Enviro groups protest energy summit
Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and the SouthWest Organizing Project are calling out the organizers of an energy summit that kicked off in Santa Fe yesterday and continues today. Organized by both the US and Albuquerque Hispano Chambers of Commerce, the conference includes representatives from numerous energy companies, including PNM, Avangrid and Chevron. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivered the keynote address at the conference's launch yesterday at La Fonda Hotel, where she touted her visions for the use of hydrogen as an energy source. YUCCA activists briefly disrupted the governor's speech before being escorted out of the room. The groups are planning a march and protest today, ending at Drury Hotel where the environmentalists say energy reps are holding a private reception.
ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE JOURNAL TODAY!!!
Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and the SouthWest Organizing Project called it a “greenwashing” event where corporate energy executives are promoting “false solutions” to combat climate change. Those two groups are co-coordinating protest actions, including a planned demonstration Friday afternoon on the SF Plaza, across from La Fonda, to commemorate Earth Day. Excerpts below and link to full article.
In fact, YUCCA activists briefly highjacked the conference spotlight Thursday morning, interrupting Lujan Grisham’s keynote address with chants and a protest banner before being escorted out of the assembly ballroom....Corporate sponsorship for the summit by Chevron – and by Public Service Company of New Mexico and national energy firm Avangrid – particularly riled environmentalists. Apart from Chevron’s participation, YUCCA and SWOP believe PNM and Avangrid – which is seeking to acquire PNM in a $4.3 billion merger agreement – are doing little to actually transition the grid from fossil fuels to renewables, said Alejandría Lyons, an environmental justice organizer with SWOP.
Those groups also adamantly oppose hydrogen development, since the industry generally intends to use natural gas as a feedstock, pulling hydrogen molecules out of methane in a process that produces significant carbon emissions...
