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Bouquet: Diné CARE

In a gutsy move, a group of Navajo green-power advocates is opposing plans for a $3 billion Desert Rock coal-fired power plant — proposing instead that the tribe develop renewable forms of energy on the coal- and oil-rich Navajo reservation.

The group — Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment — isn't just issuing platitudes. It has published a 160-plus-page report with graphs and pie charts showing how renewable energy projects would compare with the coal plant.

The move is gutsy in part because a lot of money could be made on the impoverished reservation in oil and coal, given worldwide demand. Meanwhile, Navajo Nation officials favor the coal plant and have partnered with Sithe Global Power of Houston to build it. They point out that the plant is designed to exceed current federal emissions standards.

But Diné CARE notes that Desert Rock would become the third coal-fired plant in the Four Corners region, adding to the harm that coal emissions already are doing to tribal health. Furthermore, the group argues that fossil-fuel development is unsustainable, contributes to global warming and contradicts fundamental Navajo beliefs in beauty, harmony and environmental purity.

Given the money and momentum behind the Desert Rock plant, Diné CARE might not have a Popsicle's chance in a furnace of success. But it's highly encouraging to hear the group advocate for the long view, environmentally, rather than for short-term financial gains in a region that sorely needs money.

Taking the long view into account, Diné CARE is absolutely right to push for energy alternatives. The rest of New Mexico — an energy-producing state — should take a lesson from the group.

Brickbat: title trouble

The high costs of title insurance and the protections afforded the title industry by state government have long been legitimate issues of concern in New Mexico.

So a proposal by a number of credible outfits to get the Legislature to deal with the issues during its current session made good sense. The outfits include the state Public Regulation Commission, Attorney General Gary King, Think New Mexico and AARP New Mexico, among others. They suggest that such changes as capping insurance rates, injecting competition into the market and eliminating immunity for title insurers against damage suits would save consumers millions of dollars and make home-ownership more affordable here. The suggestions make particularly good sense now as the housing market tightens.

Unfortunately, Gov. Bill Richardson squashed the idea, arguing that title insurance reform is too complicated a matter to address during the short, 30-day legislative session. Richardson instead proposes studying possible reforms until the longer, 60-day session in 2009 and dealing with the issues then. He says he's not opposed to reform.

Richardson's arguments about complexity and time constraints are reasonable enough — though they do open him to criticism about conflicts of interest. Richardson received contributions to his presidential campaign from New Mexico title insurers, and one of his top aides has ties to the industry. The governor denies he's influenced by any of this. But the appearances are what they are.

If the governor fails to relent during the current session, then he should be held to account for his proposal to deal with title insurance reform during the coming months.