Pennsylvania students to join Navajo water research
A clearer Animas River, left, joins the San Juan River last Monday in Farmington, N.M. Despite a clearer appearance, Navajo tribal officials continue to caution community members living along the San Juan River to not drink it, swim in it or let their livestock drink it until further notice. (Times photo - Donovan Quintero)
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Two students from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn. will be heading to the Navajo Nation to help Scott Smith of Water Defense take water samples from the San Juan River.
In an article in the college’s paper, The Dickinsonian, Smith said he was impressed with a graphic the women did on acid mine drainage and invited them to accompany him to the Navajo Nation and help with his research.
Smith was called upon by Navajo environmentalists to help analyze the effects of the Aug. 5 Gold King Mine spill and advise local chapters on possible solutions. He has been to the area on multiple occasions to take water samples and present his findings to local Navajos in the Shiprock area.
Juniors Sydney Diamond and Lyndsey Tanabe will come with Smith on his next trip to help with the research.
The women’s project caught the eye of actor Mark Ruffalo, founder of Water Defense, when he visited the school earlier this month as part of his residency for the Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism, according to the newspaper.
To read the full article, pick up your copy of the Navajo Times at your nearest newsstand Thursday mornings!
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I-40, WB @ Winslow