When we talk about our air, land and water, we’re also talking about people. Our lives depend on clean air to breathe, healthy land and soil and water that is safe to drink – from the green chile farmer in Hatch, to the nine out of 10 New Mexicans across the state who depend on ground water for their drinking water. When we work together for strong rules governing oil and gas waste or strive to make solar energy more accessible, we are also protecting our communities.
When our leaders fail to listen to us, their constituents – or even to ask what we want for our future – we inform and educate them. We hold them accountable. To us, that’s what it means to be a Conservation Voter.
The only way we can protect what we hold dear—our blue skies, the water that’s our lifeblood, our Land of Enchantment—is through people power. We know that when a groundswell of people like you elevate your voices, our elected officials are forced to listen. Thank you for raising your voice time and time again in 2015.
Here is a sampling of how we made our collective voices heard this year:
- CVNM and our sister organization CVNM Education Fund gathered 7,757 petition signatures opposing PNM’s San Juan Replacement Plans, and sent 2,327 messages directly to Public Regulation Commissioners’ (PRC) inboxes urging them to vote down PNM’s plans to reinvest in coal and nuclear and push for the transition to clean, renewable energy like wind and solar. Even though the PRC voted to approve the plan, we’re already preparing to push our leaders even harder in 2018 to transition away from polluting energy sources.
- 1,256 CVNM members & supporters emailed Attorney General Balderas urging him not to support PNM’s San Juan replacement power plan.
- 1,026 CVNM members & supporters signed petitions in support of strong methane rules to bolster CVNMEF’s on-the-ground work on the issue. CVNMEF & CVNM were part of a coalition that gathered 25,000 comments & petition signatures in support of strong methane rules.
- 727 CVNM members & supporters signed our petition urging their legislators to support a suite of pro-conservation Gila River bills to keep our last free flowing river running.
- 707 CVNM members & supporters emailed Gov. Martinez urging her to examine her own actions to weaken safeguards for our water in light of the Gold King Mine Spill.
- 621 CVNM members & supporters emailed Gov. Martinez that they were disappointed that she vetoed the solar tax credit bill from the 2015 legislative session.
We know that 2016 will bring a whole new set of challenges but we will remain unwavering in bringing people together to protect New Mexico’s air, land water–and each other. From all of us here at the CVNM family of organizations – thank you and happy holidays.
Back row left to right: Juntos Community Organizer Yarida Estrada, Juntos Community Organizer Victoria Padilla, Juntos Community Organizer Michael Pitula, Business Administrator Thomas Lawley, Executive Director Demis Foster, Juntos Lead Organizer Patricia Gallegos, Deputy Business Administrator Vicente Garcia, Development Associate Aviva Crichton, Political and Legislative Director Ben Shelton, Program Director Molly Sanders, Juntos Program Director Christopher Ramirez and Communications Manager Liliana Castillo. Front row left to right: Western New Mexico Organizer Talia Boyd, future organizer Otis Boyd and Development Director Allison Fabara.
