Frontera NorteSur February 2001

Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping, a group involved in an on-going law suit to close the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM has added new allegations to its suit stating that the Department of Energy (DOE) falsified data so it could obtain the right to use the site.

The environmental groups accuses DOE geologists of hiding the presence of karsts which are underwater areas that have running underground water. The threat to the WIPP is that water could approach the salt caverns, causing them to collapse and endanger the containers of radioactive waste that are being stored there.

While WIPP lawyers and the DOE are sure they will win this battle as they have in the past, one scientist, Richard Phillips, from Sandia National Laboratories said that DOE officials told him to avoid using the word "karst." Phillips, who has a PhD in geomorphology, is quoted as saying he saw, "a pattern of lies and deceptions designed to disguise the true hydrology of the (area's aquifer) and the WIPP site."

Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping want to shut down the WIPP which is expected to receive over 19,300 loads of waste over its 35-year projected life span.

Source: El Paso Times, December 3, 2000.

"Save Méxicali" Environmental Group Born

PRI city council members are behind the formation of an environmental group called, "Salvemos a Méxicali." The group will join with the "Salvemos a Méxicali" campaign begun by the Méxicali newspaper La Crónica a few months ago. The new group will be composed of approximately twelve participating organizations including groups of retired citizens, neighborhood organizations, educational institutions and others.

"Salvemos a Méxicali" will work out a program that seeks to protect air, water and land quality and energy availability. The group will look at issues like a plan to line the All-American Canal with cement, a move that many fear will affect aquifers. They may also examine such themes as fair prices for electricity and natural gas and the preservation of the Consejo Estatal de Energía (State Energy Council).

One of the group's founders, PRI regidora (city council member) Lucina Guadarrama Mena, stated that until now city government has not given enough attention and importance to environmental aspects of issues. She also said that the new organization is open to anyone without regard to their political or religious affiliation.

Source: La Crónica, January 9, 2001. Article by Carina Rodríguez Moreno.

US Field Burns and Pesticide Spraying Contaminate Air over Méxicali and Calexico

Fernando Medina, director of the Méxicali environmental group Comité Cívico de Divulgación Ecológica, stated that agricultural burns on the US side of the Imperial Valley affect Méxicali air quality because the prevailing winds in the region are from north to south. In recent days, he said, it has been evident that smoke from the US has crossed the border to contaminate the air over Méxicali.

Medina says that this phenomena occurs every year and will continue to do so until Mexican authorities decide to take action. Children are most affected by the increased level of air pollutants.

In addition to problems with smoke, Méxicali citizens that live along Calle Colón are oversprayed with pesticide by planes spraying Calexico fields. Medina hopes that recent, preliminary actions taken by Mexico will help to resolve some of these issues.

Source: La Crónica, December 8, 2000. Article by César Angulo.

Controlled Burns Begin In Méxicali

Controlled burns of agricultural fields have begun in Imperial County, according to Miguel Monroy, of the Imperial County Agricultural Commission (Comisionado de Agricultura de Imperial) and an official in charge of air quality for the area. Monroy assures that the burns will not affect the air quality in the county or in Méxicali.

"We are inspecting the burns to insure they are done correctly and do not affect the environment," said Monroy. "The period for controlled burns will last approximately one month, and we expect that the burns will be completed by the end of December," he continued.

"So far the burns have not had an effect on the environment because they are done when it is windy and this keeps smoke from concentrating in urban areas.  We are also very careful that the burns do not affect visibility on the roads," Monroy stated.

A calendar was made that told each grower which day to burn. However, the date of the burn is dependent on favorable weather.

Monroy emphasized that every effort will be made to avoid problems that could have a negative impact on the environment and Méxicali.

Source: La Crónica, November 30, 2000.  Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

Migratory Birds Seek Sanctuary in Chihuahua

During the winter months the state of Chihuahua is home to four million waterfowl from Alaska, Canada, the continental United States, and other species of birds from Central and South America. To date it is calculated that 85,000 of these birds are currently found in Ciudad Juárez.

José Manuel Ochoa Barraza, of the Mexican Fauna Protection Association (Protección de la Fauna Mexicana, Asociación Civil) estimates that this year 20,000 geese, 15,000 gray cranes and 50,000 ducks of different species, have already arrived.

Over the year, especially in winter and summer months, the different species of birds arrive in flocks of 10,000-20,000 looking for a place to reproduce and a place to feed in fields and wetlands.

The Secretary of Environment, Natural Resources, and Fishery (Secretaria del Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca, Semarnap) indicated that the birds travel from Alaska, Canada, and the continental United States to Mexico utilizing three migratory routes: DP (from the Pacific), DC (from the Center) and DG (and from the Gulf).

Most of the birds used the central route on their way into Mexican territory.  In the state of Chihuahua the sites most commonly frequented by the birds, between 20% and 40%, are La Babicora near Madera and Gómez Farias, Namiquipa and Cuauhtémoc.  They also visit the San Rafael, Bustillos, and the Fierro Lakes, as well as the Papigochi Dam in the northwest, Ascensión and Santa María in the north, and La Boquilla Dam in the south.

The birds chose places where they can find water, food, protection, and the appropriate climate, especially areas near corn, oatmeal, peanut, barley and alfalfa.

Semarnap estimates that 560,000 birds come to the state of which 400,000 are ducks, 100,000 are geese, and 60,000 are cranes. Only 1% is of these birds are taken during hunting season in Mexico as opposed to the 25% in the United States.

Beside the duck, geese and cranes, other species of birds, in particular sparrows and swallows from Central and South America, also seek Chihuahua as shelter during the winter.

The most common birds are white geese, often seen near dams.  The white goose known as the "garcita vaquera"  because of its smaller body, has already begun to arrive and has been spotted in trees near the Roberto Fierro Lobos Airport and the Zarco neighborhood in Juárez.

Some farmers in the state complain that the birds affect their harvests, but have never eliminated their crops. This is the case in Chihuahua according to Barraza who is an ecologist preparing his masters thesis in Animal Production in the Protection of Mexican Fauna.

The state of Chihuahua, like the rest of Mexico and the United States, protects the white geese but in actuality there exists an overpopulation of the bird.  Between five and six million geese exist causing problems in nesting and feeding.  It is thought that when vegetation becomes scarce in their areas of reproduction, the population will decrease.  This overpopulation causes problems for other species as well such as the white crane.

Among proposals to stabilize the situation are an increase in crop production and the removal of eggs from nests to lower birth rates.

The Mexican wildlife census is conducted every three years using funds from  the United States Department of Game and Fish, Dumac, Semarnap, the University of Idaho, and the Hornocker Wildlife Institute.  The last census was conducted in January of 1999 and found 229,000 geese in the Mexican wetlands.  The count was done using aerial photography.  It was also found that 62.5% of the 229,000 birds were found in Chihuahua where thirteen sites held 130,480 geese.

Source: El Diario, November 12, 2000.  Article by Candelaria Garcia.

UABC to Begin Recycling Program

Beginning January 6, 2001 the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) will initiate a recycling campaign. The goal of the campaign is too separate out the greatest possible volume of recyclables from the university's solid waste and give it to companies that sell and buy recyclable material. Some of the program's other goals are to create environmental awareness in the university community and serve as an example to other institutions.

The program will begin by recycling plastic, paper, aluminum and organic material out of the university's garbage flow. If the program goes well the university will also begin recycling cardboard and glass, according to Carolina Armijo de Vega, an investigator in the Instituto de Ingenieria.

Other aspects of the program include a class on recycling offered via computer, multimedia material, an internet page with a suggestion box, workshops and talks about the recycling initiative.

Source: La Crónica, January 19, 2001. Magdalena López Cerecer.

New Tijuana Philanthropic Organization Based on San Diego Model

A group of Tijuana business owners have created the philanthropic Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad A.C. (FIC) based on the example of San Diego's International Community Foundation.

FIC Project Coordinator Jacinto Astiazarán said that the new organization will promote innovative programs and will systematically support education, health, environmental protection, sports programs, cultural projects and economic and community development. Astiazarán also stated that the foundation will drive the development of NGO's in Baja California.

The FIC will act as a conduit for individuals, companies and foundations to give to non-profit organizations in a structured manner.

Donors will be able to establish trusteeships (fideicomisos), plan their contributions, sponsor specific projects and measure the impact of their donations all via the FIC. Contributors will also be informed of the social impact of their investments.