Mexico Vacation News: Issues that matter to us all

Environmental Issues in Puerto Vallarta

When we decide to live here, we must be a part of the effort to face serious issues. Any fool knows there is no such thing as true paradise but we can do our best to help it be as perfect as possible. The water issues facing Puerto Vallarta are something we join the effort to do something about. Sustainability is just as possible and affordable here in Puerto Vallarta as other parts of the planet. A few months ago a project got underway to dam the El Río Los Horcones and divert the water along a pipeline to a power plant. If you’ve been held up on the highway by protests, this is what the uproar is about. Besides the fact there is no environmental impact statement to be found, nor any studies done to provide answers to what will happen to the population in the area, no one has even let the villagers know what the outcome or consequences will be. Nor have any other residents been informed. It has been only through the diligence of a couple concerned citizens that attention has been brought to this dilemma.

In another matter, raw sewage has spewed into El Estero El Salado, with warnings to not swim near the area. This is the only registered preserve in Puerto Vallarta and some peple depend on the seafood that is linked to those waters, which cannot be eaten until this is cleaned up, with no idea as to when that might occur, not to mention the lack of control over the pipelines that cause these problems in the first place.

This isn’t the complete fault of all the new construction in Puerto Vallarta. Nature has played her part, as well. Until this past Sunday July 7, the normal gully washers that Puerto Vallarta looks forward to every summer, which cool the air and raise the level of reserves, have been absent. Global warming is no joke, no matter how uneducated one chooses to be regarding the matter. It is beginning to have major impact on our lives. Local water reserves are at an historic low, and water service outages are planned for Puerto Vallarta, with reasons being given as routine maintenance. Anyone who’s paid any attention to this issue knows that this is abnormal. Proper management is part and parcel to the problem.

What can you do? Letters to local papers are sincerely invited, as well as contacting representatives with your concerns. Right to assemble laws are different in Mexico, so be careful when joining protests; find out who the organizers are and what it allowed within the law. Participate to the level you can legally do so. Most of all, conserve. Be aware and alert when it comes to your own water usage and environmental concerns.

For more information http://chng.it/mJG8SKMCsM. This site is easily translated and updated, with links to more information.

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