VOTER GUIDE

Testimony on State Methane Rules: Anita Amstutz

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Members and supporters of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light have prepared testimony for hearings held by the Environmental Improvement Board. The hearings, held the week of Sept. 20-24, are in support of the The New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) strong proposal to cut ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane released by the oil and gas industry. This testimony comes from Anita Amstutuz, a memberof the NM-IPL Advisory Board.

I am Rev. Anita Amstutz, speaking from the Mennonite Church tradition, Mountain States Region. I support strong methane rules. 

New Mexico has a methane problem. Oil and gas operations release more than 1.1 million tons of methane each year (That has the same short-term climate impacts as 22 coal-fired power plants or 28 million automobiles.)

 Methane is a powerful climate change pollutant responsible for 25% of the warming we’re experiencing today. Operations release more than 337,500 tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds as well as toxic air pollutants that affect health, especially most vulnerable children and elderly. In the Land of Enchantment, this is not acceptable. Have we become a sacrifice zone?

Methane pollution is a top tier environmental issue in New Mexico. In 2021, the Colorado College’s bipartisan Conservation in the West survey found that 89% of voters support requirements for companies to update equipment and technologies to address methane and air pollution. 

The time is now. As global temperatures soar and violent, catastrophic fires, storms and other natural disasters increase, we must do our part to curb what is destroying our land, soil, air. 

Please address the following: 

  • Protect those living closest to development by requiring more frequent inspections to find and fix leaks.
  • Ensure strong requirements for operators to control pollution during the completion of an oil or gas well or when they redevelop an existing well.
  • Strengthen requirements to cut pollution from pneumatic controllers that are used in oil and gas production. NMED should require companies to inspect pneumatics for leaks and accelerate the timeline to retrofit equipment with zero-bleed or zero-emission pneumatic controllers.

As a long time beekeeper, I am also aware of the devastating climate changes on the insect world and all wildlife. Please do the right thing now. Future generations are depending on your prudence and wisdom. 

Sincerely,

—

Anita Amstutz

Albuquerque, NM

Testimony on State Methane Rules: Ruth Striegel

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Members and supporters of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light have prepared testimony for hearings held by the Environmental Improvement Board. The hearings, held the week of Sept. 20-24, are in support of the The New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) strong proposal to cut ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane released by the oil and gas industry. This testimony comes from Ruth Striegel, co-chair of the NM-IPL board of directors and chair of the advocacy committee.

To the members of the Environmental Improvement Board,

My name is Ruth Striegel. I live in Albuquerque, where I’m a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ, and I serve as a board member of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on methane regulations.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit oil fields around Carlsbad. I met many citizens there who were suffering from asthma, bronchial conditions, rashes and odd cancers that citizens felt could be related to methane and associated gases that they were breathing daily. I was able to see gas escaping from several oil facilities through a FLIR camera, which makes gas emissions visible. I’m asking you to require frequent inspections to find and a leaks to protect the people living near oil and gas facilities. I’m asking you to create strong requirements for operators to control escaping gases during the completion of a well, or redevelopment of an existing well. I am asking your support of strong methane rules to protect health and God’s creation.

People living in oil and gas producing regions should not be made to suffer simply because they live near these wells. More often than not, the people impacted are children, the elderly, our native communities, and those living in rural communities. I’m asking you to enact strong methane regulations to help address health, environmental justice and climate justice concerns that affect people’s lives and the future.  Almost half the native American residents of San Juan County live within a half-mile of a wellsite. A half mile! Think of what it would mean to them to get up in the morning and breathe clean air!

Colorado and other states have enacted regulations curbing methane waste while still allowing for growth in the industry. Methane regulation actually creates jobs in mitigation and manufacturing. Cleaning up our air will result in healthier children, adults, and elders, making our communities stronger and more resilient. The idea that strong regulation will reduce our tax income and take away jobs simply isn’t true. That short-sighted narrative serves only to increase our societal imbalance and make our planet and our communities sicker and less able to cope with a climate, health and economically changing world.

In my faith tradition, we are asked to repent when we’re not living in a life-giving way. The word “repent” means to turn around, change course, and go in a new and better direction. In this time of climate crisis, we are all faced with a moral reckoning, but also the opportunity to head in a new direction, one that seeks to protect without fail the health and wellbeing of our communities. Please, help New Mexico find that new direction by enacting strong methane regulations that protect us all.

Thank you.

 

 

 

Testimony on State Methane Rules: Rhonda Newby-Torres

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Members and supporters of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light have prepared testimony for hearings held by the Environmental Improvement Board. The hearings, held the week of Sept. 20-24, are in support of the The New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) strong proposal to cut ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane released by the oil and gas industry. The following statement comes from Rhonda Newby-Torres, lay pastor at Luther House (Lutheran Campus Ministry for UNM and CNM).

Dear Pamela Jones, NMED, and Governor Lujan Grisham,

I am writing to ask you to protect New Mexicans. 

I am from Carlsbad, NM where you no doubt know that the oil and gas industry is centralized. I have watched the beautiful community of my hometown deteriorate over the last 15 years as the oil and gas industry has “boomed” and created chaos in Carlsbad. It is heartbreaking to watch my home community suffer because of the oil and gas industry.

However, it is far more heartbreaking when my friends and community members die due to the negligence of the oil and gas industry. Two young men who I grew up with both died due to gas leaks at a work cite. In addition, families and communities in Carlsbad are experiencing a multitude of health issues related to the excessive amount of oil and gas wells within the residential communities. 

We must protect our communities from the negligence of the oil and gas industry! Just 1 year ago the  gas cite directly across the street from my parents house exploded in the middle of the night. The fire did not make it to my parents house, but they did have to evacuate for their lives. This kind of negligence is unacceptable.

Finally, New Mexico is experiencing extreme weather conditions and drought. Our climate warming is directly linked to the amount of methane gas released during oil and gas production. We cannot continue this way.

NM needs more frequent inspections to find and fix leaks. We need stronger requirements for operators and we need to strengthen requirements to cut pollution from pneumatic controllers that are used in oil and gas production. 

Thank you for your time, consideration, and action,

Pastor Rhonda Newby-Torres

Lutheran Campus Ministry of New Mexico

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?