Brian4Liberty
02-28-2011, 02:03 PM
Many issues are involved in this story. The always present conflict between development and the natural environment, the need for new energy sources, and the conflict and/or partnership between government and corporations.
Also of interest are the new(?) religious aspects...for example, one guy can start an "organization" and make all kinds of claims...
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/24/local/la-me-solar-suit-20110224
The image of Cicimiti, more detectable from the sky than on foot, is just one of many geoglyphs, Native American burial sites and ancient relics that Figueroa says are threatened by solar projects being fast-tracked near Blythe and other remote expanses in the Southern California desert.
"There's no way these people can circumvent all the sacred sites out here, and no way to fix it when the damage is done," said Figueroa, 77. "How can you mitigate Mother Earth?"
The Native American group La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle, which Figueroa founded, has joined with environmentalists in a federal lawsuit to block six mammoth solar projects approved by the Department of the Interior.
...
Bureau officials have raised doubts about the age of some of the geoglyphs. One large image, representing Kokopelli — a hunchbacked fertility deity with a flute — is being contested. Figueroa says it's more than 10,000 years old, while the bureau says it's only 20 years old.
"We're not making up stories," Figueroa said. "We've lived here for thousands of years. We know what's transpired."
Somehow, his use of the word "Aztlan" and his claim of living there for thousands of years don't seem to mesh very well. The native people who have actually lived there for the past thousand years might dispute his claims.
Also of interest are the new(?) religious aspects...for example, one guy can start an "organization" and make all kinds of claims...
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/24/local/la-me-solar-suit-20110224
The image of Cicimiti, more detectable from the sky than on foot, is just one of many geoglyphs, Native American burial sites and ancient relics that Figueroa says are threatened by solar projects being fast-tracked near Blythe and other remote expanses in the Southern California desert.
"There's no way these people can circumvent all the sacred sites out here, and no way to fix it when the damage is done," said Figueroa, 77. "How can you mitigate Mother Earth?"
The Native American group La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle, which Figueroa founded, has joined with environmentalists in a federal lawsuit to block six mammoth solar projects approved by the Department of the Interior.
...
Bureau officials have raised doubts about the age of some of the geoglyphs. One large image, representing Kokopelli — a hunchbacked fertility deity with a flute — is being contested. Figueroa says it's more than 10,000 years old, while the bureau says it's only 20 years old.
"We're not making up stories," Figueroa said. "We've lived here for thousands of years. We know what's transpired."
Somehow, his use of the word "Aztlan" and his claim of living there for thousands of years don't seem to mesh very well. The native people who have actually lived there for the past thousand years might dispute his claims.