Region Glance
Commercial air tours over New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument will soon be prohibited
LOS alamos, n.m. — commercial air tours over new mexico’s Bandelier national monument and within a half-mile outside its park boundary will soon be prohibited, officials said Tuesday.
The national Park Service and Federal aviation administration finalized an air tour management plan for the 50-square-mile (130-kilometer) monument near Los alamos.
The plan will go into effect within 180 days.
Park officials said the move was made to protect natural and cultural resources, sacred tribal places and wilderness.
The monument is said to have one of the largest concentrations of ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites in the Southwest.
“Prohibiting commercial air tours protects the cultural and spiritual significance of these lands to tribes and ensures the park experience desired by visitors,” Park Superintendent Patrick Suddath said in a statement.
Bandelier was designated as a national monument in 1916 by then-president Woodrow Wilson. It was named for Swiss-american anthropologist adolph Bandelier.
The EPA hails the arrest of California man accused of smuggling illicit air coolants into the US
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is hailing the arrest of a california man accused of smuggling illicit air coolants into the united States, saying the apprehension is the first of its kind and a sign of vigorous enforcement of initiatives to combat climate change.
michael hart of San diego was charged with smuggling hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas also known as hfcs, under a law that bans the import of a gas once commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
“The illegal smuggling of hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas, undermines international efforts to combat climate change,’’ said david uhlmann, assistant administrator for enforcement at the environmental Protection agency. “anyone who seeks to profit from illegal actions that worsen climate change must be held accountable.’’
hart, 58, was charged monday under a 2020 law aimed at reducing use of hfcs that contribute to global warming. a federal indictment alleges that he purchased refrigerants in mexico and smuggled them into the united States in his vehicle, with the contraband concealed under a tarp and tools. according to the indictment, hart posted the refrigerants for sale on Facebook marketplace and other sites.
In addition to greenhouse gases, the indictment alleges that hart imported hcfc-22, an ozone-depleting substance regulated under the clean air act.
The epa has pledged to enforce a rule imposing a 40% reduction in hfcs as part of a global phaseout designed to slow climate change. The rule follows a 2020 law that prohibits the importation of hfcs without allowances issued by the epa.