miracles _do_ occur: BLM lifted its freeze
Jul. 3rd, 2008 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutI recently read (somewhere) about the Bureau of Land Management (you know, those people who rent public lands to ranchers so the land can be completely destroyed by overgrazing? I'd say something about ATVs, but why?). In a fit of environmental consciousness (wonder where that came from?) they put a 2 year moratorium on okaying new permits for solar installations on public land (ah, _that's_ where that came from. Hoocoodanode?). I mean, they just _now_ realized they should have been doing the similar for, say, oil and mineral rights developments, the aforementioned ATVs, the grazing ... no? They _still_ don't recognize those problems? Just with the solar panels.
Gotta love this administration.
In any event, apparently the publicity was a bit, um, negative for BLM because according to this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/us/03solar.html?ref=todayspaper
the freeze is over after less than a month. But don't worry! I'm sure they'll still drag their heels as along as bureaucratically possible on actually okaying any particular application.
FWIW, I'm not actually opposed to doing EISes on the idea in general and definitely on a per project basis. I'm just horrified that while this administration is pushing on ANWR and offshore drilling and more nuclear power plans (and we _know_ how bad all those are), they're all oooh-we-must-be-cautious with solar. Double standard, much?
Gotta love this administration.
In any event, apparently the publicity was a bit, um, negative for BLM because according to this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/us/03solar.html?ref=todayspaper
the freeze is over after less than a month. But don't worry! I'm sure they'll still drag their heels as along as bureaucratically possible on actually okaying any particular application.
FWIW, I'm not actually opposed to doing EISes on the idea in general and definitely on a per project basis. I'm just horrified that while this administration is pushing on ANWR and offshore drilling and more nuclear power plans (and we _know_ how bad all those are), they're all oooh-we-must-be-cautious with solar. Double standard, much?