By Rebekah Rast — As green energy technologies continue to spread throughout all areas of the U.S. it has angered a peculiar new bully.
Environmentalists.
Yes. Sometimes green energy and environmentalists don’t get along. In fact, these conflicts are becoming more common.
A New York Post article highlighting the environmentalist’s attack on green energy states, “Nationally, environmental activists push the expansion of renewable energy — solar, wind, etc. But when industries work to implement those initiatives at the community level, local greens scream at the impact on their community; they’d rather keep the land as it is.”
How is green energy supposed to replace our current energy supplies if those who want it most keep fighting against it?
Some examples of this conflict cited in the New York Post article: Environmentalists trying to stop a cable that would bring affordable hydropower electricity from Canada to New York City out of fear it might somehow damage the Hudson River. Another example: Wind energy developers evaluating sites in the New York Harbor and Hudson River for a future project are being stalled by environmentalists concerned about the impact these turbines will have on the American Eel.
This plays out across the country too. In Southern California, environmentalists are hoping a court will curb the area’s growing wind energy industry, which is believed to pose a threat to the endangered condor. The backers of this lawsuit: The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club. These groups “said in the filing that a neighboring wind farm, Pine Tree, has killed at least eight golden eagles and that California condors could be at risk from the blades of turbines as well.”
These lawsuits even extend from green energy to green living. In San Francisco, the city planned to paint bicycle lanes on their streets, a big win for environmentalists, however a resident said no with the thinking that the lanes may cause additional pollution.
Maybe green energy and green living are necessary requirements as long as they don’t appear in the backyards of their strongest advocates.
Unless environmentalists are willing to take some hits, green energy will never become the energy of the future.
But environmentalists aren’t the only obstacle standing in the way. The more prolific green energy becomes the more local communities and cities see it as something to be taxed or further regulated by their rules — often making the already high-priced technology even more expensive to consumers.
Furthermore, a proposed green project may cause others to worry about the impact it will have in their personal lives. You might have a great view out in front of your house now, but how will it look with a wind farm in the foreground?
Given that green energy is struggling to break through the strongholds of its environmental champions, saying that it faces incredible obstacles in its bid to become America’s main energy source is a bit of an understatement.
If green energy is causing alarm among environmentalists, it makes sense to hold onto the productive, affordable and reliable energy sources currently available in America.
Rebekah Rast is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government (ALG) and NetRightDaily.com. You can follow her on twitter at @RebekahRast.
