Dave Marston: A New Mexico town in need of a jolt
The good news these days about Farmington, New Mexico, is that the air looks clear. That's a huge change. For 60 years the air was dingy, polluted ...
The good news these days about Farmington, New Mexico, is that the air looks clear. That's a huge change. For 60 years the air was dingy, polluted by two, enormous coal-fired power stations in nine units that produced 3,723 megawatts of generation — enough to power two million homes. Now, just 1,540 megawatts remain in two units equipped with modern, air-pollution control systems. Starting in the 1960s, the town's giant smokestacks could be seen from miles away, and their dangerous emissions helped add the designation of 'national sacrifice zone' to this Four Corners area.