cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/19129398

I’m looking into possible shenanigans with the insurance premiums by Travelers insurance. If your New Mexico home is insured by Travelers, please DM me so we can compare notes.

John Brown Breakfast Club Barbecue and Bake Sale! We are collecting donations to serve breakfast every Saturday morning at 9 under the Coal bridge for our unhoused neighbors! We just made thirty vegan cookies from our top secret recipe book 🍪 Looking forward to seeing you there - Solidarity not Charity ✊ Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈 well see you tomorrow 🌯 and Sunday!

Federal wildlife officials declared a rare lizard in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas an endangered species Friday, citing future energy development, sand mining and climate change as the biggest threats to its survival in one of the world’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basins.

“We have determined that the dunes sagebrush lizard is in danger of extinction throughout all of its range,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. It concluded that the lizard already is “functionally extinct” across 47% of its range.

Much of the the 2.5-inch-long (6.5-centimeter), spiny, light brown lizard's remaining habitat has been fragmented, preventing the species from finding mates beyond those already living close by, according to biologists.

“Even if there were no further expansion of the oil and gas or sand mining industry, the existing footprint of these operations will continue to negatively affect the dunes sagebrush lizard into the future,” the service said in its final determination, published in the Federal Register.

The decision caps two decades of legal and regulatory skirmishes between the U.S. government, conservationists and the oil and gas industry. Environmentalists cheered the move, while industry leaders condemned it as a threat to future production of the fossil fuels.

The decision provides a “lifeline for survival” for a unique species whose “only fault has been occupying a habitat that the fossil fuel industry has been wanting to claw away from it,” said Bryan Bird, the Southwest director for Defenders of Wildlife.

“The dunes sagebrush lizard spent far too long languishing in a Pandora’s box of political and administrative back and forth even as its population was in free-fall towards extinction,” Bird said in a statement.

The Permian Basin Petroleum Association and the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association expressed disappointment, saying the determination flies in the face of available science and ignores longstanding state-sponsored conservation efforts across hundreds of thousands of acres and commitment of millions of dollars in both states.

“This listing will bring no additional benefit for the species and its habitat, yet could be detrimental to those living and working in the region,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd and NMOGA President and CEO Missi Currier said in a joint statement, adding that they view it as a federal overreach that can harm communities.

https://youtu.be/2jNGjWfU7r0?si=-PXBD2Sx_9toE4Di

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) will administer New Mexico’s Solar for All Program, designed to make solar power available to an estimated 20,910 New Mexico households that otherwise might not be able to access this clean, renewable form of energy.

“Our Solar for All Program is designed to reach New Mexico’s underserved communities by focusing on supporting shared solar access projects in rural and tribal communities,” said EMNRD Deputy Secretary Dylan Fuge.

Also https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-state-new-mexico-will-receive-over-156-million

EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households. The program will reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved.

https://www.nmhu.edu/eoc/

Hatch is failing me. )=

What's up /c/NewMexico. This month I'm relocating to New Mexico, in East Mountain. Any advice for a newcomer who is looking to lay down roots.

https://www.krqe.com/entertainment-news/2023-pirate-viking-festival-invades-edgewood/

This year’s Pirate Viking Summer Festival will boast 10 food and drink vendors and dozens of craft merchants. If you’ve never tried mead and are curious, there will be plenty of opportunities to try the honey-based wine as well. “The whole premise behind mead is it was easier to ferment and keep and you can make plenty of it, as long as you had honey,” says Vigil.

The Pirate Viking Summer Festival is happening August 19 and 20 at the Wildlife West Nature Park at 87 N Frontage Rd. in Edgewood, NM. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. on both days. Saturday festivities wrap up at 6:00 p.m. and the festival ends at 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $25 at the gate.

I was driving home on i25N and saw the most awesome green meteorite break up across the sky. Someone's dash cam had to capture it.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-radiation-exposure-compensation-cc51894cb011067caf7453d228a04806

BELEN, N.M. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he’s open to granting assistance for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing, including in New Mexico, where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested in 1945.

Biden brought up the issue while speaking Wednesday in Belen at a factory that produces wind towers.

“I’m prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of,” he said.

I noticed a dust cloud peeking up beyond the nearby mountain earlier and was able to catch it rolling in as it got a bit closer.

#weather #NMWx #NewMexico #dust #haboob @newmexico

Don’t want to get stuck at the hands of the Mountain. Any advice for building my defenses up?