ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A new report released by Environment New Mexico shows a continuing health threat from air pollution.
The report said Albuquerque had 113 days of elevated smog pollution in 2015, ranking that city 22nd-highest in the nation for the number of smoggy days.
Farmington and Las Cruces each had more than 100 high-smog days. By comparison, most cities in America experience only one such day a year.
And Environment New Mexico campaign organizer Hannah Perkins said conditions won’t be getting any better with President Donald Trump's recent roll-backs of environmental protections.
"A lot of it comes from burning dirty fuels, like coal, oil and gas,” Perkins said. "We have a lot of oil and gas production here, and that's definitely a cause of this air pollution."
Perkins added that airports and vehicle traffic contribute to the harmful chemicals New Mexicans are breathing. But the report said the worst offenders are coal-fired power plants, which will no longer be required to modernize their pollution controls by the current administration.
In New Mexico, Carlsbad-Artesia, Espanola, Hobbs and Santa Fe also had more than 50 days of elevated smog pollution in 2015.
The report showed that children and pregnant women are especially susceptible to health risks from particulate matter in the air. It said more than 15,000 pre-term births in the U.S. last year were the result of exposure to pollution. Asthma is another primary concern.
Perkins said the federal government had been addressing these issues, and it needs to keep doing so.
"The main thing that we can do is protect things like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Power Plan, and the federal Clean Car Standards,” she said. "Those are all designed to keep our air healthy and to reduce pollution."
Trump has promised to create jobs by easing regulations on the fossil fuel industry, which could include eliminating those rules. Some states are resisting the roll-backs, saying they'll craft or strengthen their own anti-pollution laws.
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Environmental groups are celebrating the scrapping of plans for the proposed Bulldog Mine in eastern Illinois.
Indiana-based Sunrise Coal was issued a permit for the mine in 2019. The permit was only valid for three years and recently expired. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources rescinded the company's permission to move forward on the project after Sunrise failed to break ground on the mine.
Suzanne Smith, president of the advocacy group Stand Up to Coal, said it's a win for Illinois environmentalists and nearby communities in Vermilion County.
"The termination of the permit is everything we've been fighting for," Smith explained. "It's a great victory for clean water, clean air and for healthier communities nearby."
The mine would have occupied nearly 400 acres, and the Vermilion County First reports it would have created about 300 permanent jobs in the region. While Gov. JB Pritzker has made transitioning to clean energy a cornerstone of his administration, Illinois is still the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, according to the federal government.
Since the project's initial proposal in 2012, community members had raised concerns over air and water pollution, and the risk it could pose to the nearby Salt Fork of the Vermilion River.
Smith emphasized pollution from the Bulldog Mine could also have contaminated groundwater wells in the region.
"In this case, we know that clean water has been at the heart of the issue," Smith contended. "We're relieved to know that the coal mine is laid to rest, because landowners now know that their groundwater wells for drinking water are safe from potential coal contamination."
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, acidic water from mining operations can leak into surrounding rivers, streams and other bodies of water in a process known as "acid mine drainage." In a worst-case scenario, the organization reports the process can alter nearby water bodies to be as acidic as vinegar.
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The Atlantic hurricane season typically runs from June to October, and environmental groups are urging Congress to advance a bill which would require the federal government to implement a National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy.
It would also create a position for a chief resilience officer, which some state and local governments already have, to coordinate responses to intense weather events and develop approaches to combating climate change.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the bill's primary sponsor, said states are doing this work, and need backup.
"The steadily increasing intensity and severity of wildfires and tornadoes, of hurricanes and storm surges, have an impact on all of our communities that we should be preparing for and responding to in a well-coordinated way," Coons urged.
Coons added the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy is not all will be needed to address climate change, but argued there is an appetite for it, and the bill has bipartisan support. He pointed out in 2021, climate-driven natural disasters cost $145 billion nationwide.
Forbes Tompkins, senior manager for The Pew Charitable Trusts' Flood-Prepared Communities Program, said rising sea levels and storms have led to increased flooding along the entire East Coast, and he outlined some key tasks with which a federal chief resilience officer would be charged.
For instance, they would take stock of federal barriers to enhancing resilience, and then lead the development of a strategy to address them.
"Along with identifying opportunities to streamline federal support, lead with science, and put nature to work in ways that help localities, states and regions better prepare before disasters strike," Tompkins explained.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., this week on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist local governments near Lake Ontario with flooding mitigation projects. The Wayne County area, for instance, is still reeling from major high-water events in 2017 and 2019. Funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill is helping, but Schumer contended more is needed to fully recover.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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Conservation groups are not the only ones looking to protect Montana. Businesses are joining efforts to preserve the "Last Best Place."
The Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund's Partners for the Outdoors program has launched to bring companies in the state together to address a variety of issues threatening the environment, including development, access to public lands and climate change.
Paul Herendeen, director of impact market development for Missoula-based Clearwater Credit Union, said protecting the environment helps attract people to work in the state.
"One thing that unites the Montana community across all other lines, groups, divisions is a real love of this place. A love of Montana, a love of the natural environment here," Herendeen explained. "Protecting that environment is important for us in a lot of ways."
Herendeen also noted outdoor recreation is a major economic driver for the state and an important source of jobs. Outdoor recreation supports more than 26,000 jobs in Montana, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.
Herendeen thinks a clean-energy future is important for Montana. He pointed out the state is well positioned to take advantage of the transition to the 21st-century energy economy.
"Montana has a great solar resource," Herendeen stressed. "We have one of the best wind resources in the country, and we would love to see the state take advantage of that necessary transition and start producing good local jobs, good local tax revenue, and to really be a part of that."
Herendeen added his credit union is promoting a clean-energy infrastructure. It offers loans for solar panels on roofs. Clearwater also is participating in the Commercial Property Assessed Capital Enhancements (C-PACE) program, which spreads out what can be expensive upfront costs for energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation improvements.
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