Need for renewable

Editor:

In a conversation at the recent town hall meeting in Tomé with Sen. Greg Baca and Rep. Kelly Fajardo, Sen. Baca questioned my assertion that renewable energy was less expensive than fossil fuel produced electricity.

Xcel Energy is proposing to close two of the three units at its coal-fired Comanche power plant in Pueblo, Colo. X-cel will replace coal power with a mixture of 1,100 megawatts of wind energy, 700 megawatts of solar, 270 megawatts of battery storage and purchase 380 megawatts of existing natural gas capacity.

Why? Because new wind and solar renewable clean energy is cheaper than existing coal-fired electrical plants.

Not only are renewable wind and solar with battery storage backup less expensive, but here’s the other really important factor. In August 2018, Bloomberg News stated that currently 144 companies, i.e. Coca-Cola, Nike, Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Walmart, plus Amazon, Facebook, Google’s Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple, have committed to 100 percent renewable energy with at least three having already hit that target.

This means that by 2030, a 100 gigawatts of renewable power, wind and solar needs to be built. That’s more than California’s entire electrical grid today. An example is Salesforce, whose goal is a 100 percent renewable by 2022. “Salesforce Works to locate offices and data centers on cleaner grids, with strong governmental policies to further reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.”

As more major companies commit to 100 percent renewable power utilities and communities will need to provide that renewable power or risk losing out on attracting those major new companies. I hope this answers Sen. Baca’s concerns.

Ward McCartney

Los Lunas

No need for contests

Editor:

As a plant ecologist, a veterinarian with a particular interest in wildlife medicine, and as a former three-term commissioner of public lands, I would like to thank Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard for re-instituting the ban on animal killing contests on state trust land.

There is no scientific or management rational justifying these killing contests. Agricultural producers and people with companion animals must be responsible for protecting their animals from predation.

If these reasonable steps, fail they have every right to protect their animals when a specific predator becomes a problem. They have successfully done this for generations without this “scorched-earth” approach — that in fact destabilizes sound management practices.

The vast majority of New Mexicans, including many ranchers and hunters, subscribe to Aldo Leopold’s statement, “The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: What good is it?”

Ray Powell

Los Ranchos de Albuquerque lawsuit isn’t fair

Editor:

Michelle Lujan Grisham, as governor of New Mexico, is suing President Donald J. Trump to stop him from declaring a national emergency to erect a barrier along the southern border.

Where was she when his predecessor declared a national emergency to aid Libya? How about when he declared a national emergency to aid Yemen? Or when he declared a national emergency to aid Ukraine? Or to aid Burundi? Or Somalia? Or Venezuela? Or South Sudan and Central Africa?

Yes, President Trump’s predecessor declared national emergencies to aid all these countries and regions and nobody batted an eye.

But President Trump declares a national emergency to aid America and gets sued by the New Mexico governor. Let that sink in.

Alan Bovee

Rio Communities

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The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.