Cool Cities

The plan to widen El Paso’s Transmountain Road continues to concern El Paso Sierrans. The city’s engineering department recently weighed in with these three alternatives and comments:

The battle lines have been drawn: El Paso’s Public Service Board (PSB), which controls thousands of acres of open space around El Paso (ostensibly to protect the watershed), supported by the City Plan Commission, Mayor Cook and the El Paso Times, versus the city’s Open Space Advisory Board, the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, the El Paso Group Sierra Club Executive Committee, City Councilor Susie Byrd and El Paso’s environmental community. At issue is rezoning of about 800 acres of foothills north of Transmountain Road below Franklin Mountains State Park.

El Paso’s City Council voted December 15th to accept a $4 million grant to help low-income families weatherize their homes, thereby reducing their energy use and lowering their utility bills.

The money is from the federal government’s stimulus program and is being funneled through the state of Texas under contract with the city of El Paso. The program will help about 600 low-income households replace insulation, windows, and even energy-wasting appliances, according to Bill Lilly, the city’s Director of Community and Human Development.

In 1Q 2009, David Van Winkle and Dexter Coolidge of the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club met with Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, City of Santa Fe City Councilors and Santa Fe County Commissioners to convince them to use renewable energy for the Buckman water project. It became a reality last week.

Everyone has a mechanical inspection prior to buying a house to insure that the dishwasher works. Everyone should also have an energy audit to insure that the house works properly. It will save you $1000’s.

Dexter Coolidge, Northern New Mexico Group Conservation Chair, reports on his energy audit that he had completed prior to his investments in solar thermal and solar PV...

Oct. 20, 2009 - Louise Pape, Vice Chair of the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, led a workshop for the Northern New Mexico Group titled “One Trash Can per Year.”