Posted on 04/25/2007 8:09:31 PM PDT by Lorianne
California and the city of Los Angeles have set an ambitious goal for 'greener' power: obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010.
But to do that difficult decisions need to be made. Wind, solar, and geothermal electric power produced in the rural reaches of the state must be somehow be transported to faraway cities – meaning some transmission lines must cut through national forests, wildlife refuges, and other treasured land areas.
Solar panels require the expanse and cloudless climes of desert areas, wind requires the funneling effect of mountain passes, and geothermal power is derived from hot or steamed water underground.
But how does the city get the energy to where it's needed without spoiling the pristine environments that it's trying to preserve?
"The fact of the matter is that renewable resources are from remote areas … and that is the challenge now facing California," says Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the California Independent Systems Operator. "We are trying to green the grid, and there are deadlines looming," she adds. "Transmission lines are the missing link. Where do we put them? That is what we have to decide."
It's all part of the "California greenin' " vision being trumpeted loudly and often by officials from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put the state in the forefront of developing alternative energy resources while Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to make America's second-largest city "the greenest and cleanest city in America."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Oh dear! What will the “greenies” do?
I bet they are happy to use power from coal fired plants in Utah rather than use their own pristine resouces, just as they are happy to use the colorado river.
Limit your ability to have children to reduce the population.
On clear days, east-bound travelers driving over the San Gorgonio Pass in Riverside County, Calif., were once treated to a spectacular view of the Coachella Valley and the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa, and Little San Bernardino Mountains as they headed down into the desert. However, in recent years thousands of windmills have been constructed in the area, pretty much spoiling the view, but I never heard a peep from the environmentalist wackos--perhaps because the machines produce "green" power.
Theyre a bright bunch arent they?
Actions and decisions have consequences.
I guess the silly granola eaters forgot that little bit of life.
Geothermal would actually be the better solution.
At one time a few years back, they wanted to build a power station here in Arizona. Hypocrits!
Hopefully, the actual global cooling trend that is coming (back to the temps of the 1800s), will set in before too much money and time is invested in the “greening of California”.
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