Natives To Protest at Calpine against Power Plant

[Okwes]

Natives To Protest at Calpine against Power Plant

Natives To Protest at Calpine against Power Plant Proposed at Sacred
Medicine Lake near Mt. Shasta

www.earthisland.org/news/new_news.cfm?newsID=789

Pit River Indian Tribe members to be joined by community and
environmental justice groups in protest and cultural gathering at
Calpine corporate offices
Submitted by Sacred Land Film Project
January 25, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006, high noon

Calpine Headquarters,
50 W. San Fernando Street in San Jose
San Jose, CA

Native Americans and their supporters from across the country will
gather at the Calpine energy company headquarters on January 27, 2006
at high noon to protest the company's proposed plans to build power
plants and drill for geothermal energy in the culturally important
Medicine Lake Highlands, located in Northeastern California. The
tribal members and supporters demand that Calpine immediately cease
and desist from its proposed energy extraction plans as this would
devastate the Native cultural and natural environmental landscape
around Medicine Lake.

The Highlands comprises the largest shield volcano on this continent
and is home to many rare birds and animals that live in the lava
tubes, obsidian flows, old-growth forests and craters. The spring
waters in this area are some of the clearest and cleanest in the
country. This area, used since time immemorial for healing, ceremony
and other cultural purposes by Native peoples, is sacred to the
tribes of the Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, Wintu and many others.

Calpine has federal energy development leases that cover eight square
miles, and if built a nine-story high power plant complex would
annually produce tons of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and other heavy
metals such as arsenic and mercury. Initial drilling calls for ten to
twelve swells to depths of nine thousand feet. The sacred and natural
area would be clearcut to make space to build toxic slump ponds,
roads, pipelines, cooling towers, and the tallest building in
northeastern California, which would be fully lit around the clock.

This project threatens the underlying aquifer which is California's
largest spring system. Native peoples, homeowners, environmentalists
and other concerned citizens have been opposing this project since it
was first proposed. Ironically, the geothermal energy extracted from
the area would be bought and sold as "green energy!"

Tribal members declare that Native cultures and their sacred places
are worth more than gold or geothermal energy and must be protected.
We will let Calpine and any other energy company considering such
development know that when the snows melt and the lake is once again
accessible we will further demonstrate our opposition by
demonstrating in the Highlands in a non-violent, but culturally
assertive and appropriate way.

Sponsors of the event include Da'hu La'h As Sacred Sites Defense,
Seventh Generation Fund, Greenaction for Health & Environmental
Justice, International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous
Environmental Network, Citizens of the Pitt River Nation, Indian
People Organizing for Change, Vallejo Inter-tribal Council, Native
American Sisterhood Alliance of Mills College, Tierra Viva of the
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Youth United for Community Action
and California Communities Against Toxics. Come rain or shine we'll
be there!

For more information contact:
Mark LeBeau 916.801.4422; Chris Peters 707.825.7640;

James Hayward 530.604.9478

Morning Star Gali 510.862.1941

Ginger Mike-Mercado 530.336.7136/5776

[Okwes]

Native Americans Protest Power Plant Construction In Medicine Lake
Highlands

01/28/2006 MEDICINE LAKE HIGHLANDS POWER PLANT PROTEST
sfbay.indymedia.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?
id=4131&category_id=14

On January 27th, Native Americans and their supporters from across
the country gathered at the Calpine energy company headquarters in
San Jose to protest the company's proposed plans to build power
plants and drill for geothermal energy in the culturally important
Medicine Lake Highlands, located in Northeastern California. The
tribal members and supporters demand that Calpine immediately cease
and desist from its proposed energy extraction plans as this would
devastate the Native cultural and natural environmental landscape
around Medicine Lake.
Photos

The Highlands comprises the largest shield volcano on this continent
and is home to many rare birds and animals that live in the lava
tubes, obsidian flows, old-growth forests and craters. The spring
waters in this area are some of the clearest and cleanest in the
country. This area, used since time immemorial for healing, ceremony
and other cultural purposes by Native peoples, is sacred to the
tribes of the Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, Wintu and many others.
Calpine has federal energy development leases that cover eight square
miles, and if built a nine-story high power plant complex would
annually produce tons of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and other heavy
metals such as arsenic and mercury. The sacred and natural area would
be clearcut to make space to build toxic slump ponds, roads,
pipelines, cooling towers, and the tallest building in northeastern
California, which would be fully lit around the clock. This project
threatens the underlying aquifer which is California's largest spring
system. Native peoples, homeowners, environmentalists and other
concerned citizens have been opposing this project since it was first
proposed. Ironically, the geothermal energy extracted from the area
would be bought and sold as "green energy"