By OFFICE OF THE NEW MEXICO LAND COMMISSIONER • APR 29, 2019 SANTA FE, NM – Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard has signed Land Office Executive Order 2019-002, (view here) placing a moratorium on new oil and gas development on state trust land in a buffer zone around Chaco Canyon. The Executive Order, signed at the Navajo Nation Counselor [...]
A polar bear walks on a melting ice floe in Baffin Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Recent research shows that Canada’s Arctic is now the warmest it has been in 10,000 years, and the temperatures are continuing to climb.ANDRE ANITA / GETTY IMAGES BY Dahr Jamail Climate Disruption Dispatches It is palpable now. Even the most ardent [...]
By Nick Bowlin, High Country News When energy corporations produce oil, gas or coal on public lands, they make royalty payments to the federal government and the states where production takes place. In 2016, the Obama administration closed a loophole that allowed companies to dodge those fees. The valuation rule was set to provide tens of [...]
By Laura Paskus The Rio Grande in Albuquerque. To the right is the river's main channel, to the left, water entering a restoration project's side channel. This time last year, the riverbed of the Rio Grande south of Socorro was sandy, the edges of its channel strewn with desiccated fish. Even through Albuquerque, the state’s largest [...]
Using new field data and extensive research studies, scientists at EDF have estimated oil and gas methane emissions across New Mexico to be at least 1 million metric tons per year, surpassing all prior estimates for the state. Growing oil production in the southeast, combined with insufficient management of leaks and wasteful venting and flaring [...]
The air you breathe needs your support. 14% of San Juan County residents are affected by lung diseases like childhood asthma, COPD, and cancer. @LungAssociation 2019 “State of Air” clearly outlines why we need to #CutMethane and ozone to protect our most vulnerable #nmpol http://bit.ly/2UUlEeh You can make a difference in the air that you breathe. Help us [...]
By Laura Paskus Even during average water years, the Lower Basin uses about 1.2 million acre feet of water from Lake Mead that isn’t naturally replenished. This week, Congress passed a bill directing the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to implement an agreement worked out by states that rely on water from the Colorado River. [...]
Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert PIPELINE SAFETY In our latest podcast, TEDX asks: “What risks do pipelines pose to a community?” The United States has over three million miles of pipelines used for gathering, transporting, and distributing natural gas and liquids, including crude oil. From the well pad to our homes, there are many hazardous [...]
State Land Office Commissioner joined Earthworks to see normally invisible air pollution from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2019 Earthworks Contact: Hilary Lewis, Earthworks, 202-887-1872 x101, hlewis@earthworks.org Angie Poss, Assistant Commissioner of Communications, 505-827-5762, aposs@slo.state.nm.us Carlsbad, NM — This weekend, New Mexico State Land Office Commissioner Stephanie Garcia [...]
By Thom Cole | tcole@sfnewmexican.com Silk woven by Janet’s looper caterpillars infests bristlecone pine in October. The looper is attacking several types of conifers over nearly 10,000 acres in Santa Fe National Forest. Olivia Harlow/New Mexican file photo Trees have been damaged by Janet’s looper caterpillars in Santa Fe National Forest. The inchworms are feeding [...]