tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47582606594906184482024-02-20T02:20:46.517-07:00Drilling Mora CountyWaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comBlogger465125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-63581918214902127782013-11-17T19:38:00.001-07:002013-11-17T19:38:16.156-07:00Baseline Water Well Testing for San Miguel County Completed PRE Drilling<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">PRESS RELEASE<br />For Immediate Release</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />From: Drilling Mora County<br /><br /><b>San Miguel County Completes Baseline Water Testing.</b><br /><br />San Miguel County recently became the second county in the US to perform proactive baseline water testing in defense against oil and natural gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.<br /><br />Mora County was the first county to complete such testing in 2010. These tests included sampling for 14 water wells which included private wells and mutual domestic water consumers associations in the Las Vegas Basin, Mora County.<br /><br />The San Miguel County testing, which was spearheaded by Drilling Mora County, DMC, included well sites in the Trementina and Las Vegas basins on or near properties targeted by the natural gas industry for fracking. It was funded by a grant to DMC from the McCune Foundation.<br /><br />The Committee for Clean Water, Air and Earth, CCWAE, helped locate sites in San Miguel County for the five wells tested.<br /><br />Certified water sampling professional Walter Drew of Indepth Water Testing, Santa Fe, and the New Mexico State certified drinking water lab, Hall Environmental Analytical Laboratory, Albuquerque, New Mexico, ran the procedures on the water wells.<br /><br />Communities and landowners across the United States have experienced groundwater contamination in the wake of fracking activities that has in many cases rendered their water unusable due to the presence of toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and methane. Some have sued the fracking companies. The first defense of the fracking industry has been the claim that since there had been no water testing done prior to fracking, there was no way to prove that the toxic chemicals were not already present before the fracking occurred.<br /><br />Notice of the baseline water well testing procedure was sent to the San Miguel County Commissioners earlier this month. November 13th the commission unanimously voted to extend their oil/gas moratorium another six months.<br /><br />The baseline water testing performed in San Miguel County specifically identifies and quantifies chemical toxins known to be used in the drilling and fracking process. The presence of baseline data on water purity in San Miguel County will likely discourage the fracking industry from activities in San Miguel County which risk polluting local groundwater, wells and aquifers.<br /><br /><br /><i>Diane Lindsay is a CCWAE organizer who helped organize well sites on this project. “It's a very important thing to do, “ said Lindsay, “testing the water before the industry moves in and fracks. It should be the rule, and not the exception.”<br /><br />Kathleen Dudley, DMC, co-founder, has organized both Mora and San Miguel County’s testing. “Proactive, educational grassroots actions make a difference in protecting our communities, says, Dudley. “It is all about getting involved now, before damage occurs.”<br />drillingmoracounty@gmail.com 575 666 2529</i></span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-75348243396421015172013-11-17T19:32:00.001-07:002013-11-17T19:32:10.647-07:00Mora County Bill of Rights Ordinance Sued by Coporate Oil Interests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q0Ih3EGRPls8c5o5LwUwHtU8NBQrZH65sYb_20M1SrvsWK-69xMoUT4ztK_KqTAhb34P0srdej-5Q53njRakyEHvXLaoE6Je4K1Nn3_2yawL9nv1sQGOMMDE0RPs6YLhitwaXlAwvyZY/s1600/John+Olivas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q0Ih3EGRPls8c5o5LwUwHtU8NBQrZH65sYb_20M1SrvsWK-69xMoUT4ztK_KqTAhb34P0srdej-5Q53njRakyEHvXLaoE6Je4K1Nn3_2yawL9nv1sQGOMMDE0RPs6YLhitwaXlAwvyZY/s320/John+Olivas.jpg" width="283" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">EXCERPT:<br />"“We’ll take it as it comes,” Olivas told the Optic during a
telephone interview on Wednesday. “It is unfortunate that
municipalities and counties in northern New Mexico cannot say no to
corporations without the threat of lawsuits. Mora County is in support
of protecting its land, air and water, and the purpose of the ordinance
was just that.”<br /><br />Olivas has said that there have been attorneys
from around the country lining up and promising to defend Mora County if
it were to be sued."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alfonso Griego, vice chairman of the Mora County Board of
Commissioners, on Thursday declined to discuss the lawsuit but defended
the county’s right to pass the ordinance.<br /><br />“It’s about the water. My ultimate goal is to protect the water sources of Mora County against contamination,” he said.<br /><br />Griego
said the state should not have the right to prohibit the county from
passing a drilling ban. “The state doesn’t live in Mora County. We the
people live in Mora County. It’s our right to see how want to live;
that’s afforded to us by both the state and federal constitutions.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Kathleen Dudley, a CELDF community rights organizer, said the lawsuit differs from other legal challenges to municipal fracking bans in that it directly challenges the legal theory that asserts corporations are legal persons.<br /><br />“The focus on the lawsuit won’t be on fracking but on challenging the current fact that corporations, like the plaintiffs, actually have more rights than the people of Mora County. That’s why it’s being taken into federal court,” she said. “We don’t have a fracking problem. We actually have a democracy problem.”<br /><br /><br /><br />COMMENTS:<br />April 29th, 2013, Mora County Commissioners passed the first county-wide Community Bill of Rights ordinance in the country. This CELDF Community Rights ordinance bans oil and gas and other hydrocarbons from being drilled and fracked in Mora County.<br /><br />Lafeyette, CO. last week passed a similar CELDF Community Bill of Rights through the initiative process. 60% of the voters voted in favour of this ballot referendum that put the vote out to the general public, rather than leaving it to the vote and decision-making of a few elected officials. The democratic process for Lafeyette citizens was their first opportunity to assert their rights to local decision-making, local self-determination, and ultimately assert their rights to protect their future rather being faced with mitigating the harms industry would otherwise cause in their communities by drilling and fracking.<br /><br />Mora County Commission Chair, John Olivas, sponsor of the Mora County Community Bill of Rights ordinance, referes to himself as a public servant. Commissioner Olivas ran his campaign platform in 2010 to protect Mora County by banning oil and gas drilling and fracking. He along with newly elected Commissioner Alfonso Griego, voted 2:1 to ban oil and gas in the county with Commissioner Paula Garcia, voting against the ordinance.<br /><br />The lawsuit filed yesterday against the Mora County Commission has opened the door for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, CELDF, to legally defend the Mora County Commission's new law that asserts people's rights that protects their health, welfare and safety against corporate privileged interests over those of the people living within Mora County.<br /><br />NMCCR<br />New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-8019249859899554212013-09-27T18:07:00.004-06:002013-09-27T18:07:34.951-06:00
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfMrNBAGqq6JFdK9Bp-5io2mRPAPkvd9n5O_XhFvtarHfOMVWBSG0xVh4TTXRY-Ee5ppBhatM5ClTKyP_fR20IORodALS7JsoJsm9E4Yse-xHD9lYDkMHBL8KmbCX-hKxPzJkfRa1tolK/s1600/NMCCR+LOGO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfMrNBAGqq6JFdK9Bp-5io2mRPAPkvd9n5O_XhFvtarHfOMVWBSG0xVh4TTXRY-Ee5ppBhatM5ClTKyP_fR20IORodALS7JsoJsm9E4Yse-xHD9lYDkMHBL8KmbCX-hKxPzJkfRa1tolK/s200/NMCCR+LOGO.jpg" width="145" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Presentation</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Santa Fe, Taos and Las Vegas, New Mexico</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“In the Name of Sustainability: A New Community
Rights Movement”</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Speaker:
Thomas Alan Linzey, Esq.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thomas Linzey, an attorney and the
Executive Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund – a
nonprofit law firm which has assisted over three hundred community groups and
municipal governments across the country – will speak about a new community
rights movement which is emerging across the United States. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">That movement
consists of local communities which are beginning to use municipal lawmaking
power to transition towards economic and environmental sustainability. Linzey
will talk about how those communities – in eight states across the country –
are beginning to not only use the law to move towards sustainability, but are
also working to elevate the rights of people, communities, and nature above
powers claimed by corporations and other governments. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">To illustrate, Linzey
will tell the stories of Mora County, New Mexico (the first county in the
country to protect their land from oil and gas drilling); Barnstead, New
Hampshire (the first municipality to protect their water supplies from corporate
water bottling operations); and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the first major
municipality to adopt a local bill of rights protecting residents from fracking
for natural gas).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Linzey will also talk about the international work of the
Legal Defense Fund – now occurring in Nepal, Australia, Italy, and India – to
create legal structures which recognize the rights of ecosystems and nature;
and his work to assist in the drafting and ratification of the Ecuadorian
constitution, the first in the world to incorporate rights-based protections
for nature. Linzey will finish his presentation with a summary of how people in
New Mexico can begin this work by using local lawmaking and home rule charters
to expand the authority of residents within communities to use their self-governing
authority to determine the future of their own communities.</span></span></div>
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</span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-20580671378757146052013-09-27T17:09:00.000-06:002013-09-27T17:09:29.175-06:00WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-19060242466714568222013-02-19T14:27:00.000-07:002013-02-19T14:27:01.791-07:00Ban Fracking Campaign, From Ireland to New Mexico<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://cts.vresp.com/c/?EcoWatch/fac0ca7938/48a6dd24da/a4a8074839</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> By Kathleen Dudley</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A number of local grassroots groups fighting fracking in New Mexico are launching a billboard and yard sign campaign. Citizens from the New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights, Drilling Mora County, and Committee for Clean Water, Air and Earth completed the Water, Not Fracking, Community Rights for Mora and San Miguel Counties yard sign and billboard campaign this month. Today citizens are installing graphic Coca Cola red and white cows with strong pronouncements that industry is not welcome to frack their counties.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joining in solidarity with the work of citizens in Ireland, people in New Mexico are getting the message out that they do indeed have the rights to protect their communities from industry’s assaults against their pristine rural agricultural towns. While the majority of citizens in both counties support “no drilling or fracking,” the billboards and yard signs create a powerful visual representation of the citizens’ voices. They pound the message out more loudly to the State of New Mexico legislators, government agencies, and Royal Dutch Shell and their subsidiaries who, through Dillon’s Rule and pre-emption, can decided what is good for Mora and San Miguel County over the decision of the majority of citizens.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This campaign is an assertion of democratic voice and of the citizens’ rights to a renewable, sustainable future. Currently state law makes such pronouncements and actions on the local level, illegal. Local Community Rights Ordinances with a Bill of Rights protecting citizens and nature’s rights is an “out of the box” approach which is gaining momentum across the U.S. and specifically in Northeastern New Mexico where citizens are standing up to the powers of the status quo and their bullying efforts. More than 50 communities across the U.S. have passed such Community Rights Ordinances thanks to the help of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The City of Las Vegas, New Mexico in San Miguel County, passed the first Community Rights Ordinance banning fracking last April. This city law has a Bill of Rights protecting the citizens rights to clean and ample water, air and land while writing out corporate personhood. The City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania passed a similar Community Rights Ordinance banning fracking in December 2011, and is the largest city in the U. S. to take such protective actions.</span></span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-40629202530599769152012-07-07T17:51:00.001-06:002012-07-07T17:51:41.654-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-62242680681449427392012-07-07T17:44:00.000-06:002012-07-07T17:44:04.446-06:00Citizens support the Community RIghts Ordinance for Mora County<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-14503674614718194962012-06-19T15:32:00.000-06:002012-06-24T12:14:15.242-06:00New Mexico Coalition for Community rights Declaration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 115%;">The New Mexico Coalition for Community rights Declaration
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">We, the undersigned residents of New Mexico, the people of
sovereign and tribal Nations, and the communities in which we live, hereby
declare the following:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, our
communities are under siege from oil and gas, agribusiness, energy, and other
corporations;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, our
communities are under siege from a structure of law that has bestowed greater
rights on those corporations than on the communities in which they operate, and
it is that system of law that enables the corporations to do what they do;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas, </span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">we
recognize that such a system— which grants a corporate few the legal authority
to override our community majorities— constitutes tyranny and usurpation, we
are therefore duty bound to oppose such tyranny and usurpation;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, we
recognize that economic and environmental sustainability have been rendered illegal
under this system of law, that nature is treated as property and as having no
rights, and that this system is not democratic;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, given
the control by those corporations over our elected representatives, we have
given up hope that either our state government or the federal government will
help protect us from these corporations;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, we
declare that if democracy means “majority rule” and “consent of the governed,”
that a democracy does not exist in our communities or in the State of New
Mexico, and that we must now create democracy in our municipalities and within
the State; and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whereas</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">, we
now call on communities across the State of New Mexico to do the following:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Adopt local laws that recognize
community rights for New Mexico residents and municipalities, including legal
rights for the natural environment;</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Include
in those local laws direct challenges to the legal doctrines that currently
mandate that corporations have greater rights than residents of our
communities;</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Join
together with other communities across the State to create a statewide movement
focused on rewriting the State Constitution to recognize a right to local
self-government which eliminates these legal doctrines at the State level, to
protect the local laws adopted within our municipalities; and</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Join
together with other statewide movements to rewrite the federal Constitution to
elevate the rights of people and communities above the claimed rights of
corporations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><u>Founders:</u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Andrew Feldman, Las Vegas (6/2/2012)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Kathleen Dudley, Ocate (6/2/2012)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Don Hamilton, Ocate (6/2/2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Miguel Pacheco, Las Vegas (6/2/2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Lee Einer, Las Vegas (6/2/2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Natalie Thomas, Laguna Pueblo (6/2/2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Judith Lawson, Santa Fe (6/2/2012)</span></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-1044379114374306362012-06-19T12:07:00.002-06:002012-06-19T12:07:33.007-06:00New Mexico Communities Launch Statewide Coalition to Advocate for Community Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZyK_AVKpEEK5ALPOpJcb18OgkGHpW_EErHuR24Uk8KUJ9IyCvOVg5cxCmNVFNPuqAbiXCDkc2ei7mX70ywPY_UNC_oJx-Sd8pYug213c_OInefAwj-0fqu6lRj4nv9bNQrtX91M5AEyn/s1600/onlinedslinzey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZyK_AVKpEEK5ALPOpJcb18OgkGHpW_EErHuR24Uk8KUJ9IyCvOVg5cxCmNVFNPuqAbiXCDkc2ei7mX70ywPY_UNC_oJx-Sd8pYug213c_OInefAwj-0fqu6lRj4nv9bNQrtX91M5AEyn/s320/onlinedslinzey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights<br />PO Box 67, Ocate, New Mexico<br />info@nmccr</b><br /><br /> “I will be working with the New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights to inform other municipal and county governments about how we can make changes in our own communities and then take this further to the state and, eventually the federal levels. The important point here is we the people have a right to determine what happens in our communities and no one else. However, we have to work around and eventually change the current legal framework that is set up to benefit the corporations. This will be a long and hard road, but we have to start now."<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Andrew Feldman, sponsor of the new Las Vegas Community Rights Ordinance and former Las Vegas, NM City Councilman.</span><br /><b>MEDIA RELEASE</b><br />June 18, 2012<br />CONTACT: Kathleen Dudley<br /> 575 666 2529<br /> info@nmccr.org www.nmccr.org<br /><br />(Monday, June 18th, 2012- New Mexico) This month, citizens from several New Mexico communities formally launched the New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights (NMCCR)<br /><br />The creation of the New Mexico Coalition follows on the heels of the adoption by the City Council of Las Vegas, New Mexico of the first Community Rights Ordinance in the State. That ordinance creates a Community Bill of Rights and bans natural gas fracking within the municipality. The Coalition will work to support the residents of Las Vegas, New Mexico to enforce their ordinance, and will work to replicate the ordinances across the State of New Mexico. The Coalition will also host trainings across the State for those communities who want to follow the lead of Las Vegas, New Mexico.<br /><br />Kathleen Dudley, one of the newly elected Directors of the Coalition, explained that “it has become clear that it is time for this Coalition to build a statewide organizing effort to link the many communities who are fighting for their right to local self-governance in the face of corporate projects ranging from large water withdrawals, hardrock mining, genetically modified crops, factory farms, low altitude military flyovers, water, air and soil pollution by nuclear waste, and oil and gas drilling.”<br /><br />The Community Rights Ordinances make it unlawful “for any corporation, or any director, officer, owner, or manager of a corporation, to harm citizens’ inalienable rights to clean water, air, health and safety of the residents.<br /><br /><b>The New Mexico Coalition for Community Rights is located in New Mexico and works in conjunction with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to help communities assert their fundamental rights to democratic local self-governance in order to develop and protect our sustainable future.<br /><br />The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, has been working with people in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States and the world since 1995 to assert our fundamental rights to democratic local self-governance, and to enact laws which end destructive and rights-denying corporate action aided and abetted by state and federal governments.</b><br /></span></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-76279014040504950872012-06-19T11:57:00.000-06:002012-06-19T11:57:04.394-06:00Deadly chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing revealed<br />
Jerry Nelson<br />
May 31, 2012<br />
<br />
As hundreds of natural gas deposits have been found in Idaho a drilling boom has started which is starting to spread over 32 states.<br />
<br />
The main method for extracting the natural gas is known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking". Fracking has been called safe since a 2004 study by EPA said it posed to risk to drinking water.<br />
<br />
The George W. Bush administration -- with the collusion of congress -- used the 2004 EPA study to push through and justify legislation of what is called the "Halliburton loophole". This loophole EXEMPTS fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Legislation also exempted fracking from the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts....continued.....<br />
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Deadly-chemicals-used-in-h-by-Jerry-Nelson-120531-979.html<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_17738558"></span><span id="goog_17738559"></span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-79969217623507021652012-05-25T18:56:00.004-06:002012-05-25T18:59:52.877-06:00Company hopes to move forward with gas drilling; Shell plans to come north with testing in northeast N.M.--Raton Range<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKnhx3pjLD4dNPlaaWklUaus2W5jU58V3kp2TX-NKq_QCyA6rtZeGB1-EW4leGJQ58GLXYfl36CqMRceSZ_SYB4N4Vj3U0XsuNPVf1OtSPX7V5s8AUPMyAq0fykPtClPlkQgvPT7dSyfF/s1600/BASINS-FRONTIERE-NM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKnhx3pjLD4dNPlaaWklUaus2W5jU58V3kp2TX-NKq_QCyA6rtZeGB1-EW4leGJQ58GLXYfl36CqMRceSZ_SYB4N4Vj3U0XsuNPVf1OtSPX7V5s8AUPMyAq0fykPtClPlkQgvPT7dSyfF/s400/BASINS-FRONTIERE-NM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">COMMENT:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">For the 2nd time in a month and a half, the Raton Range has advertised for Royal Dutch Shell with an article about their hopes to drill in North Eastern New Mexico. Asking for one size fits all from county to county, industry is doing their best to convince local county governments with fancy dinners and stories of untold riches. Here is industry's 2nd advertisment by Todd Wildermuth, Editor of the Raton Range. Raton boasts the Raton Basin, already becoming dewatered according to OGAP director in a statement in 2009. Google earth this area to see the industrialization of this area and compare to San Juan County near Farmington. Both areas have fallen victim to the oil industry as the land has become riddled with roads, well pads and the air and water stink with fumes from drilling and hyrdaulic fracturing. Today they want the Las Vegas Basin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> May 22, 2012</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Shell
Oil Company hopes to move ahead soon with one or more new test wells in
northeast New Mexico that could eventually lead the company to
establish natural gas drilling operations throughout this part of the
state, including Colfax County.<br /><br />A Shell official this month told
the Colfax County commission that the company wants to be ready with an
adequate supply of natural gas when demand — and prices — for the
natural resource rise. Although prices are at a 10-year low, the markets
for natural gas are “always evolving,” according to Mike Smith, an
enterprise service management adviser for Shell.<br /><br />Eight counties
in northeast New Mexico are referred to by industry officials as the
Penn Play, an area that has gained attention to a degree that prompted a
few industry representatives to make a presentation at January’s New
Mexico Association of Counties Conference. One of the key points made
during the presentation was that the companies would want a “uniform
regulatory climate” across the multiple counties where they believe a
large pool of natural gas may sit among the rock layers some 7,000 to
13,000 feet below the surface.....continued.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://ratonrange.com/company-hopes-to-move-forward-with-gas-drilling-shell-plans-to-come-north-p3416-1.htm </span></span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-87933546130748221462012-05-22T15:59:00.001-06:002012-05-22T16:08:14.790-06:00Mora County's 1st Oil and Gas Meeting, 2008<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iEwaBdKD5XU?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
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http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=15950WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-35581748319842276912012-05-22T14:06:00.001-06:002012-05-22T14:21:09.378-06:00The State of Vermont Bans Fracking<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wgqyD5mXS9Q?version=3&feature=player_embedded">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Governor Shumlin said the increased amounts of natural gas obtainable through hydraulic fracturing were not worth the risk to drinking water supplies.<br /><br /> In the coming generation or two, “drinking water will be more valuable than oil or natural gas,” Shumlin said.<br /><br /> “Human beings survived for thousands and thousands of years without oil and without natural gas,” he said. “We have never known humanity or life on this plant to survive without clean water.”</span><br /><br /><br /><br />WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-72808908657179490962012-05-10T16:08:00.001-06:002012-05-19T13:26:23.752-06:00Vermont Passes First Statewide Fracking Ban<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: xx-small;">COMMENT:<br /> The State of Vermont's elected officials expressed their courage, moral compass, and leadership on behalf of the citizen's of Vermont through their vote to ban fracking!<br /><br /> They upheld citizen's rights to clean water, air, land, health, safety, and the right to flourish within their own communities. These birth rights are held sacred by these impressive lawmakers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/33254-vermont-passes-first-statewide-fracking-ban.html">http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/33254-vermont-passes-first-statewide-fracking-ban.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> 08 May 2012</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTGhs32rLE622hnAze_G6B1m6Aj6ZVbT_0HpB8JVJ_dVo3MSwG8FscAcx2DPe9LVszdoQQ48KgbZSqt6rU_lxmfRBgfmccbKZteQnBG3JWMBcNSNc9SXye6v0AcV6ktyQmVvDcrBGyo5-/s1600/NO+FRACKING.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTGhs32rLE622hnAze_G6B1m6Aj6ZVbT_0HpB8JVJ_dVo3MSwG8FscAcx2DPe9LVszdoQQ48KgbZSqt6rU_lxmfRBgfmccbKZteQnBG3JWMBcNSNc9SXye6v0AcV6ktyQmVvDcrBGyo5-/s320/NO+FRACKING.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--May 8, 2012. On May 4, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 103-36 to give final passage to legislation that will make Vermont the first state in the nation to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Fracking is a method of extracting natural gas from deep in the ground by injecting a mixture of water, sand and toxic chemicals —including biocides— under high pressure into dense rock formations such as shale, in order to crack the rock and release the gas.<br /><br />“The Vermont Legislature deserves tremendous praise for having the courage to stand up to all of the lobbying, the full page ads, and the legal threats of the oil and gas industry,” said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “This is a shot that will be heard, if not around the world then at least around the country.”<br /><br />According to a minority staff report released last year by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, more than 650 commonly used fracking products contain chemicals that are “known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, or listed as hazardous air pollutants.” In its report, The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking, Food and Water Watch summarizes data by The Endocrine Disruption Exchange showing that 25 percent of fracking chemicals could cause cancer, 37 percent could disrupt the endocrine system, 40 to 50 percent could affect the nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems, and more than 75 percent could affect the sensory organs and respiratory system, likely causing problems such as skin and eye irritation and flu-like symptoms. . . continued . . . </span></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-80405904693414216612012-04-26T17:29:00.002-06:002012-04-26T17:29:35.046-06:00Four Dollars for a Gallon of Water? The Dream of Monsanto and Other Corporations Wanting to Privatize Water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ATBtUUTcq10CFtmF_d9loycX4wHTO0UTC_eYGD3uZb80EOCbBNZ4vLT_q18mYzM6obCKbrztDteXujkT2viuMRnVGX9HL0rfKp6IDlCo4iV7tVunhNK6b-kcpqv2gwGTg9YN-6EIiJir/s1600/water_grab_2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ATBtUUTcq10CFtmF_d9loycX4wHTO0UTC_eYGD3uZb80EOCbBNZ4vLT_q18mYzM6obCKbrztDteXujkT2viuMRnVGX9HL0rfKp6IDlCo4iV7tVunhNK6b-kcpqv2gwGTg9YN-6EIiJir/s400/water_grab_2010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: xx-small;">COMMENT:<br />The minera leases filed at the Mora County Clerk's office show that not only the oil and gas was leased. They show with but one or two exceptions, the landowners unknowingly or knowingly leased their water resources to SWEPI (Shell Western Exploratory Production Inc). This means they have leased their water without restriction.<br /><br />When the water is either depleted or contaminated or both, and bottled water costs $4 per gallon, will the $1 per acre or $25 per acre lease be the "wealth" the landowners counted upon?<br /><br />Some people have been seeing this leasing as a "water grab" in the Las Vegas basin....and they could be correct in their speculation. Pickens, Monsanto, Royal Dutch Shell and Nestle seem to think clean drinking water is a good investment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.opednews.com/articles/Four-dollars-for-a-gallon-by-Natural-News-120419-21.html</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Four dollars for a gallon of gas is ridiculous enough, but $4 for a gallon of water could someday became a reality, that is if oil tycoons like T. Boone Pickens and water bottling companies have their way. Privatization of water in which companies control the public's water sources and free water is a thing of the past appears to be what Pickens and corporations such as Monsanto, Royal Dutch Shell, and Nestle are banking on to increase their vast fortunes.<br /><br />Companies, brokers and billionaires are buying up groundwater rights and aquifers. Groundwater is necessary for agriculture and more water is needed to meet a growing demand for food. Many countries have already over-pumped their groundwater to feed increasing local populations. Combine this with climate changes and an ever-increasing strain on water resources due to a rapidly growing world population and you have got a future where water is called "blue gold" because of its scarcity and high cost.</span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-38299266886678577722012-04-26T17:23:00.001-06:002012-04-26T17:23:18.306-06:00Vermont-- Fracking Ban Passes Senate 27-1http://www.vpirg.org/news/fracking-ban-passes-senate-27-1/<br />
<div class="datetime">
April 18, 2012</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Statement of Paul Burns, Executive Director of VPIRG </strong><strong>on Passage of H.464, the Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing in Vermont</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Wednesday, April 18, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The 27-1 vote of the Vermont Senate in
favor of a ban on fracking for natural gas in the state is an important
statement about the legislature’s commitment to clean energy, and its
intention to protect public health and natural resources from the
dangers of this practice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This vote brings Vermont one step closer to
becoming the first state in the nation to ban the dirty and dangerous
practice of fracking. This is exactly the kind of leadership that is
needed on this issue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fracking is wreaking havoc in nearby
states. This bill sends a clear message to the oil and gas industry that
we value clean water too much to allow fracking in Vermont....continued.....</span></div>
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<br /></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-2049892186730207272012-04-07T16:01:00.000-06:002012-04-07T16:01:25.312-06:00The Fracking Frenzy's Impact on Women<style>
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</style> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/author/sara-jerving"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Sara Jerving</span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T1hQ2PiU9hmFCiQWq_bUcxTvMyHk_9FbnbgstHa1kxeGvZcybpExcCrBZsrXqy16Y9wsZ8qighRGTjP5saHth52U3KbHO-RBXS-LnYxycOeg9-vl4drEHbf-9TxOIiaut0s1r79fOgs_/s1600/frackcausescancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T1hQ2PiU9hmFCiQWq_bUcxTvMyHk_9FbnbgstHa1kxeGvZcybpExcCrBZsrXqy16Y9wsZ8qighRGTjP5saHth52U3KbHO-RBXS-LnYxycOeg9-vl4drEHbf-9TxOIiaut0s1r79fOgs_/s400/frackcausescancer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>Hydraulic fracturing, or “<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Water" title="reference on fracking"><span style="color: windowtext;">fracking</span></a>,” has generated widespread media attention this year. The process, which injects water and chemicals into the ground to release "natural" gas and oil from shale bedrock, has been shown to contribute signficantly to air and water pollution and has even been linked to <a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/fracking-ohio-quake-earth-165/" title="reference on earthquakes"><span style="color: windowtext;">earthquakes</span></a>. But little has been reported on the ways in which fracking may have unique impacts on women. Chemicals used in fracking have been linked to breast cancer and reproductive health problems and there have been reports of rises in crimes against women in some fracking "boom" towns, which have attracted itinerant workers with few ties to the community....continued....</span></span></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-59327181124661508132012-04-05T21:57:00.000-06:002012-04-05T21:57:07.247-06:00Unicopia Green Radio with Faren Dancer and Las Vegas City Councilman, Andrew Feldman & Mora Democracy School Committee secretary, Kathleen Dudley speak on Community RightsWaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-56083570606519100382012-04-05T14:47:00.000-06:002012-04-05T14:47:42.207-06:00A Dubious Ordinance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhH6jnHofRk6zevey5ORBLEgkpz_L6BZlEYy5nNsOa0jdOZgFziRWRR5R0hBDm3FwKmoOzz7pvfl6XITHr-q19i7YNaXBEHnQIu_PdDJYMDYaaSIrEL-zWeGF1qhWGGJNUV-I1bgDJq6Ud/s1600/lvpassescrordinance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhH6jnHofRk6zevey5ORBLEgkpz_L6BZlEYy5nNsOa0jdOZgFziRWRR5R0hBDm3FwKmoOzz7pvfl6XITHr-q19i7YNaXBEHnQIu_PdDJYMDYaaSIrEL-zWeGF1qhWGGJNUV-I1bgDJq6Ud/s400/lvpassescrordinance.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><h1 class="title"></h1><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">April 1, 2o12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">As the Las Vegas City Council moves closer to passing proposed Ordinance 12-06, titled the Las Vegas Community Water Rights and Local Self Government Ordinance, let’s take a closer look at it. In our opinion, it’s a statement more than a law.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> We seriously doubt it would hold up in court. It imposes an outright ban on all oil-and-gas drilling in Las Vegas and its watershed, which is probably a violation of constitutionally protected individual property rights. The measure would also challenge the New Mexico and U.S. constitutions, and preemptive law, in other ways that won’t likely hold up in court....continued.....</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-47375257791586506122012-04-05T12:24:00.000-06:002012-04-05T12:24:40.458-06:00Las Vegas, NM, Passes Ban on Driling--<a class="lightbox cboxElement" href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kunm/files/IMG097_1.jpg" rel="lightbox_gallery"><img alt="" height="300" itemprop="image" src="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kunm/files/styles/card_300/public/IMG097_1.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="card-image gallery-image"><div class="card-caption enlarge-gallery"><div><a class="enlarge-gallery" href=""><br />
</a></div></div></div><div class="meta"> <span class="submitted"> <span class="submitted-label">By</span> <a href="http://kunm.org/people/sidsel-overgaard" rel="author">Sidsel Overgaard</a> </span> </div>Last night, Las Vegas, New Mexico became the first municipality in the Southwest to enact a local bill of rights banning all forms of oil and natural gas drilling in the city and its watershed. KUNM’s Sidsel Overgaard was there, and has this report.<br />
Listen to the recorded interview with Miguel Pacheco, Andrew Feldman and David BaconWaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-32706774858023950422012-04-05T10:29:00.003-06:002012-04-05T10:42:49.817-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT_Utt1hZ4FWz9mXb8Xmg42gU_6Ils2iklAjEXf3jg-4PFe92b-VAbAv6eTE7EaZ6n_L-aBfUJMg59CsDEqZc-MyJAiIDNn_Iq8aT3V2Q74Cesc5tPBL0RnK9c0V8sp1nl5E9XFnyegro/s1600/NOfracking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT_Utt1hZ4FWz9mXb8Xmg42gU_6Ils2iklAjEXf3jg-4PFe92b-VAbAv6eTE7EaZ6n_L-aBfUJMg59CsDEqZc-MyJAiIDNn_Iq8aT3V2Q74Cesc5tPBL0RnK9c0V8sp1nl5E9XFnyegro/s400/NOfracking.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div id="content-header" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AEwBgjAKqpan4BJj2wDPzkVy_2S1hmt7LzOyrnaDkC2EIjQTy_XmhXseJ5NccZg4fFykhRkSrTWQH0IMynV63y47h_4wXiJXSyfILmNJ-GtwDbUhHSYPDhLU2-oJDwnOvxN2TPUt8CD9/s1600/nomoredrilling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</style> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Las Vegas, N.M., Endorses Community Rights,</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b>March 21, 2012</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first day of spring was an auspicious day for the Las Vegas City Council to make history. It was a victory for the people and for democracy. The united voice of the citizens and actions taken by the council showed that concerned, involved people make a difference—that our elected officials who support their oath of office to protect the health, welfare and safety of the citizens, support Democracy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">While the final vote on the Las Vegas Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance was still pending, the outcome of the March meeting held great possibilities for a protective Community Rights Ordinance as drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, CELDF, and sponsored by Councilman Andrew Feldman. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The vote to pass the Ordinance did not take place during the March meeting, as expected. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The “action item” to vote on the Ordinance was not on the agenda, at the counsel of the city attorney, David Romero. There was contention from the council and citizens towards the mayor and city attorney over this. As Councilman Feldman pointed out, last month’s unanimous vote by the council was specifically to advertise in order to bring this ordinance to a vote at the March meeting...continued... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-57652540368884350972012-04-04T21:41:00.001-06:002012-04-05T10:43:51.197-06:00Thomas Linzey, CELDF, speaks on Corporate Rights<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HowKoNmODNY?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HowKoNmODNY?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-71901976290723689232012-04-04T16:07:00.000-06:002012-04-04T16:07:27.828-06:00Las Vegas New Mexico City Council Votes and Passes the Community Rights Banning Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas--1st in the West!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeHmcMOa4BjPcxT75U01ndne6nsH59B7F1gt73RU3QK5QK2B1jVXNhMNjG4JV2ibXf5dfnddBmivM3Uzfb1mXsUXqeeJ14J2uJWuFZyUNzWR3RSix0yFwWvyyo-foldAIbHq6RU3B4asA/s1600/lvvoteblogphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeHmcMOa4BjPcxT75U01ndne6nsH59B7F1gt73RU3QK5QK2B1jVXNhMNjG4JV2ibXf5dfnddBmivM3Uzfb1mXsUXqeeJ14J2uJWuFZyUNzWR3RSix0yFwWvyyo-foldAIbHq6RU3B4asA/s400/lvvoteblogphoto.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">April 4, 2012<br />
Las Vegas, New Mexico<br />
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Las Vegas, New Mexico Council Votes to Pass the Community Bill of Rights Banning Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas<br />
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“Along with the City of Pittsburgh, this is how we change federal law, folks. It starts at the bottom. We do this, and other cities do it. It starts a ball rolling that hopefully will not stop. We change our laws in this great country that protect us instead of protecting corporations." --- <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Feldman, sponsor of "Las Vegas Community Water Rights and Self-Government Ordinance"</span><br />
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Monday night the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, City Council voted on a community Bill of Rights. It is known as the "Las Vegas Community Protective Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance." This Ordinance establishes a new system of law--giving rights to citizens and nature.<br />
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The City Council voted 3-1 in favour of the Ordinance. In favour: Councilman Feldman, Councilwoman Tonita Gurule Giron and Councilman Romero. Opposed: Newly elected Councilman Vince Howell.<br />
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This community rights ordinance is the first rights-based ordinance to pass in the southwest. It takes courage to be the first on the block, but more importantly, it takes a strong moral compass to stand up for the rights of the citizens when the pressure to support the status quo is dauntingly powerful.<br />
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Councilman Andrew Feldman sponsored the Ordinance, advocating for the rights that citizens and ecosystems thrive in the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, as they would under this community rights ordinance. He is committed to working with other New Mexico communities to help them pass community rights ordinances.<br />
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In the words of Councilwoman Tonita Gurule Giron, after the vote, "It was the right thing to do."<br />
Councilwoman Gurule Giron is running in the City of Las Vegas mayoral race. The voting date is April 17th, 2012.<br />
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At the request of a committee of Las Vegas citizens, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, CELDF, known for their work with communities around the world, helped them draft a rights-based ordinance which they then presented to Councilman Feldman for his support.<br />
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Today the community of Las Vegas will stand along side with over 140 communities across the United States who exert their rights to local self-government, local sustainability, and a Bill of Rights that protect their communities and nature from corporate threats. And perhaps most importantly, establish Democracy within their communities for the first time in their lifetimes.<br />
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</span></div>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758260659490618448.post-12119821764290129552012-04-04T15:09:00.000-06:002012-04-04T15:09:00.876-06:00Anit-Fracking Law Adopted--Las Vegas Optic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pYDYeV5jvU9CJh-X3UsGOgFl7X_Bs3uF3KrKRN70FwF1RCupybVYEC2pGMeksE3tk4rbEYYruKekXkGCiqbWUVr_zgls9TN0OlFq0ozA-qY_jMHRpw8adNoHBK0vROQxI9ZkAJwr01kP/s1600/afeldman4-2-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pYDYeV5jvU9CJh-X3UsGOgFl7X_Bs3uF3KrKRN70FwF1RCupybVYEC2pGMeksE3tk4rbEYYruKekXkGCiqbWUVr_zgls9TN0OlFq0ozA-qY_jMHRpw8adNoHBK0vROQxI9ZkAJwr01kP/s640/afeldman4-2-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Las Vegas,. New Mexico</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">April 2nd 2012 </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Setting aside the grave concerns raised by its legal counsel and its insurer, the Las Vegas City Council voted 3-1 on Monday to approve a community bill of rights ordinance, becoming the first municipality in the state to do so....</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The ordinance seeks to elevate the civil rights of the community and of its natural resources while limiting the rights currently enjoyed by corporations. A standing-room-only crowd was on hand at the council chambers to witness the vote, and most of them applauded when the measure passed. “This is a historic moment for Vegas, and it may face legal challenges but that’s how you start changing federal law,” [Councilperson] Feldman said after the meeting. “I feel really passionately that our rights are being trampled at the expense of corporations for profit and that the ... citizens in this country need to start taking back their rights. This is where it starts, in a grassroots effort.”...continued.....</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div>By <span class="author-name">Martin Salazar</span><div class="meta"><div class="news-author"> </div></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>WaterDragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10941831122056304635noreply@blogger.com