Here in the Land of Enchantment supporters are lauding cannabis legalization as a way to diversify New Mexico’s economy, bring in tax income and address inequities left by the war on drugs while balancing the state's water crisis with growers. But the industry's carbon footprint should be at least as worrying as tight water supplies are according to a new study from researchers at Colorado State University.
California's industry is the least carbon intensive in the western US as that state's power generation is virtually coal-free even as water supplies from the Colorado River dry up.
Since it’s against federal law to transport marijuana across state lines, it’s impossible to move all cultivation to California. But there are other pathways to greener ganja-growing, including upgrading to more efficient heating and cooling systems and switching out the typical high-pressure sodium lights for LEDs. Moving away from the standard windowless warehouses to greenhouses or even outdoor cultivation would also significantly cut emissions, though it raises security issues and could result in smaller yields and inconsistent potency. Of course, there is another way to reduce cannabis’ carbon footprint: Decarbonize the grid by phasing out all fossil-fueled power generation. [High Country News]
In 2018, Black Hills Energy sold some of its 700 oil and gas wells in New Mexico and the Powder River Basin in Wyoming to help finance a $70 million monolith headquarters in Rapid City. It was built there on the backs of subscribers without choices because out of state Republicans who write the tax law own my home state of South Dakota and because the state ended environmental oversight.
BHE raised much of its construction cash on Colorado cannabis by burning coal and natural gas to power growers.
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