New Mexico, Colorado Delegations Urge President To Direct Federal Resources To Gold King Mine Response
SENATE News:LANL: Young, Jupiter-like Planet Discovered
Jupiter-like planet. Couresy/LANL
LANL News:
A team of researchers has discovered a Jupiter-like planet within a young system that could provide a new understanding of how planets formed around the sun.
The new planet, called 51 Eridani b, is the first exoplanet discovered by the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), a new instrument operated by an international collaboration headed by Bruce Macintosh, a professor of physics in the Kavli Institute at Stanford University. It is a million times fainter than its star and shows the strongest methane signature ever detected on an alien planet, which should Read More
Ban Lifted On Water Supply Connection To Animas And San Juan Rivers And Public’s Recreational Use
NMED NEWS:
- Governor Susana Martinez’ Long-Term Impact Review Team in Place
FARMINGTON – New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn, Game and Fish Department Director Alexa Sandoval and Health Department Secretary Retta Ward Saturday lifted the ban on San Juan County’s drinking water systems’ supply connection to the Animas and San Juan Rivers and on the public’s recreational use of the rivers.
The ban is lifted with certain prudent health practices, following the Aug. 5 Gold King Mine Spill.
“Because the waters of the Animas and San Juan Rivers are now meeting all applicable Read More
Governor Announces Long-Term Impact Review Team to Monitor EPA-Caused Spill In Animas River
Effects of the massive 3 million gallon waste spill in the Animas River flowing through Aztec last week. Photo by Randy Foster
STATE News:
FARMINGTON — Today, Gov. Susana Martinez announced the creation of a multiagency, long-term impact review team to monitor the effects of the massive 3 million gallon waste spill in the Animas River that EPA officials have admitted to causing.
After touring the spill by helicopter for the second time in less than a week, the Governor made the announcement with cabinet secretaries and directors of the New Mexico Departments of Agriculture, Environment, Game Read More
Conditions Are Perfect For UNM-LA Mushroom Hike
Boletes mushrooms. Courtesy/UNM-LA
UNM-LA News:
The recent rains have made local mountainsides green, wildflowers dot the mesa tops, and the wild mushrooms abundant if one knows where to look.
That’s why UNM-LA Community Education is excited to offer a mushroom hike 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. Experienced mushroom forager Thomas Peña is leading the hike.
“This year’s precipitation is going to be a real boon for the mushrooms,” Peña said. “Normally, the area where we hike is quite green and lush, but this should be a banner year.”
This one-day outing will have students hiking in the beautiful Read More
Wildflower Walk With Chick Keller Aug. 17
Los Alamos wildflower. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
With the continued rain, we’ve been having lately, beautiful wildflowers abound. Join PEEC’s Jemez Mountain Herbarium curator, Chick Keller, for a Wildflower Walk at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17 to discover what some of them are and where they can be found.
This will be an easy walk to identify some of the wildflowers that can be found in and around Los Alamos. The group will meet at the Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, and the group will carpool to the trail that Keller will select based on what is blooming at the time. The walk is free and there Read More
Experts Present ‘Coyotes In Our Midst’ At Nature Center
A coyote spotted in Corrales. Photo by Project CoyotePEEC News:
From deserts to mountains, coyotes are one of the most adaptable species in New Mexico. However, not everyone welcomes the resilience of this local predator.
To learn more about this canine, meet New Mexico Project Coyote representative, Judy Paulsen, and Project Coyote Science Advisory Board Wildlife Biologist Dave Parsons, as they speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18 at the Los Alamos Nature Center, about the challenges and opportunities coyotes provide to both urban and rural communities.
This presentation reveals the fascinating Read More
PEEC Amateur Naturalist: Visualizing Nature With Art
Maple leaf. Courtesy photo
Maple leaf painting by Cathy Hillegas. Courtesy image
PEEC Amateur NaturalistLuján Meets With EPA Administrator McCarthy
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján
STATE News:
FARMINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement today after participating in meetings and briefings with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy over the past two days on the Gold King Mine spill.
Luján met with McCarthy in Durango, Colo., and Farmington. Earlier in the week he spoke with McCarty on the importance of visiting New Mexico. Luján, along with New Mexico Senators Udall and Heinrich, also sent a letter to McCarthy to express their concerns with EPA’s response.
EPA Administrator Read More
PNM Has New Plan For San Juan Generating Station
SIERRA CLUB News:
- New Plan Includes Clean Energy Credits and Offers Opportunity to Revisit Future of SJGS in 2018
ALBUQUERQUE – Today the Public Service Company of New Mexico released a new plan for the future of the San Juan Generating Station as part of their ongoing negotiations with the Public Regulation Commission.
In response, Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, released the following statement:
“PNM’s new plan for the San Juan Generating Station offers an opportunity for PNM to commit to retiring Read More
This Week At The Reel Deal
By JIM O’DONNELLUnfortunately we have to quit a couple good movies after only one week to make room for new ones. Alas, it would be nice to have 6 or 8 screens!
Mr. Holmes and Southpaw are ending this Thursday. This Friday we are opening the much requested Ricki and the Flash and The Man from UNCLE. Mission Impossible and Fantastic Four will hold for one more week.
Ricki and the Flash: Three-time Academy Award (R) winner Meryl Streep goes electric and takes on a whole new gig – a hard-rocking singer/guitarist – for Oscar (R)-winning director Jonathan Read More
James Robinson: Every Bear Has His Day
Layton, a Black Bear cub weighed just over 4 pounds when discovered inside a small crate. Courtesy photoEarlier this spring, Layton, a Black Bear cub came to Dr. Kathleen Ramsay’s Cottonwood Rehab in desperate need of help.
Layton was found inside a crate outside a feed store in Tijeras and only weighed 4.25 pounds. Although challenging, Dr. Ramsay and Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation worked together to raise the funds to help her get Layton to a releasable weight.
Despite the challenges, Layton now weighs more than 50 pounds and is very much a Read More
CVNM On Governor’s Gold King Mine Spill Comments
CVNM News:
SANTA FE – Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) is saddened by the devastation that has been caused by the Gold King Mine spill, and stands in solidarity with all communities that have been and will be impacted by this event.
In response to the comments Gov. Susana Martinez made today concerning the Gold King Mine spill that has now reached New Mexico’s Four Corners region, CVNM Executive Director Demis Foster issued the following statement:
”We call upon Governor Martinez to address the very real toxic legacy that has plagued many of New Mexico’s rural, impoverished, Read More
Gold King Mine Spill’s Groundwater Effects Still Being Investigated In New Mexico
NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn
NMED News:
- Plume Passes Through New Mexico; Leaves Sediments Behind
FARMINGTON – Today, seven well water testing teams were deployed by the New Mexico Environment Department in concert with the Environmental Protection Agency to test domestic water wells near the Animas River which flows through Farmington and Aztec.
“Although the Gold King Mine Spill’s heavy metals plume has mostly passed through the area, the sediments left behind are capable of influencing groundwater quality,” NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said. “We are operating with an abundance of Read More
AGU: Melting Glaciers Feed Antarctic Food Chain
AGU News:Heinrich, Lujan Grisham Join Community To Celebrate LWCF At Petroglyph National Monument
STATE News:WIPP Hosts Fire Protection & Response Workshop
Representatives from DOE headquarters and other agencies meet in Carlsbad for a fire protection and emergency response workshop. Courtesy photoGovernor Declares State of Emergency From EPA Spill
Contamination discolors Animas River in Aztec. Photo by Randy Foster
STATE News:
SANTA FE – Today, Gov. Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency in response to the massive 3 million gallon waste spill in the Animas River in Colorado that EPA officials have admitted to causing.
The Governor toured the spill by helicopter and met with local officials Saturday in San Juan County. The day before, Martinez established a multi-agency response team that has been assisting affected communities, and New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn issued emergency orders allowing for Read More
NM Lawmakers Write EPA On Gold King Mine Spill
STATE News:
- Lawmakers Call for Point Person to Oversee Agency’s Response
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter today to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján expressed their concern with the EPA’s response to the Gold King Mine spill that has sent three million gallons of wastewater into the Animas River.
In the letter, the lawmakers called on EPA to improve communication with federal, state, and local officials and with members of the public, urging the agency to appoint one point person to oversee the Read More
Lujan On Mine Spill: ‘EPA Caused This Mess And They Must Take Full Responsibility To Clean It’
The normally ‘crystal clear’ Animas River today in Aztec following Wednesday’s EPA mine spill. Photo by Randy Foster
The Animas River today in Aztec following Wednesday’s EPA mine spill. Photo by Randy Foster
STATE News:
FARMINGTON – U.S. Rep Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement today after participating in a public meeting in Farmington with federal, state, and local officials and members of the community to provide information on the Gold King Mine spill that Read More