Solar energy plans pit green vs. green

Plans to create huge solar energy plants in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and elsewhere in the West are pitting one green point of view vs. another. Janine Blaeloch, executive director of the Western Lands Project, a non-profit group that examines the impacts of government land privatization, supports developing America's renewable energy sources but says fields of mirrors along miles of open desert isn't the way to do it. "These plants will introduce a huge amount of damage to our public land and habitat," she said. On the other side are people such as Johanna Wald, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's land program, who supports the idea and its potential to curb climate change. "There's no free lunch when it comes to meeting our energy needs," she said. "To get energy, we need to do things that will have impacts."...more