Last month local columnist Jeff Apodaca wrote an important article on the economic benefits of brackish water. This is an issue that demands careful and immediate analysis. It is true that New Mexico sits on billions of acre feet of brackish water. Studies are underway to determine how much water…
When I first read a few weeks ago in an article in the Guardian that 38% of the water from the Colorado River Basin goes to growing alfalfa, I was shocked. Growing a high-water crop like alfalfa in the desert seemed insane. At first glance retiring those water rights would seem…
There is still so much to do. This marks my sixth year writing this monthly climate change column for the Albuquerque Journal. Past issues of “Cutting your carbon footprint,” my column, will continue to be available on my website: www.cuttingyourcarbonfootprint.com. And, while the column will be ending, I will continue to…
Most every week I drive north to Angel Fire. After Velarde, it is a beautiful drive, perhaps one of the most beautiful anywhere. In any season the Rio Grande as it winds its way south from the Rio Grande Gorge is spectacular. I usually stop to stretch my legs and…
Records indicate that June is now hotter than ever before, and hot weather is lingering deeper into September. This is all due to climate change. And there’s no question that these longer durations of extreme hot weather impose health risks. Environmental Protection Agency data shows that over the last seven…
The Trump administration moved quickly to dismantle federal climate regulations and is also taking efforts to stop the enforcement of climate state laws, calling them unconstitutional, unenforceable and preempted by federal laws. But the states are fighting back. “We don’t want Washington, D.C., telling us we can’t govern the way…
Chris Wright, the secretary of the Department of Energy, did not deny climate change in his Senate confirmation hearing. “The solution is to evolve our energy system,” he said. “I am for all energy systems that can better human lives and reduce emissions.” But what he really meant is what…
I recently visited the blue whales in the Sea of Cortez near Loreto, Mexico. These majestic mammals, the largest among us, are 85 feet long. They are an endangered species. There used to be 250,000 of them. Now only 10,000 or so remain. Their diet entirely consists of krill, tiny…
I was just in central California right before the Los Angeles fires started. The effects of climate change are all around us. And the only solution is to dramatically cut down on the use of fossil fuels. But how do we do that when our federal government seems to be…
The Inflation Reduction Act was one of President Joe Biden’s great accomplishments and an opportunity for real progress on climate change, and President-elect Donald Trump wants to get rid of it. “I will rescind all the unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act,” Trump said in a speech before…
