She’s the only governor attending the COP28 conference in Dubai, yet New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham has her critics back home—those who don’t support her Green mob mentality and opposition to the state’s oil and gas revenue in the Permian Basin.
Take for example what Dr. Jonathan Lesser, President of Continental Ecoomics, a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute and an adjunct fellow with the Manhattan Institute, wrote about the governor and her attidue toward oil and gas.
He headlined it “Land of (Dis)Enchantment.”
Writing in RANGE magazine, Lesser assailed the governor and progressives who “captured” the state government and ignored the nearly $6 billion in oil and gas revenue last year while their state ranks 48th lowest in per capita income and has the nation’s third highest poverty rate.
Lesser has gone before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Congress and many state legislative committees to testify about energy policy and regulatory issues. He has more than 30 years of experience working for regulated utilities, for government, and as a consultant in the energy industry.
Dr. Lesser cited as an example of the “Green mob”mentality how the governor supported a 900-turbine SunZia wind project that will consume nearly 300,000 acres of New Mexico land and receive possibly up to $700 million from the production tax credit, yet produce no electricity for the state. Instead, the electrical power will leave the state and be sent to cities in Arizona and California.
That’s not all.
“Under the progressive mantle, New Mexico has adopted many of the same goals as California: net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a ban on the sale of internal combustion vehicles beginning in 2035, designating thousands of acres of state land off-limits to
oil and gas interests, as well as ranchers (in addition to the thousands of acres removed by the Bureau of Land Management), and building thousands of megawatts of wind and solar projects, including on state lands now used by ranchers,” wrote Lesser in the RANGE magazine.
He predicted more rules are likely to come from the progressive governor and her legislature, such as mandates to “electrify” all fossil-fuel end uses like space and water heating.
“These efforts are supposed to save the planet and move the state towards the promised green utopia,” continued Dr. Lesser.
“For the wealthy progressive residents of Albuquerque and Santa
Fe nothing else matters, including basic economic realities. Not only do they hope to shut down the entire oil and gas industry with crippling environmental regulations, but progressives also want to reduce large-scale farming to encourage small organic farms and eliminate ranching to encourage vegetarianism.”
The governor’s encouragement of electric vehicles drew even more ire from the economist.
“Although the state brags about its electric vehicle infrastructure and the charging stations it has installed, the high cost of EVs means few residents—especially in rural areas, which is just about everywhere—will be able to afford them. In several counties in the
western part of the state, the poverty rate is 30 percent. How, exactly, will many of those residents afford an EV?”
Lesser wrote that it’s obvious New Mexico’s progressive don’t care about the impact of their Green mob ideas. He said they don’t care about rural residents who have to live with the megaprojects, don’t care about farmers and ranchers who will be forced off their land, and don’t care about Native Americans who want good jobs and resent being told what’s best for them by elite city dwellers.
“All progressives care about is transforming the state into their Green fantasy, whatever the economic and social costs.”
Entire RANGE article is available at the following site:
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/RANGE%20Lesser%20WI23_24.pdf
