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.
A new study that looks at the benefits of the clean energy sector as an economic driver shows that New Mexico is ahead of the curve when compared to other western states. Green job growth outpaced overall job growth in the state between 1995 and 2007, with significant growth seen in the clean energy and energy efficiency sectors.
The comparative study of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana by Montana based Headwater Economics defines the green economy as “all of those enterprises and individuals who work to provide products, services, and knowledge associated with: clean energy production, energy efficiency, natural resource conservation, and efforts to curb and clean-up environmental pollution.”
In New Mexico, the report states, green jobs grew by 62 percent, compared to 13 percent in overall total number of jobs. The clean energy sector accounts for 25 percent of the green economy in New Mexico, and jobs in that sector grew by 152 percent. Jobs in the energy efficiency sector grew by 241 percent. The state led all states in the study for the rate at which its renewable energy production sector grew, at 200 percent.
For the five-state region overall, total job growth was 19 percent, while green jobs grew by 30 percent. Nationally, over the same time period, overall job growth was 10 percent, while green jobs grew by 18 percent.
The report attributes the green job growth in New Mexico to proactive leadership by state officials, world-class research facilities, and successful marketing of the state as “solar valley,” putting it at the heart of the North American solar industry.
