By Nadin Abbott

August 6, 2014 (San Diego)--The County of San Diego has recognized the reality of climactic change since the County Board of Supervisors adopted the Climate Action Plan in 2012, This is a comprehensive plan that partly complies with the state mandate imposed by AB 32. AB 32, which is the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, signed into law by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

E - The Environmental Magazine                                           

By Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss

August 2, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) --Dear EarthTalk: Where are some good “eco-travel” destinations right here in the continental U.S. that I can consider for a family vacation?                                               -- Janet Devino, Brooklyn, NY

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2014 (Ocotillo)—A Summary of Violations has been issued to Ocotillo Wind Express (OWE) for alleged violations of state law due to hydraulic oil leaks observed during a complaint investigation, Sandy Nax at the Department of Toxic Substances Control with the California Environmental Protection Agency in Imperial County confirmed today.

By Miriam Raftery

July 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is the first utility company in the nation to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test the use of small, unmanned drone aircraft for monitoring electric and gas lines. 

The company announced that this will improve safety and response times, but the announcement is also drawing criticism for the lack of public input and potential environmental issues.

... and kill another small business

"All my female employees are complaining of irregular menstruations, and several have permanent headaches." (Boye Jensen, Nursery Owner, Denmark)

By Mark Duchamp, World Council for Nature

July 11, 2014 (Denmark)--The Danish press reports the case of a garden centre (nursery) going out of business because of nearby wind turbines. Headaches are frequent among employees, and female workers complain of unusual bleeding and problems with their menstruation cycles. They are worried that more serious illnesses may follow. Five have recently resigned. The owner is now closing his business for fear of being held liable should a child be born with deformities, as happened to numerous mink puppies at a fur farm near wind turbines in Jutland.

July 4, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - At its 82^nd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting recently, the nation’s mayors renewed their longstanding commitment to fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions, promoting energy independence and efficiency and developing renewable energy.

June 30, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--Honey bees are vital for our food supply, since a quarter of all foods that Americans eat depend on pollination by bees.  But bee populations fell by 23% over the winter.

By Miriam Raftery

June 26, 2014 (Ocotillo) – Moving shadows of massive blades the length of football fields flickering across I-8 near the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility  has been the subject of many complaints we’ve received from readers, residents and motorists since Pattern Energy built the project on Federal Bureau of Land Management property.

Photos: Danish wind farmer blames wind turbines (left) on 1,600 stillbirths and 320 miscarriages (right) among mother minks at his farm.

By Jessica Richmond

June 18, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – From Denmark to San Diego’s East County, concerns are growing over the safety of wind turbines near pregnant women, pets and livestock. 

Unlike the chemical or food industries, the wind industry has never had to provide safety data backed by any scientific studies on potential impacts of infrasound, noise or stray voltage from wind turbines on human reproductive health or even animals.  But a growing number of deaths and deformities of baby animals near wind turbines, as well as high sterility rates in some adult animals, is heightening fears among people living near wind turbines about potential impacts on their own health—and the health of their children.

ECM has previously reported on a study that found negative impacts from wind turbines on geese and other instances where health problems among livestock were observed near wind turbines including cattle deaths, high rates of stillbirths and miscarriages among horses, chickens laying eggs with no shells, and birth defects among goats, as ECM  reported.

Most alarming, now Kaj Bank Olesen, a mink farmer in Denmark, reports staggering reproductive problems after a wind turbine was erected 328 meters away.

East County News Service

June 23, 2014 (Alpine) – A proposal before the San Diego Supervisors on Wednesday would weaken protections for federal forest lands by allowing development encroachment in East County. The plan could double the size of rural Alpine, putting forest lands at risks, conservationists warn.

Now Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation, has issued a plea for the public to contact Supervisors and urge them to support protections granted by the Forest Conservation Initiative that was approved by two-thirds of local voters but recently expired.  Below is the letter he sent to conservationists countywide.

By Roy L Hales

Photos Credit: Parke Ewing

Originally published in the ECOreport

The Ocotillo Wind Farm keeps limping on. According to a recent article in East County Magazine, the site was producing just under 18% of capacity during the first quarter of 2014. As that was the windy season, it seems unlikely that Ocotillo will beat the slightly less than 16% average they set for the first for year of operation (2013). Then there is what the Bureau of Land Management keeps refering to as "general maintenance."

By Jaden Jimenez

June 5, 2014 - The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a regulation Monday that would cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants by up to to 30 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, the Washington Post reports.

Community tailgate at SDG&E offices June 6 in El Cajon and July 7 in Chula Vista

East County News Service

June 4, 2014 (El Cajon)--SDG&E is going to have Community Tailgates at its branch offices, providing information on programs, services and solutions to your energy needs. Their partners, TechniArt, will be on hand offering 3 light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs for $10 (which is a $60 value) along with additional LED sizes.

LEDs use far less electricity, and because they don’t have a filament to burn out, they last up to five times  longer than compact florescent bulbs. And LEDs offer a “cleaner” light than  compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. The LEDs use so much less electricity and last so much longer that the cost savings over a traditional incandescent bulb is about $540 over the life of the bulb. That’s a solid return on the investment of $3.33 per bulb in this special offer.

Originally published in the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

May 29, 2014 (Sacramento)--The California Assembly passed AB 2145 by a 51-15 vote. A broad and diverse coalition of business, local government, community and environmental organizations have decried the Assembly’s passage of what they are calling California’s ‘Utility Monopoly Power Grab of 2014.’

May 24, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Community opposition is growing to a bill, AB 2145, that  would make it harder for communities to invest in clean energy through community choice aggregation, i.e., giving consumers alternatives on where to buy their electricity.  Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Dave Roberts are among those who have signed a petition asking the State Legislature to oppose the measure.   You can view those who have signed it here:  http://www.no2145.org/

You can read and sign the petition here:  http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/stop-the-utility-power-grab-1?sp_ref=43541140.4.7738.e.0.2&source=mailto_sp