WildEarth Guardians

Friday, October 28, 2011
Santa Feans Rally to Transcend PNM Coal

WildEarth Guardians Join El Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Procession Calling for an End to the San Juan Generating Station
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

SANTE FE, NM—El Dia de los Muertos/The Day of the Dead is a traditional celebration of death, transformation, regeneration and transcendence, and this year, concerned New Mexicans, led by WildEarth Guardians, are calling for a specific type of death and transcendence – for the death of coal at Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM and for the transcendence to a clean energy economy that safeguards the health of the state.

As part of the traditional Dia de los Muertos Procession, dozens of concerned citizens joined the giant traditional calavera (skeleton) puppets to demonstrate in a creative display, voicing their support for energy transformation.

Holding a mock funeral procession for “Big Coal” participants, fueled by recent events, led the procession dressed as weeping dinosaurs in masks and costumes to symbolize the dark ages of fossil fuels, and hauling the weight of a “Casket for Coal.”  Other procession participants wore solar sandwich boards and hats, carrying mock solar panels to signify the hopeful dawn of clean energy. Since PNM’s coal-fired San Juan Generating Station brings death by poisoning clean air, and consumes twice as much water as the entire city of Santa Fe, participants felt the issue was complementary to this year’s Procession theme of Air, Energy, Food and Water.

“There’s one cultural tradition we need to preserve in New Mexico, and that’s the gift of clean air,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “If PNM continues to hold the state hostage by operating the San Juan Generating Station, the next Day of the Dead Procession may have many more calaveras needing respiratory care.”

Outside of traditional protest venues, WildEarth Guardians and concerned citizens are calling on PNM to voluntarily retire its coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. Spurred by reports which attribute 33 deaths a year to San Juan coal, as well as 600 asthma attacks, 31 asthma-related emergency room visits, and other health impacts, citizens are concerned the adverse health costs - estimated at more than $250 million dollars a year, will only increase as PNM attempts to continue undermining federal Clean Air Act regulations.

“New Mexicans are paying PNM to kill themselves, and they deserve to know the truth.” Nichols continued. “Our state’s money is better spent investing in win-win solutions that will protect public health and save billions in the long-run.”

The Day of the Dead Procession comes as PNM aggressively fights EPA’s proposed clean up plan for San Juan coal that would drastically reduce haze and smog forming pollution. WildEarth Guardians hopes that participating in the day’s events will shed new light on PNM coal, asking the company to transform it’s archaic energy practices, and spend its money to fully retire the San Juan Generating Station, offsetting the electricity it generates with renewable energy. 

New Mexico has a 20% renewable energy requirement that PNM is not on target to meeting. Reports show a combination of rooftop solar and wind energy could supply New Mexico’s power needs by more than seventy-fold, and while utilities in Colorado and other states begin to retire coal-fired power plants, opting against investing millions in the face of mounting environmental liability, New Mexicans are wondering why PNM lags behind.

“PNM shouldn’t have a free pass to pollute in New Mexico, and we can’t keep paying for their misconduct with our lives.” Nichols continued. “El Dia de Los Muertos happens once a year now, but if PNM doesn’t heed the call for transformation, New Mexico may have to honor many more deaths in the future. If there’s one call heard this Day of the Dead, let it be the call to power past coal and protect the health and pocketbooks of New Mexicans.”

Operated and primarily owned by Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, the San Juan Generation Station is an 1,800 megawatt power plant that every year releases thousands of tons of toxic air pollution from its smokestacks.  Located 15 miles west of Farmington, the plant consists of four boilers and releases more than 18,000 tons of smog forming nitrogen oxide gases, 51 pounds of mercury, and more than 13,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide—as much as is released by more than 2.3 million passenger vehicles.