National Congress of American Indians Demands Protection of Rights Under MLPA
by Dan Bacher
The National Congress of American Indians, at their annual session from October 11-16 in Palm Springs, passed a strongly worded resolution blasting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process for failing to recognize the tribal subsistence, ceremonial and cultural rights of California Indian Tribes.
“While the tribes support the State’s goal of developing marine protection, they are concerned that the State’s MLPA process does not address their sovereign standing or interests,” according to the resolution. (…)
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National Congress of American Indians Demands Protection of Rights Under MLPA
November 19th, 2009Oppose Water Bond, C-WIN Board Says
November 19th, 2009Agribusiness and MWD will kill Delta, and bilk California ratepayers
Unanimously opposing the Governor’s $11.14 billion water bond, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) Board of Directors urges voters to reject the water bond next November 2010.
“The Governor’s water legislation marks the path to build the Peripheral Canal,” said C-WIN President and Executive Director Carolee Krieger. (…)
Groups Sue EBMUD Over Proposed Expansion of Pardee Reservoir
November 19th, 2009The Foothill Conservancy, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Friends of the River will file suit on November 19, 2009 in Amador County Superior Court to protect the Mokelumne River from the proposed expansion of Pardee Reservoir. (…)
Schwarzenegger Greenwashes Way Across Europe As Salmon Face Extinction
November 19th, 2009by Dan Bacher
As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was shamelessly greenwashing his way across Europe and the Middle East to meet with political leaders about “fighting climate change” and “creating green jobs, a coalition of environmental groups sent the state a notice of intent to sue over the Schwarzenegger’s administration’s failure to protect imperiled salmon and steelhead in two North Coast rivers.
Two press releases issued by the Governor’s Office Wednesday were typical of those continually spit out by Schwarzenegger’s P.R. (…)
Schwarzenegger Signs The Delta’s Death Warrant
November 16th, 2009by Dan Bacher
After an all night session, the California Legislature on November 4 passed a water package including an $11.1 billion bond that provides a clear path to the construction of the peripheral canal and more dams. (…)
Boat That Killed Whale Didn’t Have Valid Permit, Surveyor Contends
November 13th, 2009by Dan Bacher
A research vessel contracted by NOAA for a mission to map the sea floor for the California Ocean Protection Council didn’t have a valid permit when it struck and killed a 70-foot blue whale off the Mendocino County coast near Fort Bragg on October 19, a prominent sea surveyor contends.
The death of the whale drew an angry response from North Coast environmentalists, fishermen and seaweed harvesters, since one of the main reasons the boat was mapping the ocean floor was to gather the data used to develop so-called state “marine protected areas” (MPAs) under Governor Arnold’s widely-criticized Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process, as well as for federal MPAs.
Steve Sullivan, Vice-President of Sea Surveyor, Inc., said the Pacific Star, an out-of-state vessel from Alaska, was surveying without the required permit to conduct geophysical surveys in California waters at the time that it struck the the rare blue whale.
“The permit the Pacific Star has been operating under (provided by Fugro-Pelagos) expired on September 30 and the new permit was not approved by the State Lands Commission until October 22, three-days after the whale was struck,” he said. (…)
Lower Numbers of Fall Chinook Salmon Returning to Battle Creek
November 13th, 2009by Dan Bacher
Preliminary data released by the U.S. (…)
MLPA Task Force Chair Appointed President of Petroleum Association
November 13th, 2009by Dan Bacher
Corporate greenwashing in California under Arnold Schwarzenegger, the “green governor,” has become so bizarre and egregious that no political satirist, comedian or novelist could concoct fictional schemes that rival the reality of current politics in the state.
Only in Schwarzenegger’s California would a governor appoint an oil industry lobbyist to a key administration position supposedly promoting “marine protection” at a time when oil companies are seeking to expand drilling operations off the California coast.
On August 14, Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman announced the Governor’s appointment of Cathy Reheis-Boyd, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Western States Petroleum Association, as chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Blue Ribbon Task Force for the remainder of the MLPA South Project.
After having served on the MLPA Task Force for the North Coast, Chrisman and Schwarzenegger apparently thought she had done such a good job of promoting the fast-track MLPA process that he appointed her to the new position. (…)
Governor Signs Water Bond Bill at Friant Pork Festival
November 11th, 2009by Dan Bacher
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed a death warrant for California’s environment – an $11.1 billion water bond bill that will lead to the construction of the peripheral canal and more dams unless the voters defeat this pork-filled measure in the November 2010 election.
Schwarzenegger and his collaborators, including comedian Paul Rodriguez, Senator Dave Codgill, Assemblymember Anna Caballero and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, celebrated the signing of the pork-filled bond passed by the California Legislature last week with a press conference at Friant Dam near Fresno.
At Schwarzenegger’s “pork festival,” the Governor proudly proclaimed that the $11 billion bond will leverage another $30 billion in federal and in local funds, “so altogether this is a $40 billion infrastructure package.” Schwarzenegger failed to mention that the bond, proposed at a time when the state budgets for teachers, game wardens, health care for children, disabled services, and state parks have been slashed, would indebt Californians for many decades to come.
Schwarzenegger was elated that the bond would fund above ground storage including Temperance Flats and Sites reservoirs and create a clear path to the construction of his pet project, the peripheral canal, a massive pork barrel boondoggle that would approximate the peripheral canal in length and width.
“It’s the biggest infrastructure package in the history of California,” gushed Schwarzenegger. (…)
California Legislature Approves Water Package And $11.1 Billion Water Bond
November 10th, 2009Steve Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River, provides a superb analysis of the controversial water package and budget-busting water bond that the California Legislature approved in the wee hours of the morning on November 4. (…)