Rev. Nick King Letter Urges EPA to Ban Flaring, Venting of Methane

/in , , , , , /by

(The Albuquerque Journal printed this letter from Rev. Nicholas King, pastor of Albuquerque Mennonite Church, on Tuesday, January 11, 2022).

As a Christian pastor, I stand with a growing movement of faith leaders who are concerned with issues like air pollution and climate change. It is our duty to stand up for the gift of this Earth that God has bestowed upon us as well as for the welfare of the communities around oil and gas facilities and the workers inside them. 

It is the responsibility of each of us to protect the planet with every small action that affects it. This is why I’m grateful for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent steps to regulate methane and other dangerous emissions from oil and gas facilities across the country.

The venting and flaring of methane at oil and gas facilities is regulated by the EPA, which recently released a proposal that would cut methane and other harmful pollutants from new and existing oil and gas operations. The proposal will also reduce methane waste from leaks at roughly one million oil and gas wells currently operating across the country.  While a great start, these rules must go further to protect frontline communities like mine. 

The EPA must follow in the footsteps of New Mexico and ban this wasteful, routine flaring and venting, because emissions do not know state or national borders, and those of us in the Permian Basin are affected by a lack of regulation from other states. The banning of routine venting and flaring will mean that the health of the workers, who are caught in the middle of trying to make a living while working in polluted circumstances, as well as our national parks and neighborhoods, will be more protected from pollution.

Life is precarious, and nature is, too. In thinking only about economics, we can become so short-sighted that we can end up poisoning our workers, neighbors, and the very air we breathe. That’s one of the many reasons I promote love and concern for all our world and for our children, and why I partner with organizations that protect our public lands, like the National Parks Conservation Association. Together, we work to make sure our national parks and surrounding communities are protected from air pollution and the effects of climate change.

New Mexico’s national parks and heritage sites, like Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Chaco, and Bandelier are the perfect symbol of God’s creation and human history in this world. They are sacred gifts we want to protect from the damages of air pollution and methane flares for generations to come. How we cherish our national parks is indicative of what we believe in and where we are going as a country; uplifting and protecting them sets a standard for the rest of the world to rise up to.  

God’s creation is our inheritance on this Earth, and we must look past our own noses and economic interests to protect our gift of nature. New Mexico has already dedicated itself to preserving our public lands by abolishing methane flares; we must take that dedication further by not only supporting the EPA proposal, but also by pushing the EPA and Congress to continue to make our air, public lands, and conditions for our facility workers safe. In doing so, we glorify God in our care for the creation with which we have all been entrusted.

New Mexicans Testify at EPA Hearing: Joan Brown, OSF

/in , , , /by

EPA Methane Pollution rules hearing statement, November 30, 2021

Joan Brown, Franciscan Sister and Executive Director, NM & El Paso Region  Interfaith Power & Light

My name is Joan Brown, I am a Franciscan Sister and Executive Director of New Mexico and El Paso Region Interfaith Power and Light living in Albuquerque.  Thank  you for this hearing and for putting forth rules that will address existing and new oil and gas facilities regarding methane.

I work with faith leaders and people of faith and conscience all over the state and we have been working to get strong methane rules for nearly 10 years. During this time we have worked in solidarity with frontline communities, where live many racially diverse people on the economic margins and they are disproportionatly suffering from health problems and the effects of climate change.

I have gone into the field with faith leaders where we wear air masks because the air is so bad. We have visited homes, including African American families in the Permian Basin who have foul air coming into their homes from nearby wells where there are violations we have seen with infrared cameras.

We need strong rules and we need them now. In 2015 at the UN Climate meeting Pope Francis said we were on a climate suicidal path.  We are still on that path, only it has gotten worse.  St. Francis of Assisi centuries ago wrote to civic leaders to care for the common good. All in leadership and regulatory agencies are still delegated to an ethical and moral standard to care for the common good and our Sacred Creation and Common Home.

We need these improvements:

  • Stronger regulations for unlit flares. We have experienced so many flares first hand.
  • More frequent inspections and oversight, this is something the frontline communities keep asking for
  • A ban on routine flaring and vigilance to keep out potential loopholes
  • Smaller facilities must be help accountable there is a cumulative effect to this pollution that does not know boundaries.

These elements would assist the health of frontline communities; help us address climate change; protect species and future generations.

Finally, I have been in the hospital the last week with my sister who is going on hospice. This has given me time to think about our Sacred Planet and community of life who are being put on hospice. People of faith and faith leaders in NM and the El Paso region are now wondering why they still need to show up and speak at hearings, try to work on legislation that does not seem to address the greatest ethical and moral challenge of our day, climate justice.  While they are still showing up they now state that they need to be hospice workers and chaplains for our dying planet, the grieving young people, the depressed many, and the species being extincted yearly.  Our work is to be of hope and life and yet now we are moving into hospice mode.

The book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for every purpose under heaven. We have been in the time to take action for some time now.  We need strong rules and more.  Thank you for your work and peace this day.

Host a Screening of Mission: Joy

/in , , , /by

A Thank You gift from IPL to you!

PL is grateful to our congregations and supporters and is offering this fabulous film as a token of our appreciation this Thanksgiving.

Screening dates will be November 19 – December 2. You will be able to view it online at home through IPL registration.

“Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Mission: Joy is a documentary with unprecedented access to the unlikely friendship of two international icons who transcend religion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu. In their final joint mission, these self-described mischievous brothers give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. They offer neuroscience-backed wisdom to help each of us live with more joy, despite circumstances.

Inspired by the New York Times bestseller The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film showcases the exchange between these two Nobel Peace Prize winners that led to that book.”

REGISTER HERE