All Land is Enviro Land

Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies Watch

The Washington Post today reports there is great movement in Congress to set aside thousands upon thousands of more U.S. acreage as (mostly) untouchable wilderness area, as environmentalists gain ever greater influence in the nation's capitol. Meanwhile that kind of effort, as the Washington Times notes, is undermining the enviros' own goals (mandates, that is) of expanded use of renewable fuels to generate electricity. They want solar and wind energy tapped, which generally is found in the largest amounts in remote areas (the desert sun, and mountain and coastal breezes, respectively), yet oppose connecting those sources to the users:

Build one of the world's largest solar-power operations in the Southern California desert and surround it with plants that run on wind and underground heat.

Yet San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E) and its potential partners face fierce opposition because the plan also calls for a 150-mile, high-voltage transmission line that would cut through pristine parkland to reach the nation's eighth-largest city.

The showdown over how to get renewable energy to consumers will likely play out elsewhere around the country as well, as state regulators require electric utilities to rely less on coal and natural gas to fire their plants – the biggest source of carbon-dioxide emissions in the U.S.

Is there any element of environmentalism where these activists can apply their "solutions" while not showing themselves to be foolish, hypocritical, or both?