February 28, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)--ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

NATIONAL

• Supreme Court Makes It Harder To Challenge Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (NPR)
• Cap Cod community considers taking down wind turbines after illness, noise (Fox)
• Needy families can apply for pet food stamps through donation-based program(ABC News 5)
• Threat of sequestration looms as deadline approaches (CBS)
• Justices asked to void marriage law provision (U-T San Diego)
• Cash-Strapped Postal Service To Launch A New Clothing Line (NPR)
• The true size of the National Debt (Washington Post)
• Mom takes on smart meters over privacy, security and health (Jewish World Health)
• Those terrible first few minutes: Revisiting active shooter protocols for schools (FBI Bulletin)
• iDoctor: Could a smart phone be the future of medicine?  (NBC)

WORLD

• Mexico's 'Crisis Of Disappearance': Families Seek Answers  (NPR)
• UK convicts 3 Islamists for plotting another 9/11 (Jerusalem Post)
• Heritage sites of national significance under threat from wind farms (British Telegraph)
• For Taliban victims, Pakistani peace talks feel like betrayal (Christian Science Monitor)
• Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests (Reuters)
• Sunspots: Huge and growing fast, says NASA (Christian Science Monitor)
• 'Gazans seek elections as Hamas support declines' (Jerusalem Post)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

By Miriam Raftery

January 8, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – ECM has previously reported about serious health problems experienced by people living near the Shirley Wind Farm in Wisconsin, where county health officials sought emergency declaration for families forced to relocate.  That’s relevant here in East County, where four industrial-scale wind energy facilities propose to place turbines close to homes.

Now a Public Service Commission study has proven “dangerous levels” of infrasound generated by those turbines.  Four acoustical experts conducted C-weighted sound tests in December and found high readings oflow-frequency noise, or infrasound. One researcher became ill himself with symptoms similar to those experience by residents.  Symptoms of the afflicted families include heart palpitations, ear infections, muscle and join pain, and general malaise. 

October 28, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Construction of the Tule Wind project in McCain Valley has not yet begun, though developer Iberdrola has pledged to preserve the most scenic portion of views across the Carrizo Gorge.  But photographer Tom Lemon stopped by  McCain Valley’s famed Carrizo  Gorge Overlook this weekend in McCain Valley, discovering to his dismay that wind turbines at Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Express wind project in Ocotillo are plainly visible across the formerly pristine vista, gateway to three designated wilderness areas. 

BLM rules do not allow the agency to consider lost views when determining siting of energy projects, unfortunately for the many who cherish wilderness.

Above is the new view, with turbines across the horizon:

By Jim Pelley

Editor’s note: For months,  ECM award-winning photographer and Ocotillo resident Jim Pelley has been documenting clouds of choking dust at  Pattern Energy’s construction site for Ocotillo Express wind energy, where citizen monitors have routinely reported construction without water trucks present and twice resulted in fines on the developer for dust violations.  In this editorial, Pelley asks why the problem continues, raising serious questions for public officials who are supposed to protect public health.  The closest turbine is just 1500 feet from Pelley’s home.

October 9, 2012 --I have been told that they can make dust on this project site as long it is not over 20% opacity for three minutes. If there are a hundred trucks making 15% opacity dust all long day long I don’t understand why this is acceptable, because at the end of the day there are large amounts of dust in the air, it’s very easy to see.

U.S.
 
GENERAL NEWS
 
Supreme Court says Montana cannot ignore Citizens United ruling (NPR)
 

• Supreme Court says Montana cannot ignore Citizens United ruling (NPR)
• Supreme Court rules juvenile life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment (Chicago Tribune)
• GM Grass linked to Texas cattle deaths; fields found toxic with cyanide produced by crop (CBS)
• E-mail change angers Facebook users (CNN)
• Thousands evacuated as wildfire nears Colorado towns (USA Today)
• With no vote, taxpayers stuck with tab on bonds (New York Times)

• Issa: No evidence White House covered up `Fast and Furious’ fallout (Los Angeles Times)
• Obama invokes executive privilege over ‘Fast and Furious’ documents (Los Angeles Times)
• Rubio sticks to GOP doctrine over immigration (The Hill)
• Cash rules at Romney retreat while Condoleeza Rice steals the show (Yahoo news)

• Analysis: Mexican ruling party faces defeat but may back reforms (Reuters)
• Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi named Egyptian president (CBS)
• Morsi quits Muslim brother hood, vows to unite country (NBC)

• Iberdrola to explore sale of U.S. wind plants and projects (Recharge News)
• Quatar takes state in Iberdrola (The National)
• Texas wind energy fails again (National Review)
• Presidential projects on wind power flawed according to new book (KXXV)
• The trouble with turbines: an ill wind (Nature) 

By Miriam Raftery

Major fault line runs under proposed Ocotillo wind site slated to provide energy for San Diego, ECM investigation finds