Sustainability

Published February 19 in Santa Fe New Mexican

We have all seen our Public Service Company of New Mexico electricity rates increase over the past few years. From April 2008 to today, PNM rates for the average residential customer has increased by 41 percent or $250 per year.

Where is all of this money going? More of it should be coming right back to you and other customers in the form of PNM information and rebates to lower your costs for energy-efficient light bulbs, appliances, weatherization and insulation. But currently most of it is going to keep PNM's aging coal plants running and hooking up more energy-guzzling housing subdivisions.

Why should you care? Because energy efficiency is the cheapest way to satisfy New Mexico's electricity demand, by a significant margin. PNM's 2010 annual report on energy efficiency states that the average cost to save a kilowatt hour of electrical energy is 1.86 cents. Compare that to the 11 cents per kWh paid by the average residential user.

02/02/2012 From Michael Brune, Executive Director

Have you ever had to turn away millions of dollars? It sounds crazy, but here's why the Sierra Club chose to do exactly that.

In 2010, soon after I became the organization's executive director, I learned that beginning in 2007 the Sierra Club had received more than $26 million from individuals or subsidiaries of Chesapeake Energy, one of the country's largest natural gas companies. At the same time I learned about the donation, we at the Club were also hearing from scientists and from local Club chapters about the risks that natural gas drilling posed to our air, water, climate, and people in their communities. We cannot accept money from an industry we need to change. Very quickly, the board of directors, with my strong encouragement, cut off these donations and rewrote our gift acceptance policy. Let me tell you how it came about.

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:

By Dan Lorimier, Conservation coordinator, Southern and El Paso groups

After roughly two and a half years of effort, the Rio Grande Chapter has successfully helped protect New Mexico’s precious but highly threatened groundwater that 9 out of 10 of us rely on for drinking.

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.

By Mike Weinberg, Chapter Water Chair

We all by now have heard that worldwide shortages of fresh water are expected in the coming decades due to increased demand from an ever-growing global population and anticipated drying of the earth’s climate.

Development of new water supplies and better management of existing sources will be necessary in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead. We can all help by conserving this precious resource.

Sierra Club Applauds EPA Action

August 5 - Farmington, NM – The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 6 office today announced its final decision to require the installation of industry-standard pollution controls on the San Juan Generating Station coal-fired power plant near Farmington, New Mexico. The pollution controls will substantially reduce hazardous air pollution from the aging coal-fired power plant, protecting both public health and tourism revenue at nearby National Parks. For years, pollution from the San Juan Generating Station has marred views at National Parks such as the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, threatening local economies that depend on tourism revenue from park visitors.

Las Cruces Sun-News (NM){PUBLICATION2}
June 22, 2011
Section: Opinion
Article ID: 18325001
Our View: State commission chooses ideology over common sense