Public meetings Sept. 6th and 7th: Tell our public officials what You think about renewal energy development in the Mojave

The Desert Renewal Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will guide plans to develop renewal energy (solar and wind) in the California deserts. Federal, state, and county agencies are involved. The plan will cover both public and private land. Nothing final has been drafted yet. We have an opportunity to make a difference in the process that will shape our future.

The DRECP claims to:

·        Provide for the long-term conservation and management of Covered Species within the Plan Area,

·        Preserve, restore, and enhance natural communities and ecosystems that support Covered Species,

·        Streamline environmental review and permitting for compatible renewable energy project, and

·        Identify appropriate areas or zones within the Plan Area for the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects.

But the plan has some big gaps and needs to incorporate current scientific data; bio-studies, and local economic issues.   We asked for a meeting in our area and were granted one. Officials from the California Energy Commission, Fish and Wildlife, the BLM, and San Bernardino County will be present to hear from us about life in the Mojave, the right way to develop renewal energy in our desert, and what we must preserve.

Information about the DRECP is available on the National Parks Conservation Association website;  and on the  California Desert Coalition website.

Also check out Renewable Energy Topics by Chris Clarke. You can read the DRECP at http://www.drecp.org/

 Meeting details are below. Please come and be heard.

 

Desert Protective Council awards Wilshire and Nielson

The venerable Desert Protective Council held their 54th Annual Membership Meeting and Desert Gathering on October 26 at the 29 Palms Inn. Among other activities, Awards of Merit were presented to Bill Powers and to keynote speakers Howard Wilshire and Jane Nielson.

Wilshire and Nielson's new book is The American West at Risk: Science, Myths, and Politics of Land Abuse and Recovery. These two distinguished scientists have a long history of research in the desert, and the DPC's DesertBlog reports on their address:

With dramatic slides showing a variety of types of destruction, the authors took the audience on a virtual tour of the ways we are degrading the environment, and how this destruction will affect our society’s future. The purpose of their book, they said, is to provide solid evidence to those concerned with these issues, and particularly those engaged in any particular environmental battle. The science behind these problems is clear, they said, as are the solutions, but cultural factors prevent these science-based solutions from being implemented.

The authors laid the causes of these problems at the door of our overly consumptive way of life, and the amount of waste that lifestyle generates. That includes not only excess CO2 that is now heating the planet, but a variety of other waste products from plastics to spent reactor fuel. In fact, our country’s largest product, they said, is waste. Other abuses include lack of protections for water quality, soil losses that threaten both agriculture and water quality, and excessive suburbanization fueled by ever-increasing house sizes (though our economy seems to have brought that kind of expansion to a halt for now!).

DesertBlog writes, "If this sounds like too much gloom and doom, links on the authors’ website point to organizations leading the way into a more sustainable, less consumptive future."

MBCA congratulates the Desert Protective Council on 54 years of success in defending the wild desert and their continuing important work.

Coverage of PASS Eco-Summit

You can read coverage of last weekend's PASS Eco-Summit in the Hi-Desert Star.

Speakers included such experts as Bill Brown, a presenter with Al Gore's The Climate Project covering "Climate Change Solutions". Stephanie Wiegel of the Sonoran Institute talked about local efforts to preserve open space by establishing wildlife corridors. Locally recognized expert on native plants Robin Kobaly brought "edible nuts, berries and seeds from drought-resistant plants to share from her own yard."

The Eco-Summit also included a tour of local "eco-homes".

PASS Eco-Summit coming in Joshua Tree

MBCA is helping to sponsor the PASS Eco-Summit in Joshua Tree this October, focusing on "Practical Advances in Southwestern Sustainability" ("PASS"). Per the Hi-Desert Star, this conference offers "tools for ways of doing business and living that help rather than harm the surroundings."

Basin Wide Foundation organizers promise a day of collaborative solutions and examples of methods to address current situations in the desert. For people who want practical examples of what they can do in their daily lives, the conference will include a 3 1/2-hour Green Living Workshop available separately for people who do not attend the full conference.

A concert, Eco-Fair, and Eco-Home Tour will be part of the events October 10-12 at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center. Early registration with special rates ends September 20. Find out more at the Eco-Summit Website.

Building state-wide curtailed by drought

As California faces one of its worst droughts in two decades, building projects are being curtailed for the first time under state law by the inability of developers to find long-term water supplies.

Water authorities and other government agencies scattered throughout [California]...have begun denying, delaying or challenging authorization for dozens of housing tracts and other developments under a state law that requires a 20-year water supply as a condition for building.

[snip]

The state law was enacted in 2001, but until statewide water shortages, it had not been invoked to hold up projects.

While previous droughts and supply problems have led to severe water cutbacks and rationing, water officials said the outright refusal to sign off on projects over water scarcity had until now been virtually unheard of on a statewide scale.

Read the rest in the New York Times.

MORE INFO ON THESE TOPICS: On the Water page of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Water.