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Environmental
Issues Archive Eco News 2002 |
For up-to-date general news about Todos Santos and surrounding area visit
Keeps you in touch with community and environmental issues.
Courtesy of www.todossantos.cc
Written and edited by Patricia Baum
. email savebaja@yahoo.com
summer 2003 FREE of advertising
Welcome to the Todos Santos eco-news, updated quarterly. We aim to inform the Todos Santos/Pescadero area about environmental issues that concern all of us, environmental and community based. We welcome feedback and information from our readers and will try to print anything that we feel is of interest to you.CONTENTS:
LOS CERRITOS CLEAN UP
HELP KEEP OUR BEACHES CLEAN.
LIFEGUARDS FOR LOS CERRITOS
BEACHES ARE FREE FOR ALL
DOLPHINS HAVE RIGHTS TOO
DON’T THROW IT AWAY REUSE IT!
BUY RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS
USE BIODEGRADABLE SOAP
BOYCOTT SHRIMP
ALTERNATIVES TO STYFOFOAM
A LIBRARY in Pescadero
MOTHERS UNITE
WORK WITH MIGRANT CHILDREN
13 reasons not to drive on the beach
Almost free SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC
HELP US GUARD TURTLES
FREE DOGGIES TREATSMESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Just because we are in Mexico with her deplorably slack environmental laws and practices, doesn't’t mean we should quit recycling, reusing what can’t be recycled and conserving our precious natural resources. All the things we take for granted in the USA, Canada and most of Europe, like curbside recycling, bottle bills, testing and banning of pesticides and hazardous chemicals, workplace and consumer safety laws, regularly tested tap water, safe highways are not yet in place here. We hope to open a forum where we can share information and ideas about things that directly affect our health, such as heavy pesticide use near our homes and on our food, questionable potable water, unsafe highways, garbage and lack of emergency medical services. Let us work together as a community to protect ourselves, and our children as well as guard and preserve what is left of the beautiful and still quite pristine Baja Peninsula. Why did we choose to live here in the first place??
LIFEGUARDS FOR LOS CERRITOS Next year we plan to organize a team of volunteer lifeguards from the US and Canada, to train our Red Cross workers and firefighters. On February 24th of this year, we had two tragic drownings which could have been prevented if our volunteer lifeguards had been in place. On April 13th, we had a successful lifeguard training session with 10 Red Cross volunteers and firefighters from the Los Cabos area. Volunteer lifeguards/surfers from Pescadero, Bob Dunkard and Chris Quine worked with the group in the water practicing life guarding skills and building their confidence in swimming in the ocean. Until now, our local Red Cross have only recovered bodies, and do not have the training to go in to the water and save people. E-mail us if you can volunteer your services next season or can donate water rescue equipment. If you’re around this summer contact us to volunteer on Sundays, when most drownings occur.
BEACHES ARE FREE FOR ALL- Right before semana santa, the government declared that all beaches are free for everyone to enjoy. This very important personal right is protected by the Mexican Constitution and extends to all foreign visitors as well. They were originally talking about charging people a fee of 100 pesos per day to camp in federal zones, like Los Cerritos and La Paz area beaches. If you know of a beach that lacks proper access or is closed to the public, please alert PROFEPA in La Paz, Licenciada Natalia Duarte 01 612 12 2.97.94 or email them at pfpabcs@prodigy.net.mx. This number and email are for reporting all types of environmental violations from illegal lobster and oyster taking, abuse of pelicans, turtle egg poaching, to felling protected plant species like cardon cactus
DOLPHINS HAVE RIGHTS TOO - The La Paz Delfinario ("Swim with the Dolphins" aquarium)was reopenedin May, having been closed since February. The owners won a court case involving various charges were over a year old and centered around the death of a dolphin in activity. Commercialized swimming with dolphins exploits these beautiful creatures that should be left in their natural habitat, the ocean. Our precious wild species are not for hire. There is strong opinion on both sides, you may have seen written on car windows in La Paz, "vive el delfinario" Some think it should be reopened to boost tourism. There is much demand to "swim with dolphins," by those who don’t understand that paying to swim with dolphins in captivity equals species enslavement and exploitation. We believe that all the dolphins should be released back into the wild, as do most local (uabcs, Autonomos University of Southern Baja California) marine biologists and marine biology students. The dolphins remain in captivity, this time we hope more closely monitored by PROFEPA until the case is settled in court. Call PROFEPA at 01 612 12 2.97.94, e-mail pfpabcs@prodigy.net.mx. for updates on the dolphins.
DON’T THROW IT AWAY REUSE IT! Let’s reuse what we can’t recycle. One idea is to wash out tomato and strawberry containers and return them to Sueno Tropical for reuse. Bring your own plastic bags to the store to help cut down the plastics flow. When shopping in the big supermarkets in La Paz and Cabo, monitor the amount of bags you are being given. You can say, "Da me menos bolsas, por favor." (Please give me less bags) Or "Junta mis cosas en una sola bolsa, por favor" (Put my things together in one bag please.) Plastic bags are good for so many things, garbage, storage, dirty laundry, dog bones, be creative and see how many times you can reuse a bag.
BUY RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS - If you drink beer and sodas, buy them in aluminum cans or returnable glass bottles. Let’s say no to plastic bottles. For those thousands of plastic bottles in circulation, a very use full candle lantern can be made from the two and three liter clear plastic soda bottles. Retain the cap, flip the bottle over, cut off the bottom, poke two holes in opposing sides of the now top, string a handle through, put in about three inches of clean sand, plant a tall candle firmly in the sand, light it up and you have beautiful golden light. For mood lighting try a green plastic bottle. The 600ml and 1 liter bottles can be cut off and used to start plants or mix paint. When buying those recyclable aluminum can in "six packs" cut the plastic rings that hold them together into little pieces, making it impossible for a bird or marine species to become entangled in them. These deadly plastic collars wind up around the necks and bodies of birds, fish, seals and turtles among others. PLASTIC KILLS in more ways than one.
USE BIODEGRADABLE SOAP Not sure where all your drain water and sewage is going? All we know is that Todos Santos uses a drainage field style septic system, near La Cachora very close the ocean. Gray water can be used to water plants if you channel your drain water out to your garden. Most brands of dish soap and laundry soap available here are not biodegradable and will end up in the ocean. Bring your favorite green brands from the states, or buy FOCA laundry soap, the blue one with the cute little seal on it. Shaklee and Amway products (not an endorsement) are available in Mexico and both make biodegradable soaps.
BOYCOTT SHRIMP - Boycott of the month. A southern baja shrimp boycott to began with the people of Todos Santos/Pescadero as of April 2002. Most of us love the tasty little sea creatures, but we need to be aware of how they get from ocean to plate. Most of the camaroneros or shrimp boats come from the state of Sinaloa (which has been heavily fished and shrimped, and has tougher fishing/shrimping regulations than southern baja) They practice a very damaging form of dredge style shrimp harvesting. The boat drags a weighted net along the bottom, and all species and fauna are brought to the surface to be discarded as dead after the shrimp have been extracted. This practice is in process as we speak, off of our coast and is literally raping the ocean. It will eventually lead to the loss of many species, all of which are needed to maintain a healthy marine eco system.
ALTERNATIVES TO STYFOFOAM.- Ask your favorite local restaurant to stop using the nasty plastic that is outlawed in many states in the US. Bring your own thermos style hot cup for coffee and tea and/or ask the owners to change to paper cups. If you must order "to go," ask for a plastic or paper plate with foil instead of the obligatory styro clamshell container. We forced McDonald’s USA to use paper packaging, so why can’t we do it here in baja? If you get the same old line, "It’s the only thing we can get," tell them to look harder, because there are alternatives to styrofoam right here in Baja. Styrofoam kills birds and marine animals. When it breaks apart it turns into deadly little beads, that mimic morsels of food, and are ingested, choking the hungry animal or bird. Styrofoam is the deadly gift that keeps on giving, this extremely durable plastic, as well it’s cousin mylar (bright and shiny potato chip and cookie bags) are cross-linked polymers, are not recyclable and won’t break down for hundreds of years.
We will soon have A LIBRARY in Pescadero, after numerous failed attempts to find a location in Todos Santos, the town of Pescadero has agreed to donate a space. Our future library will be located in the old Centro Social de Campensino (social hall) near the main plaza. The entire Todos Santos/Pescadero community will benefit from this project which will have books in English and Spanish with an emphasis on getting young readers hooked on books. Help pry these precious young minds away from the TV and into a good book. We need volunteers and good books of all types for all ages to fill the shelves. We’re also looking for a computer and printer, TV and VCR, tables, chairs, florescent fixtures, educational toys for ages 1-5, interior paint and volunteers to help us do minor repairs to the building To donate items, volunteer or better yet, join the Pescadero Library Association email us at savebaja@yahoo.com
MOTHERS UNITE A group of Mexican, American and Canadian mothers has formed a committee to upgrade the Park. The playground equipment in our beautiful Parque de Los Pin~os is in a dangerous state of disrepair. We have permission to repair existing equipment, remove any equipment deemed irreparable, purchase new equipment, and put in an fenced play area for children age 1-7.
The city of Todos Santos has offered matching funds and officially endorses the project. Help us by donating money directly into our account, (BanCrecer account #0160 0149737487) ) Our desert, ice cream social fundraiser, on May 12th, held in the park, was a big success, we raised over $300USD. Our first task will be to work on the existing equipment and install 4 new swings that have been purchased with money raised by the group. Two are infant style swings, and are very safe for children 1-3. The other two swings are designed for older children, and also meet US safety regulations. Another idea of ours is to have a skate ramp for the skate boarders who use the park, as they suffer police harassment for practicing their favorite sport, which is a healthy positive recreation that deserves it’s own space. Our dream is to have a park that is safe for mothers and children and provides recreation for all age groups.
Poca a poco, (little by little) we will continue with our plan to make the park safe for mothers and children and provide access and recreation for all age groups.
Our weekly ART AND MUSIC PROJECT FOR THE CHILDREN held in the migrant camp Trampuchete was well received by children and parents alike. The first class on Wednesday, May 1st, was a success with 15 children drawing and coloring paper bag puppets. We had a small party at the end of the class to celebrate "Dia de Los Ninos." (Children s Day) Thursday, May 9th we made Mother s Day (dia de madre) presents for 18 mothers and on Wednesday, May 15th we will did a music project, We brought percussion instruments, oatmeal box drums and tabuchin shaker beans. Guest drummer, Shane Perkins led the kids in a drum jam, which from the noise level proved to be muy divertido (very entertaining) for the kids, ages 1-10. They didn t want to stop even thought it was getting dark and their parents were calling for them. On June 20th, the children and their parents were transported to a location near Ensenada to work for the summer. They may or may not return next winter, to pick the seasonal crops. We hope they return so we can continue working with them. Our goal is so sponsor those of school age to attend Pescadero primary and secondary schools, which is their right under Mexican law, regardless of their financial means.
SPECIAL THANKS to Don~a Chayo from "La Simbra" and Mayra from "Los Arcos" both of Pescadero, El Mercado del Sol in Todos Santos, and others who contributed generously to the Santiago Pacheco family, who were involved in a car accident on April 21, and suffered the loss of their daughter, Carmelito Santiago Pacheco, age 8. This tragic accident inspired us to work with the children who live in this migrant camp just outside of Pescadero. There is a small shrine on the east side of the highway near KM 60, in remembrance of Carmelito. She and her family will remain in our memory as will all the enthusiastic young children we worked with on this brief but rewarding project.
Volunteer your time this spring and summer and WORK WITH MIGRANT CHILDREN in a weekly art and music project. We are working with a small group of children who live in a migrant workers camp and do not attend school. We are hoping to stimulate these young minds and hopefully sponsor them to go to school next year. The first class on Wednesday, May 1st, was a success with 15 children drawing and coloring paper bag puppets. We had a small party at the end of the class to celebrate "Dia de Los Ninos." (Children’s Day) Wednesday, May 8th we will make mother’s day presents and Wednesday May 15th we will do a music project, We will bring percussion instruments, recorders and guitars and decorate some small oatmeal box drums for a jam session. Musicians join us on May 15th, and show your support to these enthusiastic kids. We need donations of art supplies, tempera paint, paper, glue, musical instruments and ideas for future art and music projects. SPECIAL THANKS to Don~a Chayo from "La Simbra" and Mayra from "Los Arcos" both of Pescadero, and others who contributed generously to the Santiago Pacheco family who were involved in a car accident on April 21, and suffered the loss of their daughter, Carmelito Santiago Pachec, 8. This tragic accident inspired us to work with the children who live in this migrant camp just outside of Pescadero.
STOP DRIVING ON THE BEACH is a grass roots campaign to stop this damaging and unnecessary practice. Buy one of our ‘Mis llantas no matan tortugas" (My tires don’t kill turtles) I Don’t Drive on the Beach, bumper stickers. All proceeds go to education and conservation of turtle habitat. Available at The Elephant Tree, El Tecolote Book Store, Milagro Real Estate and Maya Roca Real Estate or through our e-mail address savebaja@yahoo.com. If you’re still not convinced that driving on the beach is one of the most damaging things a car, motorcycle or 4 wheeler can do, read this:
13 reasons not to drive on the beach
1. Kills turtles and collapses their nests, baby turtles can’t cross tire tracks to get to the water and they die of starvation.
2. Kills crabs and collapses their habitat.
3. Kills 100 other miniature species that you can’t begin to see from your car window.
4. Kills dune and inner tidal zone plants that are essential to the ecosystem.
5. Oil, antifreeze and other auto sediments enter the ocean as toxic pollutants.
6. Causes erosion in the dunes.
7. Can effect water flow in arroyos that get heavy vehicle use.
8. It’s hazardous to those who are lying on the beach and those who are walking. 9. Walking the short distance from your car to the beach can cause increase awareness of what you were missing by driving over it.
10. Patterns in the sand and shells are more visible when they're not covered with tire tracks.
11. The beach is not a parking lot and it’s an eyesore to see cars on the pristine dunes.
12. Set an example for those who think they have right to drive on the beach as visitors to Mexico.
13. It's illegal in Mexico, punishable by fine or for repeated offenders confiscation of offending vehicles
COMMUNITY TURTLE GUARDIANS NEEDED We are looking for people from the Todos Santos and Pescadero area to form a turtle safety net from Las Playitas to El Migrin~o (KM 82 on Hwy 19) a stretch of about 60 km of beach. This community based, environmental group will help guard turtle eggs during the months of June-September, work in conjunction with biologists and assist in the passage of the baby turtles back to the ocean after they hatch in September. There are potentially thousands of turtle nests in this stretch of beach, but most of the eggs are poached by greedy individuals who sell them or eat them. If the eggs survive the 45 day gestation, the next hazard for the babies is the short trek back to the sea. A car or motorcycle tire track can pose an impassible barrier for the tiny baby turtles, making our stop driving on the beach campaign an absolute priority. One long time resident tells a story that 20 years ago, near San Pedrito, on a 1/2 km stretch of beach, she counted 70 turtle nests. Where have our precious turtles gone? The 4 wheel drive generation has literally driven them away. Help us create a safe environment so they may return and flourish.
VOLUNTEER TURTLE BIOLOGISTS NEEDED Our local community/ environmental group need expert assistance to properly care for turtle eggs and hatchlings. Spend a day, a week or all summer with us. Free camping, water and shower facilities provided. Interact and share knowledge with other international marine biologists. Together we can protect and preserve one of the most threatened of Mexico s endangered species.
TRANS-BAJA BIKE PATH TO BEGIN IN TODOS SANTOS It would be a great service to all those who love to walk and bike to create a bike/hike path from Todos Santos to Los Cerritos. This last year we counted over twenty groups of bike tourers on this very dangerous stretch of highway With more and more local people riding bikes, we need a safe passage from Todos Santos to Pescadero and beyond. The path would parallel the existing highway and begin as a rustic, but well maintained dirt path. Our idea is to decorate the shoulders with native plants and provide periodic shaded rest areas. We are currently seeing permission from the federal transportation department who own the area 20 meters on either side of the highway We have been promised a road grating machine, and hope to get local businesses each to sponsor a one km stretch of the path. We need your support and ideas. This could be a start of something big, what if we pioneered the way for a biker s /hikers path from Tijuana to Cabo,? What a concept.
Almost free SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC April 22 at Maya Roca Realty, was a huge success about 50 dogs and cats were spayed and/or neutered. A big thanks and lots of wet doggy kisses to the vets and their assistants who came from La Paz and to the many volunteers who helped throughout the long day.
FREE DOGGIES TREATS, Free dog bones at Las Barajas Carnitas pork tacos, BYO bag and don’t be greedy there are lots of doggies that love juicy pork bones.
iF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
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