The settlement of Texas’ suit against New Mexico ended the legal proceedings that have so vaguely and abstractly hovered unnoticed over our lives, but the consequences of that settlement will be dominating our lives specifically, concretely (meaning economically), and most noticeably in the coming years.
We are depleting the Rio Grande Basin faster and faster every year, the groundwater 15 times faster than the river waters, reports the first comprehensive study of consumption in the whole Rio Grande/Bravo Basin system.
Asset management plans are boring. Camelot dreams are not. We are still basing our choice of capital projects on "wouldn't it be nice" instead of "what is the state of our assets."
I link to an article by two very long-term observers of water in New Mexico. They are factual, detailed, informed, careful, persistent, intelligent, public-minded people not motivated by private interests, money, power, or any ideology except public service. You need to hear what they say about your water.
Truth or Consequences City Manager Gary Whitehead has been doing a stellar job. If city commissioners gave him a "satisfactory" on his yearly evaluation, it shows how little they know about government.
The article inside on Steve Pearce being appointed by Trump to head the Bureau of Land Management was written by Jim Pattiz, who is a filmmaker and founder of More Than Just Parks. He has given his permission to the Citizen to reprint his article.
Doña Ana County has approved the construction in Santa Teresa (near El Paso) of the $165 billion Jupiter Project. What does that mean?
On August 19, State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson denied the mine's application to transfer water rights for use at Copper Flat Mine. This article reports on the reasons for her decision and analyzes some consequences of her action.
The past winter was not kind to us, and we are faced with water shortage in the Rio Grande this summer. I link to several descriptions of where we are and what is predicted. Impacts will be important for farmers, ranchers, recreational businesses. We might get sued again by Texas.
Our President has created a "sovereign wealth fund," which considers all government holdings as assets, investments for return of capital. This business enterprise immediately turns the federal holdings from their original purpose of public service into assets to be used to make money. Public land is now an asset.
It's business as usual in this country. Since the country is now a business, we look at how planning is a necessary part of any business, and we conclude that what looks like chaos is actually planned (as Secretary Kennedy claimed), visionary, even with a 20% error rate.
The President's attack Dog-e often mentions that he has Asperger Syndrome. What does this actually mean, and why should we think about it?
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