Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in Congress on Monday to protect a million acres of the Mojave Desert in California by scuttling some 13 big solar plants and wind farms planned for the region.
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“The Catellus lands were purchased with nearly $45 million in private funds and $18 million in federal funds and donated to the federal government for the purpose of conservation, and that commitment must be upheld. Period,” Mrs. Feinstein said in a statement.
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Her intervention in the Mojave means it will be more difficult for California utilities to achieve a goal, set by the state, of obtaining a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020; projects in the monument area could have supplied a substantial portion of that power.“This is arguably the best solar land in the world, and Senator Feinstein shouldn’t be allowed to take this land off the table without a proper and scientific environmental review,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist and a partner with a venture capital firm that invested in a solar developer called BrightSource Energy. In September, BrightSource canceled a large project in the monument area.
Union officials, power industry executives, regulators and some environmentalists have also expressed concern about the impact of the monument legislation, but few would speak publicly for fear of antagonizing one of California’s most powerful politicians.
Undeveloped? Have you actually seen it?
It’s just dirt!
Hmmmm, How about Nevada?
There probably is a good story about the Mojave and who controls what…
How about lining Death Valley with a solar plant?
Oh! No! its so precious!!! (it’s more dirt)
At one time the Grand Canyon was a wasteland until the Santa Fe railroad figured out how to make a buck off it.
And the Eiffel tower was an ugly eyesore when it was first erected.
Personally, I look at power lines that stretch for miles over all kinds of terrain with wonder and awe for the men who dreamed of and built such things.
But I also know full well I’m in the minority.
#21 no bill its not dirt its cryptogamic soil. When I received by undergrad degree my summer job was to keep over watch on the installation of a natural gas pipeline. Cyptogamic soil is a crust formed by tiny plant roots. Its vital to the maintaining of the ecology of the desert. When disturbed the “dirt” underneath is essentially a fine dry dust, which will blow away with the slightest breeze. Now to be honest am I severely concerned about cryptogamic soil. Nope, but somebody will be. See my previous comment #11.
I paid taxes for leadership and I got this fuckwad Feinstein, again.
#2
Umm,
and how do you DEVELOPE a nature reserve?? A natural environment??
there is only 10% of this planet that is arable. LOCATIONS that can grow food.
Lets see, SHE wants a monument? WHAT MONUMENT? Its been 10 years and nothing has even STARTED.
WHO has ever been out in a REAL desert?? 1 time per year, YOU MIGHT get rain. rest of the seasons you are looking for SHADOW/SHADE..
The solar and Wind WONT take up ALL 1 million acres.
#8 – The ecotards won’t be happy until we’re living in the woods naked eating nothing but our own turd.
We’re being told that we need to give up everything that makes life worth living (SUVs, big houses, urban sprawl, big TVs, etc.) to stop
Dammit, I didn’t hit “Submit”. Grrr….
We’re being told that we need to give up everything that makes life worth living (SUVs, big houses, urban sprawl, big TVs, etc.) to stop AGW – so what’s wrong with sacrificing conservation areas to develop “green” power?
27,
NOT GIVE UP..
make things LAST LONGER, that have a resale or you can keep/repair FOREVER..like the OLD DAYS.
Find alternatives(they are oit there) to FUELS and things that DONT degrade.