Picture in your minds eye a scenic vista in one of our national parks. Mountains, trees and perhaps a river, all pristine as far as the eye can see. Signs of human intervention are sparse, if they are seen at all.
Now, picture the same scene with power lines strung overhead, cutting a dark slash across the wooded countryside. That is potentially the view that will be seen if DOE-proposed energy corridors become a reality.
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, June 18, 2007 (ENS) – Newly proposed energy corridors could damage national parks and their scenic views, and worsen air pollution, a nonprofit conservation organization said today.
The National Parks Conservation Association, NPCA, testified against the proposed siting of new electricity transmission lines in or near parks at the public meeting hosted by the Department of Energy, DOE.
The DOE is considering the designation of two new energy corridors, which would allow construction of power lines and other facilities across public and private lands in multiple states.
In the east, the proposal covers numerous contiguous states, creating the potential for a large impact.
The proposed Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor includes counties in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and all of New Jersey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.
Cinda Walbuesser of the NCPA:
As proposed, the New York Regional Interconnect, part of the Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor, would pass through 73 miles of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and impair the resources the park was established to protect, said Waldbuesser. “National parks and other protected lands should be considered off-limits.”
More specifically:
The construction of new electricity corridors is proposed within the scenic viewsheds of Gettysburg National Military Park, Antietam National Battlefield, Monocacy National Battlefield, Shenandoah National Park, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
In the southwest, the proposal includes parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. Perhaps wires accross the Grand Canyon?
Public comments will be accepted through July 6, 2007. Visit: http://nietc.anl.gov/
I commented at the site.
Simply stated…”Al Gore for President”
In other better news, The Nature Conservancy has purchased the last large swath of New York State’s Adirondack wilderness, some 161,000 acres.
And in other no-news, Out in the Wild West, “they” are still plotting planning and gearing up to Mine minerals and drill for oil in Yellowstone, The Tetons, and the Alaskan wildlife reserve.
I just don’t understand why more of the West and Southwest are not using solar power.
There are a lot of reasons. One is that solar power has a relatively high initial cost. Another — which is even more true of wind — is that solar doesn’t provide constant power: it’s useless at night, and during the day, power levels fluctuate through the year and according to the weather. It’s more complicated to handle than the relatively steady output of fossil fuel burning powerplants. More importantly, though, it’s just that there’s more lobbying money going to oil, coal, and nuclear than the relatively small solar power industry.
It is worth noting, though, that covering hundreds of square miles of desert with solar panels isn’t exactly environmentally sensitive.
(In accordance with tradition, I choose not to draw attention to the two huge elephants in the sustainability room: reducing power consumption and negative population growth.)
If large swaths of population are going to move to areas that should not have large swaths of population, they have a responsibility to mitigate their impact. I understand the large start up costs, but we as a society need to look at incentives (tax breaks, credits, etc.) to encourage those who can bear those costs to do so. Perhaps that can, eventually, bring down costs.
My opinion of why so little solar is used: They don’t know how to put a meter on the sun yet, just as soon as they get that down, why there will be more solar power than you can imagine.
Solar and wind worked in the 20’s and 30’s, the oil companies decided to kill it. It just cuts into their enormous profits too much. When they can make 12Billion a quarter on solar, it will be everywhere. And there will be new and more amazing solar units that will not be such eye sores. They have now new thin flat panels that are laid on like roofing, can’t even tell what they are, just for instance. No telling what new and wonderful ideas and techniques will come forth if funded and encouraged.
I should clarify that I am by no means opposed to or disinterested in solar power. I was just explaining why I thought it wasn’t more widely used.