While President Bush’s energy plan awaits Senate approval, some local groups and legislators are unhappy with the measure.
The most controversial aspect of the plan involves the authorization of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., backed an amendment before Congress adjourned for August recess that limited the amount of drilling in the refuge. Wilson said in a news release that she believes that the plan meets the country’s energy needs while preserving the refuge.
“What we achieved is that of the refuge’s 19 million acres, only 2,000 can be disturbed,” she said. “This dramatically limits the impact on the environment.”
Shannon Lumpkin, director of the UNM chapter of the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group, disagrees with Wilson and said she was disappointed with her vote.
“She said they limited the footprint that will be left on the refuge, but what the government can do is spread out the land they choose to drill on, then use that as an excuse to build roads between those areas,” she said. “That means that refuge will be ravaged by this plan.”
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Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., toured the refuge earlier this year and said he would not support drilling there.
“We have a lot of other opportunities to conserve and can be much smarter about the energy resources that we use,” Bingaman said. “We don’t need to move into an area that is a refuge for a reason. We need to preserve the natural habitat.”
Bingaman added that he was surprised that the plan moved smoothly through the House of Representatives, but expects it to be heavily debated in the Senate.
Lumpkin said that NMPIRG is concerned that if people do not take an active stance against drilling in the reserve, Bush will move into the area using an executive order.
“I just think people need to be really vigilant and understand that what they think matters,” she said.
Bingaman said that, as far as he knows, Bush cannot drill in the wildlife refuge without Congress’ approval.
The remainder of the energy plan looks to reduce sport utility vehicle and light truck fuel consumption by 5 billion gallons during the next six years, increase funding to assist low-income residents, provide incentives for cleaner energy resources, promote clean coal technologies and set stricter standards for energy use in federal buildings.
Lumpkin said that some measures, such as clean coal technologies, are mentioned in the plan, but not enough emphasis is placed on fossil fuels and renewable energy.
“We really question this plan because it was compiled by a group of people who really represent the oil industry,” she said. “We need to look at other ways to handle energy questions rather than just drilling.”
Bingaman has put together a plan to counter the Bush energy plan that he said would be more effective and would help address energy shortages that have hit states such as California this year.
His plan calls for increased supplies of energy balanced with a commitment to efficiency throughout the economy, including fuel use by trucks and sport utility vehicles; investments in research and development to ensure a diverse portfolio of fuel and technology options for the future; and a commitment to link energy and environmental policies so that we address climate change we invest in our energy future.
“I think that we really need to use our resources within the scientific community to find more energy efficient ways of using our resources rather than adding to the problem by taxing an already overwhelmed system,” he said.
Regardless of where they stand on the energy plan, all sides encourage community input on the measure.
“PIRG wants students to really get involved and contact their representatives on this topic,” Lumpkin said. “They really don’t hear from us that often, so a few phone calls, letters and e-mails really go a long way. They can’t really ignore us if we speak up and let it be known that we are unhappy with the current plan.”
Bingaman said that he would love to hear more New Mexicans’ thoughts on energy.
“It’s a really important issue to me, and I think it’s important to people in New Mexico, I just don’t hear from them about it that much,” he said. “I know that all senators and representatives always want to know what their constituents think because it helps us better represent them.”
