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Letter to the Editor published in Albuquerque Journal, December 11, 2007
Push for 'Green-Collar' Economy
SEVERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS in recent weeks demonstrate the need for a major paradigm shift in how our state optimizes our opportunities for a new "green collar" energy economy.
PNM has announced layoffs of hundreds of workers, our national laboratories are desperately in search of new missions, and Sen. Pete Domenici announced that 500,000 employees in the energy economy will retire in the next five to 10 years.
Each of these revelations represents a fundamental opportunity for our state to strive toward transforming our economic struggles into a "green collar" economy. A green collar economy is one that produces good jobs in industries that clean up the air and water, reduce our impact on the global environment, save consumers money on their energy bills, and help manufacture, construct and operate clean energy- solar and wind- development.
The Apollo Alliance estimates that in the next 10 years more than $1 billion of economic activity and about 16,000 new jobs could be created in New Mexico. ...
We have tremendous potential in the new "green collar" clean energy economy and our state leadership must clear the path for that paradigm shift in our Land of Enchantment.
JAVIER BENAVIDEZ Albuquerque
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October 22, 2007
NEWS RELEASE
Conservation Voters New Mexico Hires New Outreach Director
(Santa Fe, NM) – Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM), a nonpartisan, non-profit 501c(4) organization working to “protect New Mexico’s natural environment and cherished way of life,” has hired Javier Benavidez as the organization’s Outreach Director.
“I am grateful about the opportunity to work for the very deep-rooted cause of protecting the well-being of the ‘Land of Enchantment’ in which I was raised,” said Benavidez. “Everybody at CVNM shares a passion and reverence for the New Mexican peoples’ unique spiritual and cultural relationship with our environment and we use our political strategy to defend those values.”
CVNM educates legislators and the public on critical conservation issues, lobbies on behalf of pro-conservation legislation, holds legislators accountable for decisions that impact the environment and endorses and elects pro-conservation candidates to public office. Through his work as outreach director, Benavidez hopes to enhance the relevance of conservation in the eyes of the general public, the media and political decision-makers affecting New Mexico’s environmental well-being.
”Javier brings fresh insight, expertise, and enthusiasm to CVNM,” said Sandy Buffett, CVNM Executive Director. “With his dedication, CVNM will help move our New Mexico values into state priorities.”
Benavidez previously served as a policy analyst in the Albuquerque City Council office with City Councilor Martin Heinrich, who is leaving the Council at the end of November to run for an open seat on the United States House of Representatives. Benavidez holds a B.S. in Political Science from Santa Clara University and is near completion of two masters’ degrees at the University of New Mexico; one in Public Administration and another in Community and Regional Planning. He also serves on the boards of various organizations including 1000 Friends of New Mexico, the Southwest Organizing Project, the Sawmill Community Land Trust, and co-hosts a weekly radio show on KUNM 89.9FM highlighting grassroots public affairs throughout New Mexico.
For further information, contact Javier Benavidez at (505) 315-3596 / javier@cvnm.org or Sandy Buffett at (505) 992-8683 / sandy@cvnm.org.
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June 25th, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Sandy Buffett, CVNM Executive Director 505-270-5743
To view the PDF Scorecard, click here
Conservation Voters NM Releases Annual Scorecard of NM Legislature
“Heroes” and “Zeros” of conservation highlighted
Santa Fe, NM. Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) released its annual Legislative Scorecard. The Scorecard provides information about the conservation voting records of all members of the 48th Legislature of the State of New Mexico.
“Our legislative scorecard lets the citizens of New Mexico ‘Know the Score’ about their legislators’ conservation voting records,” stated Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of CVNM. “New Mexicans can learn if their legislators are working to protect our communities and natural landscapes, or if they are voting to protect special interests that pollute our water, land and air, and diminish our quality of life. Citizens can use the scorecard to hold legislators accountable for their environmental votes.”
CVNM’s 100% Club, 2007:
These champion legislators earned a perfect (100%) conservation record for the 2007 session:
Representative Elias Barela (HD 8, Valencia County)
Representative Miguel Garcia (HD 14, Albuquerque)
Representative Joni Gutierrez (HD 33, Mesilla)
Representative Antonio Lujan (HD 35, Las Cruces)
Representative Rick Miera (HD 11, Albuquerque)
Representative Mimi Stewart (HD 21, Albuquerque)
Representative Peter Wirth (HD 47, Santa Fe)
Lowest Scores in 2007:
• Representative James Strickler 0% (HD 2, Farmington)
• Senator Mark Boitano 10% (SD 18, Albuquerque)
The most significant highlights of the 2007 session included the passage of the Surface Owners’ Protection Act and a package of tax credits and policies to promote renewable energy. The Scorecard also provides a “play by play” account of how the Desert Rock tax subsidy bill was defeated during the session, and highlights the courage of the “Heroes” of the Desert Rock fight.
Lowlights of the Session included the defeat of the NM Environmental Health Act and the introduction of the Administrative Accountability Act, which sought to severely hinder state regulation. The Legislature also failed to pass major water policy reforms, including the proposal to make the State Engineer’s water supply recommendations for new subdivisions binding (SB 693), or the proposal to close a regulatory loophole by extending the jurisdiction of the State Engineer to water deeper than 2,500 feet below the surface (SB 1169).
Other Highs & Lows:
• Representative Kathy McCoy is the highest-scoring Republican, with a 69%.
• The lowest scoring Democrat is Senator Timothy Jennings with a 36%.
Average 2007 Conservation Scores:
• House: 56%, Senate 52%
• House Democrats: 78%, House Republicans: 23%
• Senate Democrats: 52%, Senate Republicans: 29%
Governor Richardson Scores an “A”
The CVNM Scorecard recognizes Governor Bill Richardson with a solid “A” for his commitment to protecting the environment. The Governor weighed in behind a strong renewable energy agenda in 2007 and exercised his veto power on several anti-conservation measures, including a line-item veto of $945,000 for “Gila basin water development”, and a pocket-veto of SB 220 that would have provided a de facto $6.9 million subsidy to the coal industry.
The CVNM Legislative scores reflect votes cast on the floor and in committee on the most important conservation issues facing the Legislature. Descriptions of the bills and the recommended pro-conservation position are included on pp. 8-9 of the Scorecard. CVNM scored legislators on the following bills:
• HB 178/ SB 431 Navajo Nation Electric Facility Tax Credits (aka “Desert Rock”)
• HB 318 Power Plant Mercury Emission Controls
• HB 386 Oil and Gas Operation Emissions Standards
• HB 431 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting & Fee
• HB 433/ SB 309 Land, Wildlife, & Clean Energy Act
• HB 685 Administrative Accountability Act
• HB 827 Surface Owners Protection Act
• HB 859 Cesspool Elimination Assistance Act
• HB 888/ SB 880 NM Environmental Health Act
• HM 28 Address Threat by Grey Wolves
• SB 220 Eliminate Coal Surtax
• SB 418 Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards
• SB 489 Require Biodiesel in Motor Vehicle Fuel
• SB 693 State Engineer Permits for Subdivisions
• SB 880 Campaign Reporting Requirements
• SB 845 “Above Ground Storage Tank” Definition
• SB 1079 Release of Wolves in NM
• SB 1169 Declaration of Water from Deep Aquifers
• SJM Nuclear Energy & Uranium Resources
• SJM 54 Study Need for Agricultural Districts
“We encourage all New Mexicans to contact their legislators—if they have a strong conservation score, say ‘thanks’. If they have a poor score, write or call them to express your concern,” stated Buffett. “Ask them to protect New Mexico for future generations.”
CVNM is a nonpartisan, 501(c)4 nonprofit that works to make sensible conservation policies a top priority for elected officials, political candidates and voters across the state.
To view the PDF Scorecard, click here
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