Environmentalists object to New Mexico proposal replacing references to climate change

SANTA FE, N.M. — Environmentalists and some educators are objecting to proposed changes to teaching standards for science in New Mexico that substitute references to rising global temperatures and climate change with statements about climate "fluctuations."

New objections were raised Monday to science standards drafted by the New Mexico Public Education Department. The agency has suggested several additions and deletions to a set of science standards developed by a consortium of states.

New Mexico Sierra Club Director Camilla Feibelman said the standards were supposed to be tailored to New Mexico's unique natural history but instead would inhibit the accurate study of modern climate change.

New Mexico Deputy Secretary of School Transformation Debbie Montoya says her agency will listen and respond to input from all of New Mexico's stakeholders when writing content standards.