Finally, an issue that has sparked some of the sharpest debate in Guam has been the Department of Defense's announcement that it will, if needed, forcibly condemn an additional 2,200 acres of land in Guam to support the construction of new military facilities. This potential new land grab has been met with mounting protest by island residents, mainly due to the fact that the US military already owns close to one-third of the small island, the majority of which was illegally taken after World War II.
In February 2010, upon review of the DEIS, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rated it "insufficient" and "environmentally unsatisfactory," giving it the lowest possible rating for a DEIS. Among other things, the EPA's findings suggest that Guam's water infrastructure cannot handle the population boom and that the island's fresh water resources will be at high risk for contamination. The EPA predicts that without infrastructural upgrades to the water system, the population outside the bases will experience a 13.1 million gallons of water shortage per day in 2014. The agency stated that the Pentagon's massive buildup plans for Guam "should not proceed as proposed." The people of Guam were given a mere ninety days to read through the voluminous 11,000-page document and make comments about its contents. The ninety-day comment period ended on February 17, 2010. The final EIS is scheduled for release in August 2010, with the record of decision to follow immediately thereafter.
The response to this story from the mainstream US media has been deafening silence. Since the military buildup was first announced in 2005, it was more than three years before any US media outlet picked up on the story. In fact, the October 2009 Democracy Now! interview was the first substantive national news coverage of the military buildup.
For more information on the military buildup:
We Are Guahan, http://www.weareguahan.com
Draft Environmental Impact Study Guam & Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation, http://www.guambuildupeis.us
Center for Biological Diversity Response to DEIS,
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/
center/articles/2010/los-angeles-times-02-24-2010.html
EPA Response to Guam DEIS, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68298
For more information on Guam's movement to resist militarization and
unresolved colonialism:
The Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice: Lisa Linda Natividad, Email address removed; Hope Cristobal, Email address removed; Julian Aguon, Email address removed; Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Email address removed; Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, victoria.Email address removed
We Are Guahan--We Are Guahan Public Forum: http://www.weareguahan.com
Famoksaiyan: Martha Duenas, Email address removed;
famoksaiyanwc.wordpress.com
*
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
2
1
