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A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. blocked the Trump Administration’s suspension of EPA standards that keep the oil and gas industry’s pollution out of the air our children breathe ...
Hop on board with Global Warming Express

You might have heard of Global Warming Express, the award-winning New Mexico program by and for kids that was the driving force behind bag-free Santa Fe and the Acequia Madre solar shade structure; maybe you saw these kids testify at the Roundhouse or at EPA hearings about coal mining on public lands.

Now the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and Global Warming Express are working to join forces to offer more kids the excellent after-school program created by Global Warming Express.

Our small chapter’s executive committee approved this project with one big condition: We must raise $35,000 by July 15.

We have $15,420 already pledged. Please contribute to help Global Warming Express reach more kids. If we don’t reach our ...

Global Warming Express

A round of applause to our kid-lead climate change activists in Santa Fe, Global Warming Express ...
NM Groups Glad Methane-Waste Rule is Safe, for Now
Albuquerque, NM - Last week, with three Republicans siding with Democrats, the U.S. Senate narrowly halted a bid to overturn the Bureau of Land Management's natural-gas waste rule. But that doesn't mean the rule's fate has been decided. Comments from Mona Blaber (BLAY-ber), communications coordinator, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter ...
Huge victory: Senate majority refuses to revoke climate-saving methane rule

For immediate release: May 10, 2017

Contact: Mona Blaber, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter communications,
505-660-5905, monablaber@gmail.com

Today, every Senate Democrat and three Republicans voted down a procedural vote that would have paved the way for revoking a Bureau of Land Management rule to prevent leaking and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands.

In response, the Sierra Club released the following statements:

From Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune:

“Today is a victory for our public lands and for the health of families across America, and a defeat for Donald Trump, corporate polluters, and their friends on Capitol Hill. Protecting our communities and our public lands from ...

Photo of PNM's San Juan Coal Fired Generator Plant for the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter website

For immediate release: April 21, 2017

In response to PNM’s proposal to eliminate coal from its energy portfolio by 2031, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Director Camilla Feibelman released the following statement:

“PNM’s announcement that early retirement of San Juan and Four Corners coal plants will save customers money is a clear demonstration that coal is no longer economically sustainable.

Across the nation, utilities are planning early retirements for coal plants, including San Juan, Four Corners and Navajo Generating Station, because coal is simply being outcompeted by less-expensive sources, including wind, solar and energy efficiency.

We must take this economic shift seriously and examine how we can support workers and the communities that have lived in the ...

tell EPE no to rate hikes

By Robert Moss,
Eco El Paso board member

In February 2017, El Paso Electric (EPE) yet again filed to increase rates in its Texas service region.

It was only in August that the company completely withdrew its proposed fees on solar in Texas. But following a couple of highly profitable quarters, it is again seeking a rate increase. Their residential customers and the citizens’ advocates for living sustainably, Eco El Paso, are weary of fighting but believe we must in order to assure fairness in Texas.

El Paso Electric continues to assert that the solar residential customers receiving service under net-metering laws in both Texas and New Mexico are not paying their fair share for the use of the ...

Sierra Club intervenes in PNM rate case

By Mona Blaber, 
Chapter communications coordinator

Late last year, PNM filed a case seeking to increase electricity rates by an average of about 14% — right on the heels of another rate increase approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission in August.

PNM’s application included requests for spending on large capital projects at the San Juan and Four Corners coal plants. These coal plants are becoming increasingly uncompetitive compared to other available sources of generation, such as wind and solar. Indeed, in March, PNM announced that its latest planning studies show that the San Juan plant will be uneconomic to run past 2022 (see related article).

Despite these clear economic signals, not to mention the harmful public health and environmental consequences ...