Tag: New Mexico

  • National Groups Announce Endorsement of State Sen. Antoinette Sedillo López in NM-01

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    March 25, 2021

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, Oil Change U.S., collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Brett Hartl, Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund,     bretthartl [at] centeractionfund.org
    Sam Bernhardt, Food & Water Action, sbernhardt [at] fwwatch.org
    Alan Minsky, Progressive Democrats of America, alan [at] pdamerica.org
    Zanagee Artis, Zero Hour, zanagee [at] thisiszerohour.org

    National Groups Announce Endorsement of State Sen. Antoinette Sedillo López in NM-01

    WASHINGTON, DC — Today, five national environmental and progressive groups representing tens of thousands of New Mexico voters announced their endorsement of State Senator Antoinette Sedillo López for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional district. The groups announcing their endorsement of Sedillo López include the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Food & Water Action, Oil Change U.S., Progressive Democrats of America, and Zero Hour. 

    Brett Hart, political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, said: 

    “Antoinette shares Deb Haaland’s environmental vision, one that puts people and our environment first. She will be a champion for wildlife, a champion for clean air and water, and a tireless advocate to save our climate from the ravages caused by the fossil fuel industry.” 

    Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Action, said: 

    “Senator Sedillo López has demonstrated time and again a fierce advocacy for environmental justice issues and a bold willingness to stand up to the fossil fuel industry. She will bring the same tenacity and concern for her constituents in Congress as she has done for her district as a New Mexico state senator. New Mexicans need a fighter on their side who will stand up for what is right, and they’ve found a champion in Antoinette Sedillo López.”

    Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S., said: 

    “We need Antoinette Sedillo López’s visionary leadership in Congress. As a state senator she’s been a tireless advocate for communities impacted by the fossil fuel industry’s greed, rejecting industry money and working for an equitable transition beyond oil and gas. Senator Sedillo López will be a worthy successor to Secretary Deb Haaland, carrying on the mantle of progressive and environmental leadership for New Mexicans.”

    Alan Minsky, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America, said: 

    “As she proved in the New Mexico State Senate, Antoinette Sedillo López is an unwavering advocate for the people and the planet. Her policy positions — rooted in years of advocacy work in her community, and grounded by a deep commitment to economic, environmental, and social justice — are a template for the transformative politics we need in the 21st century. Sedillo López will be an excellent successor to Deb Haaland in Congress.”

    Zanagee Artis, Policy Director of Zero Hour, said: 

    “Zero Hour knows that Senator Sedillo López will carry forward a bold vision of nationwide renewable energy and an end to fossil fuel reliance as a member of Congress. Antoinette Sedillo López will be a champion for young people in pushing forward the Green New Deal that New Mexicans and youth across the nation need for a livable future. Young people need her in the halls of the U.S. Congress.”

    ###

    The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for legislation and legislators that will advance a progressive environmental agenda. The Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Center for Biological Diversity, but these organizations’ names are not interchangeable. This news release is from the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, not the Center for Biological Diversity.

    Food & Water Action mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

    Oil Change U.S. is dedicated to supporting real climate leadership, exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. 

    Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is a national grassroots organization operating both inside and outside of the Democratic Party advocating for peace, social justice, and policies that seriously address the climate emergency. 

    Zero Hour is a youth-led movement creating entry points, training, and resources for new young activists and organizers (and adults who support our vision) wanting to take concrete action around climate change. Together, we are a movement of unstoppable youth organizing to protect our rights and access to the natural resources and a clean, safe, and healthy environment that will ensure a livable future where we not just survive, but flourish.

  • Oil Change U.S. Responds to Additional Biden Selections on Climate, Energy

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    December 17, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Responds to Additional Biden Selections on Climate, Energy

    Multiple news outlets have now confirmed the selection of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) as President-Elect Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior. This follows other key energy and climate selections by Biden’s Transition Team throughout the week.

    In response to these announcements, Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S., released the following statement:

    “Rep. Deb Haaland’s selection as Secretary of the Interior is a victory for Indigenous communities who have been resisting the colonization and exploitation of their land and lives for hundreds of years. It’s also a win for Indigenous leaders and progressives who’ve been relentlessly pushing Joe Biden to follow through on his campaign promises and build an adminstration that will confront the climate crisis and prioritize environmental justice.

    “Rep. Haaland has a long record of standing up to fossil fuel giveaways and opposing disastrous projects like the Dakota Access oil pipeline. We look forward to a champion for climate justice leading a key department to kickstart an end to the expansion of the fossil fuel industry and implement a just transition for workers and communities.

    “This nomination continues Biden’s rejection of top candidates with fossil fuel ties, and follows the selection of bold leaders like Gina McCarthy, Brenda Mallory, and Jennifer Granholm to head other parts of his energy and climate teams.

    “Taken together, it’s clear Biden is listening and responding to public pressure to go bold on climate, environmental justice, and racial equity. This week’s launch of the nationwide Build Back Fossil Free campaign will continue to build that pressure and uplift frontline resistance to deadly fossil fuel projects and environmental injustice.”

    ###

    Notes to Editors

    – Oil Change U.S. previously responded to Biden’s selection of Jennifer Granholm as Secretary of Energy and Gina McCarthy as domestic “climate czar”: https://oilchangeus.org/response-biden-cabinet-energy-climate

    – Today, dozens of leading progressive groups launched the Build Back Fossil Free campaign to pressure Biden and his appointees to take bold action to confront the fossil fuel industry and fulfill his promises on climate change, environmental justice, and racial equity: https://buildbackfossilfree.org

    – In September, 145 organizations sent a letter to the Biden campaign opposing all fossil fuel-connected appointees: https://oilchangeus.org/biden-personnel-letter

    – In November, advocates launched a dedicated website opposed to Ernest Moniz and other fossil fuel representatives serving in a Biden administration: https://nomoniz.org

  • Very Little in the Permian Basin Makes Sense

    Originally posted from Oil Change International at priceofoil.org.

    Day one of a three day tour of the Permian Basin. We’re in the south east corner of New Mexico, close to the boomtown of Carlsbad. The first area we looked at, north east of the city, is an area of public state and federal land that was first drilled decades ago in the previous boom. Today, new wells are being drilled and fracked, and old ones are being worked over to stimulate more production.

    Pump jacks are everywhere. I mean literally everywhere, sometimes just a few tens of feet apart. The tanks containing oil and produced water stand close by. Many of these are in bad condition. Oil stains the sides of the tanks and the surrounding ground. Some of them are not operating anymore, and they just stand there rusting away. 

    We’re traveling with Sharon Wilson, also known as #TexasSharon and Nathalie Eddy, both with Earthworks. Sharon is a veteran of the fracking fight going back to the early days of the Barnett Shale boom. She’s a trained expert with a gas imaging camera, which she points at the tanks and flares to see the invisible gases, methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pouring out. Pretty much all of them are leaking. Some of this is routine and allowable under the permits. Some are leaking way beyond the permit. The air is thick with sulfurous fumes.

    This is mostly public land. Resource extraction is part of the public lands mandate, so is grazing, recreation and wilderness protection. But there’s really only one thing going on here. In this area, it’s been going on for decades. Any pretense that this will be cleaned up and restored appears abandoned, like the pump jacks and tanks that are strewn around. This is public land, and it has been used and abused. No doubt profits were made and perhaps royalties paid. But the side of the bargain that is supposed to preserve the land for future generations, and the integrity of the ecosystem, is not being kept. Make no mention of our climate, of course.

    In the afternoon, we travel south of Carlsbad to see sites that have been recently drilled and fracked. Very close to the city limits we come across large industrial complexes. A maze of tanks, pipes and flares. These are gas processing plants that separate methane gas from the gas liquids such as ethane, propane and butane, which feed the petrochemical complexes and the plastics plants. These are all relatively new. Yet here again, tanks are leaking, flares are poorly lit, and methane and VOCs are clearly visible in the gas imaging camera, flowing into the atmosphere. We see three separate plants, all leaking to some extent.

    flows of methane and VOCs, invisible to the eye, can be seen on the screen of the gas imaging camera

    As we head back to town, we’re drawn toward a number of flares, more visible now as the sky darkens. One is particularly large, a huge ball of flame jumping and dancing erratically into the air. Nathalie is looking for the home of Penny Aucoin, one of the few local residents to have dared raise a voice against the industry that has taken over Carlsbad and the surrounding county. Penny’s home has been inundated with drilling rigs and flares that have sickened her and her family. Nathalie is confused though. She can’t find the house. Have we driven past it?

    We come to the end of the road and there’s a house on the corner. Across the road from the house is the site with the huge gas flare. We get out of the car to take some pictures, the roar of the flare can be heard above the truck traffic, we’re literally in someone’s front yard. Nathalie realizes we passed Penny’s house just a few hundred feet back. The reason is the flare that was directly across the road from Penny’s house the last time Nathalie and Sharon were here has gone, and this one has come up. 

    Later in town, we pull up in the parking lot of a busy brewery and pizza joint. When we get out of the car, we can still see the flare lighting the night sky from several miles away. I check my phone and see a news story in my email. Permian Basin gas flaring has reached record levels, again. Over 750 million cubic feet per day flared in the past 3 months. A second story tells how the CEO of one of the biggest Permian companies is calling on his peers to cut flaring. He says companies should not drill until the infrastructure to take the gas away is in place.

    But here, just on the edge of a major city, with gas processing plants dotting the above ground landscape, and gas pipelines crisscrossing the subterranean landscape, is a newly fracked site flaring enough gas to light the sky for miles. You can literally see the gas processing plants from the site.

    So it’s not about a lack of infrastructure. If it was that site could have been connected the day the gas first flowed. The problem is there’s so much drilling that the gas, which is merely a byproduct of the oil that drillers are targeting, is worthless. The price of gas around here is not worth the investment to connect it to the network. Even though that cost is likely trivial given the proximity of the infrastructure. And there are no regulations that force producers to connect it up.

    It seems pretty clear to me, this stopped making sense a long time ago.

  • Electing Real Climate Leaders to Stop Fossil Fuel Projects

    When the media talks about the climate crisis, there’s a lot of focus on the dysfunction in Congress. That’s understandable, since Congress’s inaction has enormous consequences and it’s critical that our representatives start actively opposing the fossil fuel industry.

    But when it comes to the nitty-gritty of stopping the build-out of fossil fuel projects, the elected bodies making these decisions are often much less glamorous. Congress plays a role, but it’s the city councils, port authorities, and Public Utilities Commissions that are regularly making the crucial calls on whether fossil fuel infrastructure gets built – or gets stopped in its tracks.

    That’s why we’re renewing our partnership with Lead Locally, a great group dedicated to electing climate leaders unafraid to stand up to industry at the local level. Last year, our supporters volunteered to help elect three local climate champions through this collaboration – and these candidates have since killed plans for an oil export terminal in Washington state and massively delayed a fracked gas pipeline in Pennsylvania.

    Sign up here to help us pick up where we left off with last year’s major victories, and do it again.

    Volunteering is easy – after signing up, you’ll get plugged into making phone calls and sending text messages from the comfort of your own home. You’ll be joining hundreds of others around the country who are doing the same thing, contacting voters to let them know the facts and asking them to reject the influence of Big Oil’s dirty money in these districts.

    Lead Locally volunteers make calls to elect real climate leaders in 2017. Photo by Devyn Powell.

    It’s high time to reset the definition of “climate leadership” at all levels and get serious about taking on Big Oil, Gas, and Coal. That’s one of our primary goals with launching Oil Change USA – to dig deep into our broken political system and lift up real climate leadership that helps people and planet.

    This year we’re working to elect a group of local climate leaders who are willing to stand up to the fossil fuel industry – to reject its money by taking the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, to reject all new fossil fuel projects, and to promote real solutions to the climate crisis.

    The candidates we’re supporting include:

    • Katy Eymann

      Katy Eymann for Coos County Commission (Oregon) – Katy is running to stop the Jordan Cove LNG pipeline and export facility, and to revitalize Coos County with economic opportunity that will last long beyond the fracked gas era. Jordan Cove has donated over $20,000 to Katy’s opponent, incumbent John Sweet, who is in favor of the proposed project.

    • Christa Yoakum

      Christa Yoakum for Public Service Commission (Nebraska) – Christa is running for an open seat on the Nebraska Public Service Commission with a promise to put Nebraskans first. The PSC is the body that approved permits for the Keystone XL Pipeline, and with Christa on the PSC, there would be a majority opposed to using eminent domain for dangerous pipeline development. Christa’s vision for this seat is focused on protecting the environment, expanding broadband access for all, and protecting consumers from corporate greed.

    • Stephanie Garcia Richard

      Stephanie Garcia Richard for Land Commissioner (New Mexico) – Stephanie is running for New Mexico’s Land Commissioner, a position that oversees methane regulations and public lands in New Mexico. If elected, she is committed to stopping the expansion of fracking and drilling in the Permian Basin, one of the largest remaining oil and gas reserves in the world. Chevron and other industry players have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the primary election season, and we’re expecting them to spend big again for the general election.

    Sign up for a volunteer shift today to fight back against the fossil fuel industry’s dirty money, and help elect climate champs.

    These candidates were all early signers of the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, and they’ve worked closely with grassroots organizers to oppose new fossil fuel infrastructure and build a brighter energy future with authentic community input.

    These are the kind of real climate leaders we need to turn this crisis around, and they’ll have the power to stop fossil fuel projects in their states – if we join Lead Locally in helping them get elected.


    PAID FOR BY OIL CHANGE USA, 714 G STREET SE, WASHINGTON, DC 20003.     NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE, CANDIDATE’S AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE, OR CANDIDATE’S AGENTS.