Category: Environment

In researching the biological effects of the millimeter wave scanners used for whole body imaging at airports, NaturalNews has learned that the energy emitted by the machines may damage human DNA.

Millimeter wave machines represent one of two primary technologies currently being used for the “digital strip searches” being conducted at airports around the world.

The Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County has just made the decision that companies that use one-time plastic bags can not longer use them in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Their ruling excludes those cities that have their own city council.

Yesterday the Tampa Tribune had an article in their paper that stated that they had tested more than a dozen reusable bags and found lead in some of them, including Target and Wal-Mart bags. They quickly stated that those two had among the lowest level of lead in them. Swell!

Editor: Channel 10News ran a story about some Ocean Beach residents who live in condos on the cliffs now want a seawall to be built to halt the spread of erosion, and that they are appealing to the City Council for financial assistance. These residents reside in a building that was developed right on the fabled, beautiful cliffs in southern OB – cliffs that many in the community want to preserve in their natural state. Environmentalists in the Seventies tried to prevent these condos …

SAN DIEGO — Ocean Beach residents who are worried their beachfront homes will slide into the ocean took their concerns to San Diego City Council. …

San Diego officials said Monday [Nov.15th] that the city has hit a new high-water mark for recycling — 66 percent of the waste stream in 2009. That’s up 14 percentage points from 2005 and is likely enough to keep San Diego among California’s leaders in big-city recycling.

On Monday, San Diego waste officials also announced an expansion of the city’s curbside recycling program to include most plastic containers.

State law requires public review of potential impacts before proceeding

The Sierra Club San Diego Chapter on Thursday, Nov. 9th, asked the City of San Diego to comply with state law requiring public review of likely environmental consequences before taking the dramatic step of privatizing the city’s only public landfill. Turning over the Miramar landfill to a private operator, as the City proposed in a request for bids issued in July, could cause significant environmental damage and expense.

The OB Rag and the City of San Diego’s urban forester have come to a temporary agreement about the towering – but leaning – giant Torrey Pines tree on the 4600 block of Long Branch Avenue.

We have been following the story that the City wants to either drastically trim or even cut down this magnificent beauty.

Kirk Leopard is the director out at the Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery. I had called him to see what was happening to the trees out there, as we had heard that some people were upset with what they were seeing – or not seeing – amongst the rows of white gravestones. There were complaints of trees gone, cut down, badly mangled, etc.

But Kirk is very much into talking about what they’ve done and what has occurred under his jurisdiction. He assured me that the only trees being cut or trimmed were diseased or damaged. Earlier this year in January and February, two big storms produced 80 a mile winds and they lost 67 trees to … nature.

Many years ago – twenty-two to be exact – my husband Bob wanted to climb Mt. Whitney for his 60th birthday. At first I was not going to go with him, but as he became more excited about reaching his goal, I decided to train with him.

One of his favorite areas to walk was along Ft. Rosecrans cemetery. The view was spectacular from both sides of the road; it was quiet, and on warm days nothing was as soothing as sitting down under the beautiful trees to cool off, relax, and enjoy the multitude of birds flying overhead. In fact, it was during one of these “training days” that he said that when he died he would like to be buried in this beautiful spot.

Now, 22 years after we climbed Mt. Whitney, he is at Ft. Rosecrans, but it is no longer the beautiful spot it was back then. Sure, things change, people change, but cemeteries usually remain pretty much the same.

Hello again! There’s a new episode airing tonight, check it out…here’s another recap from a couple weeks back that we’ll call “Manifest Destiny,” (mainly because that’s what the writers would like us to call it)…and if you find yourself confused click here.

We leave our heroes heading down to the police station for questioning about the disappearance of Robert Lindus (which they know nothing about), with Steph hovering over his corpse in Hank’s bathtub. Down at the station, the boys deny all of Mrs. Lindus’ story, including the true part about their abducting Lindus that’s verified by the couple’s two children.

There are a number of Torrey Pines trees in Ocean Beach, as any resident worth their salt can tell you. We have been concerned about one on the 4600 block of Long Branch Avenue – and are following that story so watch for an update.

Meanwhile, there’s an entire “forest” of them on the 4600 block of Saratoga Avenue. Beginning this week, the City of San Diego has a crew out there doing trimming. Here is what Drew Potocki, the city’s “urban forester”, had to say about that work in an email to Thyme Curtis of Councilman Faulconer’s office:

This is the question. People who frequent the national cemetery out at Ft. Rosecrans are reporting that someone is cutting down the trees. And some of these people are not happy at all.

There is a rumor that the new director out there feels they must be chopped down due to dangers caused by the rain-soaked grounds.

CalTrans wants to expand I-5 along a 27 mile stretch of freeway between La Jolla and Oceanside. They want to add 8 to 10 new lanes, plus more HOV lanes. They want to pour more concrete to allow for more vehicles in order to shave dozens of minutes off the average commute at peak times. It will only cost between $3.4 and $4.5 Billions, depending on which of the four options are chosen.

The new freeway expansion would potentially cause damage to only six coastal lagoons, only a mere 32 acres of wetlands and a pittance of 74 acres of coastal sage.