I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The ex-Apollo 17 astronaut
Former New Mexico U.S. Sen. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt made headlines when he said man-made effects on global warming aren’t real.
The New Mexico Republican was then invited to speak at a conference this March sponsored by the Heartland Institute, a conservative nonprofit that is skeptical about global warming. Virtually all climate scientists believe there is a human component to global warming.
“I don’t think the human effect [of climate change] is significant compared to the natural effect,” Schmitt said. But DeSmogBlog noted that it wasn’t too out of character for Schmitt, the last man to walk on the moon.
It turns out that Schmitt was the Chairman and President of the Annapolis Center For Science-Based Public Policy between 1994 and 1998, and remains “Chairman Emeritus”. This may be a lucrative gig given that the Annapolis Center has received more than $860,000 in funding from ExxonMobil since 1998. But what does money have to do with anything?
Media Matters notes that the Associated Press failed to mention that the Heartland Institute itself also has extensive ties to the energy industry in its article about Schmitt’s comments.
Schmitt earned a Ph. D. in geology from Harvard University. After being the last man to walk on the moon, Schmitt won his spot as the U.S. Senator in New Mexico, defeating incumbent Democrat Joseph Montoya in 1976. In 1982, Schmitt lost his re-election bid to then state Attorney General Jeff Bingaman. Bingaman, 26 years later, is now the senior Senator for our state.
Schmitt grew up in Silver City, New Mexico, but now lives part-time in Albuquerque.
Last May, a list that the Heartland Institute compiled of man-made global warming deniers was shown to include many scientists who did not belong on the list, including one University of New Mexico (UNM) professor.
