Carbon Cap Hearings Wind Down, Heat Up in Santa Fe

Hearings on a proposal to cap and reduce New Mexico's climate change pollution continued to heat up even as they were winding down in Santa Fe on Tuesday. Disputes over perceived conflicts of interest and the economic impacts of shifting to more renewable energy colored what otherwise was a very technical discussion. Some Republican state lawmakers charged that members of the Environmental Improvement Board holding the hearings have a "green agenda," and should recuse themselves. But former Republican lawmaker, rancher Tweeti Blancett, calls the conflict of interest charges a distraction from the main issue. "It's not a liberal or conservative issue, it's everybody's issue. And we need to be aware of it, because we all live here together, and we all need to be working together to have the best environment that we can have." While at least two of the board members have histories of environmental activism, they say they don't stand to profit from the proposed rules in any way. Other board members also have ties to oil and gas and other affected industries in the state...more

Wish I had a picture like that with Richardson's face.