Analysis & Commentary in NM Political Report
Commentary submitted by Stefi Weisburd, Tijeras, NM
The forest outside my East Mountain home once filled me with joy. Now it fills me with dread. Rising temperatures, declining snow and rain, and diseases have wiped out trees with brutal speed. Wildfire is a constant threat. I’m getting too old to drag hoses to water stressed piñons and I don’t want to overdraw our well. Three neighbors had to redrill theirs. Insurance costs are soaring, and I spend tens of thousands of dollars removing dead trees or saving sick ones.
The Clear Horizons Act (SB18) addresses the cause of this destruction: climate-heating pollution. The oil and gas lobby boasts they support our schools, yet it fights royalty rates and bonding requirements. The industry doesn’t compensate New Mexicans who lost homes or insurance after fires and floods, farmers who lost crops, or families facing health costs from asthma, dementia, and other pollution-linked illnesses. By 2040, climate impacts could cost $3.3 billion annually —a third of our budget— while the industry collects billions in taxpayer subsidies nationwide.
The Clear Horizons Act will drive down emissions and transition to clean energy —solar, wind, batteries, and geothermal— creating jobs and energy independence. This is the direction the world is moving. Let’s not be left behind now.
We totally agree with your article. Thanks for writing it!