Last night the New Mexico Democratic Party’s nominee for governor was at the Washington Hilton, attending the “Capital Dinner” held by the League of Conservation Voters.
The “nonpartisan” LCV tweeted out candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham’s statement that “addressing climate change right now” is a “moral imperative.”
Michelle Lujan Grisham, meet Jazmin Jimenez. She recently “zipped through a two-week training program at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs,” and “was hired by Chevron Corp. as a well-pump checker.” Jimenez told Bloomberg: “Honestly I never thought I’d see myself at an oilfield company. But now that I’m here — I think this is it.” Not surprising, given that “the $28-a-hour she makes is double what she was earning … as a guard at the Lea County Correctional Facility.”
In its June 1st issue, Fortune described the “Permian Basin, a petroleum-rich swath of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico,” as a 100-year-old oilfield that “may just be getting started.” Production in the play is soaring — up to “3.2 million barrels per day in May,” a gusher that has U.S. crude at its greatest level “since the federal government began keeping records in 1920 — higher even than the prior peak of 10 million barrels per day in November 1970.”
The southeast corner of New Mexico is mounting an impressive comeback, due to Permian-driven economic expansion. In April (preliminary data), employment in Eddy County had risen by 3,294 positions over the past 12 months, an increase of 12.9 percent. The unemployment rate was halved during the period. In Lea County, jobs increased by 3,260 — a 13.6 percent rise. Unemployment there halved as well, dropping from 7.4 percent to 3.7 percent.
Whether it’s oil, natural gas, or coal, New Mexico has an enormous resource base that can help meet the needs of an energy-hungry planet. That’s of no interest to those in the trendy world of climate hysteria and anti-fracking lunacy, of course, who believe wild fantasies about the widespread replacement of “dirty” energy with “green” alternatives. (Lujan Grisham has called for a state renewable portfolio standard of “50 percent … by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040,” and seeks to “have New Mexico join the Paris Climate Accord.”)
If the Democratic Party’s nominee wants to better understand energy policy — as well as the realities of New Mexico’s current economy — perhaps she should spend less time with Hollywood ignoramuses and deep-pocketed “environmentalists” in D.C. And more time in the Permian, with people like Jazmin Jimenez.
I recommend everyone read the book Physics and Technology for Future Presidents by Richard Mueller. Nobody seems to use facts or pragmatism when talking about cleaning up the environment, climate change, the economy, etc. It is an easy-to-read book that is loaded with well-researched facts and statistics. Additionally, it is interesting, even the non-scientist will enjoy it. If anything, read just the climate change chapter. It is the assigned textbook for a UNM Physics course, but everyone should read it!