Letter to the Editor: Faith leaders join methane fight

In a Letter to the Editor of the Albuquerque Journal (Saturday, February 18), Shana Edberg of Baltimore Maryland, joins faith leaders in New Mexico and elsewhere urging the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce methane emissions.

IN RESPONSE to “EPA should ensure methane protections,” (Journal Jan. 29) it was an inspiration to read a faith leader’s perspective on limiting methane pollution.

Hispanic Access Foundation’s Por La Creación Faith-Based Alliance is a group of Latino faith leaders in New Mexico and across the country with the mission of protecting God’s creation — our lands, air, water, wildlife and a healthy environment for all.

We believe that God gave us the Earth to act as stewards.

Reducing the contamination our communities and environment face from oil and gas operations is one aspect of stewarding God’s creation. All families deserve to breathe clean air, but that is not currently the case, especially in our Latino communities. For example, as a result of living in more polluted neighborhoods, Latino children are twice as likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die of asthma as White children; 1.6 million Latinos live within a half mile of an oil well.

It is up to us as faith leaders and leaders of our communities to ensure we are creating a healthy environment for our families and our planet to thrive. For that reason, Por La Creación is joining the call for the Environmental Protection Agency to limit methane pollution. It is our obligation as stewards of creation to voice the needs of our communities, and we hope you will as well.

SHANNA EDBERG Baltimore, Maryland