Sen. Heinrich’s balloon fiesta

A few months back Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing noted that Sen. Martin Heinrich “is coming for” your gas appliances. If you follow Heinrich on Twitter you can see that Heinrich continues to push for the elimination of gas from homes.

Very recently, California took up Heinrich’s mantle by banning gas-powered equipment using small off-road engines, a broad category that includes generators, lawn equipment and pressure washers (see bill here). California is a state often emulated by Gov.. MLG which has also struggled frequently to keep electricity flowing.

The following cartoon from John Trever of the Albuquerque Journal over the weekend highlights how ONE New Mexico tradition might not work so well if the Heinrich vision is implemented. Unfortunately, 2050 is likely too optimistic in terms of the time line given the rapid advance of such radical policies.