Rio Grande Chapter

Fossil-fueled hydrogen projects take us backward in our race to avoid climate catastrophe. 

• • Hydrogen production is already responsible for 3-4% of the world’s carbon emissions — equivalent to that of the UK and Indonesia combined. New Mexico’s discussion draft of Hydrogen Hub legislation includes taxpayer-funded incentives for this type of hydrogen production.
  • Pouring taxpayer dollars into proposed fossil-fueled hydrogen projects would create new reliance on fracked gas that could lock in devastating climate consequences ...
    
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Chapter Executive Committee: Mayane Barudin:  Mayane advocates for inclusive renewable energy policy development and implementation. A proud Indigenous woman and a Tribal member of Kewa Pueblo in New Mexico, Mayane hopes to enable economic prosperity and environmental justice for her community and Indigenous peoples through energy policy reform and statewide solar campaign initiatives. Her work prioritizes environmental and energy justice for historically underserved communities. Mayane started Sovereign Energy as a native-led nonprofit organization to help center Tribal energy sovereignty and ...

Thanks to everyone who voted in the 2021 local elections, and a super big thanks to all of you who got out and worked for the election of our endorsed candidates.  The results were mostly good, but with some disappointments ...

If you live in Albuquerque District 7 or District 9, it’s urgent that you vote! This is a nonpartisan election, but both of the candidates endorsed by the Sierra Club are Democrats running against Republicans.  In the last City runoff election, the Republican vote dropped off 18% from the general election vote, while the Democratic vote dropped off 32%.  That’s the difference between winning and losing these races.  So far, in Rob Grilley’s race, Republicans are outvoting Democrats.  46.7% of ...

Members of the Greater Chaco Coalition are applauding President Joe Biden and Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s announcement to finally address environmental justice and meaningful tribal consultation for the Greater Chaco region by launching a new collaborative landscape level planning process in 2022 with Tribes, elected officials, communities, and stakeholders ...

On November 2, policy experts, frontline leaders, and corporate accountability advocates joined a press briefing to respond to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed new Clean Air Act safeguards to reduce methane and other harmful pollutants from new and existing sources in the oil and natural gas industry which were announced earlier today ...

On November 2, the Environmental Protection Agency released critical new draft rules to reduce methane emissions and other pollution from the oil and gas industry. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Methane is also emitted alongside other harmful pollution that puts communities at risk of serious negative health effects ...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the WCS/ISP high-level “temporary” storage for used fuel rods from commercial nuclear reactors. These fuel cores remain extremely radioactive for a million years, despite objections from both Texas and New Mexico governors. This site is 5 miles from Eunice, NM, the largest nearby city ...

After two years of negotiations, Del Oro Dairy in Anthony, NM, has agreed to several modifications to its original plan to capture polluted shallow groundwater from beneath its facility.  This revised plan is the culmination of efforts between  the New Mexico Environment Department’s Groundwater Quality Bureau, the New Mexico Citizens Dairy Coalition and Del Oro. It represents the hope that this plan spells the end for the shallow-water pollution plume that is already under residential neighborhoods and has been contributing ...

For over 900 miles, the Pecos River stretches from its high-elevation headwaters in the Pecos Wilderness south through Tecolote, Santa Rosa, Roswell, Carlsbad and across the border to Pecos, Texas. It is the life-blood of eastern New Mexico towns, ranches, farms and natural landscapes. Permitted use of the water for industrial development has been low ever since the Terrero Mine and Molino closed in 1950 and was designated as a “Superfund-level” site in 1995. Over $38 million and 20 years of ...