In a move that could pit environmentalists and alternative energy industries against each other, the senator wants hundreds of thousands of acres in California designated as a national monument. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
The extended conflagration of energy developers against preservationists finds fuel in the desert. The story is well-sourced, but with a conservative bias. The conflict may be less than meets the eye, with mutual respect for habitat expressed by both sides. There needs to be a national effort to survey lands if a renewable energy future can be constructed, and the article needs biologists to weigh in on what the costs will be if desert areas are "sacrificed" for the greater good.
Americans' profligate wasteful use of energy will doom much more of our environment unless enlightened self-interest or the strictures of depression prevail.