Notes from the Chairs
May, 2008
John Buchser, Chair
I hope everyone has opportunities to get out this spring and enjoy the outdoors. If you can manage the urban landscape, walking door-to-door supporting our endorsee Martin Heinrich in Albuquerque or outlying areas of District 1 would be great too!
As our endorsement process chugs along, watch our political page http://riogrande.sierraclub.org/politics/chap_politics.htm
By now we hope to have our Cool Biz website complete. This program, developed by board members Mark Walztoni and Carol Raymond, encourages Santa Fe businesses to take steps to conserve energy. You can also think about your energy footprint and how you can reduce it.
Dexter Coolidge, Conservation Chair
With the State legislative session behind us, our most significant conservation efforts have centered around the Santa Fe Cool Cities program, which launched in April. The Mayor featured this program at his monthly Coffee with Coss that focused on sustainability.
The cfl program has gone gangbusters, with assembly presentations and bulb handouts in all but two elementary schools in the city and many more in the surrounding area. The last two schools are currently scheduled for the coming weeks. When we are through, we will have handed out almost 14,000 bulbs.
As part of Cool Cities, we are working with the City on zoning issues and on the City’s revision of its building code, which we expect will significantly reduce greenhouse gases from buildings.
We plan to meet with the new City Council to devise our legislative strategy for the City. We expect support from the Council, since all of its candidates whom we endorsed were elected and some of the holdovers have previously supported our climate change objectives.
Our Forest Committee is taking on new life under the energetic leadership of Tom Gorman. Its focus continues to be the Travel Management Plans for the Santa Fe and Carson Forests. These plans, currently under development by the Forest Service, will designate, and limit, the roads in the forests. There is heavy pressure from the off-road vehicle interests to keep the forests wide open, and the Committee will need your help in the coming weeks and months to keep the forests from being completely overrun.