Courage needed at the Roundhouse...
- New Energy Economy
- Jan 25
- 3 min read
On Tuesday we joined YUCCA at the Roundhouse to call on the Governor and New Mexico legislators for climate courage. It was a cold one - scientists are mixed on whether these polar vortex incidents are climate change related - but the young people who came out were not deterred. They put their bodies on the line, shutting the street down, they created beautiful art, they marched and they sang a song for justice and cried out for courage from our leaders.
On Tuesday that courage will be needed. Up for a first vote at Senate Conservation on Tuesday morning next week are four momentous bills.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 - 9:00 am - Room 311
We are asking you to reach out to Committee members in advance of the hearing to ask them to:
1. Vote YES on SB 4 to give NM emissions reduction goals the force of law, require the establishment of rules, and prescribes assessment and reporting requirements by the Environmental Improvement Board. Importantly, this bill does not endorse the dangerous and empty false solutions that prior legislation included like "carbon trading" or "carbon credits". Read more here.
2. Vote YES on SB 21 to authorize the state to take over pollutant discharge permitting for waters still federally protected and under EPA jurisdiction. This authority is necessary to pursue primacy for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permits so that New Mexico can pass more stringent water protections than federal law allows. Read more here.
3. Amend SB 22, the Water Quality and Pollution Act. This important act puts in place a discharge permit regime for the 95% of New Mexico waterways that were excluded from Clean Water Act protections by the Sackett decision. The current version of the bill includes language requiring the promulgation of rules for reuse of produced water outside the oilfield. We joined Defend NM Water to ask the sponsors and committee members to amend the bill to allow for produced water research outside the oilfield only at an accredited laboratory, and prohibit all other reuse until scientific evidence demonstrates treatment safety.
4. Vote YES on SB 23 to raise oil and gas royalty rates from 20% to 25% for new leases. This the third time the State Land Office has attempted to ensure that New Mexico receives the same compensation that Texas receives from oil operators, and to increase state funding from the oil and gas industry by $1 billion. Read more here.
To participate in the Committee hearing and to register for the Zoom Webinar send email to SCONC.Zoom@nmlegis.gov. To attend meeting via Zoom Webinar click the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82404382748 Webinar ID: 824 0438 748, Zoom Call: 1- 669- 900-9128.
Following the hearing join us outside at a press conference Tuesday at 12:00pm to call for passage of the Methane Emissions Reduction Act, a bill to ensure that the worst potential consequences of the Clean Fuel Transportation Act passed last year do not result in a significant increase in emissions from dirty industries prolonging their pollution by buying carbon credits from an expansion of polluting and cruel factory farms. Read about the Methane Emissions Reduction Act here.
Courage will be needed. The new administration's actions on energy have made clear one thing - the goal is not to actually increase drilling or to lower gas prices - oil companies don't benefit from that. The goal is to block progress on anything that will potentially reduce oil and gas consumption over the long term.
And according to this new report from the Source, "In New Mexico, Democrats strike an oil and gas gusher: ‘Money buys access’,"they continue paying handsomely in New Mexico to Democratic legislators to keep blocking any progress. The top 10 oil and gas industry contributors gave $1.2 million to Democratic state candidates and $1.1 million to Republicans, and donations from Chevron dwarfed all others. The company gave $724,000 directly to candidates in New Mexico.
As this excellent op-ed today illustrates, the outright fossil-fuel buyout of the US government is a Hail Mary action to prolong oil and gas hegemony. It will result not only in climate destruction but ultimately economic ruin. The rest of the world is moving on to cheaper, cleaner renewable energy, a reality that will eventually lead to a collapse in demand for fossil fuels, and without courageous action, the US, and New Mexico, will be left behind, a backwards and failing state. Our children deserve so much better.
Photo credit: YUCCA.
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