Posted on February 12th, 2008 by admin

Decision to forgo salt plant leaves lagoon pristine
Afive-year-long heavyweight bout in Baja California between whale defenders and commercial developers ended last March with a technical knockout. Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and the Mexican government cancelled plans to build a salt-evaporation plant on the shoreline of Laguna San Ignacio.
Each winter, gray whales migrate to the lagoon to give birth and mate. Environmentalists charged that the whales would be put at risk by the plant, which would have covered more than a hundred square miles and poured concentrated salt brine into the lagoon.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo denied the whales would be harmed. He said the plant was scrapped to protect the land around the lagoon. A World Heritage site, the lagoon draws 3,000 whale-watchers each year.

Tags: Environmentalists, Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, Mexican government, salt-evaporation plant, shoreline of Laguna San Ignacio