Sempra: Exporting Pollution, J.P. Ross, CorpWatch
A new natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Mexicali, Mexico, was supposed to have been built in San Diego, according to CorpWatch, a Web site devoted to 'holding corporations accountable.' Instead, Sempra Energy decided to construct the new plant three miles across the border in order to dodge U.S. air quality regulations. In March, environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking to block government permits for transmission lines into California. 'The environmental impacts of Sempra's natural gas projects would be felt far beyond the border,' J.P Ross writes. 'From a global warming perspective, the Mexican plants would be a disaster.' There will also be health effects for those living near the plant on both sides of the border. The power plants and infrastructure that Sempra is planning will add 35 percent more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than is already created by California's natural gas use.
--Maria Opitz
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