SANTA FE -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King believes his state's environment has been the winner from two significant developments so far this month.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows states to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions "can only benefit the health and well being of New Mexicans," King wrote yesterday in a guest column for the blogsite New Mexico Politics.

And the state's recent dedication of a refuge area for an endangered fish species in the Rio Grande represented "an evolving partnership among government agencies," King noted later in the column.

King's office took partial credit for the GHG decision as one of the 12 states that first brought the suit against the EPA. The Supreme Court's ruling, he notes, allows states like New Mexico to begin regulating emissions of GHGs.

"Our argument was...that the EPA is obliged by the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of [greenhouse] gases by automobiles," King wrote.

King also hailed his office's role in developing a refugium for the silvery minnow at Los Lunas, which is scheduled for completion by fall. He says the refugium, owned and operated by the state, will save the fish while serving the needs of local farmers and residents.

"My office [is] committed to finding solutions to water management and endangered species protection," King wrote. "The silvery minnow refugium is one of these solution."