State should stand up with methane rules

Just a few weeks ago, thousands of students in New Mexico and millions of students around the world went on strike, calling on adults to act to curb the stark impacts of global climate change. I was one of them.

Not surprisingly, rather than acting to curb the crisis, the Trump administration continues to act in total contempt of our planet, our communities and our future. Now his EPA is proposing the gutting of rules to stop methane pollution and waste saying it doesn’t have the authority to regulate these pollutants. Methane is the most harmful greenhouse gas and is one of the worst byproducts of the oil boom here in New Mexico, and it spews out of these facilities with a host of other contaminants that hurt our health.

As a student at the University of New Mexico, I have become increasingly worried about the impacts that the oil and gas industry will have on my generation’s future and so I attended a hearing in Dallas last month to testify against the Trump administration’s systematic reversal of environmental protections that leave me and my generation in fear and disbelief.

I grew up in Colorado, where nearly every weekend my dad would take me and my brothers for yet another escapade through our most breathtaking mountain trails. Home for me is my dad’s joy in sharing his love for the simplistic yet vast beauty of nature. He taught me the lessons the Earth has to teach and that our relationship with it should and must always be rooted in respect.

In New Mexico and Colorado, we are already facing the worst effects of climate change in the very places I visited with my family — places ravaged by extreme forest fire and drought, and yet we are huge producers of oil and gas and the wasted methane that drives these very problems. Communities throughout my two home states deal with the local impacts of oil and gas extraction every day.

I want future generations to have the same environment I learned so much from. I am scared that our actions today will keep the children of tomorrow from experiencing the utter beauty and wisdom this planet gives, that I was so fortunate to feel so deeply and keep with me as I navigate what it means to be human.

Together we can revolutionize not only how we power our lives, but also how we empower lives. Stopping methane is an easy step; the technology is there. It’s the least we can do as we move toward a new energy future and a new innovation revolution. Because that’s what the future looks like to me, one where we (get) to rewrite history together and cast lasting change upon a present that so desperately needs it.

So while the Trump administration is putting our planet and communities at grave risk, I was heartened to see a representative from the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham administration testify against the rollbacks. Her administration has the opportunity to further protect the citizens of New Mexico and protect our future by adopting strong state methane rules like those in Colorado. It is up to everyone in New Mexico to save our home, and I hope our governor continues to stand up against the Trump administration and move New Mexico into a renewable future we can all be proud of.