Category Archives: Environment
Border Tornado a Rude Wake-up Call
In an era of climate change, the May 25 tornado that devastated the Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, stands as another environmental wake-up call for Mexico and the border region. Considered by Mexican experts the worst tornado to strike their country in the past 15 years, the Category 4 twister killed at least 14…
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Border Infrastructure Gets a Boost
In a Tijuana meeting last week, two U.S.-Mexico border development finance entities approved nearly $25 million for new projects. The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADB) gave the go ahead for road paving, water, wastewater and energy projects that are expected to benefit 95,000 residents of Baja California, Arizona…
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The Battle over Mexican Ocean Mining
Conflicts over mining in Mexico now extend offshore. On the Baja California Peninsula, a proposal to mine underwater phosphate sands has generated environmental controversy; inspired a legal complaint against mining opponents some compare to activist-chilling SLAPP suits in the United States; and provided yet another test of press freedom in Mexico. The battle is over…
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What’s Killing Baja’s Marine Animals?
Dead gray whales and dolphins. Corpses of sea lions, birds and sea turtles decomposing on the beach. Since the beginning of the year, the coasts of Baja California have been the scene of multiple discoveries of dead marine animals. The latest find was reported last week by the Federal Attorney General for Environmental Protection (Profepa)…
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Tijuana Border Dump Generates More Controversy
An old landfill in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana continues drawing binational scrutiny. In a recent meeting, San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez expressed concern to a Mexican counterpart that the closed El Jibarito dump site could endanger public health on both sides of the border.Felipe Ledezma, Tijuana city council member and president…
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EPA Funds Border Projects
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this month new funding for environmental projects in U.S. and Mexican border communities. Totaling more than $8.6 million, grants are being awarded in conjunction with the San Antonio-based North American Development Bank (NADB) and the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission as part of meeting the goals of the…
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Climate Ironies Expose the Vulnerable Borderlands
New York City made history when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in September to demand real action on curbing climate change, as the United Nations Climate Summit prepared to convene.September, which followed the hottest August ever recorded according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was also a time of great climate ironies in…
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Ecocides Ravage Mexican Waters
Toxic soups seeping into rivers and groundwater. Millions of dead fish stinking up a large lake. A marine mammal on the verge of extinction. Such are the scenes that ravage the waters of the Mexican Republic.For starters, an August 16 oil spill from a pipeline located about 20 miles east of the northern industrial city…
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EPA Seeks Chemical Ban
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting public comment on a proposal to prohibit some chemicals linked to greenhouse gases. According to the EPA, the ban will cover hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and mixes of hydrofluorocarbons that were previously considered acceptable to use, but are now the subject for elimination because of their climate impacts. In…
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Fracking Fights Loom Large in Mexico
Mexico is emerging as the next big battleground in conflicts over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as the method of extracting natural gas is commonly known. While Mexican lawmakers consider regulatory legislation to put into practice the 2013 energy reform that opened up their county’s oil and gas reserves to private investors, anti-fracking forces are mobilizing…
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