June 25, 2008
LADWP Claims Alternate GPN Route Would Condemn 3,500 Homes
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power claims that an alternate I-10 route for Green Path North transmission lines would lead to razing 3,500 homes by eminent domain proceedings. The article erroneously creates a false Catch-22 by indicating that LADWP must decide between condemning property in the Rialto, Colton and Fontana areas or choosing a GPN route that infringes on wildland, i.e. the route through the high desert. No mention is made of the 30 miles of private property that would be subject to eminent domain condemnation along the route through the high desert and its communities.
The Press-Enterprise: "Inland acres in LA power path," 6/25/08
June 13, 2008
LADWP Discussing I-10 Corridor Route With SCE
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is discussing with Southern California Edison the possibility of routing its Green Path North transmission lines along the existing I-10 transmission corridor controlled by SCE. Pressure to use this existing corridor rather than build a new corridor through pristine desert has been brought on LADWP by CDC, Wildlands Conservancy, and the Center for Biological Diversity, as well as the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis.
The Sun: "Pols, city and green groups sway agency: Green Path is looking greener," 6/13/08
June 9, 2008
Does LA Need to Tear Up the Desert to Get Green Power?
The Green Path North project is highlighted in this article that also covers some of the many other energy projects planned in the desert. CDC's answer to the question posed is a definite NO; the desert and our communities do not need to be sacrificed. There are realistic renewable energy alternatives to creating unnecessary new transmission corridors like GPN and to placing large, environmentally destructive solar projects at long distances from urban areas. Letters to the editor can be submitted to the High Country News directly from the website posting of the article, and comments can be posted on the website as well.
High Country News: "Walking on a Wire," 6/9/08
June 2, 2008
Environmentalists Oppose Rush of Renewable Energy Projects in the Desert
Environmentalists and desert communities are objecting to the rush of renewable energy projects planned for the desert. Solar and wind farms, along with transmission lines, would change the desert landscape, home to threatened and endangered species, such as the desert tortoise. The BLM has 66 applications for solar projects alone and will be holding meetings to gather public comments on these projects on June 16 and 17.
The Press Enterprise: "Renewable energy projects meet opposition from environmentalists," 6/2/08
June 2008
Renewable Energy Development: The Right and the Wrong Way
The Mojave Desert is under assault in the rush to develop renewable energy and reduce green house gases (GHG). Energy developers are submitting applications for exploration and development on cheap federal lands that would result in paving the desert with solar panels, wind farms, and new transmission corridors (like Green Path North). There is a better, greener way to develop renewable energy as described in the article.
Desert Report: "The Greenwash--Renewable Energy Development: The Right and the Wrong Way," June 2008
May 12, 2008
LADWP says it is nearly ready to announce the route it has chosen for a new Green Path North energy corridor. Further, the utility says it could be filing its notice of intent (NOI) in a matter of weeks. (Note: Issuance of the NOI by BLM will start a 30-day public review period followed by public scoping meetings.)
The Sun: "Power-line route nears release," 5/12/08
May 9, 2008
Sierra Club "Green" Path Hike Reveals a Fragile Treasure
A hike organized by the Sierra Club (the article wrongly attributes organization of the hike to CDC) along the proposed route of Green Path North power lines reveals a spring, petroglyphs, and a fragile desert that many say is an inappropriate setting for a new power line corridor.
The Press Enterprise: "A Fragile Treasure," 5/9/08
April 28, 2008
More LADWP Doublespeak as Green Path North Survey Markers are Removed
LADWP has removed its Green Path North survey markers and has changed its storyline yet again regarding the markers it had installed in concrete along the utility's preferred path for GPN. Hikers on a Sierra Club "Green" Path Hike, intending to learn more about the serious threat to the desert posed by GPN, were surprised by the disappearance of the markers as they enjoyed the beauty of the Big Morongo Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), an area that would be devastated if GPN is allowed to happen.
CDC Press Release: "More LADWP Doublespeak as Green Path North Survey Markers are Removed," 4/28/08
March 27, 2008
SCE Leads the Way in Rooftop PV Use in Southern California
Southern California Edison leads the nation in plan to install photovoltaic cells on 65 million square feet of rooftops in Southern California. SCE points to recent advances that have cut in half the traditional cost of installed PV cell solar generation. Will LADWP wake up to this truly green approach to increasing its portfolio of renewable energy?
Reuters:
“California utility to add 250 MW in solar cells,” 3/27/08
March 26, 2008
CBS Video Exposes More LADWP Deception Regarding Survey Markers
In a CBS 2 Palm Springs interview, LADWP CEO and General Manager David Nahai tried to pass blame to the BLM for the GPN survey markers installed on private and public lands. Nahai said, "Survey markers were put down as a result of the requirements of BLM and were there to establish boundaries of wilderness areas in order to avoid them." The truth is the BLM did not require the markers, and the majority of markers have been placed far from, rather than on the boundaries of, areas designated as wilderness (although in some cases, appallingly deep within environmentally sensitive, protected lands).
CBS Video & Report: “Green or Greed? Residents Question 'The Green Path North'”
CDC Press Release: “LADWP Passes Blame for Power Line Survey Markers to BLM”
Hi-Desert Star:
“Claims about Green Path surveys don’t match up,” 4/1/08
March 13, 2008
Congress Considering a National Landscape Conservation Act That Omits Protection for Much of the Desert
A congressional bill under consideration omits over 6 million acres of the California desert from protection. The BLM says that the lands to be omitted from the original National Landscape Conservation System established in 2000 were dropped on a technicality. Some BLM employees, members of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which represents whistle-blowers in government agencies, say the semantics hide political motives, partly related to the hundreds of miles of electrical transmission corridors that utility companies have proposed on these lands.
Los Angeles Times: "Federal protection may not cover much of the desert," 3/13/08
February 28, 2008
NPCA Writes LA Mayor Citing Significant GPN Impacts on Joshua Tree National Park
The National Parks Conservation Association, a national organization dedicated to protecting America’s national parks, has written to Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa citing potential significant negative impacts on Joshua Tree National Park from LADWP’s proposed Green Path North energy corridor. The NPCA points to the “potentially catastrophic ecological consequences” of GPN power lines and also highlights negative impacts to the viewshed for visitors to JTNP’s western wilderness.
February 22, 2008
Hi-Desert Star Reader Points to LADWP’s Secrecy, Past and Present
First the Owens Valley and now the California desert--LADWP continues a pattern of secrecy and lies as it attempts to force Green Path North power lines through the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.
February 21, 2008
Sierra Club and U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis Join Opposition to GPN Route
The Sierra Club calls the LADWP power line route from Desert Hot Springs to Hesperia “unnecessary and unjustified,” and U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis, in his letter to LADWP, wants the LA utility to stick to existing corridors for Green Path North.
February 12, 2008
January 21, 2008
Busload of CDC Supporters Show Up at Ontario WWEC Draft PEIS Meeting
Federal officials in Ontario were surprised when a large contingent of CDC members showed up at the WWEC Draft PEIS meeting to speak and express their opposition to Green Path North and the other destructive aspects associated with the federal government's attempt to designate energy corridors in 11 Western states.
January 3, 2008
Sunrise Powerlink Draft EIR Release Favors Local Energy Generation
Today the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) issued a press release describing a stunning blow to the proposed Sunrise Powerlink transmission link project, a project similar in scope to Green Path North (GPN). The newly released Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Sunrise Powerlink identifies local electricity generation as a far superior alternative to the Powerlink. This is good news for GPN opponents, who also point to local generation as a key alternative to the destructive GPN power lines.
December 12, 2007
Associated Press: December 12, 2007
December 4, 2007
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Issue Resolution Opposing Power Line Route Through Morongo Basin
Today the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors passed Resolution #2007-367 opposing the LADWP Green Path North proposed route through environmentally sensitive areas of the Morongo Basin.
November 8, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 13, 2007
October 3, 2007
LA Times Article Relates U.S. Department of Energy Decision to Eminent Domain Powers
LA Times coverage of yesterday's decision by the U.S. Department of Energy describes the Federal Government's new authority to allow utility companies to condemn private homes.
Los Angeles Times: "U.S. to have say in power line siting," October 3, 2007
October 2, 2007
U.S. Department of Energy Designates National Interest ElectricTransmission Corridors
Today the U.S. Department of Energy designated nearly all of Southern California, parts of Arizona and much of the northeast as national interest electric transmission corridors.