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Soyal (Hopi)
The Sun Returns
The winter solstice, marking the return of the sun in the northern hemisphere, occurs today at 17:47 UTC.* For thousands of years, cultures around the world have marked this moment with festivals and rituals. For the Hopi people in Arizona, this day is Soyal, the time when the Katchina’s return, climbing into sunlight.
A note to readers
At The Phoenix Sun, we’re marking the sun’s return with changes of our own. Instead of an online magazine with feature articles, we will become a more traditional blog. That means more frequent, shorter stories.
Our focus isn’t changing, however. Like our masthead says, we’ll continue covering Solar Power & Environmental News from the American Southwest. How we do that, the format, will change.
As publisher, editor and chief writer for The Phoenix Sun,
I’m making this change primarily because I’m beginning a new job.
Starting today, I’ll be a correspondent for the Natural Resources
Defense Council’s award-winning magazine, OnEarth. More precisely, I’ll be writing for the online edition of OnEarth. It’s a great magazine, as well as a great opportunity for me to explore the issues I care about with a wider audience.
I’ll be writing about solar power and other renewable energy issues for OnEarth. I’ll also cover ocean and freshwater issues, environmental justice (with an emphasis on Native America peoples), and whatever else I can convince my editors needs to be covered.
The Phoenix Sun Abides
Just like the Dude, The Phoenix Sun abides. (Fans of The Big Lebowski, you know what I mean.) I’ll be blogging and tweeting, same as always. I’ll also be posting links here to my work at OnEarth and at True/Slant (where I’ve been writing for a while on even more wide-ranging issues, especially on Veterans’ affairs).
If you’ve liked what you’ve seen here, please keep coming back. But also check out my work on these other sites. They’ll be just a click away.
*Winter Solstice Times
Central Europe: 18:47
Western Europe: 17:47
Newf’lnd: 14:17
US
Eastern: 12:47
Central: 11:47
Mountain (& AZ): 10:47
Pacific: 9:47
Alaskan: 8:47
Hawaiian: 7:74
