In response to Serge Dedina's blog on Cafe San Diego (Voice of San Diego),
I wrote on April 17, 2008 4:24 PM:
"As a young boy, in 1968, I visited the Berlin wall. I was fascinated that such a structure would be built by humans, to cage in other humans. To this day, I still cannot fathom it. But I saw it with my own eyes. 40 years later I am seeing it again. Where is my country? What has happened to us? Mr. Bush, "Tear down that wall." The cost in human lives, the irreparable damage to our ecosystems, and the loss of integrity of our federal wilderness system at Jacumba Wilderness and Otay Mtn Wilderness, demonstrate a serious degradation of our country's values. Shame on us. Kudos to Serge at WildCoast for highlighting this important issue. Let's keep our border wild. WildBorder!!! Geoffrey Smith"
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Comment letter to the CPUC for the Proposed SDG&E Power Line draft EIR/EIS
April 11, 2008
CPUC/BLMc/o Aspen Environmental Group
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 935
San Francisco, CA 94104
Fax: (866) 711-3106
Email: sunrise@aspeneg.com
Subject: San Diego Gas & Electric Company's Sunrise Powerlink Project, Draft EIR/EIS
We support of pending federal legislation, The California Wild Heritage Act, to protect over 45,000 acres of San Diego County public land as federal wilderness. We oppose any wire-based transmission line alternative that proposes to run high-voltage transimission lines through the San Diego back country from Imperial County to San Diego's urban areas.
San Diego supports more biodiviersity than any county in the continental U.S. Much of this biodiversity is located on city, county, state and federal public land. A new transmission line would potentially impact sensitive lands through increased fire risk, road support infrastructure, visual impacts, and loss of solitude -- an essential component of federal wilderness protection.
How would each of the alternatives proposed in the EIR/EIS mitigate the impacts they would have on existing and proposed federal wilderness and wild and scenic river areas?
Affected wilderness and proposed wilderness lands include:
Hauser Canyon, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Hauser Mountain, proposed BLM wilderness
Pine Creek Wilderness, existing Forest Service wilderness and proposed wild and scenic river
No Name, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Sill Hill, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Eagle Peak, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Cedar Creek, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
San Diego River, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
Fish Creek Wilderness, existing BLM wilderness
Additional impacted federal lands would include:
San Felipe Hills, BLM wilderness study area
San Ysidro Mtns, BLM wilderness study area
In addition to these designated wilderness or wilderness quality lands, the proposed routes would seriously impact other city, county, state and federal public lands -- lands that were set aside for the protection of resources, watersheds, and to promote recreation. We have no business using these important resource areas as transmission line corridors.
As established in "Mineral King verus the US Forest Service", truly, "the rocks have rights" -- a right to an environment free from power lines, roads, and associated infrastructure.
Geoffrey Smith
Wilderness4All.org
858.442.1425
gsmith@thecomputersmith.com
11572 Alkaid DriveSan Diego, CA 92126
CPUC/BLMc/o Aspen Environmental Group
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 935
San Francisco, CA 94104
Fax: (866) 711-3106
Email: sunrise@aspeneg.com
Subject: San Diego Gas & Electric Company's Sunrise Powerlink Project, Draft EIR/EIS
We support of pending federal legislation, The California Wild Heritage Act, to protect over 45,000 acres of San Diego County public land as federal wilderness. We oppose any wire-based transmission line alternative that proposes to run high-voltage transimission lines through the San Diego back country from Imperial County to San Diego's urban areas.
San Diego supports more biodiviersity than any county in the continental U.S. Much of this biodiversity is located on city, county, state and federal public land. A new transmission line would potentially impact sensitive lands through increased fire risk, road support infrastructure, visual impacts, and loss of solitude -- an essential component of federal wilderness protection.
How would each of the alternatives proposed in the EIR/EIS mitigate the impacts they would have on existing and proposed federal wilderness and wild and scenic river areas?
Affected wilderness and proposed wilderness lands include:
Hauser Canyon, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Hauser Mountain, proposed BLM wilderness
Pine Creek Wilderness, existing Forest Service wilderness and proposed wild and scenic river
No Name, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Sill Hill, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Eagle Peak, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Cedar Creek, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
San Diego River, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
Fish Creek Wilderness, existing BLM wilderness
Additional impacted federal lands would include:
San Felipe Hills, BLM wilderness study area
San Ysidro Mtns, BLM wilderness study area
In addition to these designated wilderness or wilderness quality lands, the proposed routes would seriously impact other city, county, state and federal public lands -- lands that were set aside for the protection of resources, watersheds, and to promote recreation. We have no business using these important resource areas as transmission line corridors.
As established in "Mineral King verus the US Forest Service", truly, "the rocks have rights" -- a right to an environment free from power lines, roads, and associated infrastructure.
Geoffrey Smith
Wilderness4All.org
858.442.1425
gsmith@thecomputersmith.com
11572 Alkaid DriveSan Diego, CA 92126
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
We killed our television this week
On Saturday afternoon, I unplugged our venerable 27" 1982-vintage Sony TV, and put it in the garage. Next stop: Goodwill. Our home is now television-free. The feeling of release and freedom began to flood over me immediately. We're looking forward to more balance, more sleep, more reading, more communicating, more exercising, less brainwashing, less BS, less spin, no more insulting programs, no news at 11, no 1/2-hour sitcoms, no "What time does X start?", no "When is it over?", overall improvement in mental attitude, more radio, more movies, more Internet or print news WHEN we want it and how we want it, blissful ignorance. More time to read this web site: http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/. Let me know if you see any difference in my behavior...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Save Rose Canyon, too
The Friends of Rose Canyon are determined to protect their open space resource from the threat of a Regents Road crossing. For 20 years, I have worked with legions of volunteers to safeguard Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve from roads, with some good success, and some notable failures ('Sorrento Valley Boulevard'). I read with interest the 'Strife Span' piece in the San Diego Reader, 2/21/08, and posted this comment:
#5.
Kudos to the Friends of Rose Canyon team! Generations from now, the efforts of Debbie and her team may well be forgotten, but their legacy will remain: A beautiful, un-interrupted open space canyon preserve serving as a natural treasure in a city that is defined by its canyon systems. Rose Canyon is part of the paradise that will always be 'temporary' -- if not for the leadership of visionaries like Debbie who understand that paradise is not for paving. May the Rose and Los Penasquitos canyon open space preserves remain just that: Open!
By Geoffrey 1:48 p.m., Mar 22, 2008
#5.
Kudos to the Friends of Rose Canyon team! Generations from now, the efforts of Debbie and her team may well be forgotten, but their legacy will remain: A beautiful, un-interrupted open space canyon preserve serving as a natural treasure in a city that is defined by its canyon systems. Rose Canyon is part of the paradise that will always be 'temporary' -- if not for the leadership of visionaries like Debbie who understand that paradise is not for paving. May the Rose and Los Penasquitos canyon open space preserves remain just that: Open!
By Geoffrey 1:48 p.m., Mar 22, 2008
Thursday, November 29, 2007
This Wild blog is a repository of thoughts and dreams and tactics and celebrations and mournings -- all related to wild places on our planet. When I was a young boy in high school, when asked what I wanted to do when I grow up, I often replied, "I want to be a hermit and live in a cave." Only half-jesting, I was speaking from the experiences I was having at that time of backpacking and hiking into the wilderness a couple of times each month, with Troop 974 - 'The Trekingest Scout Troop in San Diego County.' How prophetic, as I find myself now working in the field of public lands protection (The Escondido Creek Conservancy), having devoted the past 30 years of my life to public lands advocacy in a volunteer capacity. All towards the goal of finding that cave to live in. Join me in this journey as I find that cave in that wilderness, where my soul can be free of the fetters of our over-mechanized and often cruel society. I am looking for my inner-cave.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Welcome
Geoffrey Devore Smith is my name.
I dedicate this BLOG to my loving and understanding wife,
Camille Ruth Armstrong.
Camille, you are my Rainbow.
You bring color to my eyes, and compassion to my heart.
You bring color to my eyes, and compassion to my heart.
I love you.
June 13, 2007
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