Tuesday, August 14, 2012
U.S. solar plan creates energy zones, excludes sensitive lands
Posted by Linda H on 6:05:00 AM
The plan places 445 square miles of public land in play for utility-scale solar facilities. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters on a conference call that the country had no solar projects in the planning stages when Obama took office, contrasting the situation with the current rush to build plants.
Getting a reprieve: Young illegal immigrants see first signs of Obama’s deferred action program
Posted by Linda H on 5:38:00 AM
A month ago, Gabriela Tepe was almost out of hope. An immigration appeals court told the 21-year-old Oklahoma State University student that she and her 20-year-old brother, Angel, would need to leave the country by July 3 or face deportation. The siblings, who have lived in Oklahoma City since they were 4 and 2 years old, would be celebrating the Fourth of July in Guatemala, a country they don't even remember.
Tepe refused to let herself believe that she would actually have to leave her family, friends and country after a yearslong legal battle to stay. Deeply religious, she was holding out for a miracle. "It really scares us to go back," she said. "We completely Americanized ourselves over here."
On June 15, Tepe saw on the news that President Barack Obama had announced that his administration would no longer deport illegal immigrants under the age of 30 who had been brought to the country as children, graduated from high school and committed no serious crimes. "They are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one—on paper," Obama said then, adding that this class of immigrants had no control over their guardians' decision to bring them to the country illegally.
When Tepe heard the news, she felt flooded with relief. Her parents, who were granted green cards a few years earlier, and her two younger siblings, both American-born and thus citizens, were finally able to relax.
"It's just a big miracle," she said. "God does really do big things when you least expect it. It was down to the wire."
Doug Stump, Tepe's lawyer, said that after Obama's announcement he quickly sent Angel and Gabriela's information to immigration officials in Washington, and was informed just two days before the Tepes were required to leave that their petition would be granted. The officials also told Stump that his clients were the first in Oklahoma to qualify for Obama's deferred action program for young people.
On Aug. 15, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is scheduled to begin allowing young illegal immigrants to actively apply for legal status and a work permit under the new program. The status would last for two years and be renewable, but applicants will have to prove they entered the country as children, graduated from high school and haven't committed crimes.
The Tepes were able to qualify early because, like nearly 300,000 other immigrants, their immigration cases were already pending in court. The Department of Homeland Security didn't respond to questions from Yahoo News about how many people have been granted deferred action under the program since its announcement in June.
Defense Dept., Interior seek to speed renewables on military lands
Posted by Linda H on 3:36:00 AM
The Pentagon and Interior Department have inked an agreement aimed at developing green electricity projects to feed power-thirsty military bases, a plan that officials said would help ensure energy for bases if the commercial grid is disrupted.
The “memorandum of understanding (MOU),” unveiled Monday, is among the steps that Obama administration officials are taking to promote green power at a time when energy legislation is politically frozen on Capitol Hill.
The “memorandum of understanding (MOU),” unveiled Monday, is among the steps that Obama administration officials are taking to promote green power at a time when energy legislation is politically frozen on Capitol Hill.
Apple Needs to Make it in America
