Conquer Club

WASHINGTON -- California's Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy.

Nineteen companies have submitted applications to build solar or wind facilities on a parcel of 500,000 desert acres, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Friday such development would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public.

Feinstein said Friday she intends to push legislation that would turn the land into a national monument, which would allow for existing uses to continue while preventing future development.

The Wildlands Conservancy orchestrated the government's purchase of the land between 1999-2004. It negotiated a discount sale from the real estate arm of the former Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad and then contributed $40 million to help pay for the purchase. David Myers, the conservancy's executive director, said the solar projects would do great harm to the region's desert tortoise population.

"It would destroy the entire Mojave Desert ecosystem," said David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy.

Feinstein said the lands in question were donated or purchased with the intent that they would be protected forever. But the Bureau of Land Management considers the land now open to all types of development, except mining. That policy led the state to consider large swaths of the land for future renewable energy production.

"This is unacceptable," Feinstein said in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "I urge you to direct the BLM to suspend any further consideration of leases to develop former railroad lands for renewable energy or for any other purpose."

In a speech last year, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger complained about environmental concerns slowing down the approval of solar plants in California.

"If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it," Schwarzenegger said at Yale University.

But Karen Douglas, chairman of the California Energy Commission, said Feinstein's proposal could be a "win-win" for energy and conservation. The governor's office said Douglas was speaking on the administration's behalf.

"The opportunity we see in the Feinstein bill is to jump-start our own efforts to find the best sites for development and to come up with a broader conservation plan that mitigates the impact of the development," Douglas said.

Douglas said that if the national monument lines were drawn without consideration of renewable energy then a conflict was likely, but it's early enough in the planning process that she's confident the state will be able to get more solar and wind projects up and running without hurting the environment.

"We think we can do both," Douglas said. "We think this is an opportunity to accelerate both."

Greg Miller of the Bureau of Land Management said there are 14 solar energy and five wind energy projects that have submitted applications seeking to develop on what's referred to as the former Catellus lands. None of the projects are close to being approved, he said.

The land lies in the southeast corner of California, between the existing Mojave National Preserve on the north and Joshua Tree National Park on the south.

"They all have to go through a rigorous environmental analysis now," Miller said. "It will be at best close to two years out before we get some of these grants approved."

Feinstein's spokesman, Gil Duran, said the senator looks forward to working with the governor and the Interior Department on the issue.

"There's plenty of room in America's deserts for the bold expansion of renewable energy projects," Duran said.

Night Strike wrote:

WASHINGTON -- California's Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy.

Nineteen companies have submitted applications to build solar or wind facilities on a parcel of 500,000 desert acres, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Friday such development would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public.

Feinstein said Friday she intends to push legislation that would turn the land into a national monument, which would allow for existing uses to continue while preventing future development.

The Wildlands Conservancy orchestrated the government's purchase of the land between 1999-2004. It negotiated a discount sale from the real estate arm of the former Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad and then contributed $40 million to help pay for the purchase. David Myers, the conservancy's executive director, said the solar projects would do great harm to the region's desert tortoise population.

"It would destroy the entire Mojave Desert ecosystem," said David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy.

Feinstein said the lands in question were donated or purchased with the intent that they would be protected forever. But the Bureau of Land Management considers the land now open to all types of development, except mining. That policy led the state to consider large swaths of the land for future renewable energy production.

"This is unacceptable," Feinstein said in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "I urge you to direct the BLM to suspend any further consideration of leases to develop former railroad lands for renewable energy or for any other purpose."

In a speech last year, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger complained about environmental concerns slowing down the approval of solar plants in California.

"If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it," Schwarzenegger said at Yale University.

But Karen Douglas, chairman of the California Energy Commission, said Feinstein's proposal could be a "win-win" for energy and conservation. The governor's office said Douglas was speaking on the administration's behalf.

"The opportunity we see in the Feinstein bill is to jump-start our own efforts to find the best sites for development and to come up with a broader conservation plan that mitigates the impact of the development," Douglas said.

Douglas said that if the national monument lines were drawn without consideration of renewable energy then a conflict was likely, but it's early enough in the planning process that she's confident the state will be able to get more solar and wind projects up and running without hurting the environment.

"We think we can do both," Douglas said. "We think this is an opportunity to accelerate both."

Greg Miller of the Bureau of Land Management said there are 14 solar energy and five wind energy projects that have submitted applications seeking to develop on what's referred to as the former Catellus lands. None of the projects are close to being approved, he said.

The land lies in the southeast corner of California, between the existing Mojave National Preserve on the north and Joshua Tree National Park on the south.

"They all have to go through a rigorous environmental analysis now," Miller said. "It will be at best close to two years out before we get some of these grants approved."

Feinstein's spokesman, Gil Duran, said the senator looks forward to working with the governor and the Interior Department on the issue.

"There's plenty of room in America's deserts for the bold expansion of renewable energy projects," Duran said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03 ... ar-panels/

Seriously?!? Environmentalists can't have their pie and eat it too. Do you want renewable energy such as solar panels, or do you want to preserve all the land? We can't have both. Building solar panels in the desert makes a lot of sense to me.

Night Strike wrote: Seriously?!? Environmentalists can't have their pie and eat it too. Do you want renewable energy such as solar panels, or do you want to preserve all the land? We can't have both. Building solar panels in the desert makes a lot of sense to me.

luns101 wrote:I'm sorry, but preserving the tortoise population is vital to the state of California. An unintended benefit might be saving lizards & road runners as well

I can totally see why she wants to make this...



...a national monument

Neoteny wrote:There is quite a bit of biology going on in that picture. But f*ck it, right?

DRILL, BABY! DRILL!

Skittles! wrote:Plus, I wouldn't call that a desert.

I would call this a desert:

Click image to enlarge.

Africa could get its wealth back if the Sahara desert was put to use for electricity.

PLAYER57832 wrote:Putting Solar Panels in the desert does make sense, but not on BLM land that was put under their jurisdiction precisely to protect it. THAT is the issue.

Skittles! wrote:Yes, but putting solar panels in a desolate place like the Sahara desert would reduce (not stop) the amount of change to an ecosystem around the world.. So, in all fairness, solar panels shouldn't be put in deserts (or anywhere, for that matter) which has a rich, healthy ecosystem.

luns101 wrote:I'm sorry, but preserving the tortoise population is vital to the state of California. An unintended benefit might be saving lizards & road runners as well

b.k. barunt wrote:Whenever a large corporation is frustrated by environmentalists we get a much cliched situation where conservative, land raping Bush-lovers like luns attempt to trivialize the concern for the environment: "tortoises are sooo important".

b.k. barunt wrote:And yeah luns, in ways you'll never comprehend, tortoises (and lizards and roadrunners) are important. It's not all about capitalistic progress.

luns101 wrote:

b.k. barunt wrote:Whenever a large corporation is frustrated by environmentalists we get a much cliched situation where conservative, land raping Bush-lovers like luns attempt to trivialize the concern for the environment: "tortoises are sooo important".

Well, at least you're not being judgmental

Just remember, a tortoise a day keeps the capitalist away!

b.k. barunt wrote:And yeah luns, in ways you'll never comprehend, tortoises (and lizards and roadrunners) are important. It's not all about capitalistic progress.

Indeed, you and I don't view the world in the same way or live our lives by the same set of principles. I look at the planet as being given to man for man. While being a responsible custodian, it's also his right to find ways to better the quality of life. Harnessing solar power is not an outlandish idea and using the Mojave desert areas to do it is something I'm not bothered by. If you ever come out this way on a vacation again, make sure you visit Joshua Tree National Park, a place I've donated $$ to.

Perhaps you'd like to join me in suporting them