climate crisis

Voters in New Mexico are increasingly worried about the growing water crisis in the West. That’s according to an annual poll gauging the concerns of voters across the region.

The Bureau of Land Management is set to auction off over 3200 acres of New Mexico’s land to oil and gas companies after public comment expires in early February. Amid a growing climate crisis, environmentalists are voicing their concerns with this expansion in fossil fuel development in the southwest.

Only a quarter of seedlings planted after wildfires grow into trees. That’s a challenge forest managers are facing across the Southwest while drought and rising temperatures are causing wildfires to burn hotter and larger. But, one research team at the University of New Mexico may have found a way to ease the hard, manual labor of reseeding by better predicting seedling survival rates.

A warming Southwest is actively changing our daily life here in New Mexico––from wildfire smoke in the air, to power blackouts and record drought. A national solar energy conference coming to Albuquerque will focus on how the transition from fossil fuels and into equitable, renewable energy sources can help address these devastating effects of climate change.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced Wednesday it will foot 100% of the costs for debris removal and watershed repair through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program for areas scorched by New Mexico’s historic wildfires.

A controversial prescribed burn, which would eventually become the Hermits Peak Fire, has left Northern New Mexicans and officials wondering why it ever happened in the first place. The U.S. Forest Service, which lit the blaze, has yet to release all the information about the conditions under which the burn took place––citing a pending review.

Projected to double in size in the coming days, the Calf Canyon/ Hermit’s Peak Fire continued to rage in northern New Mexico––threatening towns and villages and forcing thousands to flee. Now, erratic winds are pushing the flames closer to Mora and Las Vegas.

Scientists often point to large-scale solar power as a big solution to our climate crisis.But, these energy projects do come with a cost––the damage and even destruction of our public lands and wildlife.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has made it clear that paving a path to a hydrogen hub in New Mexico is a priority for this legislative session.But, with just under 10 days left, it’s looking grim for the governor’s wishes as yet another attempt by lawmakers to define hydrogen as a renewable energy has fallen short.

Wildfires have burned just over 120,000 acres of land in New Mexico in the past year alone––and several organizations in the region have received federal funding to fight them.