** Oil funds everything in New Mexico, complicating a clean transition
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Friday, May 21, 2021
New Mexico's Permian Basin is one of the most prolific oil and gas basins in the U.S. | Sherman Hogue, New Mexico Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
New Mexico's Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham came into office in 2019 full of promises of a greener future ([link removed]) . However, her administration has taken a hands-off approach to climate policy and oil and gas emissions ([link removed]) , arguing that the state needs the revenues from oil and gas ([link removed]) too much to slow drilling.
This spring, the state legislative session concluded without taking any steps to curb emissions or slow the rampant drilling within New Mexico. "The idea that we can be leaders on climate change while continuing to give the industry free rein is just a lie, a huge lie," said ([link removed]) activist Castille Aguilar.
The problem is that New Mexico runs on oil: over one-third of the state's budget comes from oil and gas revenue ([link removed]) , funding everything from public education and public safety to health and human services.
Additionally, oil and gas operators have a large influence in state and local elections, with industry funds being the largest source of campaign contributions in 2020 ([link removed]) . These contributions span both political parties and almost every level of government, with more than half ([link removed]) of the oil and gas contributions coming from entities outside New Mexico.
A transition to clean energy in the state will need to contend with the grip of oil and gas on New Mexico's politics and budget, re-evaluating sustainable funding options. But many think it is possible. Bill Jordan, the government relations officer at New Mexico Voices for Children, said ([link removed]) , "Other states have figured out how to pay the bills… and they do it without oil and gas."
Meanwhile, Stephanie Garcia Richard, public lands commissioner and head of the office that oversees state land use, is focused on developing a transition plan ([link removed]) . The office has begun leasing land to renewable energy companies and looking at recreation, manufacturing, and research as potential income sources for the state.
Quick hits
** Doctors put a $820 billion price tag on the annual health impacts of climate change
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Grist ([link removed])
** It's time to center and define environmental justice in Colorado
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])
** Vexing land ownership and land use in Montana's Crazy Mountains drives proposals to consolidate ownership and clarify access
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Montana Free Press: Part I ([link removed]) | Part II ([link removed])
** Experts urge for more controlled burns to ease wildfires
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Hiring and retention on US Forest Service firefighting crews is a growing issue as wildfire season looms
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NBC News ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Wildfire Today ([link removed]) | PEW Trusts ([link removed])
** Summer likely to bring hordes of outdoor recreationalists as trail use rises, campsites are trashed, and COVID cases spike in Moab
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Jackson Hole News&Guide ([link removed]) | Post Register ([link removed]) | Hungry Horse News [Trail use in Glacier] ([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune [Moab COVID] ([link removed]) | Colorado Sun [Camping in Colorado]
([link removed])
** 6 things farmers should know about the 30x30 conservation plan: #1, no land grab
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FarmProgress ([link removed])
** River ecologists are eager to show how beavers are critical to improving watersheds in the West
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
It's very important for people to have that access and be able to connect with nature and also to learn how to be good stewards, because the future of all these lands and the wildlife depends on people caring about them and being good stewards of the land."
—Kevin J. DesRoberts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife project leader for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Public News Service ([link removed])
Picture this
** @I ([link removed]) nterior ([link removed])
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The alien landscape of @BLMUtah ([link removed]) 's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah can make visitors feel like they have landed on another planet. Photo by Roy Goldsberry ([link removed] ([link removed]) )
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