Oil Company Sues Rio Arriba Over Drilling Ban

lynnallen
Posted 06/04/2008 01:24 with

For the past 25 years, I have noticed some things:

1. We, the tax paying citizens, have and are going to be paying for the restoration of air, water, and general environment of anywhere that Oil, Gas, Mining and Nuclear energy has been active. Anyone can notice signs of the “Environmental Cleanup at this site by” either the EPA, Your Federal government, or your state and Federal Government (we the taxpayers). We can also name sites that need to be cleaned up but are not yet cleaned up after the oil, gas mining and nuclear activities have left the site for other locations.

2. Our Federal and sometimes our State Government subsides the costs of energy produced by oil, gas, mining, and nuclear energy producers for the good of the consumer (we the taxpayer).

3. Our Federal and State and sometimes Local Government form special governmental agencies which regulate, monitor, and enforce, and watchdog the, distribution, and storage methods, standards, and consumer prices charged by oil, gas, mining, and nuclear energy production (we the taxpayers pay for these added government agencies).

4. Our Federal and State governments spend legislative time creating laws to allow the taxpayers to reclaim some costs which they feel need to be lower by increasing the tax codes to give back some of the taxes or costs which impact business greatly.

5. Our Federal government gives excessive credits and grants to the producers to insure or enlarge the profits of an industry that is supposed to be an independent profitable company.

In short, we hugely subsidize oil, gas, mining, and nuclear energy production, with taxpayer money while the percent of subsidized funding to alternative energy production is almost immeasurable.

I have lived in Santa Fe County in a passive solar photo voltaic home for over a quarter of a century.   I live completely off the power grid.

I have quite a full array of modern electrical conveniences (electric lights, a microwave, 3 televisions, a laptop computer with internet access, a clothes washer and dryer, a small electric refrigerator, various small appliances,  a propane refrigerator, 2 propane hot water heaters, a wood burning stove(that I don't really need most of the time), a 50 gallon fish tank with heater, lights and filter).  I have cell phones,( or their precursor).  I also have a well which is 450 feet deep and flows at 3 ½ gal per minute.  Yes, I still use oil, but so much less than is used by an average person for the entire cycle of production of their energy needs.

My photovoltaic system has operated continuously for over a quarter of a century with the original photovoltaic panels providing electric.  Inverters, controllers and batteries all have improved and have been upgraded and replaced as needed.  When my electric goes off, I know why, and it rarely goes off.

In 1982, the State Of New Mexico had legislation on the books that would reimburse individuals for alternative energy system designed to irrigate almost anything.  It was very broad and only about 200 people benefited from the legislation.  I was one of them.  The irrigation system provided electricity as well which powers my home.  The legislation remained asleep for almost 3 years until some entrepreneurs saw it and then private business sprang up almost instantly and about three quarters of the grants were given out.  It took only a few months for private industry to respond and to get systems up and running in an industry that was not yet in existence.  Imagine the response time now that the industry is a bit more established.  Imagine what improvements could come about with a bit of a market.

During this same quarter of a century, PNM has
Similar problems of increased infrastructure and Maintience accompany the needs for oil, gas, nuclear energies.

Put in more electrical service and high voltage lines everywhere to serve a growing population,             while also continuously repairing the electric lines from lightning strikes, fires, drivers crashing into poles, and normal wear of the wires and poles supporting the wires.    <br />There is a lot of talk about new power plants, their cost and the subsidy that may be provided to PNM to build and maintain it as well as the pollution problems it may cause.<br />The various governments of population centers are presented with enormous costs of upkeep and providing new infrastructure and regulations within their towns and cities.

Comparatively

Compare all of the environmental and dollar costs of my stand alone system to the total costs of the Grid including building it, maintaining it, distributing it, and the toxic clean up costs.
My stand alone system needs fewer repairs. I am the only person affected if it goes down.
My stand alone system costs for Maintience and additional service are costs for only me.
My stand alone system does not have to have a hardship subsidy for the poor by the government.
My stand alone system provides electricity with no environmental problems to anyone or for any governmental regulation, monitoring or oversight. (a large governmental savings)
All central energy systems are susceptible to terrorists: a stand alone single system is not worth terrorist actions.
Stand alone systems allow population freedom of growth unlimited by existing infrastructure and not costing additional regulation and maintience burdens.
Stand alone systems can grow with a home allowing for enlarging it as the need arrives.

I have been waiting over a quarter of a century for alternative energy to be implemented.   Meanwhile, as a taxpayer, I am still paying government to regulate, monitor, oversee and maintain all of the costs of the current power grid.  <br />The Four corner power plant is still endangering the environment, and the maintience costs are rising.      Your central power grid is more subject to interruption now than 25 years ago, and all costs are rising.

Allow alternative energy one sixth of the financial incentives that are given to oil and see what will happen in 6 months time.

ANY MONEY SPENT ON GAS OR OIL PRODUCTION, DELAYS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AS WELL AS BRINGS US ADDED GOVERNMENT AND ADDED COSTS IN MONITORING ALL OF THE DANGEROUR ACTIONS OF THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

WE ARE NOW PAYING and WILL CONTINUE TO PAY TO CLEAN UP COSTS LEFT BY OIL, GAS, NUCLEAR AND MINING IN THE FUTURE. I am tired of paying for their messes. With the changing economy, I may not be financially able to pay for the clean up in the future.

OIL, GAS, NUCLEAR, AND MINING DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE AND POLUTE WATER. PERIOD! If they want to be responsible, let them find ways of extraction that will not jeopardize life and water. Water belongs to the whole planet not just the human population. They may have the mineral rights, but they do not have the water rights, the air rights, the environmental rights. They can not be allowed to use and destroy what they do not own.