LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Fossil fuel industry is a threat to our health

THIS IS a response to Ryan Flynn’s (Jan. 12 op-ed) “Clearing the Air.” While he was “clearing the air,” hundreds of New Mexicans were reaching for their inhalers. While he was blaming others for political noise, fracking wells roared.

The largest methane cloud in the United States already looms over the Four Corners area. Methane lost in extracting oil and fracking constitutes a threat to our environment and our health. Flynn touts that the industry is taking measures to reduce methane loss — it is too little too late!

Flynn’s letter really betrays the biggest fear of the oil and gas industry— that it is losing ground in New Mexico and the world. He belittles our New Mexico representatives because they support upholding the methane rule, a rule that protects us from the fossil fuel industry’s carelessness and waste.

The cigarette manufacturers foisted the same type of confusing argument onto the American public for years, and many people died! Now the fossil fuel industry wants us to again ignore science and believe false claims.

New Mexico no longer needs oil and gas to be an energy leader! New Mexico is the second sunniest state in the country and the 12th windiest. We can create a thriving industry that will make New Mexico an energy leader. New Mexico now boasts 2,900 jobs in solar energy. These are clean and good-paying jobs — according to U.S. News and World Report, wind technician is ranked as one of the top 100 jobs in the U.S. with a median salary of $52,260.

Most of all, methane takes a terrible toll on many Americans. An article in the June 2016 Journal of the American Medical Association found a significant increase in asthma attacks in people who lived near fracking wells. One in 10 Americans suffers from asthma, making this consequential to many.

Dependence on fossil fuels is suffocating us. We must strictly enforce the methane rule to ensure a livable and healthy future.