Policy can help or hurt climate
Our governor’s recent vetoes of climate-related bills leave me mystified.
I am greatly appreciative of her support of Senate Bill 53, which won’t allow permitting of interim storage of high-level radioactive waste until the federal government creates a long-term solution. New Mexico needs to be careful to protect its existing economy. Southeastern New Mexico supports farming, ranching, tourism and, most important to funding state government, oil and gas production. A substantial accident at a facility like Holtec that stores used commercial nuclear reactor fuel could shut down these existing industries.
We need to look to the future of energy. Geothermal energy, where New Mexico is sixth in potential, is very promising and merits more research. House Bill 365 would have provided money to New Mexico Tech to study this opportunity. Pocket-vetoed.
Tax credits and, more generally, taxation on cars and trucks can have an impact on how big vehicles are and how much fuel they use. Back in the days of President Gerald Ford, in 1975, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were intended to protect American commerce by reducing taxation on trucks, as compared to cars.
With lower taxes on trucks, manufacturers leaned heavily toward building things like SUVs that fell under the “truck” designation. This has resulted in New Mexico having 66% trucks as compared to cars.
Unlike the current political turmoil in Washington, D.C., we have the opportunity here in New Mexico to encourage the much-needed transition to renewables. Promoting electric vehicles by providing a tax credit for purchase of an electric vehicle has been shown to be effective. (House Bill 412/Senate Bill 22, vetoed.)
Another opportunity is for homeowners to add energy storage to their homes. Storing daytime solar and not drawing on the grid reduces everyone’s costs and increases reliability by reducing system demand at peak times. (House Bill 32, vetoed.)
Tax credits for heat pumps: By using the earth to move heat to and from your house, you reduce the total energy needed by your home. The more efficient your home is, the less energy you need from the grid. The less stressed the grid is, the less our entire community is impacted when the days get very hot or very cold. (Senate Bill 45, vetoed.)
I wish Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham the best as she gets her knee worked on again in Washington. Hopefully she provides us the opportunity to resurrect these important bills in the next 30-day session — sometimes things need a second try to work right.