Education Bulletin #09-3, Off-Road Vehicles: a Biologist's Perspective by Dr. Robert C. Stebbins available HERE.
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Posted April 16, 2009 No Worries for Mega Grid Opponents? Green Path North Might Be Going South by Jackie Devereaux
San Bernardino/Riverside/San Diego & Imperial Counties, CA - At least two giant public utility companies said environmentalists “need not worry” about plans to build a “mega grid” of transmission power lines through Southern California because they are scaling back, considering other routes and carefully moving forward despite concerns.
The Green Path North route proposed by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), would construct new high-voltage transmission power lines running through 85 miles of sensitive lands in the Hi-Desert and the Coachella Valley. The Sunrise Powerlink proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric calls for 600 towers to be built along 150 miles of land through Imperial and San Diego counties.
Both plans have met with staunch grassroots opposition successful in either stalling, stopping or steering plans into other directions. Two mega giant power companies claim they need to build more transmission lines throughout Southern California to meet growing needs. Critics claim the companies do not want “green power” but instead only want to control and manipulate the price of electric power throughout the state of California.
The power companies claim they are trying to meet the Governor's mandated goal of 20 percent of their energy portfolio coming from Green Power sources, such as solar, wind and renewables by 2010, and with 33 percent green power by 2020. LADWP has been hatching plans for two years to build Green Path North and applied for a “Right of Way” with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in December 2006.
The utility giant is considering other routes to their Green Path North, an 85-mile corridor running is 200 to 300 feet wide beginning at a new North Palm Springs substation traveling north along state route 62 through the Hi-Desert to join another electrical substation near Victorville. LADWP and SDG&E both claim they need the new transmission lines to meet a 20 percent level for renewable energy by the year 2010. continue reading >>
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Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Posted January 27, 2009 The Tortoise and the Sun It's a showdown among environmentalists out West, where proposed solar-energy plants threaten the desert ecosystem. By Katharine Mieszkowski
View a slide showof tortoises, desert sites and solar thermal technology.
Jan. 22, 2009 | As a desert tortoise living in the Mojave Desert, you'd spend much of your coldblooded life catering to the whims of your body temperature.
In the winter, you'd hibernate in one of your several burrows to stay warm. In the summer, you'd also lay low for months on end to keep cool -- a habit called estivation. In the spring and fall, you'd venture out to find a drink of water and wildflowers, such as desert dandelions, to munch on. Mornings, you'd be found sunbathing, basking to warm up, while in the heat of the afternoon you'd park it under a creosote bush to keep cool.
While you and your fore-tortoises would have lived this way for more than 10,000 years, there's some news that could make your so delicately regulated blood boil. You've just become an obstacle in the race to cut the United States' greenhouse gas emissions by bringing industrial-scale solar installations to the California desert. As a desert tortoise that lives in the Mojave Desert, you enjoy protection under the federal Endangered Species Act as a threatened species, as well as state protection, which puts your low-key, dandelion-eating lifestyle at odds with California's urgent need to go solar.
Although you may be the official California state reptile, you may also be a casualty of a new national priority, as President Obama is determined to boost renewable energy in a big way, fast. In hopes of displacing those CO2-spewing coal-fired power plants, no less an advocate than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is committed to turning tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of acres of remote California desert into vast solar-powered power plants to help light the state's cities and towns. But harvesting sun power comes with its own environmental costs. Some proposed projects would require grading or scraping the desert floor, denuding vegetation and the wildlife that lives in it.
While not all of the projects may get off the ground, the very idea of using hundreds of thousands of acres of public land for renewable energy development has pitted environmentalist against environmentalist, both sides wrestling with urgent priorities. Read more. (You should be able to wait out the screen encouraging you to subscribe to become a Salon.com member.)
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Posted December 4, 2008 DPC on KCRW’s “Which Way LA?”
Pinch-hitting for Terry Weiner, who was at the OHV Commission meeting in Sacramento, Larry Hogue appeared on the news-talk show, “Which Way LA?” discussing Big Solar in the desert. Listen here. The segment on Big Solar begins at roughly 34:30 into the program.
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Posted December 3, 2008 DPC’s Terry Weiner is quoted in this article from the L.A. Times: ENERGY Edison's rooftop solar project powers up Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
Solar panels atop ProLogis’ warehouse in Fontana can power about 1,300 homes.
The building is the first of 150 that Edison hopes to outfit with panels.
The utility's ratepayer-financed plan to outfit 150 buildings with the panels is cheered by business owners but criticized by consumer activists. By Marla Dickerson December 2, 2008
Southern California Edison on Monday unveiled its newest power plant: 33,700 solar panels atop a warehouse in Fontana that will feed green energy directly into the grid.
It's the first piece of what the utility says could become the largest rooftop solar installation in the world, a swath of photovoltaic panels spanning two square miles.
The 600,000-square-foot warehouse rooftop, owned by logistics firm ProLogis Inc., is the first of 150 commercial buildings that Edison is looking to outfit with solar panels over the next five years. Collectively, solar panels on all those roofs would provide 250 megawatts of electricity, enough by Edison's reckoning to power more than 160,000 homes when the sun is shining. Read more >>
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Posted November 18, 2008 Eco-experts tout chances for bright future By Rebecca Unger / Hi-Desert Star
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 12:34 AM PDT
JOSHUA TREE — The Hi-Desert’s annual conference on environmental issues, the Practical Advances in Southwestern Sustainability Eco-Summit Conference explored conservation and the sustainability of desert resources this weekend.
Administrator Tasya Herskovits said the Eco-Summit, held at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, highlighted issues surrounding desert resources like water, land use, air quality, dark skies and habitats. The uses of alternative energy sources often were factored into the lectures and workshops. Read more >>
IN OTHER DESERT NEWS For more desert news, please visit our blog.
Posted June 11, 2009 A Win for Conservation and Tribal Rights at Indian Pass The press release from the Quechan Nation is reprinted below.
Rugged lands in the Indian Pass area, near the site of the proposed Glamis gold mine. Photo courtesy Monica Argandoña / CWC
Great news for desert wilderness in Imperial County! The NAFTA Tribunal found that the U.S. government has the right to deny Glamis Gold’s proposed mine at Indian Pass, an area sacred to the Quechan tribe and adjacent to the existing Indian Pass Wilderness Area. Our deep thanks go to Courtney Coyle for her long years of dedication on behalf of the Quechan Tribe in pursuing the protection of this sacred area. Edie Harmon – DPC Life Member, past board member and Sierra Club activist – also deserves major credit for leading the opposition to this mine when almost no one else was listening.
Congratulations and abiding gratitude, Courtney and Edie!
DPC believes this is the opportune moment to pursue permanent protection of the sacred sites and trails in the Indian Pass Area through legislative means.
The press release from the Quechan Nation is reprinted below.
PRESS RELEASE:
NAFTA TRIBUNAL RECOGNIZES SACRED PLACE OF QUECHAN TRIBE – DENIES GLAMIS GOLD'S CLAIM IN FULL
Fort Yuma, California/Arizona (June 9, 2009). Today, the NAFTA Tribunal in the Glamis Gold dispute against the United States released its long-awaited decision.
The Tribunal found that the State of California's and the United States' actions in regulating hard rock mining on public lands did NOT violate provisions of NAFTA.
"We were the first tribe to have our briefs accepted in a NAFTA claim dispute," stated Mike Jackson, Sr., President, Quechan Nation. " The award shows that the Tribunal understood that the Indian Pass area is a sacred area to the Quechan people, worthy of protection from hard rock mining. After battling the mining company for nearly fifteen years, it is good to have this decided. We encourage Glamis (now GoldCorp) to take immediate steps to put the matter behind all of us."
Such steps could include GoldCorp not appealing the decision and abandoning or otherwise relinquishing its mining claims so that the existing withdrawal of the area from new mining claims would absorb the area proposed for the mine. Glamis must also pay two-thirds of all proceeding costs.
"We are very pleased to see that an international tribunal recognized the obligation of state and local governments to respect indigenous cultural rights. We also note the United States Government worked with the Quechan Tribe in defending its interests, and that the Tribe's voice was heard at the hearing," stated Courtney Ann Coyle, Attorney for the Tribe. "We sincerely hope that the Tribe's actions will pave the way for increased participation by other indigenous peoples in international economic law disputes."
However, the ruling does not appear to affect GoldCorp's mining claims in the land. The Tribe has continued its strong opposition to mining – or any development – in this sacred place. The Tribe will be examining its options to further ensure protection of this place in perpetuity.
Preservation would be consistent with the United States' position in the dispute that, "Glamis's unpatented mining claims . . . never included the right to mine in any manner which interfered with the state's ability to accommodate the free exercise of religion, injured Native American sacred sites or endangered the environment or public health and safety." Thus, use of the land cannot proceed in violation of those tribal rights/interests. The international tribunal found Glamis's claims wanting, as the Clinton Administration found their claims under domestic land use laws equally flawed.
The Tribe intends to call upon the Obama Administration to confirm the validity of the original Solicitor's Opinion in this matter, which determined that BLM has the ability and indeed the obligation to deny mines that would impair or degrade native sacred places. A federal court agreed with the original Opinion, application of which would lead to another denial of the mine, should GoldCorp or another company foolishly seek to permit it in spite of the site's history.
The Quechan Indian Nation is a federally recognized Tribe. About 3,000 Tribal members live on the reservation. The Quechan is the third largest California land-based tribe, with about 45,000 acres in reservation status. Their aboriginal lands include the area protected in the Clinton-era decision originally denying the Glamis Gold mine, a denial that was later rescinded by the Bush Administration, and lands which became the poster child for successful hard rock mining reform in California. The Tribe has utilized the Indian Pass area since time immemorial for religious, ceremonial and educational purposes. The Indian Pass area was also designated as one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2002 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Tribe offers its deep appreciation to all of its supporters who helped protect this sacred area.
For additional information, please contact:
Mike Jackson, Sr., President Quechan Nation 760.572.0213
Pauline P. Jose, Quechan Culture Committee 760.572.0661
Courtney Ann Coyle, Attorney Quechan Nation 858.454.8687 or CourtCoyle@aol.com
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Posted November 22, 2008 AREP on Fox News "We're Being Scammed" Aired Nationwide on Sunday, November 16th
The Fox News Story "We're Being Scammed" aired nationwide on the "Ainsley Across America" segment of Hannity's America on Sunday, November 16th. The Alliance for Responsible Energy Policy contributed to that news story.
Fox just released the video and it is now viewable on the AREP website at www.protectourlands.com.
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Posted October 14, 2008 Army suspends relocation of Ft. Irwin tortoises By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 11, 2008
The $8.7-million effort has stopped because coyotes have killed so many in their new desert location.
The Army's National Training Center at Ft. Irwin on Friday suspended its effort to move California desert tortoises off prospective combat training grounds and onto nearby public lands because the animals are being hit hard by coyotes.
The first phase of the $8.7-million translocation effort began in March, when about 670 tortoises were airlifted by helicopter out of the southern portion of the desert base northeast of Barstow to new homes in drought-stricken western Mojave Desert areas. Read more.
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Posted October 14, 2008 Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation
George Wuerthner and the Foundation for Deep Ecology, who published Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation, have teamed up with the Center for Biological Diversity to promote the book and a new video slideshow based on it. They’ve come out with a new website chock full of facts, anecdotes and photos, a page on myths about thrillcraft, a provocative essay by George Wuerthner comparing restricting thrillcraft on public lands to bans on smoking in public places, and a short list of strategies for solving this problem.
You can view the video online at the Thrillcraft website (scroll down to the bottom of the home page) or at Google Videos. If you’d like a DVD of the video to show to your group, we have them available at no cost (beyond postage). Just e-mail Terry Weiner at: terryweiner AT sbcglobal DOT net.
[Website editor’s note: We’re concerned about the comments from the Sierra Club’s Carl Zichella in this article, which deny the viability of alternatives to the kind of massive solar-trough power plant pictured below. Fortunately, there are true clean energy technologies that don’t require scraping thousands of acres of desert and that still will meet California’s renewable energy goals. (A whole suite of such alternatives was outlined in the San Diego Smart Energy 2020 plan.) And equally fortunately, activists within the Sierra Club are pushing back against Carl Zichella’s seeming alliance with Big Solar and Big Wind. As you read this article, keep in mind that photovoltaic solar technology has become far more viable and economical than Mr. Zichella or the representative from BrightSource Energy admit. For more info on recent breakthroughs in this technology please see our current
Educational Bulletin, an article reprinted from Public Utilities Fortnightly.]
FIELDS OF LIGHT Plans for large solar plants in the desert — like this one in Kramer
Junction, Calif. — have come under fire from area residents and environmentalists.
By PETER MALONEY Published: September 23, 2008
WHAT’S not to like about solar power? Sunlight is clean, quiet and abundant. If enough of it were harnessed and turned into electricity, it could be the solution to the energy crisis. But surprisingly, solar power projects are running into mounting opposition — and not from hard-nosed, coal-fired naysayers, but from environmentalists.
John Gerlach/Animals Animals NATIVE Opponents are concerned about the impact on animals like the desert tortoise.
The opposition is particularly strong in Southern California. Aside from abundant sunshine and virtually cloudless skies, the California desert has altitude, so there is less atmospheric interference for the sun’s rays, as well as broad swaths of level land for installing equipment, and proximity to large, electricity-hungry cities.
But it is also home to the Mojave ground squirrel, the desert tortoise and the burrowing owl, and to human residents who describe themselves as desert survivors and who are unhappy about the proliferation of solar projects planned for their home turf.
“We’re tired of everyone looking at the desert like a wasteland,” said Donna Charpied, who lives with her husband, Larry, in Desert Center, Calif., where they have been farming jojoba, a native shrub cultivated for its oil, for 27 years. She is also the policy advocate for the Desert Communities Protection Campaign of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
The United States Bureau of Land Management said it had applications for solar power projects that would cover 78,490 acres in the area around the Charpieds’ farm, which abuts Joshua Tree National Park. For the entire United States, the total number of applications is far greater, growing from zero less than two years ago to more than 125 projects with a combined electrical potential of 70,000 megawatts, the equivalent of the electrical capacity of about 70 large coal-fired power plants.
Solar energy properties are scrambling to lock up desert land like the Mormon Mesa in Nevada.
Posted July 16, 2008 The Southwest desert's real estate boom From CNN.com/Fortune Magazine From California to Arizona, demand for sites for solar power projects has ignited a land grab. By Todd Woody, senior editor
(Fortune Magazine) -- Doug Buchanan grins with relief when he sees the carcasses. He has just driven up a steep dirt road onto a vast, sunbaked mesa overlooking the Mojave Desert in western Nevada. There, a few feet from the trail, lie the corpses of two steers. A raven perches on one, the only object more than three feet above the ground on this pancake-flat plateau. Cattle, dead or alive, qualify as good news in Buchanan's line of work. If cattle are present, that means grazing is permitted, and that in turn means that this land is most likely not protected habitat for the desert tortoise.
Buchanan, 53, is scouting sites for a solar power company called BrightSource Energy, an Oakland-based startup backed by Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500). The blunt, fifth-generation Californian, who used to survey the same area for natural-gas power sites, knows that the presence of an endangered species such as the tortoise could derail BrightSource's plans to build a multibillion-dollar solar energy plant on the mesa.
San Bernardino/Riverside/San Diego & Imperial Counties, CA - At least two giant public utility companies said environmentalists “need not worry” about plans to build a “mega grid” of transmission power lines through Southern California because they are scaling back, considering other routes and carefully moving forward despite concerns.
