Voters support common-sense safeguards

By Sandy Buffett, CVNMEF Executive Director
From the water that comes out of our kitchen faucets to the acequias that nurture New Mexico’s crops, clean water is a natural resource on which all New Mexicans depend. When water and other precious resources are threatened by contamination and climate-induced scarcity, we risk the health of our children, the self-sufficiency of our communities and our long-term livelihoods.
New Mexicans have known for generations that el agua es la vida. However, we are currently hearing claims from the big, multinational corporate interests on Gov. Susana Martínez’s so-called “small-business task force” that regulatory safeguards, such as sensible clean water protections, must be repealed in the hunt for economic growth. We also witnessed an unprecedented attack on safeguards that protect the water we drink and the air we breathe at the 2011 Legislature (thankfully, all those efforts to eliminate or undermine common-sense protections were defeated).

Notably, according to two recent polls, New Mexicans across the state aren’t buying into the out-of-state corporations’ and lobbyists’ wish list for dismantling our existing safeguards. To be sure, the surveys demonstrate support for even more protective environmental safeguards to keep our water, land and air clean and healthy.

Last fall, Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund released its survey of conservation values in several rural New Mexico counties. The survey, conducted in rural McKinley, Mora, Cibola, San Miguel, Río Arriba, Grant and Luna counties, shows that environmental safeguards, jobs in renewable energy, and holding polluters accountable are things that these rural New Mexicans strongly value. Another notable poll on attitudes toward the environment is Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Survey of Five Western States, released in January.

The Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund survey reveals that 77 percent of rural New Mexicans polled in these counties support the adoption of stronger safeguards to protect our drinking water and soil from contamination. This closely mirrors data from the State of the Rockies report, in which, after hearing a neutral explanation of environmental safeguards, 72 percent of New Mexicans polled statewide said that current safeguards should be maintained.

The State of the Rockies poll further reports that 77 percent of all New Mexicans believe that we can keep the safeguards that protect our air, land and water, while maintaining a strong economy; only 20 percent feel that the environment and the economy are in conflict.

Our organization also asked rural voters in these selected counties about contamination by industry polluters. Overwhelmingly, rural New Mexicans in the counties polled (76 percent) agree that we should increase penalties for polluters that contaminate our air and water.

Some of the best examples of pollutants that threaten our health are greenhouse gases, air pollutants that are exacerbating asthma, drought, and climate change. Recently, New Mexico passed safeguards to reduce these pollutants, especially carbon pollution, a move that is heavily supported by the rural voters in our poll. Fifty-three percent of these rural voters polled support regional action and 51 percent support state-level action to reduce carbon pollution.

Although New Mexicans’ beliefs regarding climate change differ, 78 percent in our poll said that they believe that there is evidence that New Mexico is getting warmer and cycles of drought are increasing. And now, sadly, we see this unfolding; just last week the mayor of Las Vegas, N.M., declared a drought emergency with only a few months of water supply in its local reservoir.

These two polls reveal that New Mexicans agree that it is a priority to protect our air, land and water, including during difficult economic times. It is time for our elected officials to listen to the people. New Mexicans want to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we cherish, and the majority of those surveyed believe that enforcing and strengthening our existing safeguards is the way to do it. (Links to both polls can be found at www.cvnmef.org)

Sandy Buffett is executive director of Conservation Voters of New Mexico.

From the water that comes out of our kitchen faucets to the acequias that nurture New Mexico’s crops, clean water is a natural resource on which all New Mexicans depend. When water and other precious resources are threatened by contamination and climate-induced scarcity, we risk the health of our children, the self-sufficiency of our communities and our long-term livelihoods.
New Mexicans have known for generations that el agua es la vida. However, we are currently hearing claims from the big, multinational corporate interests on Gov. Susana Martínez’s so-called “small-business task force” that regulatory safeguards, such as sensible clean water protections, must be repealed in the hunt for economic growth. We also witnessed an unprecedented attack on safeguards that protect the water we drink and the air we breathe at the 2011 Legislature (thankfully, all those efforts to eliminate or undermine common-sense protections were defeated).

These two polls reveal that New Mexicans agree that it is a priority to protect our air, land and water, including during difficult economic times. It is time for our elected officials to listen to the people. New Mexicans want to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we cherish, and the majority of those surveyed believe that enforcing and strengthening our existing safeguards is the way to do it.
The Colorado College Conservation in the West State of the Rockies Poll
CVNMEF’s 2011 Rural Counties Poll

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