IPL Launches Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign

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The national Interfaith Power & Light and state affiliates like New Mexico El Paso Region Interfaith Power & Light are launching our 2022 Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign to reach out to people of faith and conscience. We want to make sure they are registered and ready to vote and mobilize them to vote their values of caring for our common home and loving our neighbors.

Is your voter registration is current? Confirm it’s up to date for this important election year.

Mark Your Calendars for these election dates in New Mexico

  • Primary Election:

    June 7, 2022

  •  General Election:

    November 8, 2022

As people of faith and conscience, our values call us to ensure that everyone is cared for and to be good stewards of our Sacred Earth. Climate change is destroying our common home, harming our communities, and putting future generations at risk.

For too long, the fossil fuel industry has divided and distracted us with lies while they endanger our climate and pollute our air and water. They exploit our differences trying to divide us. They pick and choose where to dump toxins based on the contents of our wallets and the color of our skin, hoping to avoid accountability for the crisis they created for all of us.

This election is about the values shaping our future. Together, we can express our values of ensuring a livable planet for our children and that all are cared for. We can come together to vote our values and make a difference.

Please confirm your voter registration is current at our online voter portal.

Once you’ve done that, help make sure your faith community is ready to vote by asking them to check their registration or register to vote.

Voting is the central sacrament of our democracy. Join us in ensuring our faith communities are ready to vote and are voting their values this year.

Sign a Faith Leaders Letter to Protect Chaco Canyon

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Thank you so much for considering signing this letter for spiritual leaders to support efforts to  protect Chaco Canyon.  Chaco Canyon is a sacred place to the many Pueblos, and Navajo people in New Mexico and beyond. Oil an gas drilling around this place continues to threaten it for them and for the many visitors who come to learn about Chacoan history and visit this holy place.  Please read and consider signing this national letter.

Here is the link to the letter where other spiritual and faith leaders can sign on

This is a nationwide sign-on letter and we are trying to get as many spiritual and faith leaders to sign on as possible so I would greatly appreciate you sending this to all your networks. The deadline for sign ons is March 29th.

Valentine weekend advocacy updates

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Blessings this Valentine weekend. A gift we can give to those we love and to our Mother Earth could be an advocacy action below. Updates are as of Saturday, February 12, 2022. You are always welcome to contact committee members and your own legislators. Let us know if you have questions. Information at nmlegis.gov.

Federal Action from National IPL—Deadline, Feb 22.

In coordination with the Climate Action Campaign (CAC), IPL and some of our faith-based partners, are circulating this people of faith petition to Biden calling on him to keep his promise to take meaningful action on climate justice and do everything he can to get BBBA through the Senate.
CAC will deliver it, along with the rest of their signatures, via a Hill press event on 2/25. IPL will also get it to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The signer deadline is 2/22. We will send them a spreadsheet (they won’t add our names to any lists).

New Mexico Action

HB6 Clean Futures (Climate Change Bill) Fact sheet attached: House Government heard public comment but did not have time to finish discussion or take a vote before they went to the floor. They are scheduled to meet Saturday to continue discussion and vote.
NM Oil and Gas Association is running a $250K cable ad buy in opposition of HB 6. Conservation Voters just launched a Clean Future Act (HB 6) ad. Share if you choose.
HJR2 Environmental Rights or Green Amendment:  Green Amendment was tabled in House Judiiary by 9-3. Maya with Green Amendment encourages everyone to not to get disheartened, after a rest organizing for next legislative session will continue for the Common Good of communities and caring for Our Common Home.
HB37 CEED Low-Income Energy Efficiency Block Grant has made it through the House and is waiting to be heard in Senate Finance.
HB 127 Storage of Certain Radioactive Waste (Banning of Permitting for a High Level Waste Site) passed committees and is awaiting a House Vote.
HB 164 Uranium Mine Cleanup bill passed House committees.
SB 8 Voting Rights Provision passed Senate Committees and is ready to be heard on Senate Floor. –Please email your members
HB 228 Hydrogen Hub passed its committee. This bill has many environmental, climate and financially responsble stewardship and justice concerns. The new bill was brought forth after 3 previous hydrogen hub bills of various sorts did not pass through committees where many members of the public expressed concerns. This bill goes to the House floor for a vote, contact your legislator with your views, watch details at nmlegis.gov. The bill would:
— trigger the $125 million of taxpayer funds in the HB2 budget, giving that money to the New Mexico Finance Authority for grants to hydrogen projects. That’s about 7.5 times the budget of the entire Environment Department that would have to police this industry. While the tax credits and deductions are gone from previous iterations, HB228 still sets up public-private partnerships and provides access to multiple state economic-development incentive programs
–includes hydrogen (now 1.5kg CO2 equivalent per kg hydrogen produced) as “renewable energy” in the Renewable Energy Act, making the same changes to the Rural Coop Electric Act.
— rely upon third-party verification for its definitions of ‘clean’ hydrogen, hydrogen-produced electricity, responsibly sourced gas (now with 99% capture, but who is measure, and where?), carbon capture and sequestration. It says even less about any oversight of making all those effective.