Environmentalist vs. Environmentalist

An interesting offshoot of the current green movement and increased focus on clean technologies are the “odd couple” disagreements they often create. It’s not just between business interests and environmental groups, or conservatives and liberals – the fights are increasingly between environmentalists themselves.  To rephrase one of the basic rules of physics – “every proposed solution to our country’s energy problems comes with an equal and opposite environmental issue”.  The veracity of the opposition on both sides reminds me of the old Mad Magazine Spy vs. Spy cartoons.    

A few examples: current solar energy solutions generally require vast amounts of land, and water for cooling to work effectively. Water availability and usage, however, is a real issue – particularly in the west. In addition, developers there are wrestling with environmentalists who believe the projects threaten habitats for endangered species like the desert tortoise.  Wind power is expanding in the US at an increased pace. Detractors, however, point to issues with bird and bat populations (bats II) ; noise concerns; and the need to install high capacity transmission lines across the country to bring the power to where it is needed.  First generation biofuels have been made from plant sources – like corn and sugarcane – but their production has interfered with food and feed production.  Even the smart grid movement has environmental detractors who believe the technology to manage consumption just prolongs the use of fossil fuels.

Then there are the looming issues around a carbon tax.  The EPA recently proposed carbon impact calculations which take into account direct and indirect land use – i.e. when solutions replace farmland and carbon-capturing forest land. The ethanol and solar industries have already cried foul, as these proposed calculations could handicap these alternative energy sources in the future.            

It’s a difficult situation – with stimulus funds and tax credits pushing “shovel ready” projects, and opposition forces pushing to slow things down.  Ironically, The US Chamber of Commerce – not usually considered a bastion of environmental awareness – has jumped into the argument and is trying to get projects moving.  They have labeled the issue “green tape”, and say that many terrific projects have been funded, but are often are delayed or don’t get built at all because of various local and environmental concerns. They even developed a site called Project No Project, which outlines what they call “radical environmental activism” that slows down the permitting, and development of large scale clean energy projects.

Like the old Spy vs. Spy cartoons, it often seems like the protagonists could get more accomplished if they worked together, but instead they just can’t help sabotaging each other’s efforts.  It’s just another one of the complicating factors in the confusing state of Cleantech.