Back when I was in the news business in a relatively obscure part of Utah, the environmental lobby had a neat trick. If there was a public hearing for an energy project, all of a sudden, people who had never been seen around the town magically appeared out of nowhere, protesting as if their lives depended on it.
Actually, a paycheck depended on it, since at first glance, it was fairly obvious that these individuals had a severe allergy to gainful employment. But the signs and testimonies helped give the appearance that the public at large was outraged at the prospect of an oil, gas, or tar sands project that they had never heard of, in a place most of them didn’t even know existed, would usher in armageddon. I remember one young lady spoke passionately about how she liked to camp in an area of the Book Cliffs that was being considered for development and that an energy operation would ruin the experience for her.
Okay, fair enough. The desert can be beautiful, even if you are not in Arches, Canyonlands, or Capitol Reef. I’ve spent time hiking those National Parks and have worked a controlled burn or two in desert areas. Do you want a rough camping experience? Try putting up a tent in areas infested with rocks and prickly pears. That said, even the stark, sterile, quiet atmosphere of the desert sans majestic formations can create peace and tranquility, and if your argument centers on natural preservation or even aesthetics, I’ll be happy to hear you out. Honestly.
But you had better be ready with the same arguments you have about oil and gas wells when it comes to discussing solar panels. And in the following story, I’ll be fair and state that the environmental community was not happy about a solar project and was essentially told to go pound the sand it wanted to protect.
Joe Biden, CEO of Biden Inc., is basically handing over deserts to campaign donors, and the local residents of Desert Center are not happy about the current project. And we’re not just talking about the birds, rodents, coyotes, and tortoises. Although I am sure they would be ticked off if they were capable of abstract thought.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that last year, Biden’s Department of the Interior gave the go-ahead nod to Intersect Power to create a solar farm on 2,600 acres of public land in southern California. Environmentalists opposed the plan since it would obviously impact the wildlife and the land. The Sierra Club and the California Wilderness Coalition said that Intersect managed to avoid state and federal regulations that protect the area, and the Mojave Desert Land Trust submitted a letter stating that the project would result in “significant degradation of desert species, communities, and ecosystems.” The group felt that a renewable energy project could be done without impacting the area.
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As mentioned above, residents of Desert Center, a town in the area of the Intersect project, have a few words for the company and the DOI, and those words are not “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Birthday,” or “Let’s dance.” They said that construction has increased the amount of dust in the air and overtaxed the local water supply. This has sparked opposition. Resident Teresa Pierce told the Free Beacon, “They have just raped the desert. That’s the most descriptive word I can use. They have scraped away all the ironwood [and] displaced tortoises and other critters.”
So why is the administration that wants to take away your car, gas stove, and natural gas heat to save the environment giving Intersect the right to despoil 2,600 acres of desert? Well, at first blush, it is for solar panels. And we all love solar power, so shut up, you anti-environment troglodytes. But really, the reason is money. Oh, c’mon, did you really think it was something else?
Sheldon Kimber, the CEO of Intersect, gave the Biden campaign $180,000 and helped the campaign raise around $3.2 million. Intersect execs donated $413,000 to Biden’s 2020 election effort. Ryan Nickel is a spokesman for Intersect and noted the company’s record of developing renewable energy projects on public lands under the Trump and Biden administrations. Nickel is also a former Democrat aide and lobbied for a dark money group known as the Hopewell Fund.
The DOI has had no comment.
It should also be noted that in the past, a group known as Leaders of Clean Energy for Biden bundled donations for the president. The group is made up of “clean energy business and policy leaders.” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg promoted those companies shortly after Biden’s inauguration. Kimber was also a member of the group, which now champions de-carbonization under the name “Clean Energy for America.”
It would appear that Biden is just getting warmed up. The Free Beacon notes that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland unveiled a plan last year to build solar farms across tens of thousands of currently pristine locations across the West. So much for protecting the environment. Those of us who watched the green energy pay-for-play schemes unfold during the Obama administration knew this was coming. It’s sad, but it’s no surprise. The nasty surprise, in this case, is for the environmentalists who are discovering that the only green Democrats care about is the color of money.
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