NMIPL IN THE NEWS

Faith in Action: Addressing Links Among Climate Change, Poverty, Migration

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New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light is among the more than 300 organizations from the U.S., Central America and Mexico to participate in Faith in Action, a global campaign that seeks to draw a link among climate change, poverty and the root causes of migration, immigration and refugees.  Stay engaged via action alerts from Faith in Action

Join Faith in Action on Thursday, January 14,  at 12p PT /1p MT /2p CT / 3p ET for its  monthly Root Causes Initiative call.  Organizers will use that time to share updates on the campaign’s progress, assess new opportunities given the results of the Senate races in Georgia, and plan our strategy to achieve important policy changes in the first 100 days of the new Biden administration.  Register for the call.

Sign and share this online petition urging President-elect Biden to change U.S. policy toward Central America, to address the root causes of poverty, unemployment, climate change, corruption, and violence that force so many people from the region to leave home and migrate north.

NM House, Senate Members Propose Environmental Rights Initiative

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(January 11, 2020) Santa Fe, NM:  New Mexico leaders are applauding the Joint Resolution pre-filed Monday, January 4, by Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Senator Bill Soules, and Representative Joanne Ferrary to amend the New Mexico Constitution in order to add enforceable environmental rights.  Senator Mimi Stewart, Senator Harold Pope, Jr, Representative Tara Luján and Representative Andrea Romero are signing on as co-sponsors in support.   The Joint Resolution proposing the amendment was pre-filed by the sponsors on the first day legislators could pre-file their legislative proposals for the 2021 legislative session.

The Joint Resolution proposes amending the state constitution’s Bill of Rights to recognize and protect the rights of all of the people of New Mexico “to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, healthy ecosystems, and a stable climate, and to the preservation of the natural, cultural, scenic and healthful qualities of the environment”; to ensure these rights are protected for present and future generations; and to designate all the state’s government officials as trustees of the natural resources of the state constitutionally obligated to “conserve, protect, and maintain” them.  If passed, the new language would replace the language currently found in Article XX Section 21 which environmental leaders believe has failed to provide the enforceable environmental protections its original supporters had intended.

“New Energy Economy expresses sincere gratitude to our true representative leaders like Senators Sedillo Lopez, Soules, Pope, Senator Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, and Representatives Ferrary, Luján and Romero who are championing the Green Amendment, a self-executing provision in our New Mexico Constitution that will provide individuals and communities with the legal right to protect our water, land and air from contamination. The Green Amendment, like other Constitutional Amendments will grant us inalienable rights, and require the preservation and protection of our beloved home for future generations,” said Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director of New Energy Economy.

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Adopting a Green Amendment for NM

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Community Health, Pure Water, Clean Air, Healthy Environment for Present & Future Generations: Adopting a Green Amendment for NM

What is a Green Amendment?

A New Mexico Green Amendment will recognize and protect the human rights of all our people, including future generations, to healthy water, air and environments including the human health and cultural benefits they provide. A Green Amendment added to the bill of rights of the New Mexico constitution will allow us to honor our sacred trust to care for our earth and future generations, and to equitably protect the rights of all people to access and benefit from healthy environments. Since all life is dependent upon clean air, pure water, a stable climate and healthy environments, it is appropriate and just that we would recognize and protect environmental rights as powerfully as we protect other fundamental civil and political rights such as free speech and freedom of religion. The constitutional environmental rights amendment (i.e. the New Mexico Green Amendment) sets guidelines for working toward a cleaner environment and also empowers communities to hold officials accountable to these standards.  Learn More

Carlsbad Current Argus. Sep. 3, 2020 New Mexico finalizes oil and gas wastewater regulations, lawmakers hear testimony (Rev. Nick King Quoted)

Las Cruces Sun-News,  Aug. 19, 2020, Report on solving climate crisis brings hope (Co-authored by Michael Sells, Clara Sims and Edith Yanez)

Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug. 15, 2020 Vote your values this November  (Commentary by Larry Rasmussen and Tabitha Arnold)