I was in Washington D.C. last week with a coalition of organizations including NM Interfaith Power & Light, NMCC, and the Sierra Club. We were lobbying our elected officials on the EPA’s proposed limits on methane emissions. About 40 people from across the country flew in to D.C. for two crammed days of education and advocacy. There were four of us from New Mexico, including
Alex Renirie with the Sierra Club in New Mexico, Daniel Tso from the Navajo Nation, and Gloria Lehmer, and activist from Farmington.
You’ve probably seen news about the giant methane cloud over the four corners area. This cloud represents high rates of asthma, increased risk of low birth weight in infants, and increased rates of cardio-vascular disease. Lehmer shared photos of methane flares around Farmington and the dead landscape behind her house, surrounding an old methane vent. While methane occurs naturally, fracturing for natural gas releases huge amounts of methane into the environment. We met a mother and daughter from Wyoming who had to l
eave their family farm after everyone in their family and their new calves became ill. Activists from the MHA Nation in North Dakota talked about the devastation to their ancestral lands and to the health of their people. The rate of methane emissions and the havoc it wreaks was overwhelming.
There are currently no limits on methane emissions in the U.S. As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the EPA is proposing common sense limits to protect the environment and our communities. So, we fanned out across D.C. to let our legislators know that we support this proposal. The four of us from NM were able to meet with Senators Udall and Heinrich and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, as well as members of their staffs. We also met with staff from Rep. Ben Ray Lujan’s office. It is encouraging to know that our Congressional Delegation is already on board with the EPA’s proposal, and in fact wrote to the Office of Management and Budget last summer to encourage quick release of the proposal.
We will continue to watch developments over the coming months. The President is including these proposed limits as part of the U.S.’s pledge at the upcoming Climate Change Conference
in Paris next month. We hope that Congress will support and expand these efforts for the sake of our communities and those around the world. If you’d like to know more, please follow the links in blue. You can help by writing to our Congressional delegation and thanking them for their support, and also contacting your state legislators to encourage them to speak out in favor of the EPA’s proposed rule.