“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.
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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.
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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.
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May 25, 2012 (San Diego) -- Today the Desert Protective Council is filing a lawsuit in Federal Court in San Diego to stop the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility Project (OWEF) from causing damage to fragile desert lands in western Imperial County, adjacent to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the largest state park in the U.S.
The lawsuit, naming the Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, the County of Imperial, California, and the Project Permittee, Pattern Energy of La Jolla, CA as defendants, alleges that the Secretary violated the right-of-way provisions of the Federal Lands Policy Management Act (FLPMA) when he approved the Project.
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May 14, 2012 (Boulevard)--“A little dust won't kill you”, said my parents as we packed up for the family camping trip. Being the oldest of four and an obedient child, I did resolve to have a miserable time. My pout lasted all of eight minutes after we arrived. Gosh! The rocks I collected were every one more beautiful than the last. We four kids ran off into the desert with admonitions, "Watch out for the snakes" fading fast. Middle brother muttering, "Why would I want to see snakes?" Oldest brother and I grinning, "Let's find some!". Youngest brother whining, "I'm gonna tell if you touch one!"
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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.
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It is currently cheaper, on a per-watt basis, to install a small rooftop system in Germany than it is to install a giant desert installation in the US.
By Ariele Johannson
April 9, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Driving through the southwestern deserts, I’ve long been impressed by the ocotillo, a cactus-like tree with straight branches angling upwards to the sun, ablaze with red blooms. This thorny desert tree is an apt metaphor for the ways different people view energy issues-- especially proposed industrial solar and wind power projects in remote wilderness areas. Like the ocotillo, these programs and policies have a wide array of angles from which to be viewed.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
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.
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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. 
By Shaun Gonzales
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.
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