In one of the US’s hottest deserts, utilities push gas rather than solar
In one of the US’s hottest deserts, utilities push gas rather than solar
In one of the US’s hottest deserts, utilities push gas rather than solar
In Fort Mohave, Arizona, even Republican voters are fighting gas power plants as utilities try to lock in fossil fuels
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Over the next few months, the Sunrise Hills retirees – among them many climate crisis skeptics and committed fossil fuel proponents – uncovered a trail of misinformation that appear to suggest MEC and Aepco, which is developing and will own and operate the gas combustion turbines, were at times opaque as they sought to fast track approval and circumvent closer scrutiny. MEC/Aepco “categorically deny” any effort to intentionally mislead anyone.
The retirees organized and began fact-checking and calling out claims about affordability, outages and low pollution made by MEC and Aepco in the glossy brochure and during public meetings.
It turned out that with a capacity of 98 megawatts, the two-turbine proposal fell just under the 100 MW limit that requires a state mandated comprehensive environmental review of impacts such as emissions, noise and water consumption by an expert committee at the state utility regulator, the Arizona corporation commission (ACC). Yet the utility has openly discussed plans to eventually double the size of the plant.
It also turned out that many of the county residents who spoke favorably of the plant in front of the board were in fact MEC employees and board members.
The way America thinks people should live in deserts is just mind-bogglingly stupid.
I was telling my daughter about Palm Springs. They founded a town over a small spring in the middle of the desert, built over 100 golf courses, and now have to pump in water so they can keep them all green. Fucking moronic.
The average American Desert city ought to be eradicated.
In the words of Peggy Hill
Phoenix is a monument to man’s arroganceNo place that experiences temperatures of 100F/37C in the Fall is suitable for human settlement.
It isn't all of America, but a surprising large part of it. So many short sighted people here. Shoot, you have a large solar installation and they reflect light and therefore heat back up making it cooler on the ground. Instead of importing oil, we can make solar panels here. Just ridiculous.
"America" as in the way American society has been built, not what individuals think.
We currently don't import oil, or at least we export more than we import, but I agree that we should stop utilizing it unless absolutely necessary.
I had family move to the desert under the auspices of "better, cleaner air" and "a lack of pollen and allergens" because lifeless hot rocky area. A year later, during the regular torrential monsoons of the southwest, the cottonwoods and flowers suddenly bloomed and caused a solid month of air so full of pollen that it left yellow smears on all surfaces. Then the sandstorm/haboobs forced them to clean everything.
There are no good reasons to live in the desert unless you want that Edward Abbey lifestyle, away from the things of man.
For that case, if you use the technical definition of desert, and are willing to move out of the US, I hear Antarctica is lovely this time of the year.