Leading Consumer and Environmental Advocate to Work with Local Businesses and Community Members to Build Balanced Energy Future
Santa Fe – Consumer Energy Alliance, the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for families and businesses, today announced a new Community Commitment initiative that will work with New Mexicans and local businesses to build and sustain an energy future that balances environmental aspirations with economic realities.
The effort is part of CEA’s Campaign for New Mexico’s Energy, which brings together people from across the state to talk about how to support policies that promote the well-being of all our communities. Members of the Community Commitment will help to advocate and show support for smart policies that drive environmental improvement while ensuring that our day-to-day economic and energy needs are met, without placing anyone at risk of financial harm.
The initiative will highlight the untold side effects of forced energy moratoriums on New Mexicans. As importantly, CEA’s ongoing campaign will continue to examine the diverse ways New Mexicans can get the energy they need across the state. Responsible development of all of New Mexico’s energy resources, from solar to wind to natural gas, can help sustain our neighbors, restaurants and breweries, local businesses, tribal nations and families who depend on a healthy economy to put food on the table.
CEA is telling their stories and showing the impact energy policies have on real, everyday people. From New Mexicans who grew up without electricity taking pride in being able to give their children what they lacked, to others who can’t run their businesses on promises of an energy future that isn’t here yet.
“With our diverse heritage, landscapes and cultures, New Mexicans have long known that we find our way forward by working together,” CEA New Mexico Director Matthew Gonzales said. “We went out in search of the stories of our people to better understand what they need as we explore new energy options and environmental pathways as a country.”
“Energy and environmental issues should be above politics, and the goal of our effort to remind our leaders to put people first when creating policies that will affect their lives, livelihoods and wallets. The earliest announcements from Washington have already unleashed unintended consequences that will only hurt our businesses and prospects for an equitable economic recovery after COVID.”
“New Mexicans don’t need policies that duplicate state or federal efforts, or vice versa. Instead, we need to ensure our policymakers and leaders at all levels are hearing the voices from our hinterlands telling them what energy moratoriums and one-size-fits-all policies will do to New Mexico’s everyday economic landscape.”
“With nearly 20% of New Mexicans living in poverty and carrying an energy burden three times higher than other households, many of our longtime and native New Mexican community members cannot afford higher energy prices wrought by aspirational policies built on promises.”
“An influx of new arrivals came from the West Coast to avoid negative effects of the expensive energy and environmental policies they mandated in their far wealthier states. Unfortunately, they’re importing that same sympathetic ideology here, which largely created the everyday economic and energy challenges they left for our greener pastures. That’s why we are inviting fellow neighbors and communities to join us in finding creative solutions we can all get behind, which won’t worsen our daily lives.”
To learn more about CEA’s Campaign for New Mexico’s Energy, join our Community Commitment or to hear more voices across the state, please visit: https://consumerenergyalliance.org/campaign-for-americas-energy/new-mexico.
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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.
Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org
