 
Results in New Mexico:
An Associated Press article summed up the Power 2 Change campaign in New Mexico and across the country. Entitled "Sierra Club Launches Clean Energy Campaign in Battleground States," the article was published on April 1, 2008 in the Albuquerque Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican and Las Cruces Sun News before being picked up in other states. On April 22, we joined with thousands of New Mexicans in celebration of Earth Day where our volunteers handed out more than 1,000 free CFL light bulbs, gathered hundreds of petition signatures and talked to New Mexicans about how we have the technology, know-how and power to build a clean energy future, but what we have lacked is the political will. Overall, the overwhelming response was that New Mexicans are ready to move to a clean energy economy -- and we call on our leaders to listen.
Below: good and bad energy actions in this state, as profiled in our report.
 New Mexico is seeing a substantial increase in interest in solar power - both related to more jobs and more panel installation.
The state's burgeoning renewable energy industry was given two boosts recently as local solar power companies announced new jobs. Schott North America, Inc., will build a facility south of Albuquerque that will manufacture receivers for concentrated solar thermal power plants. When fully realized, the plant will cover 800,000 square feet and employ 1,500 workers, all adding up to a total value of $500 million.
The same area of Albuquerque is home to Advent Solar, who recently announced that they will hire up to 1,000 employees in the next few years production at its photovoltaic research, production and manufacturing plant ramps up.
Advent Solar is a manufacturer of advanced technology solar cells and modules. Founded in 2002, Advent Solar began operations in 2003, and is poised to become an industry leader with its innovative back-contact cell technology. Its unique, exclusive cell technology was originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, an example of public/private partnership and nationally funded research going to benefit the local community
Meanwhile, governments and individuals are seeing the benefits from getting their energy from solar power. The City of Santa Fe's will soon install solar panels on city buildings. Individuals and organizations that invest in Santa Fe's solar installation project get rebates from the local utility for the amount of energy produced. Residents also see the benefits from home installation when their energy meter run backwards on sunny days - which is most days in New Mexico!
Sacred Power is a company that provides renewable power to customers on tribal lands in New Mexico. Owned and operated by Native Americans, Sacred Power also runs a manufacturing facility and installs solar panels for residents. The company has also installed a solar array that doubles as a series of carports for a tribally owned office building in downtown Albuquerque.
The tiny little community of House, New Mexico had a big impact on this year's Super Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz. Wind power from the community's 136 turbines helped light the University of Phoenix stadium, among powering numerous other devices needed for the big game.
According to an article from the Quay County Sun in New Mexico, the House turbines are operated and maintained by the New Mexico Wind Energy Center which is owned by FPL Energy. The center is expected to provide $40 million in economic benefits for the surrounding communities over 25 years.
From the article: "(FPL Energy) has a long term contract with PNM, a subsidiary of PNM Resources, to sell them energy generated by the turbines, according to company literature. PNM markets the power from the center in New Mexico and the western United States.
"The renewable energy that the NFL has purchased for this single event could power 750 homes for a month."
Albuquerque's Sunport airport will soon be home to a "Solar Combined Heat and Power" (SHCP) system. When completed, the Sunport SCHP system will provide energy to a 30-ton chiller for cooling within the facility's car rental offices. At the same time, it will also deliver about 11 kilowatts of electrical power for lighting and other uses. Overall, the SCHP system will provide roughly one-third of the 575,000 square-foot facility's peak cooling load.
A key benefit of SCHP technology is that it consumes no water in the production of power. Other benefits include low-cost and zero-carbon emissions.
The SHCP will be implemented by the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University. The majority of the project's funding will come from the Energy Innovation Fund (EIF) administered by the State of New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department. The EIF was implemented by Gov. Bill Richardson as part of his commitment to New Mexico's leadership as "The Clean Energy State."
"This renewable energy project represents the cutting edge of solar energy technologies to provide power to the Albuquerque Sunport. It puts New Mexico front and center for innovative, international solar energy development and application," said Dr. Abbas Ghassemi, executive director of IEE.
The Sunport is New Mexico's largest airport facility, averaging almost 7 million passengers annually.
Coal-fired power plant destined for Navajo Nation
The Desert Rock coal-fired power plant is proposed for a northwest part of New Mexico that lies within the Navajo Nation. The Sithe Global plant would be a 1500 megawatt generating station that would pump more than 12 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, along with mercury, nitrous oxides, and sulfur oxides.
There is substantial local and state-wide opposition, including N.M. Governor Bill Richardson and local Navajo activists who have formed an organization called Dooda Desert Rock (which means No Desert Rock). Some success has come to the opposition, including the defeat of a proposed $85 million tax break in last year's legislative session, but the plant is still in the works.
Uranium mining's effects on Native Americans
Just north of Grants, New Mexico, sits Mt. Taylor - an 11,300-foot peak considered a sacred cultural site to Native American tribes. Yet despite this stature to the tribes, the greatest threats to Mt. Taylor are New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division permits for exploratory mining and other activities. The state has streamlined the mining permit process while ignoring Governor Bill Richardson's Executive Order requiring statewide tribal consultation for the protection of sacred places.
Just recently the peak won temporary reprieve from exploratory uranium mining, which will allow the state to gather input from affected tribes. This decision will allow the tribes and the Historic Preservation Division to carefully evaluate any applications for mining permits.
Uranium mining has a terrible legacy in New Mexico and across the southwest. "We know first hand the hardships suffered from over 50 years of dealing with the impact of uranium mining and the toll it has taken on our health and environment by living in proximity to the Jackpile Uranium Mine," said one tribal leader.
From a 2006 Los Angeles Times series: "From 1944 to 1986, 3.9 million tons of uranium ore were dug and blasted from Navajo soil, nearly all of it for America's atomic arsenal. Navajos inhaled radioactive dust, drank contaminated water and built homes using rock from the mines and mills. Many of the dangers persist to this day."
New mining is opposed by Pueblos and tribes, as planned, because of a failure by the state to investigate and perform environmental analysis on underground drinking water sources, groundwater withdrawals that may affect regional hydrologic balance and impacts from drilling of exploratory wells throughout the watersheds of Mt. Taylor.
Community groups, government unite to fight oil and gas drilling
Oil and gas companies continue to buy and lease the drilling rights to vulnerable areas around New Mexico. Tecton Energy bought the subsurface rights for the Galisteo Basin, a rural area south of Santa Fe historically home to low-income families. Recently the area has been seeing an increasing influx of wealthier residents, but the drilling controversy has united all of the residents. Hundreds show up to community meetings from all backgrounds - realtors, environmentalists, trade union representatives, business owners, faith groups and more.
A similar situation has emerged in Otero Mesa in south-central New Mexico, but this time the state government is stepping forward to protect a community. The Harvey E. Yates Company (known as HEYCO) has proposed putting a natural gas well on land it leases in the Otero Mesa area, despite the region's ecological vulnerability. Otero Mesa stretches more than 1.2 million acres and is home to some 1,000 native wildlife species, including black-tailed prairie dogs, desert mule deer, mountain lions, golden and bald eagles, more than 250 species of songbirds. It also boasts the state's healthiest and only genetically pure herd of pronghorn antelope. Furthermore, there is evidence that the Salt Basin aquifer, which originates in Otero Mesa and travels south into Texas, is the largest untapped fresh water resource remaining in New Mexico.
In mid-January, state government officials ruled that an environmental assessment done by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on HEYCO's drilling permit application for Otero Mesa is insufficient. Officials then sent a letter to the BLM, saying the environmental repercussions could be irrecoverable if oil and gas exploration happens without more in-depth study.
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