La Coalición de Taos

Town Council/Mayoral Candidate Forum Questions Submitted by the Public

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Subject: Climate

Will you make clean energy a central theme in the Town’s advertising?

Taos has touted itself as the Solar Capital of the world. Aside from Kit Carson’s pledge to be 100% daytime solar, what other incentives or mandates will you support for individuals and communities and new housing developments to be solar and what other programs do you plan to enact or support to address the climate crisis?

Clean energy can contribute to the Town’s economy in a number of ways — by providing tax revenues, by improving the livability of the community, by lowering the cost of energy, etc. Will you support building new solar arrays and transmission lines that will allow the expansion of clean energy including for export?

Will you pass housing codes that prohibit installation of natural gas hookups in new housing? Will you support the rapid transition of the Town’s fleet of vehicles to zero emission EVs?

Green” energy actually involves a good deal of environmental degradation–including extraction of precious metals and the creation of a lot of waste, some of it toxic.  How would you address this underbelly of “green” energy?

​In August 2021, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrez, warned policy makers the International Panel on Climate Change report is nothing less than a code red for humanity; and that the only way to prevent exceeding the internationally agreed 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels of global heating is by urgently stepping up our efforts and pursuing the most ambitious path.
It is widely known that we have only a short window to radically reduce emissions if we want to keep warming to 1.5 degrees. That window closes more or less around 2030.

As a policy maker, how will you help Taos ​to ​do our part in working with the whole community to form​​ aggressive​ and effective​ policies that address th​is existential​ emergency immediately to ensure a livable future for coming generations of Taos children.

How can Town of Taos policies help address climate change?

Will you work with other entities to mitigate the threat of wildfire and improve the resilience of our infrastructure to extreme weather events?

Will you seek funding for a program to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, particularly those occupied by low income residents?

Will you support a building code banning natural gas in new construction?

What concretely will you do to reduce emissions of GHGs in our community?

What is the first step (or action) you would take as Mayor with respect to moving our town and surrounding area to a future in which our transportation, agricultural, residential and business energy needs use renewable sources such as solar and wind?

As the climate change continues to press on, our corner of the world may be in for more extreme weather occurring events more often. What ideas do you have to better prepare our community for these weather extremes, and ensure the most vulnerable families in our town have access to the vital services they need to survive these events?

Recent national and international weather-related events indicate that global warming has arrived. Drought and fire are the most immediate environmental threats to Taos. What, if any, role should the Mayor/Town Council have in mitigating those threats?

How will you address the impacts of climate change on our community (human and more-than-human), both current and future?

Do you have an understanding of Climate Crisis and what this might mean for Taos in the years ahead? Site your sources of knowledge on this topic.


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