{"id":10625,"date":"2011-01-27T20:26:19","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T04:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=10625"},"modified":"2011-01-27T20:26:19","modified_gmt":"2011-01-28T04:26:19","slug":"environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/","title":{"rendered":"Environment and Electrons Create Sparks in SoCal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hear the companion radio feature about opposition to the Sunrise Powerlink at <\/em>The California Report<\/a>, starting Friday morning.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Ruxandra Guidi<\/p>\n

The road that takes you from the sleepy town of Boulevard into the path of the Sunrise Powerlink<\/a> is a dusty, unmarked path that\u2019s a couple of miles long. It ends at a gate without a sign, where a guard stands in the hot midday sun. He knows to keep any unauthorized visitors away; there\u2019s a party going on inside, while the protesters make noise for hours outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
David Elliott speaks to protesters outside the Sunrise Powerlink headquarters in the town of Boulevard. (Photo: Ruxandra Guidi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one yet knows what the Sunrise Powerlink will end up looking like, and at what cost — and that\u2019s just two of the main issues people have with it. Opponents<\/a> of the giant network of powerlines, towers, and substations, say it will run for 120 miles<\/a>, through delicate ecosystems and fire-prone areas. Its impact on local residents and wildlife will be irreparable.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, SDG&E says its \u201csuperhighway\u201d for transporting electrons<\/a> from remote solar and wind farms to coastal population centers, will respect state and federal lands and go around delicate areas of the desert; that it will generate much-needed jobs while meeting state goals for green energy development. In the process, the California Imperial Valley is being touted as a so-called \u201cmega-region;\u201d a showcase for clean energy production.<\/p>\n

But David Elliott sees both sides of this picture with a heavy dose of skepticism. He lives in the mountains north of Boulevard, and belongs to the Manzanita band of the Kumeyaay Nation<\/a>, a native community whose history and culture is rooted in the desert lands of California, Arizona, and Northern Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been asked to survey thousands of acres that would fall within the Powerlink network,\u201d says Elliott. \u201cWe\u2019ve asked SDG&E and its contractors: \u2018Where\u2019s the footprint for the proposed towers or lines or roads?\u2019 When we ask that question, they tell us, ‘I don\u2019t know’.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that no one can yet predict the actual size of the powerline, Elliott believes it is possible to gauge its impact on wildlife and the landscape. But what about the project\u2019s impact on California history? The Kumeyaay and Quechan tribes, among others, know that there are thousands of burial artifacts that have remained undisturbed for generations underground, and they say that federal agencies have given the Powerlink permission to move ahead with construction plans, without proper consultation.<\/p>\n

Outside the groundbreaking ceremony, David Elliott was one of two tribal members who showed up to protest the project. This just days after a different group of Native American tribes gained national attention when President Barack Obama settled a historic lawsuit<\/a> with them, filed by their parents and grandparents 15 years ago. The settlement wasn\u2019t over land or artifacts, but over royalties for oil, gas, grazing and timber rights. Elliott thought about the significance of this news, and saw it, too, with some degree of doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the resources that have been extracted from Native American lands over hundreds of years; there\u2019s no amount of money that the government can give to those people, our people, or certain individuals, that would ever be able to repay what they\u2019ve taken out,\u201d said Elliott.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indians and environmental groups find common cause over a sprawling energy transmission project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[8,135,164],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-10625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-power","tag-33x20","tag-conservation","tag-desert"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard","is_audio_post":false},"yoast_head":"\nEnvironment and Electrons Create Sparks in SoCal | Climate Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Environment and Electrons Create Sparks in SoCal | Climate Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Indians and environmental groups find common cause over a sprawling energy transmission project.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-28T04:26:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2011\/01\/Sunrise1RGuidi_blog.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Craig Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@voxterra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Craig Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/\",\"name\":\"Environment and Electrons Create Sparks in SoCal | Climate Watch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-28T04:26:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-01-28T04:26:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/f7222c517400a6c4b0336fca3652c323\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/01\/27\/environment-and-electrons-create-sparks-in-socal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Environment and Electrons Create Sparks in SoCal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/\",\"name\":\"Climate Watch\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/f7222c517400a6c4b0336fca3652c323\",\"name\":\"Craig Miller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/dd8f4f4f978df3faac9db4c510939ea0\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b91661df645e001a9cafe0861fa685f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b91661df645e001a9cafe0861fa685f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Craig Miller\"},\"description\":\"Craig is a former KQED Science editor, specializing in weather, climate, water & energy issues, with a little seismology thrown in just to shake things up. 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