Opinion Piece: Methane rule to help fight crises

Here is an excerpt of an opinion piece that James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, wrote in the editorial pages of The Albuquerque Journal on Friday, March 27.

As the world energy markets have shown in the past few weeks, New Mexico’s over-reliance on oil and gas revenue leaves our state vulnerable – not just to the economic effects of oil price fluctuations, but also to short-sighted demands from the industry that are detrimental for our children and the health of our communities.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been on the right path in working to boost education spending, diversify the state’s economy, and aggressively fight climate-wrecking methane pollution. But any day now, I am sure the oil and gas industry lobbyists will come to her seeking relief from new methane rules, hoping to use the recent drop in oil prices as an excuse to avoid oversight.

However, now is exactly the right time for New Mexico to enact nationally leading regulations to reduce methane waste and pollution. The downturn means New Mexico’s school funding and other key budget priorities are vulnerable, and without nationally leading regulations, methane waste is costing the state tens of millions of dollars every year in valuable tax and royalty revenue.

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