>>GENE: BUT WE END OUR SHOW TONIGHT WITH A PUSH FROM OUR  YOUNG PEOPLE TO PROTECT OUR STATE'S ENVIRONMENT.

UNDER A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO HAS  BEEN MOVING FORWARD ON COMMITMENTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE  CHANGE BUT THE STATE IS ALSO THE SECOND LARGEST OIL  PRODUCING STATE IN THE NATION, ACCOUNTING FOR MORE THAN 11%  OF U.S. CRUDE PRODUCTION.

THAT DEVELOPMENT PARTICULARLY  IN THE PERMIAN BASIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR VAST AMOUNTS  OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BOTH IN THE PRODUCTION PHASE  ITSELF AND IN THE DOWNSTREAM USE OF PETROLEUM.

SO THIS WEEK OUR LAND SENIOR PRODUCER, LAURA PASKUS, TALKS  WITH YOUTH ACTIVIST JONATHAN JUAREZ-ALONZO ABOUT WHAT THE  NEW MEXICO NO FALSE SOLUTIONS COALITION IS ASKING OF YOUR  POLITICAL LEADERS.

>> Laura: HI JONATHAN.

THANKS FOR JOINING ME TODAY.

>> Juarez-Alonzo: OF COURSE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

>> Laura: YOU WERE AMONG THE MEMBERS, HUGE LIST OF MEMBERS,  WHO SENT A LETTER TO GOVERNOR MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM LAST  MONTH IN JANUARY CALLING FOR THE SCIENCE-BASED  CLIMATE JUSTICE LEGISLATION AND POLICY.

YOU ALL EMPHASIZED IN THAT LETTER THE NEED TO ADDRESS  IMMEDIATELY THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE  NEED TO STOP PRODUCTION.

>> Juarez-Alonzo: EXACTLY.

AND THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN OUR BIGGEST BATTLE WITH  LEGISLATION THAT WE ARE SEEING COME UP RIGHT NOW IS WHILE IT  MIGHT IN SOME PERSPECTIVE, NOT IN OURS, BUT IN SOME  PERSPECTIVES IF YOU LOOK AT IS JUST AS OUR LOCAL CARBON  FOOTPRINT HERE AS A STATE, IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WE SEE  EMISSIONS GOING DOWN, BUT WHEN WE INCLUDE THE DOWNSTREAM  EMISSIONS, ALL OF THE EMISSIONS CREATED FROM WHAT IS  PRODUCED AND EXTRACTED HERE IN NEW MEXICO, THAT IS WHERE THE  BIGGER PICTURE IS.

BECAUSE I AM SURE YOU KNOW, WE  RECENTLY IN THE PAST YEAR OR SO, WE PASSED EVEN NORTH  DAKOTA AND WE ARE NOW SECOND IN THE COUNTRY FOR OIL AND GAS  PRODUCTION.

AND SO THAT LETTER THAT YOU  REFERRED TO IT CALLED ON THE GOVERNOR TO FOLLOW THE SCIENCE  AND TO PROPOSE SCIENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS.

AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE ITCP JUST SAID  THAT IN ORDER TO KEEP GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BELOW  WHERE WE NEED TO KEEP THEM, WE NEED TO PHASE OUT ALL EXISTING  INFRASTRUCTURE NO LATER THAN 2034 AND NO NEW INFRASTRUCTURE  CAN BE APPROVED.

AND WE ARE VERY FAR FROM THAT  HERE IN NEW MEXICO UNFORTUNATELY.

>> Laura: SO SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT  AND SOME OF THE THINGS IN THE LETTER, YOU KNOW, COULD  ARGUABLY BE SAID ARE PRETTY RADICAL.

AND YET IN EARLY FEBRUARY THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY  ANTONIO GUITERREZ, WHO IS ARGUABLY LIKE THE WORLD'S TOP  DIPLOMATE, SAID WE NEED DISRUPTION TO END THE  DESTRUCTION, NO MORE BABY STEPS, NO MORE EXCUSES, NO  MORE GREEN WASHING NO MORE BOTTOMLESS GREED OF THE FOSSIL  FUEL INDUSTRY AND ITS ENABLERS.

IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THIS COALITION AND SORT OF LIKE  LITERALLY THE TOP DIPLOMATE IN THE WORLD, YOU'RE TALKING  ABOUT THE SAME THINGS AND YET I AM WONDERING AS YOU  PRESENTED THESE IDEAS AND REQUESTS TO LAWMAKERS, YOU  KNOW, WHAT HAS THEIR RESPONSE BEEN TO THIS NEED TO STOP  FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION?

>> Juarez-Alonzo: IT HAS BEEN  PRETTY MIXED.

WE HAVE SOME OF YOUR CLIMATE  CHAMPIONS THAT ARE RIGHT THERE WITH US AND SAYING, YOU KNOW,  THERE CAN'T BE ANYMORE BABY STEPS.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT FOR DECADES AND  THE FACT IS WE HAVE PROCRASTINATED REAL ACTION 30  PLUS YEARS NOW, THAT IS WHY WE ARE IN THE SITUATION WE ARE IN  TODAY.

WE HAVE OUR CLIMATE CHAMPIONS,  LIKE WE SAID, WE HAVE A LOT OF UNFORTUNATELY A LOT OF  MODERATE DEMOCRATS THAT COME FROM VERY MIXED DISTRICTS THAT  THERE IS A LOT OF DEPENDENCY IN OUR STATE ON THE OIL AND  GAS INDUSTRY, BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE NARRATIVES WE ARE  TRYING TO BRING LIGHT TO BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT  THESE COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON OIL AND GAS, YOU KNOW IT IS  EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP OR A LITTLE BLOWN AWAY BY THE  NUMBERS OR BY THE MONEY.

BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT QUALITY OF  LIFE AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE HEALTH IMPACTS THAT THESE  COMMUNITIES ARE FACING AS A RESULT OF -- SOME OF THESE  FAMILIES DOWN IN THE SOUTH THEY ARE THIRD AND FOURTH  GENERATION OIL AND GAS FAMILIES.

IT ISN'T EVEN A QUESTION, SOME OF OUR STUDENTS IN OUR STATE  IN THE SOUTH THEY DON'T EVEN CONSIDER COLLEGE BECAUSE THEY  KNOW THE SECOND THEY GRADUATE THEY ARE GOING RIGHT INTO THE  FIELD BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEIR FATHER DID AND THEIR  FATHER'S FATHER AND TO BREAK THAT NARRATIVE THAT IT IS NOT  ABOUT THE MONEY, IT IS ABOUT THE IMPACTS THAT IT IS HAVING  ON OUR PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING  THESE JOBS AND THE BIGGER PICTURE, THE IMPACTS THAT IT  IS HAVING HERE IN NEW MEXICO IN TERMS OF CLIMATE, BUT, AS I  SAID, WITH DOWNSTREAM EMISSIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE  WORLD.

>> Laura: CAN I ASK HOW OLD  YOU ARE?

>> Juarez-Alonzo: I AM 20.

>> Laura: 20, OKAY.

SO I WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD  TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SORT OF THE WAY THAT YOUR  GENERATION FACES CLIMATE CHANGE.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE, YOU THINK ABOUT  THE WEIGHT OF WHAT IS HAPPENING, HOW DO YOU THINK  THAT MAYBE YOU FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT IT THAN,  SAY, ME OR MY PARENTS?

>> Juarez-Alonzo: I THINK  THERE IS A LOT OF FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY BECAUSE FOR SO  LONG WE HAVE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS AS IT IS LIKE SOME  MAYBE NOT TOO FAR OFF, BUT STILL A DISTANT FUTURE REALITY  THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE CATASTROPHES FORCING MILLIONS,  POTENTIALLY BILLIONS OF PEOPLE, TO RELOCATE AND BECOME  CLIMATE REFUGEES.

AND THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT  IS REALLY -- IT IS NOT IN THE SAME PERSPECTIVE, I WOULD SAY,  FOR MY GENERATION BECAUSE WE ARE SEEING IT IN REALTIME.

WE ARE SEEING THE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES.

WE SAW WILDFIRES HERE IN NEW MEXICO THAT ARE RECORD  SETTING.

WE HAVE SEEN THE AUSTRALIAN  WILDFIRES JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.

AND ON TOP OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THE FLOODING.

WE LOOK AT DROUGHTS AND EVERY INDICATION OF SCIENCE AND THE  VAST MAJORITY OF SCIENCE ACROSS THE WORLD, SCIENTISTS  ACROSS THE WORLD ARE TELLING US THAT IT IS CODE RED.

THIS IS THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION EVENT AND IT IS NO  LONGER IN THE DISTANCE.

IT IS HERE.

>> Laura: AS A YOUTH ACTIVIST WHAT DO YOU WISH THAT NEW  MEXICANS BETTER UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND  ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY -- WE CAN SUPPORT YOUTH  ACTIVISTS?

>> Juarez-Alonzo: SOME OF THE  BIGGEST THINGS ARE JUST UNDERSTANDING, LIKE I SAID,  THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT A NEAR FUTURE EVENT THAT IS  GOING TO WREAK HAVOC.

IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING.

WE TALK TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE NORTH THAT HAVE  ALREADY SEEN THESE CATACLYSMIC WILDFIRES.

WE TALKED TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE SOUTH THAT ARE  DEALING WITH FLOODING AND WITH CONTINUED DROUGHT AND OUR  FARMERS AND EVERYONE IS FEELING IT.

IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DENY ANYMORE.

I THINK WHAT EVERYONE CAN DO IS JUST CONTINUE TO CALL ON  OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THOSE IN POWER TO FOLLOW THE  SCIENCE.

THERE IS A MILLION AND ONE  WAYS TO TWIST CLIMATE POLITICALLY BUT IF YOU LOOK AT  THE SCIENCE, THE SCIENCE IS CLEAR.

AND LIKE I SAID WE HAVE -- WE CAN'T AFFORD TO IMPLEMENT ANY  NEW FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURES.

IT IS UNFORTUNATE.

WE HAVE REALLY PUT OURSELVES  IN A POSITION WHERE THE FOSSIL FUEL OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY, IT  HAS AN ECONOMIC CHOKE HOLD ON THE REST OF OUR STATE.

WE CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY -- WE CAN'T SEEM TO PASS ANYTHING  BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS THEM.

NO ONE WANTS TO MESS WITH THE NO.

1 LARGEST, BIGGEST SOURCE  OF REVENUE IN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, BUT THE REALITY IS  THAT WE HAVE NO CHOICE.

AND WE ALSO -- WE ARE AT THE  PERFECT TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE OVER A BILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS  BECAUSE OF THAT INDUSTRY.

WE SHOULD INVEST THE MONEY IN  THE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY IT TAKES TO TRANSITION OUR  ECONOMY AND MAKE SURE WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE HELD  ACCOUNTABLE TOO BECAUSE THEY GOT US INTO THIS PROBLEM TO  BEGIN WITH.

AND, LIKE I SAID, JUST  ACKNOWLEDGING THE ROLE THAT THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY HAS  HAD.

>> Laura: THANKS FOR BEING  HERE WITH ME TODAY.

>> Juarez-Alonzo: OF COURSE.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.