There was very little new in Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s(D-AZ) wedding to Astronaut Mark Kelly. There was plenty of something old, borrowed and blue, however, as the couple were married in the small community of Amado, south of Tucson, AZ on Saturday.  Giffords, a staunch and outspoken proponent of solar power and everything environmental, made her statement well with a “low carbon footprint” wedding, complete with plates and forks made of sugar cane, a borrowed kiddish cup used in traditional Jewish wedding ceremonies, and homemade flower bouquets. Even her wedding dress was second hand, how’s that for a statement on sustainability?

Following the wedding on the Agua Linda Farm about 35 miles south of Tucson, the reception featured Mexican food with a person making tortillas on the spot, along with steak and potatoes.

Gifford’s husband, Astronaut Mark Kelly flew in a 14-day shuttle mission in 2006, his bride to be standing in the crowd watching liftoff. He’ll remain in Houston at the space center, while his congressional wife starts her quest for another two-year term in Congress. The democrat filled the seat vacated by Jim Kolbe in 2006.

Kelly will fly another shuttle mission in April, his third in 11 years and first as commander.  That puts their honeymoon on hold, since Kelly is grounded until the flight is finished, but they plan on seeing each other on weekends.

If you’d like to read more about this fairytale wedding in a rustic, southwestern setting, you’ll find it in the Arizona Daily Star.

The people whose land we occupied so many years ago have not been given their fair share of our prosperity. Right now, there are more than 10,000 Native American households in Arizona that have no access to electricity. Shamefully, that’s 7% of all Native American households without electricity in America.

Arizona is making an effort to bring electricty to it’s Native American residents through a new program called the Tribal Rural Electrification Program (in PDF). Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano announced the new initiative Wednesday, saying the first phase will bring solar power to at least 100 reservation homes by the end of the year.

The Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office will run the program, with the help of Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus’ Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory. Arizona utilities and solar power companies will also partner in the initiative.

What are other states doing?