VOTER GUIDE

Methane Comments: Tom Smith

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(The EPA is hosting three virtual public hearings on January 10-12. These hearings are an important opportunity for communities across the country to make their voices heard, and demand that EPA adopts strong, comprehensive methane safeguards to protect our health and our planet. We share ccomments from New Mexico and El Paso residents).

My name is Tom Smith, a member of the Franciscan community and director of the Holy Cross Retreat Center in Mesilla Park  We have a Laudato Si! Committee here to promote care for the earth both locally and around the world, as well to care for the people most affected by environmental concerns.  As a faith leader, I look to St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of ecology, and to Pope Francis who has fervently called for action to care for all aspects of the earth and the people who live here.

I lived in Artesia for a while and heard and smelled the flaring of the methane and gas close to where I lived.  Many people live close to such noxious and dangerous fumes but are too poor to move elsewhere so they feel the effects most personally.

New Mexico receives much income from the gas and oil industry in the Permian Basin, but the state also needs to be conscientious about the environmental impact of the industry and work for effective regulations.

I lived in Artesia for a while and heard and smelled the flaring of the methane and gas close to where I lived.  Many people live close to such noxious and dangerous fumes but are too poor to move elsewhere so they feel the effects most personally.
You all know more about the details of what needs to be done, so I will just ask as a faith leader that you consider the importance of regulating methane and other emissions to keep all people safe and our earth more enduring as a safe place to live.

Methane Comments: Patricia Sheely

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(The EPA is hosting three virtual public hearings on January 10-12. These hearings are an important opportunity for communities across the country to make their voices heard, and demand that EPA adopts strong, comprehensive methane safeguards to protect our health and our planet. We share ccomments from New Mexico and El Paso residents).

My name is Patricia Sheely. I grew up in Ohio and have spent the last 30 years in Gallup, NM, at the edge of the Navajo reservation. I am a retired dietitian. My faith background is United Methodist. These days I follow an interfaith path. I would like to thank you for allowing me to speak. I believe that we need strong regulation of methane emissions. This must be done at the federal level rather than state by state. While New Mexico has strong methane rules other states do not and methane knows no boundaries.

I have two overriding concerns. The first is the health of the people living near oil and gas fields, especially children and women of childbearing age. The second is the climate crisis.

Breathing methane causes asthma and heart disease. Our highest priority should be on the health of our infants and children as they represent our future.

The people who live in the Permian Basin in southeast New Mexico and in the San Juan Basin in the northeast corner are already in danger of poor health. Our native population and low-income families are the most effected and they are suffering. They do not have the resources to move. Nor should they be forced to leave their sacred homelands. Breathing methane causes asthma and heart disease. Our highest priority should be on the health of our infants and children as they represent our future. Besides affecting a person’s quality of life, health problems raise the cost of health care for all of us.

The climate crisis is an existential crisis. I never thought I would live to see and experience the changes that are taking place in our weather patterns. Our climate is changing faster and in ways that scientists have been unable to predict. This has resulted in an unprecedented loss of biodiversity that is only going to increase. People are not able to live in their homelands due to sea level rise and extremely hot temperatures. This puts stress on migration. Crops can’t be grown for lack of water and high temperatures resulting in less food production. Agricultural and construction workers cannot tolerate the high temperatures. More pandemics are predicted. The climate crisis is affecting all aspects of our lives and it spares no one, especially the sick and the poor.

I want to ask you to think outside of the box and consider possibilities that are beyond business as usual. For too long the policies of the United States have been driven by economics, jobs, and the cost to the corporations and their profits. We must now make the health of children and the environment our priority. I agree with the philosophy of Native peoples. All decisions should be made by considering how this decision will affect the seventh generation. This prevents the problems that arise from short-sighted thinking. We must think long term as we act quickly in the short term.

The universe has moved forward over billions of years by exploring new opportunities for advancement. We as people and society can do the same. The universe is asking us to do just that. I fear that if humanity is not willing to act in this way, the Earth will evolve forward without us. My goal today was to speak for our children, the entire earth community of plants, animals and humanity, and the environment that supports us. I ask that the EPA move quickly on methane rules that address venting, flaring, and low producing wells.

Thank you.

Methane Comments: Odile Coirier

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(The EPA is hosting three virtual public hearings on January 10-12. These hearings are an important opportunity for communities across the country to make their voices heard, and demand that EPA adopts strong, comprehensive methane safeguards to protect our health and our planet. We share ccomments from New Mexico and El Paso residents).

Hello, my name is Odile Coirier, I am a Catholic Sister, working with Interfaith Power and Light New Mexico-El Paso Region. I live in El Paso Texas. I appreciate this opportunity to share why strong federal methane rules are important to me and my community. I thank you for your work on the methane supplemental rule proposal that will help protect our environment and our communities.

In El Paso, we have great concern about the quality of life and health of our communities. We are in the Permian Basin and in Texas where oil and gas production are prominent.

As people of religious tradition, we are drawn by this moral imperative to care for our common home and work for the dignity of every human being. It is about Justice! And especially toward those many voices who are not heard in the rule makings and are affected most.

In El Paso, we have great concern about the quality of life and health of our communities. We are in the Permian Basin and in Texas where oil and gas production are prominent. I went several times in the Permian, the story of the people is alarming, disturbing, sad.  The destruction of the environment is disturbing as well!

Our area has several wells. EPA has the power to ensure that the oil and gas production facilities will operate in a safer way. Methane pollution brings with it well documented health problems especially for our low-income communities.

We know that Texas doesn’t have strong methane rules. We need you!

This Methane supplemental rule proposal is an important step forward. and specially to ensure that approved monitoring technologies and data are available to all so that communities and individuals can participate and engage in the Super Emitter Response Program, which is designed to quickly address very large leaks from the oil and gas industry.\

I am counting on this Administration and your agency to quickly address these concerns, and to finalize strong, comprehensive Methane rules.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my comments. Thanks for your commitment for social justice  at the service of our communities.

 

On Tuesday, June 30, Faith in Public Life and Interfaith Power & Light released a voter reflection guide endorsed by prominent national faith groups and religious leaders. The guide, Democracy, Values & the 2020 Election, addresses urgent issues in the election, including voting rights, climate change, systemic racism in the criminal justice system, healthcare and immigration. The guide, which will be distributed across the country for discussion in diverse faith communities, includes topics for reflection and sample questions to ask candidates  Download Full Guide Here

Download Spanish-language version of the guide, Democracia, Valores y las Elecciones de 2020

Issues and Questions

Democracy and Voting Rights (Page 1)

This election is more than a choice between parties and ideologies. An even more fundamental question is at stake: Can we preserve democracy in the face of serious threats to fair elections and fundamental rights?

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How do you see democratic values at risk today?
  2. How do systemic barriers to voting undermine our most sacred democratic values?
  3. How can your faith community better advocate for stronger voter protections at the state and local level?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans for protecting and strengthening voting rights?

Protecting God’s Creation Climate Justice for our Children and World (Page 2)

As people of faith, we believe that responding to the urgent threat of climate change is essential to caring for God’s creation and loving our neighbors. Human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels for energy, has thrown
nature out of balance, polluted the air, driven thousands of species of God’s creatures to extinction, intensified catastrophic events such as wildfires and hurricanes, and threatened the lives and livelihoods of our most vulnerable brothers, sisters and neighbors around the world. Scientists tell us we have less than a decade to avoid even more catastrophic consequences.

The United States has a unique responsibility to show moral and political leadership:

  • Transitioning our economy away from polluting fossil fuels toward 100% clean energy.
  • Honoring the emissions-reduction commitments our nation made at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris in 2015, and taking additional actions needed to avert catastrophic global warming.
  • Assisting developing nations— who are least responsible for climate change but most impacted by it — in coping with threats such as increased droughts, disease, and sea-level rise by sharing technology and financial support.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What does your faith teach about our responsibilities for the Earth and to others? How are they interdependent?
  2. Has your faith community made an effort to cut emissions, save energy, or practice environmental stewardship?
  3. As a candidate, what specific policies do you support to protect God’s Creation and secure a safe climate for our children and future generations?

Loving Our Immigrant Neighbors (Page 4)

Scripture repeatedly makes clear that immigrants must be treated with dignity. Policies that rip children from their parents’ arms, lock people away in inhumane conditions, and ban desperate families from entering the country
should keep us awake at night. As people of faith, we believe that the way we treat our immigrant neighbors is a sign of how we treat God.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can we replace immoral immigration policies that tear families apart and cause trauma with an immigration system that values families and affirms the dignity of allv people?
  2. What can we do to heal the wounds inflicted on immigrant communities by political rhetoric that portrays them as a dangerous “other?”
  3. If there are immigrants in our community who are feeling isolated and under threat, how can we show support and build connections?
  4. As a candidate, what will you do to defend the dignity of all immigrants, and how will you further policies that keep families together?

The Last Shall Be First An Economy of Inclusion (Page 5)

Our economic systems should work for all Americans, not only the wealthiest few. This is a matter of justice and
human dignity. All religious traditions recognize that charity is essential to care for the most vulnerable, but helping our neighbors in poverty also compels us to address its root causes. “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld,” St. Augustine observed centuries ago.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What can we do to ensure that all Americans are able to provide for their families and live with security and dignity?
  2. How do we create a just tax system that is fair to all Americans, including working families who are trapped in poverty?
  3. Why does the United States lag behind most developed countries when it comes to providing paid sick leave and paid family leave?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans to ensure workers have living wages and economic security while the coronavirus pandemic continues, as well as for the long term?

More Health Policies in a Time of a Pandemic  (Page 7)

Despite our nation’s stated values of life and equality, the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee its residents universal access to health care. This is a failure of political and moral imagination – especially in a time of pandemic.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can people of faith be most effective in using our stories, congregations and power to advocate for health care reform?
  2. What do you struggle with the most when it comes to our healthcare system?
  3. How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted your community? What policy solutions can keep us all safe and remedy racial and economic inequalities in your community?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans for making sure that quality,
    affordable health care is available for all?

Restorative Racial Justice (Page 9)

Justice and redemption are at the very heart of faith. Restorative justice begins with listening to and empowering communities that have been exploited, excluded and denied equal representation and freedom. The evil ideology of
white supremacy shaped our nation from its founding and continues to impact policies and communities today, especially in the criminal justice system. The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many other Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color, has provoked a growing, multi-racial moral movement for accountability and systemic reforms for racial justice.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can we dismantle the evil ideology of white supremacy in our culture and political systems?
  2. What can be done to end racial profiling and police violence against people of color?
  3. What steps can be taken to ensure formerly incarcerated people have voting rights and fair access to employment?
  4. As a candidate, what will you do to ensure racial justice is prioritized in the criminal justice system?
  5. How do we build safe communities for everyone, particularly people of color?

Made in the Image of God: Respecting the Dignity of LGBTQ People (Page 11)

All people have inherent dignity because everyone is created in the image of God. Our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender family members, neighbors and co-workers deserve equal rights, and to live without fear or discrimination.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can your faith community more fully support the equal dignity of LGBTQ people in your state and local area?
  2. What are the greatest threats to LGBTQ people in your community and the nation?
  3. As a candidate, what are your specific plans to ensure that LGBTQ people have equal rights and are treated with dignity

The Global Common Good:  We’re All in This Together (Page 12)

What does it mean to love our neighbors as ourselves in a globalized world? The health and future of our country and
communities are interconnected to the health and security of other nations. Our  fates are bound up in what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., called “an inescapable network of mutuality.”

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What policies do you think are most important for creating security for your family and community?
  2. What role should the United States play in the world to help build global peace and security?
  3. How can your faith community advocate for policies to create a more peaceful world?
  4. As a candidate, what programs and policies would you prioritize to help build secure communities and a peaceful world?