Are New Mexicans willing to go broke in order to go green?

Is it possible to transition to renewable energy, keep gasoline and natural gas affordable and remain energy independent all at the same time? The short answer is – NO! The inconvenient truth is that “going green” is outrageously expensive specifically because anti-fossil fuel laws and regulations cause supply to go down while demand remains the same.

The most basic law of economics is supply and demand.

This effort to stop American production of fossil fuel also causes energy dependence on other nations. However, if consumer demand and free-market principles were allowed to determine the viability of green energy sources, the transition to renewable energy could be accomplished without causing price increases or compromising our energy independence. 

Skyrocketing fuel prices along with dependency on Russia and Iran for oil is not an easy message to sell you. That’s why anti-fossil fuel crusaders focus exclusively on the impending doom of the planet and your moral obligation to go green.

Notwithstanding all of these concerns, in New Mexico, we must deal with the fact that nearly half of our state’s revenue comes from oil and gas production. Hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans make their living from direct and indirect jobs related to fossil fuels.

In a recent op-ed published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, three Democrat legislators argued that we must transition to clean energy immediately in order to cut carbon emissions. They avoided the tough subjects of our out-of-control fuel prices, dependence on rogue nations for our oil supply, the intentional killing of New Mexico’s oil and gas industry, and the devastating effects on New Mexico’s economy. 

New Mexicans are being asked to save the planet while China is planning construction on 43 new coal-fired power plants, with over 100 more to be built across Asia.

Progressives are trying to convince us that our small state of 2.1 million people, which is only 0.0026 percent of the world’s population, can dramatically impact climate change even though Asia and the rest of the developing world are going in the opposite direction. 

While families across our state are worried about their finances and wondering if they can afford basic necessities, tone-deaf Democrats are treating us like guinea pigs in a gigantic science experiment. Never mind the fact that New Mexico has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, gasoline is skyrocketing and inflation is at a 40-year high. 

The United States was energy independent just two short years ago. Good jobs, low energy rates, and general prosperity were ripped away by your elected officials. Our state and country are being run by single-focus climate fanatics intent on ending fossil fuel production well before the public is prepared to live without it.

Just ask yourself – are you willing for outrageous fuel prices, energy dependence on foreign nations, and an even lower standard of living in New Mexico to be the “New Normal?” I don’t think that you are, but not all of your elected officials agree with me.

House Republican Leader Jim Townsend represents Artesia.