Op-Ed: Clean Cars standards benefit rural New Mexicans

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In support of the Clean Cars and Trucks rulemaking beginning today, this opinion piece by Joseph Hernandez, Indigenous Energy Organizer, Naeva and Susan Nedell, E2 Mountain West Advocate, appeared in both the Farmington Daily Times and the Santa Fe New Mexican (and possibly other newspapers).
Bere ks a excerpt:

We need to take action, and that starts with supporting the state’s clean vehicles initiative in November 13-15 public hearings held by the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board. 

Transportation pollution ranks second highest in the state behind pollution from the extraction and production of oil and gas. 

This pollution fuels climate change and extreme heat and devastation from wildfires, as well as rising ozone levels—which are high in San Juan County—that exacerbate respiratory diseases, asthma and premature mortality, especially among vulnerable New Mexicans, children, older people and those living near transportation corridors. 

And while some might think clean vehicle standards are just for big cities, the benefits extend well into rural areas like the four corners of our state, including the Farmington area. 

Soul Searching Podcast Examines Climate Change, Electric Vehicles

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In his podcast Soul Searching, Rabbi Neil Amswych from Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe interviewed Camilla Feibelman from the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter.

Here is an excerpt followed by a link to the full podcast.

Rabbi Amswych Since you mentioned global climate change…one of the most obvious ways is through the way that we travel. I read a recent survey that said SUVs release more CO2 than the old small cars that we assumed pollute.  Does this kind of thing, the pollution of cars. is this something on the radar of the Sierra Club?

Camilla Feibelman Absolutely.  If you look at greenhouse gas emissions that we generate in New Mexico, by far and large the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses is the oil and gas industry. They emit  53 percent of all of New Mexico’s greenhouse gasses. That’s before the oil and gas is even burned. That’s just during the extraction phase.  The second biggest category of pollution is transportation. And that’s because there are so many vehicles, so many trucks, so many heavy trucks, and each one of those is an individual source of pollution, not only to drive climate change but also that really impact community health for people who live along our highways and go to school along those roadways.

Videos from our Webinar: Are There Really Pennies from Heaven?

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In Part 1,,Tiffany Hartung, national Interfaith Power and Light’s Chief Strategy Officer, discussed how congregations in New Mexico and elsewhere can get money from the federal government for your solar panel installation and other renewable energy projects.


In Part 2, we examine the energy assistance related to the Tierra del Sol project and IPL New Mexico & El Paso’s energy audits. Tiffany Hartung and others answer questions.