Naturally Interesting

Proposed Powerline Route

The Sunrise Powerlink: A proposed  power line from the California coast to the solar, wind, and geothermal rich Imperial Valley.

The Route: Would likely be extended to avoid a state park, an Indian reservation and most of a forest, in addition to avoiding harm to any endangered species.

The Opposition: The Sierra Club, Centre for Biological Diversity, other similarly situated environmental groups are “holding out for a guarantee that the line will be used to transmit electricity solely from renewable sources.”

This is environmental idealism at its worst. Pursuit of the perfect preventing the good. We need new transmission lines. Holding out for exclusive access is ridiculous. Particularly in light of the existing renewable energy regulations. Progress cannot be achieved in one go. It requires gradual change. The shift to renewable sources is not going to happen over night. It will take time. Litigating for perfection in a case like this does nothing but harm environmental progress.

To an extent this is a dispute between pragmatism and idealism. Politicians like Mr Schwarzenegger tend to believe that energy projects should be judged on whether they improve on current practice. Activists, by contrast, prefer to measure them against an environmental ideal. “A little bit better than the status quo isn’t good enough,” explains Bill Magavern, the Sierra Club’s California director. He wants power to be generated close to those who will use it, and envisages a rash of solar roofs in San Diego.

Solar powered roofs in San Diego? Pipe dream.

Source: The Economist