The mouse is roaring! Mora County, NM, population about 5,000 (that's not a typo), just voted to ban drilling and fracking. There's more here:
http://grist.org/...
This is a day when I should be tending to my do-list instead of writing diaries, but I haven't seen this noted here today and I have to get this good news or I'll burst ;)
The link contains all that I know about the county's vote, including their additional measure to tell the state and federal government to stay of their business. I'm not an expert on Mora County, but I have visited there; I was writing a research paper on post-Civil War forts in New Mexico and I toured Fort Union which is in Mora County. It's decidedly rural and the population is largely Hispanic with long-standing roots in the area. Many of the families can trace their ancestry back 8 generations or more in the same area. Located in northern New Mexico and being on the Great Plains side of the mountains, the climate is, shall we say, given to extremes (ie, colder than you-know-what in the winter).
That's all I know right now, but it should be interesting to watch this unfold. I'm sure little but feisty Mora County will feel the full weight of the exploitation, er, fossil fuels industry as this unfolds. But for now, I'm kinda proud that some folks from my state have made this stand!