We are just a few days away from the November 13-15 hearings in which the Environmental Improvement Board and Albuquerque Bernalillo Air Quality Board will decide whether or not to adopt the proposed Advanced Clean Vehicle Standards. Note: The hearings go until the 15th but there are no public comment opportunities on that final day.
You can make your support to state officials online via this public comment form
Photo: First Presbyterian Church (Santa Fe)
Rev. Harry Eberts, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, added his voice to faith leaders advocating for New Mexico to adopt Advanced Clean Car standards ahead of important hearings in November. Here are excerpts of an opinion piece in the Santa Fe New Mexican (followed by a link to the full op-ed)
As a faith leader and pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, a congregation that is working to reduce our environmental footprint, I believe each of us is called to respond to this moment in ways that move us toward responsibly caring for the gifts of creation we have been given.
I am grateful that in November, New Mexico leaders will be called to such a response as they consider the governor’s recommendation to adopt advanced clean vehicle standards. Updating these standards will require auto and truck manufacturers to deliver an increasing number of electric vehicles for sale in the region, creating jobs, broader accessibility, cleaner air and helping us significantly curb statewide carbon emissions.
Our Environmental Improvement Board and Albuquerque Bernalillo Air Quality Board will have the opportunity to adopt these standards up to 2035 so we are afforded the best chance at making our state healthier and more equitable for all New Mexicans
This opportunity is made even more important because of incoming federal legislation over the next decade that will continue to help create electric vehicle infrastructure, especially charging stations. Such infrastructure is a necessity in our very rural state where many people must travel long distances as a regular part of their lives and work. This is New Mexico’s opportunity to ensure no one is left behind in the transformation and advancement of our transportation systems.
More than 34,000 children in New Mexico live or go to school near oil or gas wells, some telling us this puts their health at risk. According to the state’s oil conservation division, there are many schools in the Northwestern and Southeastern parts of the state that are within a mile of active oil or gas wells.
Thirty-nine environmental, health and advocacy groups throughout the state wrote a joint letter to the governor, saying those wells are putting children’s health at risk, and asking her to create “health buffer zones” to protect them.
Kayley Shoup, with Citizens Caring for the Future, also signed it, and said it’s not fair to children,
“It’s something that these children, they can’t consent to it and it’s just not OK that it’s something that we just take for granted and say, ‘This oil and gas well can be right next to this school because it funds our public schools.’ Right. And that’s just, you know, unconscionable, in my opinion,” Shoup said.
The governor’s press secretary, Caroline Sweeney, sent this statement in response.
“Gov. Lujan Grisham received the letter from groups concerned about oil and gas extraction near schools. As a governor squarely focused on improving the well-being of New Mexico children, she shares their concerns over potential health impacts on children and her administration has taken robust actions to ensure responsible development. She has also directed her administration to actively evaluate avenues for implementing setbacks in the oil patch.”