Wally Ingram Rocks Joshua Tree National Park
Percussionist Wally Ingram loves the earth around his home near Joshua Tree National Park. While out on tour last summer with Sheryl Crow, Wally let us know about a threat to the Park and the surrounding area, posed by a project with a name straight out of George Orwell’s “1984": Project Greenpath.
The plan, conceived and promoted by the Los Angeles County Department of Water and Power (“Forget about it, Jake–it’s Chinatown” – THAT Water and Power Department) is to build a 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission system designed to bring electricity generated from renewable resources, such as geothermal, solar and wind, from Imperial County to the LADWP power grid.
Curiously, there is absolutely no infrastructure in place at this time to generate electricity from any of the renewable resources the LADWP identifies as the reason for the Greenpath North transmission system (GPN). The entire proposed GPN transmission line is 118 miles long with 55 miles (about 60% of the 85 miles) of the GPN transmission line to run through public lands, the majority of which are undeveloped natural areas, including land already designated for protection as an area of critical environmental concern. Moreover, 30 miles of private property will be needed for GPN transmission lines, property that can be acquired through eminent domain procedures - in other words, private property can be seized without permission.
If Project Greenpath is put in place, power lines will prevent the wildlife of Joshua Tree National Park from accessing one of their main sources of water - the springs in the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.
Project Greenpath has been developed without significant involvement of local communities in the planning process, and without considering alternatives that will cost LADWP more, but will save extraordinary costs to local communities and to the environment. Local landowners and activists formed the California Desert Coalition (CDC) to fight the project, and groups like the National Parks Conservation Association are working with the CDC to oppose the threat to Joshua Tree and the surrounding areas posed by Project Greenpath.
Rock the Earth has begun discussions with NPCA, and will be reaching out to the CDC, with the goal of maximizing RtE’s effectiveness in helping to stop Project Greenpath. As the summer approaches, RtE will be raising awareness among its members and the in the music community about Project Greenpath, and hopefully working with Wally Ingram and other concerned musicians to defeat this environmental threat.
