Sidsel Overgaard

Toothbutter: noun. Butter spread so thickly as to reveal teeth marks upon biting.

The fact that this word exists in the Danish language should help to explain what politicians were up against when they introduced the "fat tax" just over a year ago. This is a country that loves it some butter (and meat, and all things dreadful to the arteries).

Wherever you look these days, it seems labels that strive to send a message about our food are on the table. In California, there's a vote coming up on whether genetically modified foods should be labeled. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission updated its guidelines for "green" labeling.

To some, it’s considered the “Magna Carta of the environmental movement.”  To others it’s a financial drain and threat to private property. The Endangered Species Act has been on the books for almost four decades now, and all this week we’re considering its affect on the wildlife—and people—of New Mexico.

You don't have to dig very deep into the ESA's 47 pages before you stumble upon this somewhat surprising passage.  You might think that the first state purpose of the Endangered Species Act would be to preserve species.  Lo and behold, it's the ecoystem that gets top billing:

Unless you are an environmental lawyer or glutton for punishment, I'm not sure I would recommend reading this paper entitled The Rio Grande silvery minnow: 11 Years of Litigation.  But skimming it will surely give you a sense of why I describe the Middle Rio Grande Collaborative Program as a "turbulent marriage."

The Endangered Species Act is a document based on science.  Mostly. 

When it comes to whether or not a species gets listed, the law is very clear, thanks to a 1982 amendment adding one key word...

BASIS FOR DETERMINATIONS.—(1)(A) The Secretary shall make determinations required by subsection (a)(1) solely on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available to him...

 

That's not the case, however, when it comes to designating critical habitat...

One of my favorite quotes in reporting on this series came from Lucinda Cole.  She and her husband, AT, are the owners of the ranch near Silver City where Randy Jennings took me looking for Chiracahua Leopard frogs. 

When the Coles retired to this ranch, it was with the intention of restoring native habitat that could support endangered species like the Leopard frog and Gila topminnow.  But they did not enter the scene naively:

In a newly released ranking of city park systems, Albuquerque came in 11th, just below major metropolises like Seattle and Philadelphia.  Meanwhile,  environmental advocates in Rio Rancho say its time their city starting trying to catch up.

In terms of developed parkland-- that is, space including amenities like basketball courts and swing sets-- Rio Rancho isn’t doing that badly.   The city boasts 3.5 acres of developed parkland per thousand residents, compared to Albuquerque's 5.5.

A new scorecard for park systems in the nation’s largest 40 cities places Albuquerque near the top of the heap.

The rating system, developed by the Trust for Public Land, considers three factors: total park acreage, public access to those parks and spending on parks.  Albuquerque missed the top ten by just one.  But TPL’s Greg Hiner says that score places it within a stone’s throw of cities like New York, Seattle and Philadelphia. 

Public Service Company of New Mexico says it has received four bids to install EPA-mandated pollution controls at its San Juan Generating Station...all of them just as costly as the company had predicted.

According to the Albuquerque Journal:

PNM says the lowest bid is more than double the federal agency’s estimate of $345 million to equip the coal-fired plant with selective catalytic reduction, or SCR, technology to cut pollutants that cause regional haze.   

Firefighters from around New Mexico continue to battle a 410 acre blaze caused by lightning in the Gila National Forest.

A week-long hearing on New Mexico’s pit rule has drawn to a close…for now.

The pit rule, adopted in 2008, governs the disposal of waste from oil and gas drilling, and has been called one of the strictest regulations in the country.

This week the Oil Conservation Commission heard testimony from experts and the public about the oil and gas industry’s push to revise the regulations.  But with time running out and several people yet to testify, the OCC decided to continue the hearing June 20-22.

On Sunday, Albuquerque residents and visitors will be treated to the rare sight of an annular solar eclipse.  The eclipse starts at 6:28 PM and continues until the sun sets.   KUNM’s Conservation Beat reporter Sidsel Overgaard spoke with Barry Spletzer with the Albuquerque Astronomical Society to learn more.

Governor's Susana Martinez's declaration makes it easier for communities, farmers and ranchers to secure federal funding.    It also kicks into action the New Mexico Drought Task Force headed by the State Engineer.  The panel is to make recommendations on how to mitigate problems that stem from persistent drought.

Last year was one of the worst fire seasons in state history.  But this spring has been somewhat wetter and less windy…and that should make for less dangerous conditions according to State Forester Tony Delfin.

He says at this point last year 300,000 acres had already burned on state and private land.  This year the total is just 77,000 acres.  Delfin credits, in part, a better informed public for the decrease in fires, but warns there’s another fire-starter to be aware of.

Developers of a $1.5 billion effort to link the United States' three major electricity grids have decided to locate their headquarters and an associated electricity trading floor in New Mexico.

The Tres Amigas Superstation hub will be built across 22 square miles in eastern New Mexico. Company officials had been considering locations in Texas and New Mexico for the project's headquarters and trading operations.

State officials from a variety of agencies gathered this morning to talk about New Mexico’s drought and its effect on recreation this summer.  State Engineer Scott Verhines took a moment after the conference to talk about the bigger picture with KUNM’s Sidsel Overgaard .

Next week the state Oil Conservation Commission will take up consideration of New Mexico’s pit rule, a measure governing the disposal of waste from oil and gas drilling. 

When adopted in 2008, the pit rule was hailed by environmentalists as one of the strictest standards in the nation…and condemned by the oil and gas industry as unnecessarily burdensome. 

Starting Monday, the three-member OCC will begin a week-long set of hearings to consider the industry’s administrative appeals. 

Despite the fact that cesspools have been illegal in New Mexico for almost 40 years, thousands of homeowners still use them to dispose of raw sewage…and the state wants that to stop.

For the next five months, the New Mexico Environment Department is providing amnesty to residents who contact the agency to have their cesspools eliminated and replaced with modern septic systems.

Dennis McQuillan with the state’s Liquid Waste Program says not only do cesspools pollute the groundwater…they’re dangerous.

From the office of Senator Jeff Bingaman: 

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is glad that the U.S. Postal Service put forward a plan to keep open rural New Mexico post offices that were once identified for possible closure.

In a letter today to Bingaman, the Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said rather than closing down thousands of rural post offices, it is taking a new approach.  Instead, it will consider reducing the number of hours rural post offices are open.

As part of a new $4 million US Department of Agriculture initiative, New Mexico will get about $35-thousand dollars to help make farmers market produce available to food stamp recipients. 

About half of New Mexico’s 60-plus farmers markets already accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits.  But Denise Miller with the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association says the new grant will hopefully bring needed wireless technology to all the rest. 

In a move environmental groups call "unprecedented," the Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering a decades-old permit for a proposed uranium mine near Church Rock. 

The New Mexico Department of Health reports that a two-month old infant living in San Miguel County died late last week from whooping cough, also known as pertussis.  It’s the first pertussis-related infant death in New Mexico since 2005.

State health officials reported an especially high number of pertussis cases in Bernalillo County this past fall.  Department of Health Secretary Dr. Catherine Torres is encouraging all New Mexicans to make sure their vaccinations are up to date, especially those who may come in contact with a newborn.