Clean Energy News

Environment New Mexico, along with a diverse coalition of religious, republican and Native American organizations, today unveiled the ten best opportunities to move America beyond fossil fuels and toward a cleaner, more secure energy future.

The report was presented at Saint Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque. "Our goal is to help educate people of faith on the concern of global warming and engage them to put faith into action for Care of God's Creation." stated Sister Joan Brown,osf, Interfaith Power and Light. "Putting faith into action takes many forms, including St. Thomas of Canterbury's choice to purchase the maximum amount of wind energy energy possible from PNM's Sky Blue program, accounting for 90 percent of the church's energy needs."

The list is based on Environment New Mexico’s new report The Road to a New Energy Future, which highlights numerous technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. It is the second of two reports that reinforce the importance of an American commitment to moving toward a cleaner and more secure energy future.

“With war in the middle east, volatile gas prices, and the gathering storm of global warming, America needs a new energy future,” said Kristen Dillon, Field Organizer with Environment New Mexico. “We cannot afford to pass up any of these golden opportunities,” continued Dillon.

“Solar energy is a clean, renewable, homegrown alternative to the destruction caused by oil and coal extraction on Sacred Lands,” said Sonny Weahkee of the Sage Council. “Solar photovoltaic panels placed on just 7 percent of the area currently covered by cities and residences could generate all of America’s electricity,” Weahkee continued.

Environment New Mexico’s report shows that the U.S. already has the tools to accomplish the goals of reducing U.S. dependence on oil; harnessing clean, renewable, homegrown energy; and saving energy with high performance homes, buildings and appliances.

“Republicans for Environmental Protection is committed to preserving both our earth and our economy for current and future generations,” said Chapter Director Scott MacCurdy. “Harnessing the homegrown energy of our farms by getting fuel from plant waste and energy crops to create clean fuels for our vehicles will help do exactly that,” MacCurdy concluded.

Identified by Environment New Mexico as the Ten Best Opportunities for a New Energy Future were:

- Hybrid vehicles. Vehicles already exist that go 100 miles on a gallon of gas.

- “Zero Energy” homes. Build homes that can generate as much energy as they use by combining energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy such as solar-panels.

- Industrial motor efficiency. The use of high-efficiency motors and better controls in the industrial, electricity generation and commercial sectors could reduce total U.S. electricity demand by as much as 15 to 25 percent.

- Solar heated water. Using roof-mounted solar collectors to heat household water can reduce energy consumption for water heating by about two-thirds and pay for themselves within four to eight years.

- Farm energy. The U.S. already gets about 3 percent of its energy from “biomass” -- plant waste and energy crops which can be obtained from a variety of sources, from forestry industry residues to crop residues to dedicated energy crops.

- Harness the wind. The wind that blows through America’s Great Plains could theoretically generate enough electricity to power the entire country. The cost of wind turbines has declined by approximately 90 percent in the last 20 years and wind now cost-competitive with fossil fuel electricity generation in many parts of the country.

- Capture the power of the sun. The potential for electricity from solar energy in the United States is huge; Solar photovoltaic panels, or PV panels, placed on just 7 percent of the area currently covered by cities and residences could generate all of America’s electricity. The price of solar energy has dropped dramatically over the last two decades.

- Change light bulbs. Lighting accounts for about 9 percent of household electricity consumption. If every American household replaced its most highly used incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, total household lighting consumption could be cut in half.

- Capture the heat of the earth. The natural heat and hot water contained deep within the earth itself provides a renewable source of energy. More than one million geothermal heat pumps are currently in use in the United States, but there is great potential for expansion in the market.

- Put a stake in the heart of the energy vampires. Replacing existing appliances with those that minimize the energy wasted by “standby” power use could reduce energy losses by 68 percent.

Environment New Mexico today also called on all Congressional candidates in New Mexico to support the goals of a New Energy Future.

“The opportunity for a New Energy Future is knocking and New Mexicans are calling on our leaders to answer,” said Dillon. “We need a national commitment to put these clean energy tools in the hands of the individuals and businesses that will build our energy future,” continued Dillon.

More than 280 environmental, consumer, labor, and civic groups nationwide have endorsed the New Energy Future platform to take advantage of these opportunities to reduce oil use, promote the use of renewable energy, and help Americans save energy. Groups in New Mexico supporting the New Energy Future platform include:

Architecture 2030

Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy

Community Action New Mexico

Conservation Voters of New Mexico

National Environmental Trust

New Mexico Physicians for Social Responsibility

New Mexico Public Health 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

Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club

The full text of the report and the New Energy Future goals are available at http://www.environmentnewmexico.org.

### Environment New Mexico is the new home of NMPIRG’s environmental work. We focus on protecting New Mexico’s air, water and open spaces. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.