The dusty deserts of New Mexico may be the last place many think of when the words “going green” come to mind, but new developments in cutting carbon in the atmosphere have landed the state on the cutting edge of the fight against global warming.

Scientists are looking at underground caves and fissures in New Mexico as possible natural storage tanks for the carbon dioxide captured from fossil fuel plants. Carbon is one of the greenhouse gases most noted as a culprit of global warming.

The underground space in New Mexico could be used to store carbon as well as compressed oxygen that can be used to generate clean energy.

First however, the question of who owns these underground spaces needs to be settled, so New Mexico legislators are trying to figure the property rights issue out before pushing forward with a plan for “carbon capture and storage.”

Many believe the law is simple: that whoever owns the land, owns the space beneath it, but the issue is becoming a hot topic because there could be a lot of money involved in using the underground space for a high tech carbon capture plan. Other states in the West, including Montana, North Dakota, and Texas, are tackling the same legal questions and buzzing with excitement about the potential for a new carbon capture method.

Do you have a cutting edge idea to help the environment? Tell us how you’re increasing your green and you’ll be in the running for a new HP notebook computer!