By now, we’re all thoroughly bored with the cute story about the
neighborly squabble in Sunnyvale
over some redwood trees on one side of the property line that swallowed whole some solar panels on the other side of the property line. Or shaded them out or whatever.
Most of the press chuckled a bit while goshdarning about what a real shame of a dilemma it was. I mean, they both were just trying to live right, right?
But over that other border, in Nevada, the story of two green beings getting redfaced over such silly things as solar panels and carbon-absorbing trees produced nothing more than the usual smug, superior, delighted chuckle from that state’s biggest newspaper’s editorial staff, whose
editorial today
starts off with “It could only happen in California.” It then makes fun of an earnest couple that drives a Prius, and so on, but then loses its sense of humor for a moment over a clean energy advocate who says maybe California’s solar shade law needs to be tweaked so it’s more fair for everyone:
“In another place and time, Ms. Del Chiaro might have said, ‘To make sure everyone’s property rights are fully protected,’ admonishes the editorial. But then it regains its chuckle for the reprise: “But this, of course, is California.”
Har har. Right. They don’t gotta worry about that solar panel stuff, and trees and stuff, and conserving things and being fair and stuff, over there in Nevada where the lake’s running dry.
There, just had to shovel that shit back over the fence.
This article appears in Backstage Pass.
Actually, NV has a lot of solar, geothermal, wind farms, good curbside recycling, environmental regs, and that lake, depending on which one yer talking about is being used up partially by Californians.
You got to admit it is pretty ironic that a duel between environmentalists ended up with trees being cut. I mean, redwoods are sentient beings to quote a once famous butterfly….
You’re absolutely right. Nevada has mandated that by 2015 at least 20 percent of the energy its utilities produce or purchase has to come from renewables and conservation. That’s not far behind California’s mandate for 20 percent by 2010 (and 33 percent by 2020).
To boot, bigwigs in NV the other dedicated the “third largest solar power plant of its kind in the world.” It’s in Boulder City, not far from that lake.
I guess my jab was more at the editorial staff of the Las Vegas RJ staff, who shudder and run from anything spinach-colored (I’m not talking about the lake, although it does get scuzzy).
I meant to credit that quote, “third largest solar power plant of its kind in the world”: the DOE said it in a Feb. 22 news release.
point taken. Las Vegas is kinda the LA of Nevada. Not well liked statewide but full of voters. The lakes that should be drying up are the LV casino ‘evaporation pond’ lakes using water that is sucking the Amargossa valley dry. Think headwaters of Death Valley, although you may have to think on millennial timescales as the flow is slow…
I enjoyed my time in NV, actually a pretty progressive state that generally respects peoples privacy and property. Climate a little rough for me. I like 60’s and drizzle.
point taken. Las Vegas is kinda the LA of Nevada. Not well liked statewide but full of voters. The lakes that should be drying up are the LV casino ‘evaporation pond’ lakes using water that is sucking the Amargossa valley dry. Think headwaters of Death Valley, although you may have to think on millennial timescales as the flow is slow…
I enjoyed my time in NV, actually a pretty progressive state that generally respects peoples privacy and property. Climate a little rough for me. I like 60’s and drizzle.
Actually, those evap ponds/extravaganzas on the Strip sip tablespoons (recycled tablespoons, mostly) compared to the biggest water hog — lawns.
What really threatens the Amargosa is LV’s water grab plans for central and eastern Nevada.
Actually if they took water from central and eatern NV it would reduce impact on Amargosa I would think, but correct over all. Kinda sick to think of people watering their lawns with water remaining from the Pleistocene lakes.
Well, the California DFG says otherwise. First, it says farmers and ranchers in the Amargosa Valley itself have done most of the withdrawals. As for the river and the water grab:
“The Amargosa River apparently receives much of its permanent flow from springs fed by a large, ancient aquifer that extends into western Utah and central Nevada. The Las Vegas Valley Water District proposes to mine this water in large quantities to supply its ever-growing human population … If the Amargosa region withdrawals continue to increase and if Las Vegas proceeds with its planned withdrawals, it is highly likely that the Amargosa River will have its flows greatly reduced or dry up completely during dry years.”
OK, back to Humboldt now!