Moratorium on...solar?

For those of you who have fought to make sure the US Government would take aggressive action on the environment, fear not the Bureau of Land Management has heard your cries!

The key to saving us from environmental catastrophe isn't through a carbon tax, sustainable city planning, or by placing a moratorium on notorious pollutants like coal... no, we must stop the spread of renewable energies like solar power before it's too late!

At least that's what the Bureau of Land Management would have you believe. This according to the New York Times:

an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

So now a freeze has been placed on all new solar power plants, and alternative energy proponents are mad as hell (you should be too!). This, also from the Times:

"It doesn’t make any sense," said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. "The Bureau of Land Management  has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry."

We all know that the key to a sustainable future is transitioning to a green economy, where the grid is a mix of various renewables like solar, wind and hydro thermal. This moratorium is a step in the wrong direction, and punishes the very people who could save our environment.

On the bright side this should alleviate any doubt that our government is in the pocket of big oil and big coal. It's time to take the power back.

Mobilize, brothers and sisters!

Please contact the Bureau of Land Management and let them know where you stand on the moratorium: [e-mail]

And let's flood the Department of Interior with phone calls: 202-208-3100