Another Day, Another Radical Proposal

January 22, 2020

Once again, the eco-left is prioritizing a radical political statement over the facts and real economic impact. For the second year in a row, a proposal was introduced in New Mexico that would establish a four-year ban on new fracking permits because of erroneous environmental concerns.  

Heartland Institute reports:

Unfortunately, fracking has been maligned because of numerous false claims spouted by fracking opponents, including that the process pollutes the air and water. However, despite fear-mongering to the contrary, there is no evidence that seepage of fracking fluids, oil, or natural gas from fracking wells contaminate water sources. 

There is plenty of hard evidence of the economic impact of imposing this ban, though.

The report estimated this ban would cost the state government a rough total of $3.5 billion and local governments $327 million in lost revenues. Also, the report noted this estimate “should be considered a minimum impact, as it assumes current oil and gas production remains constant.” 

So, the best-case scenario is massive losses for the state and local communities, all in the name of entirely baseless environmental concerns. This is a policy proposal that would not only hurt the state’s economy, but deeply impact the everyday lives of New Mexicans. 

A 2019 study from the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds a total ban on fracking in New Mexico would result in the loss of 142,000 jobs across the state by 2025, or 15.8 percent of the state’s total workforce.

New Mexicans, and the hard-working men and women of the natural gas and oil industry, deserve better than this. This is an industry that puts people to work, puts food on families’ tables, and generates massive revenue for the state. This certainly isn’t the first proposal that has ignored the best interest of New Mexicans, but hopefully it’s the last.