Monday, June 9, 2008

CDC Update: Green Path North in the News

CDC Supporters,
 
Green Path North, as well as the many solar and wind energy projects that threaten the desert, have been receiving significant coverage in the media. The CDC website at http://cadesertco.org/ has several new articles on its News page.
 
The June 9 High Country News article asks whether LA needs to tear up the desert to get green power. The article highlights the plight of one of our Morongo Basin residents threatened by Green Path North and gives in-depth coverage of the big picture on GPN and energy issues in the desert.
 
The June 2 Press Enterprise article highlights the opposition by environmentalists and communities to the rush of renewable energy projects in the desert. Among the "flurry of plans" this article highlights is the Solar Energy Development Programmatic EIS (PEIS) issued by the Department of Energy and BLM. The BLM currently has 66 applications for solar projects on 518,573 acres of the California desert.  Due to the agencies overload, it has drafted the umbrella PEIS. Public meetings will be held in Riverside on June 12 and in Barstow June 13 and the PEIS is open for public comment until July 15. The website for this issue is http://www.solareis.anl.gov/index.cfm, where there is full information on the meetings and the process for submitting public comments.
 
The June 2008 Desert Report article is by CDC Chair April Sall. It sets forth a better, greener way to develop renewable energy than unnecessary, destructive projects like Green Path North.
 
The March 13 Los Angeles Times article is an older article that was just added to the CDC News page. The National Landscape Conservation Act (NLCA) bill under consideration in congress is of vital importance to the fight against Green Path North power lines. The House version of the bill omits over 6 million acres of the California desert from protection, including the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve (BMCP) threatened by GPN. Per the article, Senator Diane Feinstein has promised to fix the 7-million-acre "glitch" in the Senate version of the bill. It is essential to the fight against Green Path North that protected lands such as BMCP be included in the NLCA.  Please write to Senator Feinstein at http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMe or by mail at her address on the CDC website.
 
Thanks for your continuing support,
California Desert Coalition

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