NM taking good steps toward renewable energy

We have some big, rich and powerful neighbors, but that could change in the years ahead.

Let’s start with Texas.

New Mexico is heavily influenced by our neighbor to the east. In fact, a good number of New Mexicans on the east side of our state are wannabe Texans, aligning themselves to Texas values more than New Mexico’s.

There’s a lot of chili (without the “e”) being eaten in eastern New Mexico.

And the last time I visited the resort city of Ruidoso, I saw so many Texas license plates I wondered if I’d inadvertently crossed the state line — some 150 miles away.

Meanwhile, to the far west, there’s California, not a next-door neighbor but close and rich enough to carve out its own territory in the Land of Enchantment. Judging by the prices and the political disposition of Santa Fe, it seems Californians practically own the City Different, which is ironic and maybe a little disturbing since that’s where we placed our state capitol. State politics may be run out of Santa Fe, but not the state’s economy. Most New Mexicans simply can’t afford Santa Fe’s California prices.

Of course, California has had its share of troubles these days, with wildfires, atmospheric rivers and other natural disasters helping to push people away from the Golden State. Some of them are coming to New Mexico, and for good reason: Our film industry is booming; our property values and cost of living (outside Santa Fe) are far more reasonable; we’re turning greener in our energy consumption; and we’re not sitting on the San Andreas Fault, where “the big one’s still coming.”

Texas has certainly noticed the California exodus and has been marketing itself accordingly.

Here in New Mexico, our politics is more like California’s — liberal leaning, with the Democratic Party controlling all state branches of government. There’s plenty of Texas-style conservatives in New Mexico, mainly on the “West Texas” side of our state, but they’re far from the majority statewide.

In New Mexico, the Republican Party must move closer to the middle of the political spectrum to win statewide; in Texas, Republicans thrive in the extremes.

But that too could change in the years ahead.

It’s pretty obvious that the effects of climate change are hitting California at unprecedented levels; more so, it seems, than it has hit Texas. But that’s going to change.

Climate change is bringing in extreme weather — you can see it clearly in the superstorms that are hitting our nation with increased frequency. It’s also making the American Southwest hotter and dryer, and states like Texas are already starting to suffer for it. Who knows how long it will take for a baking Texas to see its own exodus of people, but I’d wager it’s coming.

And of course, when it comes to a warming climate, New Mexico is certainly not immune. We’ve already had record-setting wildfires, years of drought and enough 100-degree days to make it more of a summertime rule than exception.

But at least New Mexico is moving toward renewable energy consumption, which makes us New Mexicans a little less part of the problem and a little more part of the solution.

Not bad for a small state sandwiched between a couple of omnipresent giants.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

[email protected]