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.
With only one U.S. representative dissenting (California Republican Tom McClintock), the House approved an amendment to the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act put forward by New Mexico Democrat Harry Teague.
The amendment asks for an analysis of the energy required to provide reliable water supplies and of the water required for the production of alternative and renewable energy resources.
Teague, who acknowledged that he’s an oilman (“Always have been. Always will be”), asked what happened to the water extracted along with the oil when oil is drilled during his floor speech. He said that question is “as old as the oil industry.”
“We are proponents of wind, sun and biofuels because they are renewable resources. But water is not. If we draw down our aquifers to the point that they cannot recover and tax our rivers to extinction, much of the American West will be unrecognizable.”
The bill itself, H.R. 1145, also passed easily, on a 413-10 vote.
His full remarks are below:
Mr. Chairman, my amendment is about something simple – laying yet another block in the foundation on which we can achieve energy independence.
Personally, I’m an oilman. Always have been. Always will be. And one of the first things I found out when I started working in the oil fields at age 17 is that sometimes when you drill a well, you get a lot of water out of it. Once you’ve done that, you’ve got to figure out what to do with all that water: Can you put it into a stream? Do you need to reinject it into the earth? Can we use it for something else?
It’s a question as old as the oil and gas industry. Just as the relationship between water and energy is as old as water itself. And as we look toward achieving energy independence through a focus on renewable and alternative energy – creating jobs, bolstering our national security and improving our environment along the way – we are going to have to better understand that important and ancient connection.
My amendment ensures that the relationship between renewable energy development and water resources is established as a priority for federal water planning, research and development.
Mr. Chairman/Madam Chairwoman, we are proponents of wind, sun and biofuels because they are renewable resources. But water is not. If we draw down our aquifers to the point that they cannot recover and tax our rivers to extinction, much of the American West will be unrecognizable.
That is not an option. And not harnessing the abundant renewable resources we possess in places like New Mexico is not an option either.
Research, planning, and the development of new technologies will free us to develop energy in harmony with our environment and with needed resources like fresh water.
When we site solar farms, we need to consider not only the sun’s intensity, but the proximity and sustainability of needed water resources as well.
When choosing a path toward the production of biofuels on a massive scale, we need to ask — what are the implications for freshwater of developing corn based ethanol in the Midwest versus algae-based biofuel in the deserts of New Mexico?
When we consider wind, nuclear and every other component of a comprehensive plan to move our nation toward energy independence, we need to know, what the implications are for our precious fresh water resources.
There’s even a biodiesel producer in my district called Cetane Energy that produces fresh water as part of its fuel production process. That adds an interesting dynamic to the water intensity of Cetane’s production – and is exactly the sort of thing that we need to better understand as we expand our renewable energy portfolio and move toward energy independence.
I reserve the balance of my time.
