Environment New Mexico’s proposed steps to curb global warming include increasing the amount of solar power generation, as well as helping put more clean cars on the road.
|
Scientists agree—global temperatures are increasing, that human activities are the cause, and that further warming is inevitable unless immediate actions are taken to reduce our global warming emissions.
Global warming, which is leading to unpredictable weather patterns, drought, and increased levels of ground-level ozone, is already having profound implications for the state of New Mexico. Increasing temperatures throughout the Southwest have led to smaller snowpacks and earlier snow melts, decreasing available drinking water supplies and increasing the risk of spring flooding, summer droughts, and more intense fire seasons.
With little hope of meaningful federal action, states and cities have become the laboratories of climate policy. New Mexico is in a key position to create an important model to reduce global warming emissions and help shape national policy. During the past year Gov. Bill Richardson convened a Climate Change Advisory Group to develop solutions that will reduce New Mexico’s total greenhouse gas emissions to 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and 75 percent by 2050.
To get to these targets, in April Environment New Mexico released a report titled, “A Blueprint for Action: Policy Options to Reduce New Mexico’s Contribution to Global Warming,” which outlines 15 policy options that would help New Mexico meet the challenge of global warming and significantly reduce emissions in the state.
Curbing global warming pollution
Among these, Environment New Mexico advocates for three concrete steps that will achieve significant global warming emissions reductions:
• Increase Reliance on Clean, Renewable Energy Sources, by expanding the existing Renewable Portfolio Standard to 30 percent, which would increase the percentage of energy generated from renewable sources in the state, and by equipping 50,000 rooftops in the state with solar power. With its abundant solar and wind resources and scientific capacity, New Mexico should be leading the nation as a clean energy state.
• Adopt the Clean Cars Program, which would drastically reduce global warming emissions from vehicle tailpipes and put more advanced-technology, low-polluting vehicles on New Mexico’s roads. Clean cars give New Mexico consumers more choices, while reducing operating costs, thus saving consumers money at the gas pump.
• Promote energy efficiency in the state through the Architecture 2030 Challenge, which will require that all new buildings and renovations be constructed to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 50 percent by 2010 and making all buildings “carbon neutral” by 2030. Increasing building efficiency reduces energy consumption and saves consumers on their utility bills.
Adopting these policies will put New Mexico well on its way to meeting Gov. Richardson’s global warming emissions targets. Achieving these targets will make New Mexico a national leader on global warming and demonstrate that significant change is possible with the technology and information now available.
The best part about these policies is that they are win-win. They reduce our global warming pollution while making New Mexico’s air cleaner, providing technologically-advanced job opportunities, reducing our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, protecting our environment and water supply, and saving consumers money at the gas pump and on their electric bills.
|
