Sister Joan Brown: We Must Work for Stronger Methane Rules

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“People of faith see climate change as the greatest ethical and moral concern of our time. Not only do frontline communities, communities of color, the young and old suffer the most from climate change, they are affected most from methane pollution which is linked to our warming climate. We must work for strong methane rules. We must act now for life.”   –Sister Joan Brown

 Here is the press release that carried Sister Joan Brown’s comments

EPA New Methane Safeguards Protect Our Common Home

(Oakland, CA – Nov. 2, 2021) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed the first national limits on methane emissions from existing oil and gas operations. At the same time President Biden announced a global pledge to slash the climate-warming methane.

Methane pollution is a profound threat to our health and our climate. The oil and gas industry is the largest source of methane pollution in the United States. Addressing this pollution, in the form of leaks from new and existing operations, is the low hanging fruit of climate solutions. 

Sister Joan Brown, osf, Executive Director, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, said: “People of faith see climate change as the greatest ethical and moral concern of our time. Not only do frontline communities, communities of color, the young and old suffer the most from climate change, they are affected most from methane pollution which is linked to our warming climate. We must work for strong methane rules. We must act now for life.” 

Bill Bradlee, National Organizing Director of Interfaith Power & Light said, “People of faith and conscience, with a shared commitment for stewardship of our common home, support strong and effective methane pollution safeguards. Using currently available technology, the U.S. can do its part to meet a global imperative, achieving a 65% reduction of methane from oil and gas by 2025 and more by the end of the decade.  As the largest historic emitter of climate warming pollution, the U.S. must do its fair share and dramatically reduce its methane pollution.”

Interfaith Power & Light urges the EPA to finalize these strong methane safeguards without delay. IPL supports some additional improvements; for example, it must address methane emissions reductions in smaller wells and issues of routine flaring. These must be included before the proposal is finalized to ensure EPA is fully protecting our health and addressing the climate crisis.

Join Us for Online Screening of ‘Other Side of the Hill’

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Film and discussion on how wind, solar, and other creative initiatives can revitalize and renew rural communities. Hosted by New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light, 350 New Mexico, Citizens Caring for the Future and Renew New Mexico

Register here

About the film

Emmy nominated “Other Side of the Hill” explores the impacts of a changing climate in rural Eastern Oregon – as seen through the eyes of local leaders on the ground. From innovative timber operations in Wallowa County to large-scale solar in Lakeview, we amplify the voices of rural communities often left unheard. In a time of unprecedented cultural divide between rural and urban Oregon, we find common ground in an urgency to address a changing landscape.

FEATURED PANELISTS

  • Rep. Angelica Rubio
  • Myra Pancrazio (Executive Director, Estancia Valley Economic Development Association)
  • Bob Bresnhan (Co-Founder, Renewable Taos)
  • Danielle Garcia (ReNew Mexico)

Sister Joan Talks About Need for a ‘Just Transition’ in Permian Basin

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An article in the National Catholic Reporter’s Global Sisters Report quotes several Catholic Sisters around the world, including Joan Brown, osf, executive director of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light.  She talks about the major challenge in places like the Permian Basin in New Mexico.

Brown said the Permian Basin is “a climate bomb right now. It’s one of the highest-producing oil and gas regions in the world, so there’s a lot of pollution.”

There are concrete concerns to consider, too: More than a third of tax income for the state’s schools come from the oil and gas industry, Brown said.

“That’s something I don’t think that is often thought of is the implications that trickle down in all kinds of ways. It’s not just the worker; it’s the grocery shop person, it’s the education, it’s the school district,” she said. “Communities really need to be engaged in that.”

“The communities there feel that they’re a sacrificed zone and are continually a sacrificed zone,” Brown said. “They’re suffering from pollution now. Everybody else is using their energy. And yet with this transition, where are the jobs going to come from?”

The full article, entitled “In the face of catastrophic climate change, sisters join call for a just transition.” also contains great insights from other Catholic Sisters around the World.