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GoGreenNation news

US Chooses Winning Bids in First Commercial Sale for Floating Offshore Atlantic Wind

News Feed
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. government chose winning bids Tuesday to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids for four lease areas from two firms. The sale is a major step toward accelerating President Joe Biden's goal of dramatically expanding offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.Environmentalists praised the lease sale, though commercial fishermen who have questioned the expansion of offshore wind said they remain opposed. The lease areas are in the Gulf of Maine, which is a critical fishing ground for the U.S. lobster industry.The awarding of the leases is “a critical step in our fight against climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland."Together, we can create good paying jobs, build a domestic supply chain, and ensure that the momentum of this offshore industry continues for generations to come," Haaland said in a statement.Two of the leases went to Avangrid Renewables for areas about 35 miles (55 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The other two leases went to Invenergy NE Offshore Wind for areas about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The four areas combined are more than 625 square miles (1,600 square kilometers).The leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes, the Interior Department said in a statement.Avangrid said in a statement that the leased areas will enable the company to progress floating wind technology. The next generation of offshore wind development is increasingly taking place in deep waters, the company said. Avangrid is a joint owner, along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, of the Vineyard Wind project, a 62-turbine wind farm under construction 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the coast of Massachusetts.“Securing these lease areas provides a unique opportunity to advance our growing business at a significant value, and reinforces our unwavering commitment to helping the New England region meet its growing need for reliable, clean energy," Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in a statement.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had planned a floating offshore wind sale off Oregon for this month, but it was postponed amid lack of bidder interest and opposition by the governor.The Maine Lobstermen's Association, a major commercial fishing trade group that has pushed back against expanding offshore wind power, characterized the lease sale as “another dangerous step toward the industrialization of one of the world's most productive marine ecosystems.”The association said no part of the Gulf of Maine is appropriate for offshore wind. But conservation Law Foundation and other environmental and renewable energy groups said expanded wind power off New England is critical in the era of climate change.“The Gulf of Maine lease sale is a pivotal step in our clean energy transition and for the region to significantly reduce climate-damaging emissions,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at Conservation Law Foundation.Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

The U.S. government has chosen winning bids to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. government chose winning bids Tuesday to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids for four lease areas from two firms. The sale is a major step toward accelerating President Joe Biden's goal of dramatically expanding offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Environmentalists praised the lease sale, though commercial fishermen who have questioned the expansion of offshore wind said they remain opposed. The lease areas are in the Gulf of Maine, which is a critical fishing ground for the U.S. lobster industry.

The awarding of the leases is “a critical step in our fight against climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

"Together, we can create good paying jobs, build a domestic supply chain, and ensure that the momentum of this offshore industry continues for generations to come," Haaland said in a statement.

Two of the leases went to Avangrid Renewables for areas about 35 miles (55 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The other two leases went to Invenergy NE Offshore Wind for areas about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The four areas combined are more than 625 square miles (1,600 square kilometers).

The leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes, the Interior Department said in a statement.

Avangrid said in a statement that the leased areas will enable the company to progress floating wind technology. The next generation of offshore wind development is increasingly taking place in deep waters, the company said.

Avangrid is a joint owner, along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, of the Vineyard Wind project, a 62-turbine wind farm under construction 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the coast of Massachusetts.

“Securing these lease areas provides a unique opportunity to advance our growing business at a significant value, and reinforces our unwavering commitment to helping the New England region meet its growing need for reliable, clean energy," Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in a statement.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had planned a floating offshore wind sale off Oregon for this month, but it was postponed amid lack of bidder interest and opposition by the governor.

The Maine Lobstermen's Association, a major commercial fishing trade group that has pushed back against expanding offshore wind power, characterized the lease sale as “another dangerous step toward the industrialization of one of the world's most productive marine ecosystems.”

The association said no part of the Gulf of Maine is appropriate for offshore wind. But conservation Law Foundation and other environmental and renewable energy groups said expanded wind power off New England is critical in the era of climate change.

“The Gulf of Maine lease sale is a pivotal step in our clean energy transition and for the region to significantly reduce climate-damaging emissions,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at Conservation Law Foundation.

Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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CNN: Costa Rica Shifts From “Switzerland” to Drug Transit Route

CNN en Español published an article noting that Costa Rica has gone from being “the Switzerland of Central America” to becoming a key route for drug trafficking.“ Renowned for its peaceful and stable environment… today it faces a different reality, as reflected in the report published on Monday by the United States government,” the article said, […] The post CNN: Costa Rica Shifts From “Switzerland” to Drug Transit Route appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

CNN en Español published an article noting that Costa Rica has gone from being “the Switzerland of Central America” to becoming a key route for drug trafficking.“ Renowned for its peaceful and stable environment… today it faces a different reality, as reflected in the report published on Monday by the United States government,” the article said, referring to the fact that the country was named one of the main transit routes or centers of illicit drug production for fiscal year 2026. Costa Rican Security Minister Mario Zamora told CNN that the most important thing is that the country maintains its certification from the United States as a reliable partner in the fight against drugs in the region. The official added that Costa Rica, like the rest of the Central American nations, shares the geographical reality of being a “transit route between producer and consumer countries.” He insisted this is not something new, since the country has been part of the transit route for more than 35 years. Zamora told CNN that “there is no news,” emphasizing again that, like its neighbors, Costa Rica’s role as a transit country is practically impossible to avoid. “But what is new is the recognition as a trusted partner that Secretary of Security Kristi Noem gave us during her visit to Costa Rica,” he stressed. CNN reported that during a tour of the area surrounding San José, the capital, several citizens said they were not surprised that the United States included Costa Rica on its list of major drug transit countries. “It’s too obvious; the authorities can’t be everywhere. Years ago, it was quiet, but not now. Governments have to come together to counteract this,” said one of the citizens interviewed. What is most concerning, the media outlet highlighted, is that reports indicate shootouts between criminal groups are resulting in collateral victims. According to the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), as of September 16, there have been 25 victims: 17 men and 8 women. From January to September 16, the OIJ recorded 614 homicides, of which 404 were related to score-settling and threats. Authorities attribute these crimes to clashes between criminal gangs fighting over drug sales territories. CNN noted that Costa Rica’s image as the “Switzerland of Central America” was forged in the second half of the 20th century, built on the consolidation of a welfare state, the expansion of social rights, the strength of democratic institutions, and remarkable leadership in environmental conservation. However, that image is now being tarnished by the escalation of violence linked to drug trafficking. The post CNN: Costa Rica Shifts From “Switzerland” to Drug Transit Route appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Government
Conservation

After the trauma of the fires, survivors faced worry over contamination, struggled to find testing

With limited resources and scarce information, L.A. fire survivors remain worried about contamination and unable to get environmental testing.

After the Eaton and Palisades fires ripped through Los Angeles County, the vast majority of residents in and around the burn scars were concerned about the hazardous compounds from the smoke and ash lingering in their homes, water and soil, according to a new survey published Tuesday. Yet many felt they lacked the support to move back safely.While more than 8 in 10 residents hoped to test their properties for contamination, only half of them could. And as fire survivors searched for information to protect their health, many distrusted the often conflicting messages from media, public health officials, academics and politicians.Researchers studying post-fire environmental health as part of the university consortium Community Action Project LA surveyed over 1,200 residents around the Eaton and Palisades burn scars from April through June, including those with destroyed homes, standing homes in the burn area and homes downwind of the fires.Eaton and Palisades fire survivors said the lasting damage to their soil, air and water caused anxiety, stress, or depression. On average, survivors in the Eaton burn area — which has more significant environmental contamination — worried more than those in the Palisades.An independent survey conducted for the L.A. fire recovery nonprofit Department of Angels in June found that the environment — including debris removal and contamination — was the most pressing issue for people who moved back home and those still displaced, more than construction costs, insurance reimbursements or a lack of strong government leadership.Soil was the biggest worry for Eaton-area respondents in the Community Action Project survey. The team had just started collecting responses in April when the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced the first comprehensive soil testing results for the burn scars.About a third of samples taken within the fire perimeter and nearly half downwind had lead levels above the state’s stringent health standards, designed to protect the most vulnerable kids playing in the dirt. Scientists attribute this lead to the Eaton fire, and not other urban contamination because samples taken in a nearby area unaffected by the fire had far lower lead levels. The county sampling came after The Times reported in February that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would break precedent and forgo soil testing and remediation in its cleanup efforts.Three quarters of Eaton fire survivors and over two thirds of Palisades fire survivors expressed worry over the air in their homes. Through private testing, many in both burn areas have found contaminants on surfaces in their home, including lead — which can cause brain damage and lead to developmental and behavioral issues in kids — as well as arsenic and asbestos, known carcinogens.Around the start of the survey period, two groups independently found widespread lead contamination on surfaces inside homes that were left standing — some exceeding 100 times the level the Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous. The majority of survivors also felt distress over the safety of their drinking water, although to a lesser extent. Water utilities in both burn areas found small amounts of benzene — which can be a product of the incomplete combustion of vegetation and wood, and a carcinogen — in their drinking water systems. But, thanks to a fire-tested playbook created by researchers like Whelton and adopted by the California State Water Resources Control Board, utilities were quick to begin the formidable undertaking of repressurizing their damaged systems, testing for contamination and flushing them out. All of the affected utilities had quickly implemented “do not drink” and “do not boil” water orders following the fires. The benzene levels they ultimately found paled in comparison to blazes like the Tubbs fire in Santa Rose and the Camp fire in Paradise.The last utility to restore safe drinking water did so in May. Around the same time, independent scientists verified the utilities’ conclusion that the drinking water was safe.As researchers neared the end of collecting survey responses, L.A. County Department of Public Health launched a free soil testing program for residents in and downwind of the Eaton burn area. By the start of September, the County had shared results from over 1,500 properties.Yet, residents in the Palisades hoping to test their soil, and residents in both burn scars looking for reassurance the insides of their homes are safe, have generally had to find qualified testing services on their own and either pay for it themselves or battle with their insurance companies.The survey also found that, amid conflicting recommendations and levels of alarm coming from the government, media and researchers, Palisades fire survivors trusted their local elected officials most. For many living in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park has become the face of recovery. Survivors in the Altadena area — which has no city government because it is an unincorporated area — turned to academics and universities for guidance. They’ve had a lot of contact with researchers because the Community Action Project LA, which conducted the survey, routinely meets with residents in both fire areas to understand and address the health risks homeowners face. Other post-fire research efforts, including from USC and Harvard University, have done the same. Social media and the national news media ranked lowest in trust.

Government
Health
Mountains

Ministers tell Environment Agency to wave planning applications through

Exclusive: Officials say they have been told to do as little as legally possible to prevent housing approvalsMinisters have told officials at the Environment Agency to wave through planning applications with minimal resistance, as part of a major regulatory shakeup designed to increase economic growth and plug the government’s financial hole.Officials at the agency say they have been told to do as little as legally possible to prevent housing applications from being approved, with the government also drafting in senior advisers from the housing department to speed up the process. Continue reading...

Ministers have told officials at the Environment Agency to wave through planning applications with minimal resistance, as part of a major regulatory shakeup designed to increase economic growth and plug the government’s financial hole.Officials at the agency say they have been told to do as little as legally possible to prevent housing applications from being approved, with the government also drafting in senior advisers from the housing department to speed up the process.Some believe the entire existence of the agency is under threat given Rachel Reeves’s push to eliminate government quangos as part of her dash for growth. Government officials insist this is not the case.The moves come amid a wider push from the chancellor to inject more urgency into housing and infrastructure development, which she is hoping will help her fill a multibillion-pound hole at the next budget.But environmental campaigners warn that clipping the wings of the Environment Agency could harm wildlife and the natural world.One agency source said the staff from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) were “pushing development at any cost”.They added: “We are taking a step back from planning and the organisational steer is to do the minimum required to fulfil our legal duties but nothing more. They are seeking legal advice as to what the minimum they can get away with is.”They added: “There are lots of examples of where nature and development happen together, but going forwards, the EA doesn’t seem to want to be part of it.”An Environment Agency spokesperson said they did “not recognise” the claims, but acknowledged that MHCLG staff had been brought into the agency. The person added: “The EA continues to provide robust technical advice to ensure that environmental protections are considered in planning decisions.“The government’s ambitious target for building 1.5m new homes is vital. To support this, we have rapidly reformed our planning service, now provide advice consistently within the 21-day deadline and use our technical expertise to achieve the best outcomes for the environment and economic growth.”Reeves has told ministers to make a fresh push to cull quangos which their departments oversee, with sources indicating that the environment department has particularly been singled out.The department, whose new secretary of state, Emma Reynolds, was previously a Treasury minister, controls 37 agencies, including Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Office for Environmental Protection.Ministers in this government and the previous Conservative administration have expressed frustration at the ability of some of these environmental regulators to hold up development. The chancellor has blamed them for choking economic growth by demanding developers build expensive wildlife protections such as the infamous £100m “bat tunnel” over the HS2 high-speed rail line.The Environment Agency polices so-called nutrient neutrality rules which ban developments in dozens of regions across the country if those developments are predicted to add to nutrients to nearby rivers.The rules are in place to prevent the buildup of algae and other plants, which can choke off aquatic life, but have been blamed for the complete lack of housebuilding in certain areas.The agency’s role in judging planning applications is enshrined in law, but Reeves is working on a new planning and infrastructure bill which could rip up many of the rules around permitted developments. New rules could also be included in the forthcoming water bill.Environmental campaigners say removing the agency entirely from the planning process could damage British wildlife.Ali Plummer, the director of policy and advocacy at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Deregulation won’t speed up nature recovery; it will just leave us with poorly designed developments, increased pollution and lower access to nature. Weaker regulation is not the foundation to build from for the next generation.”Alexa Culver, a lawyer at the ecological consultancy RSK Wilding, said: “Properly funded and independent regulators are an essential part of any thriving economy. Choking the role of the Environment Agency and fettering their independence goes against all principles of good regulation.”

Government
Nature
Water

Federal judge is 'inclined' to order Trump to restore $500 million in UCLA research grants

A San Francisco-based U.S. district judge, Rita F. Lin, said she was "inclined" to order the Trump administration to restore $500 million in National Institutes of Health grants to UCLA that the government froze in late July.

A federal judge Thursday said she was “inclined to extend” an earlier ruling and order the Trump administration to restore an additional $500 million in UCLA medical research grants that were frozen in response to the university’s alleged campus antisemitism violations.Although she did not issue a formal ruling late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin indicated she is leaning toward reversing — for now — the vast majority of funding freezes that University of California leaders say have endangered the future of the 10-campus, multi-hospital system.Lin, a judge in the Northern District of California, said she was prepared to add UCLA’s National Institutes of Health grant recipients to an ongoing class-action lawsuit that has already led to the reversal of tens of millions of dollars in grants from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Endowment for the Humanities and other federal agencies to UC campuses.The judge’s reasoning: The UCLA grants were suspended by form letters that were unspecific to the research, a likely violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which regulates executive branch rulemaking.Though Lin said she had a “lot of homework to do” on the matter, she indicated that reversing the grant cuts was “likely where I will land” and she would issue an order “shortly.”Lin said the Trump administration had undertaken a “fundamental sin” in its “un-reasoned mass terminations” of the grants using “letters that don’t go through the required factors that the agency is supposed to consider.”The possible preliminary injunction would be in place as the case proceeds through the courts. But in saying she leaned toward broadening the case, Lin suggested she believed there would be irreparable harm if the suspensions were not immediately reversed.The suit was filed in June by UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley professors fighting a separate, earlier round of Trump administration grant clawbacks. The University of California is not a party in the case.A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, Jason Altabet, said Thursday that instead of a federal district court lawsuit filed by professors, the proper venue would be the U.S. Court of Federal Claims filed by UC. Altabet based his arguments on a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government’s suspension of $783 million in NIH grants — to universities and research centers throughout the country — in part because the issue, the high court said, was not properly within the jurisdiction of a lower federal court.Altabet said the administration was “fully embracing the principles in the Supreme Court’s recent opinions.”The hundreds of NIH grants on hold at UCLA look into Parkinson’s disease treatment, cancer recovery, cell regeneration in nerves and other areas that campus leaders argue are pivotal for improving the health of Americans.The Trump administration has proposed a roughly $1.2-billion fine and demanded campus changes over admission of international students and protest rules. Federal officials have also called for UCLA to release detailed admission data, ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors and give the government deep access to UCLA internal campus data, among other demands, in exchange for restoring $584 million in funding to the university.In addition to allegations that the university has not seriously dealt with complaints of antisemitism on campus, the government also said it slashed UCLA funding in response to its findings that the campus illegally considers race in admissions and “discriminates against and endangers women” by recognizing the identities of transgender people.UCLA has said it has made changes to improve campus climate for Jewish communities and does not use race in admissions. Its chancellor, Julio Frenk, has said that defunding medical research “does nothing” to address discrimination allegations. The university displays websites and policies that recognize different gender identities and maintains services for LGBTQ+ communities.UC leaders said they will not pay the $1.2-billion fine and are negotiating with the Trump administration over its other demands. They have told The Times that many settlement proposals cross the university’s red lines.“Recent federal cuts to research funding threaten lifesaving biomedical research, hobble U.S. economic competitiveness and jeopardize the health of Americans who depend on cutting-edge medical science and innovation,” a UC spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “While the University of California is not a party to this suit, the UC system is engaged in numerous legal and advocacy efforts to restore funding to vital research programs across the humanities, social sciences and STEM fields.”A ruling Lin issued in the case last month resulted in $81 million in NSF grants restored to UCLA. If the UCLA NIH grants are reinstated, it would leave about $3 million from the July suspensions — all Department of Energy grants — still frozen at UCLA.Lin also said she leaned toward adding Transportation and Defense department grants to the case, which run in the millions of dollars but are small compared with UC’s NIH grants.The hearing was closely watched by researchers at the Westwood campus, who have cut back on lab hours, reduced operations and considered layoffs as the crisis at UCLA moves toward the two-month mark.In interviews, they said they were hopeful grants would be reinstated but remain concerned over the instability of their work under the recent federal actions.Lydia Daboussi, a UCLA assistant professor of neurobiology whose $1-million grant researching nerve injury is suspended, observed the hearing online.Aftewards, Daboussi said she was “cautiously optimistic” about her grant being reinstated.“I would really like this to be the relief that my lab needs to get our research back online,” said Daboussi, who is employed at the David Geffen School of Medicine. “If the preliminary injunction is granted, that is a wonderful step in the right direction.”Grant funding, she said, “was how we bought the antibodies we needed for experiments, how we purchased our reagents and our consumable supplies.” The lab consists of nine other people, including two PhD students and one senior scientist.So far, none of Daboussi’s lab members have departed. But, she said, if “this goes on for too much longer, at some point, people’s hours will have to be reduced.”“I do find myself having to pay more attention to volatilities outside of our lab space,” she said. “I’ve now become acquainted with our legal system in ways that I didn’t know would be necessary for my job.”Elle Rathbun, a sixth-year neuroscience PhD candidate at UCLA, lost a roughly $160,000 NIH grant that funded her study of stroke recovery treatment.“If there is a chance that these suspensions are lifted, that is phenomenal news,” said Rathbun, who presented at UCLA’s “Science Fair for Suspended Research” this month. “Lifting these suspensions would then allow us to continue these really critical projects that have already been determined to be important for American health and the future of American health,” she said.Rathbun’s research is focused on a potential treatment that would be injected into the brain to help rebuild it after a stroke. Since the suspension of her grant, Rathbun, who works out of a lab at UCLA’s neurology department, has been seeking other funding sources.“Applying to grants takes a lot of time,” she said. “So that really slowed down my progress in my project.”

Government
Health
Crisis

Pentagon plan pits U.S. Marines against California off-roaders and civilian pilots

A proposal by the U.S. Marines to restrict civilian flight traffic above Johnson Valley OHV Area has drawn outrage from off-roaders and civilian pilots.

LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. — The U.S. Marine Corps tried once to occupy this remote stretch of California desert beloved by off-roaders — but officials managed eventually to broker a deal that allowed both leathernecks and dirt riders to share the same rocky canyons and wrinkled mountains of Johnson Valley.Now, more than a decade later, the Marines are back — and this time, they want the skies.The Pentagon has proposed restricting civilian air traffic above much of the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area to expand and support training exercises. But those who frequent the area just west of the Twentynine Palms Marine base say the proposal would severely limit recreational access and reduce safety.They say the airspace restrictions could prevent rescue helicopters from evacuating injured motorists, and threaten the famed King of the Hammers off-road race that’s held there each year.And perhaps most crucially, they fear the proposal — which must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration — is just the first step toward the Marines ending public access to an area that was set aside by Congress for public use.“It feels like it’s literally just another way for them to take the land, but from above,” said Shannon Welch, vice president of the off-road group Blue Ribbon Coalition.The proposal has also drawn criticism from aviation officials, who say the restrictions could affect the operations of small local airports and add time and cost to commercial flights.The military says such fears are overblown.Recently, base officials said that the proposal would restrict the airspace for only up to 60 days per year. Project documents say the Marines are hoping the FAA will consider adding more days after the first year, but the base officials told The Times they would not seek additional days of activation over the portion of Johnson Valley that’s shared with the public. They are also working on mitigation measures that would enable them to share the skies even when the restrictions are active, they said.“There is no intention to restrict public access to Johnson Valley,” said Cindy Smith, land management specialist with the base’s government and external affairs. King of the Hammers founder Dave Cole walks along sand dunes in the Johnson Valley OHV Area where the military wants to impose restrictions on civilian aircraft. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) Johnson Valley devotee Dave Cole lives on 15 acres that back up onto the OHV area. From his front door, he can hop in a side-by-side and traverse miles of rolling sand dunes and rugged boulder piles. The vastness reminds him of the ocean, where constantly shifting tides mean that no two trips yield the same experience. And in the world of motorized recreation, the 96,000-acre riding area simply has no peer.“Going off-roading and those kinds of things, that’s surfing for me, and this is like Oahu. It’s beachfront,” Cole said.One recent afternoon, he stood on a ridge above a sprawling dry lakebed. There, in a few months, a temporary city called Hammertown would arise from the sun-baked sand. Some 80,000 people were expected to watch rock-crawling competitions and races, camp out and hear vendors pitch the latest in automotive technology. The King of the Hammers off-road vehicle competition is held each year in February. (Dennis Utt) Cole co-founded King of the Hammers in 2007 — in part to fend off a westward expansion by the Marine Corps. He thought an off-roading competition would draw attention to the Bureau of Land Management-maintained area and demonstrate the importance of keeping it open to the public.The two-week festival has since grown into one of the largest events on public land outside of Burning Man and a report commissioned by San Bernardino County estimated the race’s economic impact to be $34 million in 2023.As for the Marines’ expansion ambitions, they were addressed by a compromise in the 2014 defense bill. The legislation set aside about 43,000 acres of Johnson Valley for recreational use, 79,000 acres for the Marines and 53,000 to be shared. The Marines are permitted to close that shared-use area for two 30-day periods each year.The proposed airspace restrictions would stretch above much of the recreational area, including the entire shared-use area.King of the Hammers relies on helicopters and drones to respond to emergencies and to livestream the event worldwide. Welch, of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, described a potential loss of air support as “catastrophic.” King of the Hammers is an off-road race that combines desert racing and rock crawling. This race is held in February on Means Dry Lake at Johnson Valley. (Dennis Utt) Cole isn’t as worried about King of the Hammers. He believes a compromise to accommodate the event is possible and even likely. He’s more concerned that the proposal may mark the start of a broader takeover of the same area the Marines sought to annex years ago. “It’s a different bite; same apple,” he said.Military airspace restrictions above other public lands often result in ground closures with little notice, Welch said. Such areas include BLM-managed lands in the vicinity of the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, as well as the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona, she said.“These two areas are cautionary tales for what happens when the military gains control of the skies — even if the land underneath remains technically public,” she wrote in an email.Marine Corps officials said they are committed to honoring the shared-use agreement, but that they need additional restricted airspace for training involving both piloted aircraft and drones.Col. Benjamin Adams, assistant chief of staff for the base’s training directorate, pointed to a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that every squad must be armed with small drones by the end of fiscal year 2026. The Twentynine Palms base, with its 1,200 square miles of rugged training area, is one of the only places the Marines can perform large-scale combined-arms exercises, Adams said.“This is the golden jewel of the Marine Corps,” he said. “The training we complete here cannot be conducted anywhere else in the Marine Corps, period.”The Marines published a description of the airspace proposal in 2019, but multiple recreation advocates and local officials said they didn’t hear about it until the Marines released a draft environmental assessment last month.San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe questions whether federal officials have a full understanding of how the restrictions would affect local residents. At least 36 medical helicopters responded to the Johnson Valley area last year, according to statistics provided to Rowe by the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.“Nobody really looks up to say, ‘what are we sacrificing on the other end of it?’ Is it public safety? Access to public lands and recreation? Private property rights of inholders?” she said. “That falls to us on the outside who want to coexist with the Marines, who we respect, but also want to preserve the areas we have known and enjoyed for years.”Both the Yucca Valley Airport District and the San Bernardino County Airport Commission have voted to submit letters opposing the proposal. Both the Yucca Valley Airport District and the San Bernardino County Airport Commission have voted to submit letters opposing the Marine air restriction proposal. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) An increase in military flights through the Yucca Valley Airport’s traffic pattern would raise public safety and noise concerns, wrote board director Tim Lewis. He noted the military already has 31 special use airspaces within a 100 nautical-mile range of the Twentynine Palms base, with restrictions running almost continually from Barstow to Prescott, Ariz.The addition of even more restrictions is likely to impact commercial air travel, potentially reducing the number of flights through a heavily-used corridor, he wrote. And it would restrict the use of multiple small airports, including the Yucca Valley Airport, Twentynine Palms Airport, Big Bear City Airport, Needles Airport, Barstow-Daggett Airport and Apple Valley Airport, he wrote.“I think ultimately the Marines will find that the public opposition they’ve encountered will require them to make some compromises,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake), who is also a pilot.When it comes to Big Bear, the proposed restrictions overlap with a line of approach for pilots using instrument flight rules, said Obernolte, who previously served on the Big Bear City Airport board. If the proposal is approved, those pilots would not be able to land at the airport under current procedures, he said.Obernolte is seeking to have a provision added to this year’s defense bill that would condition any expansion on the Marines complying with a previous law that requires them to work with the FAA to better alert pilots to the status of restricted airspace. “This is a real sore issue,” pilot Jim Bagley said recently as he flew a small airplane through skies the U.S. Marine Corps is seeking to restrict. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) “This is a real sore issue,” said Jim Bagley from the cockpit of his 1955 Cessna 172 as it roared through the airspace that would be subject to restriction. Thousands of feet below, a smattering of old homesteads spread out like playing cards on a poker table.The former three-time mayor of Twentynine Palms, Bagley is now a recreational pilot and flight instructor who sits on the county Airport Commission. For him, backcountry flying is just another mode of sightseeing, like hiking through Yosemite or boating beneath Niagara Falls.Open areas like Johnson Valley — where you can race your side-by-side as fast as you want or land an ultralight on a dry lake bed — are unique American experiences that are growing rarer, he said.Yet even Bagley, a close watcher of the project who had given the draft environmental assessment a careful read, did not initially realize some of the restrictions would be limited to 60 days. That is explained in an appendix more than halfway through the 394-page document. The rest repeatedly frames the proposal as the establishment of permanent restricted areas. Smith said that notice of the project was published in local newspapers and sent to various stakeholders. Public feedback will be incorporated in both the final environmental assessment and a letter of procedure specifying how the proposal will be carried out, she said. The Marines are already working with the FAA on that letter, which will enable the public to use the airspace above the shared-use area for low-level flights, including rescue helicopters, even when the restrictions are active, provided the ground is open, she said. The letter will also accommodate all aircraft approaching Big Bear, said Andy Chatelin, director of the base’s range management and development division. Chatelin pointed out that the proposal has already gone through an FAA aeronautical study and safety risk management panel to determine its impacts on the National Airspace System. A final decision is expected in the fall of 2026, he said.Had the Marine Corps held public meetings on the proposal and publicized the 60-day cap, some of the backlash against it could likely have been avoided, Bagley said. He has no issue with the military using portions of the airspace for training when they need it, he said.“What I object to is taking away public access to the public lands — and those public lands include the airspace above them.”

Government
Mountains
Technology

Suggested Viewing

1948 and Counting

Reports on Costa Rica's ability to manage without a military since 1948, despite invasions based in Nicaragua. Addresses the role of private armies serving multinational corporations, and whether the country's civil guard is a military by another name. Places Costa Rica in the context of Central and Latin American populist struggles against US backed regimes in El Salvador, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras. Touches on the colonial history and explores whether Costa Rica depends on US military backing, and whether it is able to maintain independence from the US.

Government
Business

Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil

Decades of mismanagement, environmental changes and a burgeoning population have created tensions for the 40 million people living on the shores of the world's second largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria. Desperate fishermen use illegal nets and overfish the East African lake's dwindling stocks, while many fishermen have had to turn to other forms of work - much of which has a detrimental impact on the health of the lake and its residents. Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil follows some of those trying to eek out a living on the lake: a Kenyan fisherman who illegally crosses the border into Uganda in the search for fish; a Ugandan who gave up fishing to become a palm oil farmer; and a Tanzanian gold miner using mercury with his bare hands to extract the precious mineral from unregulated mines on the lake's shores. But how well do they comprehend the pressure that they’re putting on the lake, and can the regional governments and communities take action before irreversible damage happens?

Land Use
Water
Government

Waters of the U.S.

The current administration is rolling back crucial protections for streams and wetlands across the country in a direct assault on the Clean Water Act. This incredibly beautiful film tells the story of the rivers, streams, and wetlands of Alabama to illustrate the dangers of the proposed regulation. By doing so, it shows the economic benefits, ecological health, and cultural way of life that hang in the balance. The director hails from Miami, Florida, with a strong passion for environmental advocacy. With a degree in Editing, Writing & Media from Florida State University and a background in environmental journalism, he intends to make documentaries to inspire protection wildlife and our natural resources.

Government
Water
Pollution

Carbon Men Salvation: The Senator's Dilemma

Climate change is heating up the world at an accelerating rate, but Congress is frozen to action. Humanity is heading towards devastation; there is only one chance to change the future by traveling into the past. Brilliant climatologist student Anna Jones is researching a massive glacier in Antarctica that is on the verge of collapse. This disaster will drown coastal cities, trigger unprecedented climate refugee numbers and loss of life, while inciting wars. Anna’s father, Dan Jones, the newly elected Senator from New Jersey, is pivotal to the success or failure of a key climate bill. The vote is imminent. Powerful climate denier factions work against the necessary climate actions, even as the planet teeters on the prime tipping point where human behavior, science and legislation collide. Only Noah Poem, a time traveling scientist from the future, can help Anna Jones convince her climate doubting father to do the right thing. But time is running out as science fiction meets science fact. The fate of the human race hangs in the balance. One vote could save humanity.

Government
Climate
Activism

928 The Threat Continues...

Since the 1950s deadly nuclear fallout has threatened millions of Americans from nuclear fallout carried east in the atmosphere across the United States, from the Nevada Test Site. “928 The Threat Continues...” tells the story of massive contamination from concentrated nuclear fallout that rained down during heavy storms, on communities and major cities for 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths were the result. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy knew the truth, but covered it up. Multiple generations may still face the long-term affects. Through current interviews with scientific experts and surviving victims across the country, plus footage from historic interviews with victims, whistle-blower scientists and journalists, we tell the devastating story of those affected by the deadly radioactive fallout. In Act 3, obscure government videos from US government websites reveal that the threat of cancer death to Americans from Nevada Test Site contamination continues even today! NTS has been renamed, the Nevada National Security Site or NNSS. Presidential administrations from Harry Truman to the present day have kept the highly contaminated former Nevada Test Site operating. Donald Trump while in office ordered the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to start testing newly designed battlefield nuclear weapons at the NNSS despite the existence of The Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1970. Not withstanding the treaty, the extremely reckless aboveground testing area at the NNSS called Big Explosives Experimental Facility or B.E.E.F. tests non-nuclear bombs that send tons of highly contaminated nuclear dirt 10,000 feet into the atmosphere where the winds carry it east. It needs to be stopped now! The film asks viewers to inform their congressman and vote.

Chemicals
Crisis
Government

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