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U.S. Allowing New Solar Again
ecogeek.org — After the ridiculous announcement that the BLM (the agency that regulates all of America's sunniest lands) wouldn't be able to approve applications for solar development for a full 22 months, there was significant public outcry. Today, in response to that outcry, the BLM is lifting the moratorium. YAY!
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- ecrunner, on 07/03/2008, -1/+21phew. i got nervous for a second there :/
- klipseracer, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Unfortunately this doesn't mean that we'll be seeing more solar farms cropping up any time soon.
- vsujohn2, on 07/03/2008, -1/+20I was afraid we'd be stuck in the dark forever
- kholburn, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1What? They've never approved a project and they're unlikely to start now. You are stuck in the dark forever.
- dougvfr750, on 07/03/2008, -1/+9Psyke
- MarkusGarvey, on 07/04/2008, -3/+5they ***** better!...
- dafragsta, on 07/04/2008, -1/+47Maybe we need to outcry more often.
- B08ama, on 07/04/2008, -11/+2But... but this is bad for the environment!
- timtimes, on 07/04/2008, -3/+14Cheney weeps.
Enjoy. - maroon1872, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4so i can burn all of this leftover natural gas and oil i have?
- Berkana, on 07/04/2008, -2/+7At the same time, 80 million acres are leased to natural gas and oil extraction projects, but to this date, no solar project has been approved for development on BLM managed land. It's not as if lifting the moratorium has done anything.
- B08ama, on 07/04/2008, -5/+3Who else thought they saw the Onion logo and was scared *****?
- brainscab, on 07/04/2008, -1/+26public outcry worked? I think the internet is changing everything
- mogebier, on 07/04/2008, -0/+8I would be more than happy to put those things on top of my house, when they make them cheaper than paying my electric bill.
- davidsf1, on 07/04/2008, -4/+1I believe we won't need sunshine soon, so it may not matter - see http://digg.com/general_sciences/Quantum_Theory_Br ...
- RSS14, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3You think? The internet redefined almost everything humans did.
- BeardDob, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3Read the actual source for the original story ... not the skewed one sided crap.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27solar.html- xexx, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2uh, that story is about the ban, this one is about the reversal of said ban. They're 2 different stories. The ban was completely retarded anyway, I wouldn't overlook corruption and payoffs either.
- Axeman2063, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4I'm sorry, but the original claim was a moratorium had to be placed so the environmental effects of solar collection could be studied...this is *****.
Being called on and subsequently fixing said ***** isn't that great...they still did it in the first place. (And will likely try again) - Duncan3, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Again, this only helps the utility companies. People need solar on their own roof, local power, minimal utility bills, no more shipping a majority of the power all over the country.
The idea is to localize, not just build a new power monopoly. But the money is flowing right where the lobbyists want.- xexx, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3True, but if companies start putting up large solar plants, it will bring down the price of panels so they're far more affordable, give renewable energy a shot in the arm, and we can take matters into our own hands.
- FaithclubDotNet, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2Don't forget to write your Congressmen and the Bureau of Land Management and tell them thank you if you originally wrote them asking them to lift the moratorium.
- winnestow, on 07/04/2008, -3/+4drill anwr now
- brainscab, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3I love how they call it Anwr, not the arctic wild life refuge. Anwr sounds so foreign.... so drillable.
- winnestow, on 07/04/2008, -2/+3would you rather have mile upon mile of death valley covered in reflective square mirrors or have a few drilling rigs in a place you will never see?
- keviniskool, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Mile upon mile of Death Valley covered in reflective square mirrors please.
- brainscab, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3I love how they call it Anwr, not the arctic wild life refuge. Anwr sounds so foreign.... so drillable.
- wexmajor, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Government places anvil on the testicles of the collective populace. Populace cries out. Government takes anvil off. Populace praises government as it steals their wallet.
- sk11, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2"Now, there are two ways that we could see this announcement:
1. The BLM is going to devote more of its staff to the approval process for solar applications
2. The BLM was strong armed by the administration to not do something so obvious as actually calling for a moratorium but, instead, just process the applications really slowly with the same meager staff as before.
The sad thing is that lifting the moratorium doesn't actually solve the problem that the BLM has 10x more work to do now than they did before the solar boom. What the need is more staff...and more staff who are trained in approving solar projects, not just oil, gas and cattle projects (the only thing that the BLM ever did before solar caught on.)"
They're not off the hook yet. - Ransack, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Banning solar plants while new coal plants are being given the green light was really stupid. Nice to know these agencies are run but idiots.
- mrmudgeon, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0The government should sell the land. If they are leasing it to private interests, why is the land needed by the feds?
In private hands, the solar plants would be much easier to accomplish because we would not have a bunch of beaurocrats in the way. - beauley, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1With Global Warming on many people's minds, do we have any ideas of the best way to lessen the impact on our future, or maybe a possible relief of its possible ravages or even a possible key to its eventual reversal. Many scientific experts have proposed
http://www.quazen.com/Science/Technology/Solar-Pow ...
Solar Power, Source of Endless Energy
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