Hotspot Forum

New Mexico's Four Corners region jumped into the national spotlight in 2014 when NASA released a study that found the area was home to a methane plume half the size of Connecticut. Lots of questions have followed that announcement, like where did the potent greenhouse gas come from, how do we reduce it and what are the health effects for people who live in or travel to the area?

"There's landscape impacts. There's air pollution impacts and public health impacts. There's the lost revenue aspect, and there's also the climate aspect," says Tom Singer, senior policy advisor with Western Environmental Law Center and one of several speakers at an upcoming forum on the issue. Larry Rasmussen of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, Colleen Cooley of Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment and Ana Malinalli X Gutierrez Sisneros, a nursing professional from Rio Arriba County, join Singer in presenting information and answering questions on the issue during the planned panel.

Research that was conducted this April to pinpoint some of the sources is not yet released, but Singer says existing US Environmental Protection Agency data points toward the oil and gas industry as responsible for at least a significant portion of the plume. In August, the EPA proposed standards for reducing methane emissions to 40 to 45 percent of 2012 levels by 2025. The agency is still collecting data and public comment on that proposal.

The panel takes place at 6:30 pm Monday, Nov. 16, at the United Church of Santa Fe, 1804 Arroyo Chamiso Road.

Santa Fe Reporter