Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of SouthEaster California, Southern Nevada, SouthWestern Utah and NorthWestern Arizona.
(http://digital-desert.com/regions/480-mojavedesert-npsmap.gif)
Mojave History
Several tribal groups have lived in the Mojave Desert within the past 2,000 years. The northern and eastern portions, for example, were occupied by the Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, Serrano, and Koso, and Southern Paiute bands, including the Chemehuevi. Culturally distinct, these groups nevertheless spoke related languages and had similar socioeconomic systems. The Chemihuevi tribe spoke a different language from that of the Mojave Indians. They occupied a particularly barren portion of the Mojave Desert and wrested a rough living from the open land. Like their Mojave neighbors, the Chemehuevi were highly mobile, making use of resources throughout their large territory; however, they also had settlements to which they returned regularly. To transport goods and for other purposes, they created complex, beautiful baskets from reeds and grasses. Like other Southern Paiute groups, they sometimes worked small farms.
(http://www.rock-art.com/research/photos/MysticMaze2.jpg)
Current Mojave
The human population of the seven counties encompassing the Mojave was almost 15 million in mid-2003. Of that 15 million, 650,000 people actually live in the desert and approximately 40 percent of these desert inhabitants live in the Lancaster-Palmdale area. Another
800,000 people live within a half-hour drive of the desert in Fontana, San Bernardino, Redlands, Rialto and Riverside. These desert communities have experienced fairly rapid population growth in the past 20 years. From 2000 to 2003, the area experienced a population growth of 3 percent per year, which is a higher rate than the state of California as a whole. In addition, the Bureau of Land Management projects that the desert’s population will double by 2020.
The Mojave is also home to a variety of miraculously adaptive plants and animals. This desert habitat supports a fragile ecosystem of plants and animals that have existed in the desert environment for millions of years. It includes most of the 1,800 vascular plants found in the California deserts and approximately 300 species of animals, including bighorn sheep, mule deer, mountain lions, kit foxes, Mohave ground squirrels and desert tortoises.
The military uses the desert’s wide-open spaces to test new airplanes and train its soldiers. Protection of the desert ensures that development will not compromise the ability of the military to train and protect our country.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090120/desert-tortoise-money/images/97b22481-3e6a-48fe-8aa1-5ce6835cb7d9.jpg)
Future of the Mojave
The above is highlighted GREEN for a VERY exciting reason! Local clean energy in the Mojave is about generating electricity and cutting the dependence on big firms and utility companies. It is energy for the 99%. Big solar and wind ("utility-scale", or "central station"), on the other hand, will not take us "Beyond Coal," but simply open up another phase of regrettable dependence on energy companies that sacrifice natural resources for profit. The fossil fuel industry has not gone away, either. While environmental groups drew the nation's attention to their justified opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Obama administration was quietly opening up more public lands and waters to the usual players in the coal, oil and gas industry, including drilling in the Arctic and offering new mining leases for hundreds of millions of tons of coal in Wyoming and Montana.
Windmills and Wildlife
What we can do to keep the Mojave clean and safe
The invaluable lands of the Mojave include Death Valley National Park, the largest national park in the lower 48 states; Mojave National Preserve, the third largest parcel in the national park system after Yellowstone; and Joshua Tree National Park, a popular attraction with 501 archeological and 88 historical sites. The area is truly unique and a source of national pride. Despite these natural benefits, current decision-making often favors the exploitation of the desert over its conservation. Many think of the Mojave as a tough, rugged and barren place, when it is actually a vital but highly vulnerable ecosystem seriously threatened by urban sprawl and development. Less outdoor recreation, the installation of solar panels on the roofs of local Mojave homes and controlling the population of humans in the desert are steps we can take immediately in helping to keep the desert safe and clean.
Sources
http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/science_and_economics/conservation_economics/economic_oasis.pdf
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/mojave_desert.htm
http://www.mojavedesertblog.com/
