Don't miss this wonderful piece featuring Citizens Caring for the Future leaders Nick King, Gene Harbaugh, Kayley Shoup & our incredible allies Joan Brown & Nathalie Eddy

Can the sun solve New Mexico’s energy conundrum? The state is dependent on oil and gas, but Carlsbad has opportunity to become the epicenter of renewable energy.

What Harbaugh finds most troubling is what he calls a psychic shift in the community. Carlsbad had always been a fairly poor area, with most jobs in mining or agriculture. So community institutions stepped up and people relied on one another, he said. And while he can’t totally blame the oil boom for the dwindling of his former congregation, Harbaugh said the industry, by nature, breeds a mentality of total self-reliance. Success is what can be pulled from the ground by one man or one company. “Individual freedoms are what now seem to be paramount,” Harbaugh lamented. “People are supposed to do whatever they want as long as it benefits them.”

Summertime with Citizens Caring for the Future

Citizens Caring for the Future has kicked off the summer with a bang! At the beginning of June we had our first in person community meeting in over a year. It was great to catch up with one another. We also had plenty of new faces there, which was very exciting! We are filled with hope for the future. The more local citizens that get involved the more change we can make! 

Recently CCFF Leaders Nick King & Kayley Shoup testified during the EPA Listening Sessions regarding the upcoming methane rule making that the EPA is undertaking. You can check out coverage of that event by following the links below. 

New Mexico advocates call on EPA for stricter oil & gas emission limits

“And the methane problem may be even more prevalent than what is self-reported by the industry.  But we do know that it has dire effects- both locally and globally,” King said during the hearing. “Fossil fuels have been the lifeblood of our culture for more than 100 years, but they are also our poison.”

NM Residents Provide EPA with Real-World Methane Stories

"Here in New Mexico, we have regulation but there's virtually no enforcement," Shoup said. "We have not one air inspector that lives in the Permian Basin, and we have one air monitor in the little town I live in."

CCFF Leader Kayley Shoup also testified at the recent rule making that resulted in oil & gas spills being outlawed in New Mexico. You can read the story covering the rule making below.

Outlawed: Oil & gas spills now illegal in New Mexico. Industry supports rule change

“We know firsthand that a lack of clarity has very real-life consequences for front-line community members that experience spills,” Shoup said. “We are also grateful the industry is supporting this rule change that will help protect the communities where they produce oil and gas.”

Thanks for reading and please visit our Twitter & FB to keep up to date with our upcoming events! 

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