October 28, 2014 (Ocotillo) – Residents in the southern portion of San Diego and Imperial Counties have voiced surprise at seeing massive wind turbines sprouting up just south of the border.  The La Rumerosa wind facility in Mexico is visible across our region – causing consternation in some quarters.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Wind turbines dwarf homes and barns in rural Illinois

October 17, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--Neighbors battling wind energy projects locally just got some new ammunition in two separate cases. 

In Wisconsin, the Brown County Board of Health this week voted to declare Duke Energy’s Shirley Wind energy project a human health hazard to residents, visitors, workers and other people  up to six miles away from the wind turbines. Here in San Diego’s East County and neighboring Imperial County, wind turbines have been built within a half mile of homes and new setbacks proposed remain much less than six miles, raising questions over potential dangers to residents if those projects are built.  

In Vermont, a federal district court has found that plaintiffs provided ample evidence to allow a private nuisance claim over the Sheffield Wind Project to proceed in court for creating unreasonable noise.

By Miriam Raftery

October 10, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – With consumer activists clamoring for his impeachment, California Public Utilities Chairman Michael Peevey has announced he will not seek reappointment when his term ends at year’s end.   His replacement will be appointed by Governor Jerry Brown.

Listen online now to hear the interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

October 9, 2014 (San Diego's East County) -- On our "Green Scene" report aired originally on our East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio, we interviewed Kelly Fuller with Protect Our Communities about the local nonprofit's lawsuit filed against federal agencies over the Tule Wind project planned in McCain Valley. The suit alleges that the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs ignored advice from wildlife officials at state and federal wildlife agencies, who warned that the wind turbines pose threats to eagles.

For details, click "read more" and scroll down.

A Review of the video Good News, from Climate Reality

Originally Published in the ECOreport

View video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTH3otcW_hs[/embedyt

By Roy L Hales

October 9, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - "Good News," from Climate Reality, is good propaganda. The message is clear and, to a large extent, true - only it also perpetuates a myth. Solar and wind energy are not necessarily good, it depends how they are used.

By Miriam Raftery

October 4, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) The inner ears of people were “drastically” altered after exposure to low frequency noise. Living close to wind turbines may lead to severe hearing damage or even deafness. Those are the findings of scientists from the University of Munich, Germany, according to a study published in the Royal Society’s Open Science Journal on October 1^st.

By Miriam Raftery

September 30, 2014 (Sacramento)--California has become the first state in the nation to ban disposable plastic bags in major retail outlets, though 125 local jurisdictions in the state have already adopted similar ordinances.

By Miriam Raftery

September 30, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) - Over the last 40 years, total wildlife populations on earth have fallen by 52%. That’s the grim finding of the London Zoological Society’s Living Planet Index, the BBC reports.

Plan would open up 22 million acres of California to large-scale renewable energy development

By Miriam Raftery

September 26, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week published in the Federal Register a Notice of Availability of the draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS).  A formal comment period is now open through January 9, 2015.

By Miriam Raftery

September 24, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--Earlier this year, we reported on a 90% decline in the number of Monarch butterflies in their annual winter migration to Mexico. But now, there are signs of hope on the horizon.

Story and photos by Robert Gehr

September 23, 2014 (El Cajon)--The city of El Cajon recently installed signs at the downtown waterscape asking the public to stop feeding the ducks which gather there. It seems that the bread, etc. is contributing to the ill health of this fragile ecosystem, resulting in excessive algae, and fecal matter, plus a variety of toxins and diseases - some of which are transmittable to humans and could potentially make a person very sick, especially children.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Wind turbines at Kumeyaay Wind  facility in Campo

September 23, 2014 (Campo, California) – “Looks like we dodged another wind project bullet when the Campo tribe voted down Invenergy's Shu'luuk Wind project,” Boulevard Planning Group Chair Donna Tisdale wrote in an e-mail to East County Magazine.

She forwarded a link to an article on a $40 million lawsuit filed against Invenergy by 60 neighbors of the company’s Orangeville Wind project in New York. Neighbors allege that the facility has violated noise limits and caused significant harm to health and property values: http://www.windaction.org/posts/41275-lawsuit-filed-against-invenergy-in-relation-to-orangeville-wind-farm#.VB83JPldV8E.

The suit alleges that the project has created a nuisance that has caused residents to suffer a loss in their quality of life and property value due to the wind energy project.  According to the complaint, wind turbines were built within 800 to 1500 feet of the plaintiffs’ properties. Plaintiffs contend that the project has caused “constant noise, vibrations, and flicker to enter Plaintiffs’ property, significantly impacting the health and wellbeing of the Plaintiffs and causing them to become sick, sore, lame and disabled.”  The projects also destroyed rural views, the suit states.

Listen to our radio show Monday on KNSJ 89. 1 FM at 5 p.m. to hear our audio report on Project Wildlife’s event.

By Miriam Raftery

September 21, 2014 (Lakeside) – At Project Wildlife’s “We Like It Wild” event in Lakeside last week, guests had up close and personal encounters with exotic and local wildlife at the Pillsbury Ranch owned by Joan Embery, the San Diego Zoo’s ambassador.  They also heard a special announcement from the Project Wildlife’s executive director Beth Ugoretz, who said Project Wildlife plans to merge by November 1^st with the San Diego Humane Society.

Gary Weitzman, president of the San Diego Human Society and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, emphasized that goal is to keep Project Wildlife “strong” and leverage the strengths of both organizations.  Project Wildlife’s focus on rescuing and rehabilitating local wildlife will continue, and the need is great, since the drought, wildfires and development have put increasing stress on local animals from birds and reptiles to larger animals such as raccoons and coyotes.

By Miriam Raftery

September 12, 2014 (San Diego) – There won’t be a gas-fired power plant built next to Mission Trails Regional Park. Plans for the controversial project have been withdrawn at the request of a letter sent by Quail Brush GENCO LLC, the project applicant, to the California Energy Commission on September 12.

The project had faced strong opposition including city councils of both Santee and San Diego, the Santee School District, environmental groups and residents. 

Preserve Wild Santee posted the following message on its Facebook page upon hearing the news:

Originally Published in the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

September 13, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) - A statewide survey, done by the Public Policy Institute, found that 77% of Californians think public transit should be the focus of transportation spending. Only 18% said more money should be spent on highways and freeways.(1) This sentiment is strong in San Diego, where more than a decade ago 85% of the respondents said the transit system was the #1 priority.(2) When the question came up again, in 2010, 55% of those polled wanted the transit system expanded, as opposed to 32% who want more roads.(3) Now, as the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) draws up its’ transportation plan, community groups want them to put plans for a freeway expansion on hold. According to Monique Lopez, from the Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego needs to put transit and active transportation first.