Martin LaMonicaMartin LaMonica is a senior writer covering green tech and cutting-edge technologies. He joined CNET in 2002 to cover enterprise IT and Web development and was previously executive editor of IT publication InfoWorld.
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Two tribes of the Wampanoags, who are descendants of the people who greeted the 17th century Pilgrims to Massachusetts, say they have long opposed Cape Wind because an unobstructed view of the ocean is vital to their culture, which calls for them togreet sunrise each day.
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The National Historic Register is expected to make a ruling on whether the Sound can be considered eligible for protection as a traditional cultural property within 45 days. In its environmental review, the U.S. Minerals Management Service had previously concluded that it should not because the agency found the visual effects from the rm would be minor, and no historical archaeological resources in the Sound were identified. (Click forPDF of report excerpt).
Whats needed is data to rule out specific locations that pose too many risks, environmental groups say. Environmental advocacy group the National Resources Defense Council earlier this year developed anonline mapping toolto choose the sites best suited for renewable energy. The point of the application is to show people the most suitable sites, which should avoid roadblocks during the review process.
Painting the Golden Gate Bridge yellow might cause less fuss than trying to install a wind rm off Cape Cods historic coast.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazarsaid last weekthat he wanted his agency to make a decision on whether to give Cape Wind federal approval by the end of year--a deadline that is now in question.
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick said last weeks decision on Nantucket Sound and historic preservation listing was ridiculous. In astatement, he said, We are going to have to get serious about alternative energy installations where they make sense, and every environmental and regulatory review has concluded that Cape Wind makes sense.
A self-driving car, but thankfully a BMWBMW has revealed that it, too, has entered the self-driving car arena, inserting self-driving technology in a 5 Series car.
Driven by a California state mandate that utilities get a significant portion of their electricity from renewable sources, theres a land grab going in the desert areas of the U.S. Southwest that get the direct sunlight suitable forconcentrating solar power.
We need to develop our renewable resources if we are to address the challenge of climate change, but that development must be carried out in an environmentally responsible way, said Johanna Wald, a senior attorney at the NRDC in ablog post. If it is done right, informed environmentalists will, I believe, stand up in support.
If the tribes are successful, that would have a severe chilling effect (on the entire wind industry) because tribes up and down the coast could make the same claim, said Mark Rodgers, the communications director for Cape Wind. Never before has an open ocean been caught up in this kind of declaration.
Wind isnt the only form of clean energy thats running into opposition. Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce established a Web site calledProject No Project, where it lists dozens of energy-related projects caught up in green tape. The Chamber blames delays on NIMBY or radical environmentalism.
The claim is coming to a head at a time when Cape Wind had cleared all state-level environmental and siting permits, despite opposition from well organized local groups and powerful politicians, including the late senator Edward Kennedy. The milys compound would have a view of the 130 turbines, which would be placedfive milesoff the coast of Cape Cod. The project would supply about 75 percent of the electricity used on Cape Cod with 130 offshore turbines that would be visible as small spikes on the horizon, according tosimulations.
Gates sent dying Jobs a letter he kept bedsideAn interview with Microsofts Bill Gates in The Telegraph is just the latest to show he and the late Steve Jobs had a strong relationship at the time of the Apple leaders death.
Common sense?
Jobs e-mail to Schmidt suggests no-poaching deal in playA newly unearthed e-mail exchange between Apples Steve Jobs and Googles Eric Schmidt shows Jobs actively telling Google not to try to hire its employees, resulting in the firing of at least one recruiter.
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These machines, which concentrate the sunlight to make steam for an electricity turbine, require large tracts of land for utility-scale power generation. As a result, most of these project developers have submitted project proposals to the Bureau of Land Management for siting and environmental reviews, which has created a backlog of applications.
In Massachusetts, a proposed wind rm calledCape Windwas dealt a blow last Friday that will delay what would be the first offshore wind rm in the U.S. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed with local Indian tribes who claim that the location for the wind rm should be considered for listing in the National Historic Register because the Wampanoags history and culture are inextricably linked to Nantucket Sound, according to theopinion.
Then again, never before has a rare combination of private and government investment pumped so much into alternative energy projects. As these projects grow in frequency and scale, a new breed of NIMBY (not in my backyard) is emerging: Opponents of wind or solar installations who generally support renewable energy, just as long as they are built somewhere else. Coal and nuclear plants, it turns out, arent the only energy cilities people dont want built in their backyards...or coastlines.
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Green vs. green
An offshore wind rm in north Wales, U.K.
For example, a coalition in Texas has formed called Protect North Palo Duro Canyon, where there is a proposal to string transmission lines across the canyon to carry electricity generated by wind turbines. The group wants to stop the development because of the environmental and historical significance of the place, the group says.
Hydrogen sponge could extend EV driving rangeNovel molecules with as much suce area per volume as a football field could be used to store more hydrogen than compressed gas, extending the range of fuel-cell electric vehicles.
The projects well organized opposition group, theAlliance to Save Nantucket Sound, says that placing turbines offshore will damage the environment and hurt tourism. It even recruited regular Marthas Vineyard visitor Walter Cronkite to record radio and TV spots, but he laterchanged his position, [adult school] The Taunton Gazette (0) 2011-12-27 14:43:0 saying he hadnt done his homework.
With the list of clean-energy projects growing, there are efforts to speed up reviews. The Interior Departmentsaid last weekthat it would st-track environmental reviews of six solar power plant proposals in California. Altogether, these projects would occupy 28,000 acres of land--almost the same area covered by the City of San Francisco--and generate 2.5 gigawatts of electricity, or enough for two million homes, Salazar told reporters.
Apple, Google under scrutiny over no-poaching chargesAt issue is whether some of the titans of tech conspired not to hire each others employees. Attorney Joe Saveri argues the alleged conspiracy kept workers salaries artificially low by stifling competition.
An illustration of the proposed Ivapah project in the Mojave Desert shows how much land is needed for utility-scale solar. This project, still being pursued by BrightSource Energy, would take up six square miles to supply electricity to 140,000 homes per year, using mirrors arrayed in a circle around a tower. Using less than 2 percent of the Mojave Deserts land would supply electricity for all the homes in California and cut carbon emissions by 30 million tons a year, according to the company.
As alternative energy grows, NIMBY turns green? map of california coastline,But when youre trying to build where the wind is strongest or the sun is brightest, you never know what obstacles you may run into.
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Meanwhile, environmental groups are trying to find ways to distinguish NIMBY sentiment from the real need for environmental protection. In general, groups like the Sierra Club vor renewable energy development, even though wind turbines, for example, do pose adanger to birds and bats. Even the Massachusetts chapter of the Audubon Society, which counts many birders in its members, has givenconditional support to Cape Wind.
Innovation in energy and environmental technologies is long overdue, in business and at home. Green-tech reporter Martin LaMonica and other CNET writers serve up fresh clean-tech news and commentary.
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In Massachusetts, which is encouraging development ofclean energy businesses, state officials are considering a way tounblock reviews of a number of stalled wind energy projects.
There are a number of proposals to carry renewable energy around the country, includinghigh-voltage power lineswhere less electricity would be lost in transmission. But many ce local opposition because of the visual impact from these added wires.
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BrightSource Energy, which has been picked to supply hundreds of megawatts of electricity to utilities, last monthhad to scrap a planto build a solar power plant in a region of the Mojave Desert that had beenset aside for conservationby the environmental group Wildlands Conservancy. California senator Dianne Feinstein said that specific location isnot suitable for wind or solar developmentbecause it would lead to destruction of the desert ecosystem. Although she supports solar and wind development, she is proposing added protections for the region near other conservation lands, including Joshua Tree National Park.
On Monday, Massachusetts representative Edward Markey, who heads the House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, sent aletter to Salazaron Monday, urging his department to approve the project before the start of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in early December because it would send a strong message to international negotiators about the United States commitment to developing sources of clean energy and reducing global warming pollution.
Directly related to renewable energy is the thorny issue of transmission lines. Most of the wind and solar resources are in the middle of the country, r away from the areas of heavy electricity demand, which means that new lines need to be built to take advantage of the countrys renewable resources.
Wind energy generated in the Texas Panhandle can serve the needs of populous cities such as Dallas and Austin and is important to the future of this state, but not at the cost of natural treasures such as the north Palo Duro Canyon and other beautiful areas in Texas, said Bob Currie, a coalition member.
The Cape Wind fight, in particular, has brought together a testy combination of excellent wind conditions, opposition from well heeled local residents including members of the Kennedy clan, and a surprising assertion of Native American rights.
Untethered tech: Wireless sensors monitor brain wavesIt used to be that electroencephalography required users to sit still for a computer to track the brains impulses. New advances have made that technology wireless and mobile.
The Chamber of Commerce has come under fire by environmentalists and ahandful of its membersfor its opposition to proposed climate change legislation, but a number ofrenewable energy projects, mostly in wind, are being held up along with coal and nuclear projects, according to the Chamber.
In addition to drawing opposition from local landowners, the national push for clean energy is raising agreen vs. greendebate between the environmental benefits of renewable energy versus preservation of valuable ecosystems.
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Social-network update: Facebook up; Twitter slow?Hackers did not take down Facebook today, as they had earlier claimed they would. Meanwhile, the pace of tweets appears to have slowed amid an ongoing Twitter boycott. And Twitters lawyer responds.
If there is a ruling in vor of the Wampanoags, it could delayapproval by up to a year, according to reports. So r, Cape Wind, which is run by a group of investors who developed natural gas plants in the past, has spent $40 million over eight years. Developing the project, which would benefit from a tax credit or cash subsidy, is expected to cost more than $1 billion.
