“Pattern Energy is going to pollute what it couldn't destroy… Monsanto’s Roundup is an herbicde cousin  to Agent Orange--the defoliant sprayed in Viet Nam that harmed a generation of veterans and their children… This herbicide—a neurotoxin--is going to get carried downwind. Did Pattern fail to notice that there is still a community with children here in spite of its industrialization of the area with 112 turbines and a substation?”

By Linda Ewing, Ocotillo resident

Photo: Sahara mustard, a “weed” the BLM wants to eradicate with toxic herbicides

May 14, 2013 (Ocotillo) -- Herbicide Mitigation? What is that? I heard these two disturbing words and felt panic.

I knew instinctively that it was going to have something to do with this Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility because nothing good has come from this controversial project since the day Pattern Energy uttered its first words of deception to the town of Ocotillo. Since the day the company first tried to convince us that its massive 438 foot-tall industrial-sized wind turbines were good for the economy.  And yes, the very same day we realized that human lives were disposable and irrelevant in the statistical world of giant wind turbine developers.

October 26, 2012 (Borrego Springs) -- Grab the family and head out to California’s Secret Desert™, Borrego Springs, for the 47th Annual Borrego Days Desert Festival.  Friends and family will gather for this three-day local tradition to enjoy the Heart of the Desert in our own backyard.  

The free festival, dedicated to the memory of Dennis Avery (1940-2012), takes place on October 26 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and continues October 27 from 11:00 a.m.  to 10:00 p.m., and October 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  

By Shaun Gonzales

August 21, 2012 (Ocotillo)--Pattern Energy has begun clearing beautiful desert near Anza-Borrego State Park for the nearly 16 square mile Ocotillo Express Wind project.  Once completed, the facility will consist of 112 wind turbines, each one standing over 400 feet tall, and requiring wide new roads carved into the fragile desert soil. 

Photographer Phillip Colla gives us a birds-eye view of the beginning phase of the destruction with a series of images available at his website.  The photos were made possible by aviation support provided by LightHawk.

April 12, 2012 (Ocotillo) – “My wife, Mary, and I had the pleasure of seeing a large group of bighorn sheep while we were on one of our desert wildflower trips,” Robert Baran says.

They photographed a group of 15 or more Peninsular Bighorn Sheep on Saturday, April 7 between Meyer Creek and Ocotillo.  

July 31, 2011 (Sacramento) -- The Federal and State Renewable Energy Action Team (REAT) launched a joint environmental review for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP or Plan) that seeks to streamline permitting of renewable energy facilities for seven counties in the California desert, including San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Public meetings are set for August 16 and 24, with written comments encouraged for those who cannot attend.