially if you judge solely on the basis of what they say. You have to follow the money and observe what they do with it. Some of the vagaries of this situation may have to be decided in a court of law before the facts are actually clear. What is clear is that these forces have big plans for our community and they are serious about helping us out whether we want them or not.

Todos Santos needs a hero. Why can’t it be Colorado State University who steps up to the plate, clearly separates itself from the shadow of conflicting interests and acts in the true spirit of partnership by defending this town from the onslaught of other forces whose motivations are less pristine. They could at least have a bake sale on the Ft. Collins campus so they could fund putting some solar panels on the classrooms.

Drew Wilson, the soothing voice of CSU, is so upset with my comic antics that he has given up on reassuring me that everything they do is completely thought out and above board. He has informed me that his recent email would be his last. But I haven’t given up on him or CSU. They’ve already established that they can do good things. Now they need to really ramp up the courage and proactivity to go along with the science we need to convince the bottom liners that we will not submit to corporate exploitation at the risk of ruining what we already have in Pueblo Magico Todos Santos.

Just as I am sometimes puzzled by his defenses of contractual relations as legitimate because they are “common practices in Mexico” (I mean there were “common practices” on Wall Street that brought a country to its knees a few years back), I think he occasionally misunderstands my satirical intent, So I will add a note of explanation to the above cartoon to avoid confusion. It is my hope that the Ram depicted will become so righteously indignant that he will attack the evil gold monster thus ripping himself apart from the greedy Black Creek Businessman who will react to the traumatic separation by fleeing with some cash, but abandoning plans for future megadevelopment. Nothing wrong with a little wishful thinking.

Here is my letter that prompted Drew’s response and decision to sever email contact with me followed by my response to his final message.

Hello Drew,

We’ve been back in the States for almost two months but I am trying to keep abreast of developments in my home away from home. It looks as though things are progressing on campus. The veterinary science team has had some success addressing the tick problem. Puppet shows for los ninos is great. Having a background in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, I can appreciate that.

In photos of the classrooms I am seeing lots of air conditioners on the roof, but no solar panels. Todos Santos is certainly rich in sunlight. Are there plans to install solar panels? I know you refer concerns about water use to Tres Santos and the confusing hierarchy of water agencies, but that huge water tank frankly has me a little worried about whether any water will make it to my Las Brisas neighborhood when we get back in October.

I will continue to look for your articles on the blog and hope to see additions to the questions and answers section as you respond to the concerns of our community. I have some ideas for new comics on my blog too so give me a look if you have the time or inclination to do so.

Hopes for true sustainability in Todos Santos,

Michael Fisher 

Hi Michael,     

 

Mckenzie forwarded me your messages.  I haven’t changed my address, so double check you have it entered correctly.

 

Thanks for your note.  I’ve also noticed your activity, in particular your bat-man and swimming pool cartoons. 

Your references to CSU “stealing water” are untrue and unfair. Your cartoons consistently misrepresent CSU’s relationship with Todos Santos and the BCS region, our university’s intentions, and disregard the hard work of our students, faculty and professors. Michael, CSU is invested in and shares your hope for a sustainable future in Todos Santos. And, it sounds as if you too can appreciate research benefits like the tic presentation we gave, educational and exchange opportunities for youth and continuing education for adults. Yet, your cartoons continue to highlight false assumptions and misinformation, criticize the university and disregard our shared goals.

 

 I don’t recognize any intention in your artwork to consider our responses, nor to represent CSU fairly.  Instead your cartoons appear to be aimed at attacking our commitment to education, cultural exchange and research. You also seem to be fishing for more material for similar cartoons, an endeavor that I’m not willing to participate in by responding to further emails.  I hope that you’ll consider the information we continue to share about our accomplishments, goals and intent, and that future cartoons will treat the university fairly. 

 

The answers to your questions about solar panels and water tanks are posted on our blog.  I think you’ll find the answers you are looking for there.  

 

Sincerely,

Drew

Drew,

If you could prove to me that the documents I have seen are false and the information obtained detailing a quite obvious conflict of interest are fabricated by some evil doer; if you could prove to me that the photos I have seen of water gushing hundreds of gallons of wasted water into the dirt are photoshopped; if you could convince me that the unnatural mess that “graces” Punta Lobos will eventually morph into a view we will be proud of; if I misunderstood the hydrologists email comments concerning the addition of another pump having possible negative impact on old pipes, then I would be happy to create a nice educational coloring book or comic about your academic achievements and efforts to educate by providing a thoughtful model of sustainability to our community. But whether it’s a convenient truth or not you are involved with an entity that may lack your commitment to sustainability, especially if it casts a bad light on the company “brand”.

As far as my comics are concerned, they are political cartoons based on my opinion that the combination of CSU and Tres Santos water needs will have a serious negative effect on the Pueblo Magico Todos Santos water supply. From my blimp’s eye view, the physical evidence of CSU’s footprint has yet to measure up with the verbiage on your blog.

Not only have I considered your responses, I have shared them with our community so they could judge for themselves as to their validity. You criticized my lack of acknowledgement of your achievements in one sentence and then reference my acknowledgement in the next. I have every confidence that CSU will be able to do good things, and I do hope that you will be remembered for the good things and not the bad. Forgive me if I seem overly concerned about having a reasonably consistent supply of water.

MFisher

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