KOB 4 News (Albuquerque, NM) reports that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed an executive order directing all State of New Mexico agencies to be fully transitioned to electric vehicles by 2035.
The governor’s executive order directs state departments to purchase electric vehicles from this point on – when available.
NOTE: FGGAM was unable to find a copy of the above-referenced executive order, nor was it posted on the governor’s official website – although the posting of such orders sometimes is delayed.
The KOB 4 News report may be read HERE.
The Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, NM) reports that during yesterday’s briefing at the “Governor’s Symposium on the Future of Transportation” at the Hotel Albuquerque, Governor Lujan Grisham said that all state government agencies will move their fleets to “100% electric” by 2035 through an executive order. She also said that her office plans to promote legislation during the next session aimed at offering robust electric vehicle tax credits.
The governor’s executive order reportedly includes exceptions allowing for state agencies to purchase internal combustion engine vehicles for law enforcement, firefighting, construction, maintenance and emergency management.
The Albuquerque Journal article may be read HERE.
Although an executive order is not a statute or law, under the authority of the New Mexico governor, it carries great weight. The state has been somewhat floundering for the last couple decades with the purchase of hybrid vehicles, natural gas-powered vehicles, recent discussion about hydrogen-powered vehicles, and past directives encouraging use of the Rail Runner by state employees for work-related travel.
What seems notable here, is that the all-electric vehicle approach seems to dovetail perfectly with the policies of the Joe Biden administration. It falls in line with the hard and unrelenting push to demonize and eliminate – to the maximum extent possible – fossil fuels and the vehicles which run on them. It is critical to remember that the oil and gas industries, along with the manufacturing plants and jobs which depend on them, can not be turned on and off like a light switch.
The millions of dollars certain to be spent on this all-electric vehicle endeavor over the next several years – ironically using funds provided by New Mexico’s oil and gas industry – will be substantial. Because Governor Lujan Grisham will not be allowed to have another term, and with executive orders being exactly that, “executive” orders, the next New Mexico governor could simply undo the order. The potential chaos and the certainty of continuing angst politically is unfortunate.
My brothers and sisters, we should pray that ALL of our elected officials and those who elect them (you and me) will seek godly wisdom. I get it that being a “stick in the mud” and refusing to change under any circumstance is never a winning formula, as time does not stand still, but moving quickly to cut out the energy sources that have built and sustained this nation (and in many ways, much of the world) because of a theory about worldwide climate impacts, seems equally unwise.
For example, exchanging one form of pollution for another (petroleum v. heavy metals), ceding more economic control and worldwide influence from the United States to other countries which may not have our best interests at heart and are much less concerned about polluting the environment (e.g., China), and choosing to push forward with a singular ideological approach politically to assure personal power and control with no willingness to listen to others or compromise, is also not a formula for success!
What we do need to exchange is believing in the wisdom of the world more than believing in the wisdom of God! We must be prayerful and wise as to how quickly, or whether, a sudden change of the very energy sources undergirding our entire society is a wise move.
The State of New Mexico is so very beautiful and is home to more than two million persons who deserve consistent, efficient and ethically-sound government. It’s no secret that in our state, many live in or near the poverty level, and we suffer daily with violence, poverty and education-related issues. It’s even unclear how safe the widespread use of electric vehicles and their affordability and longevity might be. What happens when charging stations are unavailable, expensive batteries give up the ghost, landlords deny the needed charging of personal vehicles, utility companies deny or throttle down the charging of our personal vehicles to avoid brownouts or blackouts, or persons become stranded during certain weather conditions?
Every time this writer eats at a local restaurant, it becomes clear from speaking with the employees and witnessing the understaffing, that the apparent fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic response in New Mexico still inhibits businesses. The cheery economic prognostications from certain politicians using charts and statistics to “prove” how things are just fine fall very short in the area of believability.
Psalm 34:8-11 (NKJV)
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; [b]lessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; [b]ut those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, [a]nd lean not on your own understanding; [i]n all your ways acknowledge Him, [a]nd He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 13:20 (NKJV)
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, [b]ut the companion of fools will be destroyed.”
1 Corinthians 3:19 (NLT)
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, ‘He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.’”
Praise Jesus forevermore!
