Does everyone see that? What is Border 21? Searcing for „Border 21“ seemed like a dead end. But when I searched for „Border XXI,“ I got hits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the availability of the draft document „Border 2012: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program“ (Border Plan or Border 2012). Border 2012 is a 10-year, results-oriented binational environmental program for the U.S.-Mexico border region, organized by the EPA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Mexican Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources), the Secretaría de Salud (Mexican Secretary of Health), U.S. border tribes and environmental agencies in each of the ten U.S.-Mexico border states. The proposed Border 2012 programme is the last multi-year and binational planning effort to be implemented under the La Paz Agreement and succeeds Border XXI, a five-year programme that ended in 2000. Border 2012`s mission is to protect public health and the environment in the U.S.-Mexico border region in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Written submissions must be submitted by 22 November 2002. Written comments may be sent by post or fax to one of the EPO`s border offices. Comments may also be posted on the EPA WEBSITE at the U.S.-Mexico border at www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder.
In addition, CEPOL will receive comments at public meetings to be held throughout the border region in October and November 2002. The draft document „Border 2012: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program“ is published in English and Spanish on the EPO website under www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder. In addition, english/Spanish copies of the draft document can be requested by contacting one of the EPO`s border offices: regional working groups, border-level working groups and policy forums will be broad and will include representatives of local communities on both sides of the border, including non-governmental or community-based organisations; academic institutions; local, state and tribal representatives; and binational organizations (such as the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission or the North American Development Bank) with expertise in the area of the respective working group. Border 2012 sets the following five border-wide environmental goals for the U.S.-Mexico border region: reduce water pollution, reduce air pollution; reduction of soil contamination; reduce exposure to pesticides, especially for children; and reducing exposure to chemicals as a result of accidental release of chemicals and/or intentional terrorist acts. Individuals can submit comments directly by completing the public comments form at: www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/ For decades, the United States and Mexico have worked together to protect the environment and the health of border communities. The most recent binational effort has been the Border XXI programme, launched in 1996 with a five-year plan to tackle the region`s most difficult environmental and health problems. The formal basis for these binational efforts is the La Paz Agreement (www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/2002/efpaz.htm), signed in 1983 by Presidents De la Madrid and Reagan. The agreement will be implemented through multi-annual binational programmes such as Border XXI and the new Border 2012 programme. Although most Border XXI projects were carried out at the local level, the organizational structure focused on coordination and planning at the border level.
Nine border-wide working groups, each focused on a specific environmental agenda such as air quality or hazardous waste management, coordinated the efforts of various federal, state, tribal and local government activities in the border area. The new Border 2012 programme builds on the successes achieved under Border XXI while creating a targeted border plan at regional level to facilitate the definition and planning of environmental priorities at regional and local levels. It`s close, but it doesn`t quite get there. Importing illiterate farmers from the south of the border is our Agenda 21. It is the redistribution of wealth. The Los Angeles Unified School District`s recent statement that homework will be limited throws a spotlight on how we will stultify our children. Please get involved with your children. Teach them that America brought people out of the Bronze Age, teach them that people have come out of stagnation over the past 100 years and made a difference. Direct your children to the entrepreneurs who have put our country first. Teach your children that without America, we would have no electricity, planes, cars, computers, video games, and mobile phones.
Read the Agenda 21 brochures and compare them to the Taliban`s restrictions on music, dance and technology. Here in Los Angeles, Mayor Villaragossa`s Mexicans will populate government-owned apartments next to our transportation corridors. You can`t get americans to settle in these concrete biospheres. The 1983 La Paz Agreement between the United States and Mexico is a pact to protect, preserve, and improve the environment of the border region of the two countries. The agreement defined the area as 62 miles (100 km) north and south of the international border. This zone includes sea and land borders in four U.S. states and six Mexican border states. This looks like part of the elimination of those pesky national borders that hinder the free flow of materials and people, and the integration of the United States into the North American Union (NAU) as a prelude to the NWO – a world government. The proposed border for 2012 emphasizes a bottom-up approach that ensures that local decision-making, prioritization and project implementation will best address environmental issues in the border region. Border 2012 will focus on concrete measurable results, public participation, transparency and timely access to environmental information.
www.epa.gov/Border2012/docs/borderXXIprogram-archive.pdf EPA, SEMARNAT and the U.S.-Mexico border states are seeking input from border stakeholders and other interested parties on the proposed 2012 Border Program. We invite the public to comment on all aspects of the proposed Border Plan for 2012 and are particularly interested in comments on the following topics: CEPOL invites interested parties and border stakeholders to comment on the draft Border Plan. Here is a consequence: to go from one yellow zone to another, you have to cross a red corridor, which is restricted. This will likely require something like border crossings with guards. And something like a passport. This will seriously affect freedom of movement from one part of the nation to another. Border XXI includes federal, state, and local governments on both sides of the border. Residents also participate through activities such as public hearings. The EPA is working with U.S. border tribes to develop mechanisms to ensure the full participation of U.S.
border tribes in the Border 2012 program. It seems that „Border XXI“ and „La Paz Sidebar Agreement“ are the official names under which it is located. Well, I`m not smart enough to pretend that I can tell you exactly what all this means in detail, but it`s all part of the Border 2012 initiative. And NAFTA is a big part of that. Representatives of the two countries signed the agreement on 14 August 1983 in La Paz, Mexico. The Agreement entered into force on 16 February 1984. It has set up six working groups, each focused on an environmental concern. Representatives from both countries sit on the working groups, which focus on water, air, hazardous and solid waste, pollution prevention, emergency planning and response, and cooperative enforcement and compliance. www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/borderhealth/border2012.htm The main features of the Border 2012 programme are: the coordinating bodies, the objectives and measurable objectives, as well as the communication of results to the public. If you follow any of these meetings or proposals to restrict land use, control water, or create more parks and wildlife corridors, two things become obvious: Under the Border 2012 program, the EPA will comply with Executive Order 13175 „Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments“ and work with tribes as they formulate and implement policies or take other action, that have a significant direct impact on an Indian tribe.
EPO border office in El Paso at (915) 533-7273 or (800) 334-0741 or EPO border office in San Diego at (619) 235-4765 or (800) 334-0741. . .