Albuquerque, New Mexico—Today, Environment New Mexico, launched a new campaign calling on congressional candidates to support policies to move America beyond oil and toward a cleaner energy future.
“There is no question that America has the know-how to reduce our dependence on oil and move toward a cleaner, more secure energy future,” said Jeanne Bassett, Executive Director of Environment New Mexico. “We need leaders who support moving America in a new direction that puts our national security, our environment, our global climate, and our children’s futures above Big Oil and other powerful interests,” continued Bassett.
“Our energy predicament requires a conservative response,” said Republicans for Environmental Protection Government Affairs Director David Jenkins. “There is nothing conservative about wasting energy or allowing our nation to be dangerously over dependent on oil. True conservatives in Congress should be willing to step forward and embrace energy policies based on the traditional conservative values of conservation, stewardship and prudence.”
Environment New Mexico is asking all congressional candidates to deliver on the promise of a New Energy Future by committing to support policies that help the U.S. achieve four key goals:
• Reduce U.S. dependence on oil by saving one-third of the oil we use today by 2025; • Harness clean, renewable, homegrown energy sources for at least one quarter of all energy needs by 2025;
• Save energy with high performance homes, buildings and appliances so that by 2025 we use 10 percent less energy than we do today; and
• Invest in a New Energy Future by tripling research and development funding for the energy-saving and renewable technologies we need to achieve these goals.
Environment New Mexico also released a report today showing the benefits of these policies to America’s environment, economy, and national security. Environment New Mexico found that achieving these goals, by 2025 would enable the United States to:
• Save 10.8 million barrels of oil per day, equal to four-fifths of the amount of oil we currently import from all other nations in the world.
• Save 9.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year, nearly twice as much as currently used in all of America’s homes.
• Save 900 million tons of coal per year, or about 80 percent of all the coal consumed in the United States in 2005.
• Save 1.7 billion megawatt-hours of electricity per year, 30 percent more than was used in all the households in America in 2005.
United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard said that Congressional action on A New Energy Future “can spark nothing less than a revolution in domestic job growth and build the foundation of a sustainable economy for our children and generations to come.”
Environment New Mexico today specifically called on Attorney General Patsy Madrid and Congresswoman Heather Wilson in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District to support the goals of a New Energy Future.
“New Mexicans want to put American innovation and ingenuity to work to solve our energy problems,” stated Bassett. “By supporting these goals, Madrid and Wilson can help make the promise of a New Energy Future a reality,” concluded Bassett.
Over the next six weeks, Environment New Mexico will work along side groups across the country to build support for the goals of the New Energy Future in more than 50 of the highest profile congressional races.
The full text of the report and the New Energy Future goals are available at EnvironmentNewMexico.org. Groups in New Mexico supporting the New Energy Future include:
Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy,
Community Action New Mexico,
Conservation Voters of New Mexico,
New Mexico Physicians for Social Responsibility,
New Mexico Public Heath Association,
New Mexico Wildlife Federation,
New World Energy Systems,
Norton Kalishman, MD, Former Chief Medical Officer,
New Mexico Department of Health,
Partnership for Earth Spirituality, and the
Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club.
