By MERILEE DANNEMANN
Triple Spaced Again
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
Maybe the new oil and gas methane rule has a silver lining for New Mexico. That is, if Texas and other oil-producing states have to comply with the same rule as New Mexico, it’s no longer a competitive disadvantage for New Mexico oil production.
The new federal rule was announced Dec. 2 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. The EPA’s press release says implementation of the rule will “prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024 to 2038, the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide – nearly as much as all the carbon dioxide emitted by the power sector in 2021.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was at the conference, celebrated New Mexico’s contribution to the new rule.
The governor’s press release said: “The EPA worked closely with New Mexico in developing the new rule, which closely resembles rules that New Mexico adopted to curb the release of methane and ozone precursors in 2021 and 2022. Since adopting its own emissions rules, New Mexico has seen its average monthly amounts of methane released into the air decrease by 55%, while routine venting and flaring by New Mexico oil and gas producers has decreased by 70%… A recent independent study found that the emissions related to the oil and gas production in New Mexico is just half that of neighboring and less-regulated Texas.”
Some commentators think oil and gas are going to be around for longer than electric car advocates would like. I suspect they’re probably right. So, what if there is a completely different approach to reducing greenhouse gases?
Maybe there is a way to put enough carbon back into the ground to compensate for the amount we generate. And maybe some of that can be done in New Mexico.
It’s called regenerative agriculture. It’s farming the old-fashioned way, mixing crops and livestock, trapping enough carbon in the ground that it might buy the human race a few additional years of transition.
I am neither a farmer nor a scientist so I cannot judge what’s practical, but I’m listening to scientists who say this can work and farmers who have made it work on their own land – while also producing superior crops, saving water and making money. This information comes in part from a documentary film called “Kiss the Ground,” which explains how regenerative agriculture works.
According to this film, about one third of the earth’s topsoil has been lost over the last century or so, due to the destructive farming practices that created the 1930s’ Dust Bowl. More is being lost every year, reducing the land’s capacity to absorb carbon, adding to climate stress and forcing increased reliance on chemical fertilizers.
Regenerative agriculture means reversing these trends by using a mix of crops and grazing animals on the land in rotation, nourishing the soil instead of tilling it. The practice is being promoted by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.
New Mexico has a Healthy Soil law (Chapter 76, Article 25, adopted in 2019) and a Healthy Soil program based on this law, administered by the state Department of Agriculture at New Mexico State University. The program awards grants to local governments and other entities that adopt these practices. An interactive map at nmhealthysoil.org shows participation so far is sparse, and there’s a lot of room for expansion.
The possibility of making New Mexico a little less of a desert deserves serious examination by the people who could potentially make it happen.
As long as New Mexico is going to continue producing oil and gas and releasing carbon into the air, we should support whatever can be done to minimize both environmental and health impacts of that production.
Contact Merilee Dannemann through www.triplespacedagain.com.
