Renewable energy threatens the planet. Who knew?
Our nation runs the risk of damaging the environment, in the name of saving the environment.
There are negative consequences from producing energy from the sun, the wind and the earth.
So, at least, said Lamar Alexander, the Republican senator from Tennessee and a long-time conservationist, during a speech today at Resources for the Future.
What’s he worried about? The danger that developing thousands of wind turbines, building solar-thermal power plants which spread across the desert and cultivating acres upon acres of land for biofuels will create “energy sprawl,” consuming too much territory and threatening wildlife.
Citing a a study by the Nature Conservancy, Alexander warned that “during the next 20 years, new energy production, especially biofuels and wind power, will consume a land mass larger than the state of Nebraska.”
What’s his solution? Nuclear power, which produces lots of low-carbon electricity in a way that’s least likely to harm wildlife and the landscape. [click to continue…]
Until recently, the environment was a bipartisan issue. Consider:
The EPA became a cabinet-level agency during the Nixon administration.
The 1990 amendments strengthening the Clean Air Act were adopted by a 89-11 vote in the U.S. Senate.
Previous sponsors of climate legislation to cap emissions of greenhouse gases were Senators McCain [R], Warner [R] and Lieberman [D-I].
Conservative and conservation, after all, derive from the same root.
Regrettably, the climate issue isn’t bipartisan anymore. The Waxman-Markey climate bill passed the House with just eight Republican votes, and with 168 Republicans in opposition. Republican senators haven’t had anything nice to say about the Kerry-Boxer proposal in the Senate, as far as I can tell.
Why can't they get along?
This raises several questions.
- Why has the climate-change issue become so partisan?
- What, if anything, can be done to persuade Republicans to support strong measures to deal with global warming?
- Finally, why aren’t big companies that support climate legislation pushing their Republican friends in Congress to contribute to the debate? [click to continue…]
“Nature is the goose that lays all the golden eggs. We don’t want to squeeze her to death…If we don’t take care of nature, we won’t have a civilization someday.”
Does that sound like a tree-hugging environmentalist? Well, it is, but it’s also the founder and chairman of a $1-billion a year carpet company. His name is Ray Anderson, he calls himself a “radical industrialist” and he has led his company, Interface, on a remarkable 15-year journey to sustainability. He’s got a lot to teach the rest of us.
One of the best things about my work is that I get to spend time with people like Ray. He’s got a new book out—it’s called Confessions of a Radical Industrialist—and so we got together last week when he was in Washington.
With his gentle Georgia drawl and genial manner, Ray, who is 75, does not look like a radical—but he believes that business as usual is the principal agent of global destruction, and that only new industrial revolution can [click to continue…]
