NM Sierra Club to Candidates: “You Have the Power2Change”

Left to right: David Melton of Sacred Power; Albuquerque City Councilor Rey Garduno; Odes Armijo-Caster of Sacred Power; and Michael Casaus, Sierra Club Southwest Regional Representative

At a press conference last week in Albuquerque in front of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Solar Carport with city government and renewable energy business leaders (above), the New Mexico Sierra Club launched a new effort to educate the public about what is at stake in the 2008 elections. Part of a national effort focused in nine states, the Power2Change campaign aims to educate the public and candidates about what is at stake in the 2008 elections; by defining the contrast between competing visions of our energy future -– positioning clean energy as an economic driver, and challenging candidates up and down the ballot, including the new President –- to move America towards a clean energy economy.

“The choices we make in 2008 will define our future, especially when it comes to the election and energy issues,” said Michael Casaus, the Sierra Club’s Southwest Regional Representative. “The contrast could not be sharper -– we can move forward to a clean energy economy that creates jobs, saves consumers money and solves global warming, or we can continue the expensive, polluting policies of the past.”

The Power2Change campaign involves a new grassroots organizing effort in the community. Over the next four weeks, the New Mexico Sierra Club activists will document and release examples of clean and polluting energy sites within each state, collect and deliver petition signatures demanding elected officials help build a clean energy economy, and recruit volunteers to meet with elected, business and community leaders and to participate in the many Earth Day events from April 16th through April 27th.

The Sierra Club’s Power 2 Change Report highlights examples of clean energy leaders and their polluting opponents, with a specific section focusing on New Mexico. There is a tremendous potential for renewable energy production in the Land of Enchantment, and more manufacturing companies such as Schott North America, Inc. are locating here for that reason. Proposed coal power production and uranium mining on Navajo and Pueblo Indian lands, on the other hand, exemplify the backwards energy choices that will threaten the health of communities and condemn our children to the worst consequences of climate change. The full report is available to read here or to download here (pdf).

“We’ve got a message for candidates at every level that we have the power to change direction,” said Michael Casaus. “We have the technology, know-how and power to build a clean energy future. What we have lacked is the political will and leadership. We need to challenge all our elected officials, including the next President, to provide the leadership we need to move us forward.”