The Coalition of Conservatives in Action (CCIA) is calling for immediate increased oil production in New Mexico to mitigate the rising cost of gasoline.
New Mexicans recently have faced gasoline prices over $4 per gallon. President Joe Biden and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administrations might think this is a way to wean the public off fossil fuels, but many are suffering because the price of most commodities depends on the cost of bringing them to market.
David Tofsted, CCIA energy technical consultant, said part of the solution in New Mexico is to finish the Keystone pipeline, according to an interview with New Mexico Sun. Tofsted also wants to allow states like New Mexico that have plentiful oil and natural gas to bring those products to market in abundance. He and Juan Garcia are in the process of putting together a call to action to send emails to the governor, legislators and congressional representatives.
A native of Philadelphia, Tofsted studied physics at Pennsylvania State University and came to New Mexico via ROTC and a Signal Corps assignment upon graduation. Since 1980, he's worked on 25 different projects and written more than 70 technical publications, including a dozen open literature papers, numerous conference proceedings and technical reports.
"The issue of energy springs out of my studies in physics and work projects," Tofsted said to New Mexico Sun. "Energy conservation is a primary issue when it comes to physics."
Tofsted criticized Biden for how he is handling the current energy issues the country is facing.
"The fact is, whether or not global climate change is happening, the current solutions of solar and wind power simply won’t work," Tofsted said. "Chinese factories and power plants belch out vast amounts of pollutants, while we blithely import more and more of our basic products from this single country that is our strategic enemy."
He continued, "EVs rely on lithium-based batteries that are mainly produced in communist China. The same is true of the magnets that are integral to the wind turbines. Likewise, we have offloaded the production of solar panels (and the toxic processing techniques needed to produce these) to dirty factories in China. Yet, the Biden administration seems fine with allowing China to continue to destroy manufacturing jobs in our country so that China can benefit."
Tofsted also weighed in on Lujan Grisham's performance.
"A governor should reflect the beliefs and perspectives of their citizens," Tofsted told New Mexico Sun. "Yet, [it] seems as though our governor has become infected with the lifestyle and beliefs of liberals on both the West and East Coasts. And, this is truly a shame, because New Mexico has its own culture of accommodation and working together. Instead, we have an antagonistic my-way-or-the-highway system of government."
Tofsted believes that Lujan Grisham should immediately increase oil production.
"New Mexico is the second-highest oil and gas producing state in the nation at the moment," Tofsted told New Mexico Sun. "This is largely because a portion of the Permian Basin extends into our state. It is therefore both our privilege and our responsibility to ethically and responsibly develop this energy resource. Likewise, New Mexico has uranium resources that could be developed responsibly. Rather than attempting to shut down development, our resources should be developed in a safe and clean way."
Tofsted added, "But this is not how our governor is currently acting. Instead, through her meddling, by way of methane regulations and ozone regulations that do little to nothing to change the environment or health/safety of New Mexicans, she has added extra costs on top of mainly small providers in this state. This is wrong."
In New Mexico, the average price for a gallon of gas is $4.13 as of Monday, according to GasBuddy.com. The national average is $4.23.
The mission of CCIA is "to challenge, engage, and hold accountable elected and appointed officials by educated and informed citizens through civil discourse in order to effect change," according to their website. CCIA advocates for the advancement of communities, states, and the nation through self-reliance and critical thinking skills.
New Mexico residents are invited to join CCIA and be a part of its outreach. They meet at 6 p.m. every Thursday; meeting locations vary.