LETTER: Oil, gas production poisoning our children

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association is a powerful lobby group of oil and natural gas companies, individuals and stakeholders who have been poisoning New Mexico since 1926. On Monday, October 7th, YUCCA activists mobilized at the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA) annual meeting. We stood outside the El Dorado Hotel with 24 large banners, each of which included pictures of environmental destruction such as air pollution, dumped waste, flooding and wildfires throughout New Mexico caused by oil companies.

We would like to highlight NMOGA’s role in risking the health of New Mexican citizens. Currently in our state, there are over 70,000 unplugged wells that can leak explosive gasses, brine and oil. Politicians, activists and oil company representatives came together to write HB 133 as a solution to this issue. The bill proposed a requirement that drillers finance the plugging of wells and stop selling wells to those unlikely to be able to afford plugging. It also created a setback requirement between wells and schools, hospitals and homes. The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association opposed the bill at the last minute, calling it “a radical and dangerous approach designed to strangle the oil and gas industry.” They said that the bill would “destroy New Mexico” if passed. In response to this pushback, Democrats edited the bill, removing the buffer zone requirement between schools, hospitals and homes. NMOGA then changed its position to neutral, but, lacking any real substance, the bill ended up dying on the floor of the House.

Living near oil and gas production can cause perinatal problems such as birth defects, preterm births, high-risk pregnancies, low birth weights in babies, and other health issues such as respiratory problems, cancer, asthma and rashes. New Mexico oil and gas companies take pride in contributing to the state’s education fund and they hosted a backpack giveaway for kids this July, yet they poison the children and teachers who attend those schools. You may donate to our schools, but you have brought in these revenues at the cost of our health and well-being. In New Mexico, over 32,000 children attend school within a mile of oil and gas facilities. Children living near oil and gas production has been linked to reduced lung function, asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, IQ loss and pediatric cancers. They are especially vulnerable to the health impacts that come with living near oil and gas production because they are still developing. Through NMOGA’s opposition to a bill so necessary to the health of our communities and some of the most vulnerable among us, they have demonstrated their lack of concern for New Mexicans.

NMOGA is the biggest oil and gas lobby in the state. However, information about their investments or where their money is going is nowhere to be found. Groups that influence political campaigns and lawmakers on legislation regarding environmental regulation, taxation and policies, should publicize information about their activities. We beg the question, what do they have to hide? Is it truly democratic for big corporations to be calling the shots that are destroying our lives and communities? We reaffirm that the phase out process of fossil fuels is deeply necessary. If NMOGA wants to get on the right side of history, they need to stop ramping up oil and gas production.

Savanna Woods

Albuquerque