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Apr. 02, 2006 - 20:33 MDT

ACRONYMICS

I like weekends. Most of the time there are articles and columns by persons of interest that I have never heard about. They bring bread to the table for thoughtful consumption. Today there is an article in the JOA Denver Post (We get the Rocky Mountain News every day -- but Sunday -- then everybody gets the Post) by a guest commentator Shalina Vajjhala, a lady who is a fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. Herewith in full (Italics and bolds mine):

WHERE DO WE PUT ALL THOSE WINDMILLS ?

"The latest enthusiasm for alternative energy often fails to take into account a fundamental problem facing new energy facilities: where do we put them ?"

"Siting new energy projects, from power lines to oil refineries to wind farms, has become increasingly difficult in recent years. And unless we acknowledge and confront these problems soon, our energy conflicts could shift from the Middle East into our own backyards."

"Heated siting debates have been plagued by outraged finger-pointing from all directions. Industry experts blame the public for its NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude). The public remembers poor siting decisions in the past. Policy makers focus on the lack of incentive for new construction, and the media turns the spotlight on high-profile controversies, like the Cross-Sound Cable, a power line connecting New York and Connecticut below Long Island Sound.

All this chaos has given birth to a new acronym in the siting alphabet soup, BANANA: build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything."

"Given the trouble with siting conventional energy facilities today, where will we site the projects of our alternative energy future ?"

"Although a field of switch-grass in place of a grim smokestack sets up an appealingly green image, alternative and renewable energy sources require new infrastructure. And clean energy does not necessarily mean invisible, waste-free facilities, especially when we suddenly need enough of them to replace the eqiuvalent of, say, 75 percent of our Middle Eastern oil consumption."

"Bio-refineries, clean coal plants and hydrogen stations have to start somewhere in order for the administration's a Advanced Energy Initiative to, well, advance. But the president's speeches to promote clean fuel seem to take for granted that technology alone will carry us forward, and the public will welcome new facilities into their backyard when the time comes."

"In stark contrast to this executive optomism are a handful of recent renewable energy projects that have spawned as much public outcry as more conventional dirty facilities. Take, for instance, the troubled plans to build wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, the Kennedy's famous backyard."

"Pollution, emissions and other negative environmental impacts are only some of the reasons for public opposition to energy facilities. Less tangible issues, like the disruption of scenic views and uncertain health and safety risks, become more relevant in the case of alternative energy projects, where facilities could be limited to locations on pristine mountains or in coastal waters."

"In spite of these roadblocks, siting problems are not insurmountable, and there are signs of progress."

"The 2005 Energy Policy Act attempts to address some long-standing siting barriers with the creation on integrated energy corridors on federal lands in the West. These proposed corridors would combine the siting of different types of facilities , such as power lines and gas pipelines, to minimize regulatory redundancy and permitting hassles."

Additionally, the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a public-private partnership to develop a prototype "zero-emissions" power plant in the United States, plans to soon issue a request for siting proposals. Both of these efforts are too new to have shown any real progress or provide a clear way forward for other alternative technologies, but they serve as an early and important test."

"Energy independence has a nice ring to it in the current political climate, and to be fair, Prsident Bush is not the only one who has turned a blind eye to siting in favor of more tractable energy problems, like developing new technology. But for the United States to realistically move forward on securing our national energy future, we need to make these issues part of our energy research and development agenda NOW. Otherwise, alternative energy facilities will remain in the realm of new conventional energy facilities: UNBUILT."

+++++++++++++++++

Living in the west as Heather and I do, we often see the exchange of barbs from one side or another. Latest coming down the pike is the wind farm debate, bitter to the max. We do have one problem here that folks in the east don't really realize or think about. Many people out here have bought property way out in the "boonies" so they can be alone and at peace, surrounded by miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles, all around. They get very redfaced and table pounding angry when someone has the audacity to propose a wind farm in their sight (which includes on the way to town), or hearing. The NIMBY types seem to have stretched the boundaries of their "backyards" exceedingly much it appears to me.

There are a few words of wisdom passed down to us, "You can't have everything both ways," and that seems to be one thing "pee the weople" expect. And the old saw, "If you want something, you have to give something," which includes sacrificing things such as views.

Makes me think back to my days as a kid here, the countryside began a few blocks west of Santa Fe Drive here in town, and going to the "hills" for a picnic led us through unfenced countryside and mountains where people could picnic at ease, clean up their mess and enjoy life. Oh how it has changed, rather than small domiciles tailored to the mountain style, we now have these scabrous excresences sticking out like sore thumbs on hillsides all the way up to ? Buildings that would demonstrate excessive life styles even in city limits. Showy to the max and extremely citified.

But, that is life I guess, we must get along with each other and they bought their ground and are entitled, even though they pollute the view.

In Wyoming as in other places, the wild prairie is becoming dotted with oil patch activities, natural gas now. Strutting grounds for Sage Grouse and land that was once occupied by elk, deer and pronghorn antelopes is gradually filling up with pads for drilling, roads cutting through to the individual sites.

As long as they are allowed to do that, why not put power plants there ? Put facilities for making ethanol from corn up there too ? I think that enough land for the Grouse and four-leggers can be reserved. The four leggers have to have room to migrate seasonally, so they can't be cut off in either direction.

Windmills, oil patches, ethanol refineries and while we are at it, why not send the feed lots up there too ?

Tickled me though that one new shortened phrase to our language, "BANANA" a priceless addition to ACRONYMICS . . . . . . . . .

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