New Mexico students lead global climate strike across state

Emily Phan, Vice-President, Fight for Our Lives. Photo by Bianca Hoops. Today, people from all over the world will be walking out of work and schools to send a message that the world is experiencing a climate emergency. 

The “global climate strike” comes from a youth-led movement sparked when a 15-year-old Greta ThunBerg started cutting classes and camping out on the steps of the Swedish Parliament in September 2018, sparking similar youth climate actions around the world. Thunberg said in interviews she was inspired to begin her climate protest by the student led “march for our lives” protests after mass school shooting in Parkland, FL. In New Mexico strikes will be happening throughout the state, in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Silver City, and Del Norte.

Climate change means uncertain future for New Mexico chile farmers

This year’s chile season is in full swing, but it is getting mixed reviews from farmers in southern New Mexico. Maria Martinez sells her family’s produce from Anthony and Brazito on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Farmers and Crafts Market in Las Cruces. Her booth stands out with red chile ristras strung up around the sides and sacks of chile piled next to them. Fresh green chile fill baskets at her booth and a continuous stream of customers approach her during the market, searching for their chile fix. She said it’s been a struggle this year because of insufficient water. 

“It’s been kind of hard because they don’t give them much water,” Martinez said of the local irrigation district. 

Dino Cervantes, of Cervantes Enterprises Inc. and a board member of the New Mexico Chile Association, grows cayenne peppers and jalapeños in Vado.

‘The silenced’: meet the climate whistleblowers muzzled by Trump

From weakening vehicle emissions to blocking warnings about how coastal parks could flood or the impact on the Arctic, the Trump administration is accused of muzzling climate science. Here six whistleblowers and former government scientists describe being sidelined by the administration – and why they won’t be quiet. Jeff Alson 

Role: A former senior engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s vehicles lab in Ann Arbor, Michigan

What did the work involve? “I was an engineer at the EPA, working for 40 years in a very technical job. In 2009, after the election of Barack Obama, the EPA started working on greenhouse gas standards for vehicles for the first time.

Media can do better: Getting serious about climate change

New Mexico has the same water stress level as the United Arab Emirates, an analysis from the World Resources Institute finds. 

The state could have three months worth of 100-plus degree days by 2080, up from about 20 in the ‘60s and ‘70s, under a higher emissions scenario, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts, putting the elderly and children at greater risk of heat-related deaths and changing our agricultural system. In New Mexico, catastrophic wildfires, intense drought and heat over the last couple of decades have brought climate change into high relief. When it comes to global warming and mitigating its damage, there’s a lot going on, both here in New Mexico and around the world. There’s also high interest. 

Polls consistently show New Mexicans, in line with residents in all Rocky Mountain states, believe climate change is a pressing issue. Most recently, an annual bipartisan poll conducted by Colorado College found that New Mexicans increasingly say climate change is a serious problem. 

Yet, in the news, you’re a lot more likely to hear about President Trump’s latest tweet controversy than you are climate change. 

That’s just not right. 

As a profession, the news industry is not doing enough to ensure the global climate emergency receives the public debate and discussion it deserves.