Environment & Climate Change
New Mexico’s Democrats are choosing short-term profits over our planet
I came home from the first day of the 2021 New Mexico Climate Summit feeling sick to my stomach and gravely concerned for my future. Rather than meeting the climate crisis with the urgency and seriousness it deserves, I watched our governor and state lawmakers play right into the hands of the same industry that […]
Senators urge increased production of fossil fuels in reaction to spiraling energy costs
Days after global leaders agreed for the first time to decrease coal usage and subsidies for fossil fuels, U.S. senators battled over rising gasoline prices and urged action on the high cost of energy — including by increasing production of coal, oil and gas. The Tuesday hearing, led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman […]
Billions coming to help tribes access clean water
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden yesterday will include full funding for efforts to provide clean water to tribal nations. Over the next five years $3.5 billion will head to the Indian Health Services water and sanitation construction program to pay for tribal clean water projects. On top of that, the […]
Indigenous traditional knowledge to be included in US efforts against climate change for first time
For the first time in history, a presidential administration has committed to incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge into the scientific, technical, social and economic advancement of the United States. President Joe Biden pledged on Monday during the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit to be the first president to work with the tribes to […]
Indigenous leaders in New Mexico celebrate federal efforts to protect Chaco
The Biden administration’s announcement to begin the process that could impose mineral extraction protections around Chaco Culture National Historical Park was celebrated by Indigenous leaders in New Mexico on Monday, Nov. 15. “Pueblo leadership is charged to protect our language, songs and lifeways so that we may maintain our sacred trust and instill the gifts […]
Biden looks to blocks energy leases in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon as tribal nations summit meets
President Joe Biden on Monday said the administration will move to prevent oil and gas development for two decades near Chaco Canyon, an area in northwestern New Mexico that’s culturally significant to the area’s Native American communities and important for biodiversity. The plan was formally announced during the White House Tribal Nations Summit, the first […]
Vilsack: Biden administration is ‘protecting animal agriculture’ with methane reduction plans
Reducing the number of livestock will not be a priority for the Biden administration as it seeks to drastically cut methane emissions to stem climate change, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Instead, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “climate smart” initiatives will focus on new types of animal feed and manure management. “There […]
Lawmakers try again to establish clean environment as fundamental right
Legislators plan to reintroduce a measure asking New Mexicans to vote on an amendment to the state’s constitution that would establish clean water and air as a fundamental right on par with existing rights like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez’s environmental priority for the 2022 legislative session is getting […]
The EPA could learn a thing or two from New Mexico’s methane rules
The state of New Mexico found itself ahead of the curve on a national issue when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its plans on Tuesday to implement new, more restrictive methane rules for oil and gas operators across the country sometime next year. The state is in the middle of implementing its own, more thorough methane rules, […]
Deb Haaland talks offshore wind energy in Scotland
In her first news conference at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland described her global challenge for every applicable country to join in setting ambitious domestic offshore wind energy commitments. “Climate change doesn’t recognize territorial or political boundaries. It’s a global problem that requires a global effort to address […]
Biden calls for ‘decade of action’ on climate, apologizes for Trump exit from Paris Accord
President Joe Biden urged the international community on Monday to transition to clean energy, curb greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, and help developing nations adapt to a changing climate. Speaking at a pivotal United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Biden said worsening wildfires and once-in-a-century storms hitting every few years show that there’s only […]
Complaint: UNM Foundation invests in fossil fuels while its board members work in the industry
Student members of the University of New Mexico group Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight (LEAF) have been demanding UNM officials take concrete action on the climate crisis for more than two years. They have demanded officials update UNM’s 12-year-old climate plan, pull nearly $29 million worth of investments in fossil fuel companies, and plan […]