Short Term

Who knew?  I read with disgust this morning that the Ortiz Mountains near Santa Fe are once again under threat from gold mining.  We fought some pitched battles in the 90's when I was Land Commissioner in NM to keep a cyanide heap leach mine from being operated there.  Even my old boss Governor Bruce King was opposed and he wasn't exactly an environmentalist.  Now the Martinez administration in Santa Fe has quietly handed out a little exploration permit to look at scarring one of the Land of Enchantments iconic mountains. The prospective miners say that liberal Santa Fe residents are now more concerned about jobs than saving the mountain.

I read this at the same time I see Mayor Berry's administration is getting ready to gut energy efficiency and green building requirements in the City of Albuquerque.  They say the added costs are too much and will cost jobs.

So, it is jobs that rule everything and in someway it is understandable if you have been unemployed for a year.  However some short term gains that would scar the Ortiz mountains are just not worth it.  And Mayor Berry trying to save 2K per house will not rescue the housing industry.  Future New Mexicans will look back and say, "Who did this?"