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Even a benevolent effort to save the environment can't keep the City Council and the administration of Mayor Martin Chavez from bickering.

A round of political acrimony ensued on Aug. 6 as the council tried to pass a bill that would require a series of energy-efficiency measures — from thicker insulation to energy-conserving appliances — be used in the construction of all new buildings and large renovation projects.

The problem is that a Chavez-appointed task force has been on a similar mission. A draft set of "green" building codes is complete and ready to be submitted to the council in coming weeks.

The administration and its supporters — including much of the Albuquerque construction community — asked for more time to compare and contrast the two plans, saying they hoped to eliminate overlap between the two measures and ensure broader consensus.

But the bill's sponsors — councilors Isaac Benton, Martin Heinrich and Michael Cadigan — said they had already spent six months on the bill and weren't interested in waiting any longer.

"During the time we've been waiting to pass this bill, about 2,000 to 2,500 buildings have been built under the old code," said Cadigan. Those buildings may have insulation that leaks heat, or dishwashers that waste energy, he said.

"We're bleeding, and we need to stop the bleeding quickly. It's time to pull the trigger on this," Cadigan said.

The council's bill would apply to all new buildings, as well as any existing buildings with repairs, alterations or rehabilitation exceeding 50 percent of the building's replacement cost. Buildings on historic registries would be exempt.

It would create a list of requirements for builders aimed at curbing the structure's energy consumption, including the use of hot-water recirculating pump systems, Energy Star-certified water heaters and other appliances, and windows and doors that use energy-conserving glass.

Ultimately, the council relented, deferring the bill until its Aug. 20 meeting on a 7-1 vote. Council President Debbie O'Malley opposed the deferral and Councilor Ken Sanchez was absent.

But that came after a rancorous exchange in which the councilors accused the administration of excluding them and not acting in good faith — and vice versa.

The mayor's residential energy-code task force has been working separately from the council on drafting energy-efficiency measures in the form of a revised city building code. Richard Dineen, the city's planning director, said they were working to build a consensus among policymakers, builders and other interested parties.

Though Benton initially was invited to the task force, he said he hadn't been notified of a meeting in four months, leaving the group without the input of the council.

Said Cadigan, "I guess none of us is among the consensus. I'm afraid the consensus is among the home builders.

"That's great that the home builders have signed off on the bill," Cadigan said, but added, "That makes me wonder whether it's a serious effort to do anything about global warming."

Bruce Perlman, the city's chief administrative officer, fired back, saying home builders are also "regular citizens," and that the task force included a wider range of members.

"Naming the members of the mayor's green builders task force as being `(just) home builders' is, in my humble estimation, bad faith," Perlman said.

Conspicuously absent from the debate was disagreement on the issues.

"We don't actually oppose a lot of the elements in the (council) bill," said Lynne Andersen, president of the New Mexico chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Andersen said she was worried the council's legislation would compete with the administration's.

"At best case, it creates duplication," she said. "At the worst, it would create a lot of confusion."