Good news: Interior Department opening up more federal land… for solar panels
posted at 7:21 pm on July 24, 2012 by Erika Johnsen
I already expended all of my outrageous outrage over this particularly irksome program of the Interior Department’s doing when I discovered it last October, but here’s still more of the same baloney:
The Obama administration will open public lands in six western states to more solar projects as part of a solar energy road map it publicized Tuesday.
The Interior Department set aside 285,000 acres in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah for the initiative. Firms can apply for waivers to develop projects on an additional 19 million acres.
Calling the announcement a “proud moment,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that it reaffirms Obama’s commitment to solar power. He noted public lands hosted no solar projects when Obama took office.
The administration has since approved 17 major solar projects on public lands producing about 6,000 megawatts of power, Salazar said.
Forget about the leasing for oil, gas, and mineral drilling that would allow the energy market to produce the jobs and economic growth it is absolutely chomping at the bit to create — let’s prioritize our administrative resources and land use for an industry that has demonstrated itself barely capable of competing on the global market despite heavy assistance from taxpayers. Yeah, that’s a great plan.
And yes, I realize that the land they’re devoting for solar-panel projects probably isn’t the same land that’s in play for oil and gas exploration anyway, but the real point is: Why is the federal government in control of so much of America’s land in the first place? The feds own almost one-third of the surface area of the United States, and instead of management choices being made by private citizens with private ownership (and nobody has more of an incentive to conserve an asset than the actual owner — private property, for the win!), the federal government gets to decide how that land will be used based on their political goals. Ergo, here we are, with more solar panels that nobody in the profit-seeking private sector seems to be asking for, and cut off from the drilling permits that everybody except the environmental lobby wants. Awesomesauce.
Related Posts:
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
I wonder if Obama is envious?
pat on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Obama can offer some tips on how to jump start a country..
No..
Seriously..
Electrongod on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Maybe it is time to look at the Socialist Ideology behind their economic policies…?
Seven Percent Solution on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Guess I’d better get rid of those euros that I have left from my trip to Ireland in March, eh?
Bob's Kid on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM
BREAKING:
Other People’s money runs out; EU in decline.
BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:27 PM
I wonder if Obama knows.
Well, it is on the news so there’s a chance.
BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 PM
Huh, maybe someone should’ve warned them or something.
squint on May 15, 2013 at 9:33 PM
As Maggie Thatcher was wont to say, “Sooner or later they run out of other peoples money.”
Screw the EU…
Scrumpy on May 15, 2013 at 9:36 PM
…JugEars:like everything else…”I first learned about this…from news reports…like everybody else!”
KOOLAID2 on May 15, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Once upon a time, America had an economy strong enough to lead the world out of recessions.
Then, Progressives came along and America changed.
MTF on May 15, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Hmmmm…..seems all that “free stuff” in the EU wasn’t “free” after all.
Is Barry taking notes?
GarandFan on May 15, 2013 at 9:48 PM
You know it is time for personal intervention when you are reading about economics and politics on HA while the tornado sirens are blaring outside.
Limerick on May 15, 2013 at 9:49 PM
This isn’t good for North America, either.
rickv404 on May 15, 2013 at 9:50 PM
They need a real federal system like we have in the US. That way, the left can screw around until Mercedes looks like GM and Germany goes the way of Michigan.
Then they blame the Swiss or British investors and bankers.
They don’t have our racism but with a little imagination they can whip up a decent copy in reliving wars or soccer games which didn’t work out like they wanted. Ok, it is lame but their version of a Harley sounds like a sewing machine, anyway.
IlikedAUH2O on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM
The only way for the Euroweenies to get out of these awful economic doldrums is to raise taxes.
SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Downward spiral? Wait till they hit Barock bottom.
SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 10:00 PM
Green shoots!!
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:02 PM
I find this bit of “news” interesting because there was never much popular support for the EU. They had to stop holding referenda for their retarded Constitution because it went down in flames the few times it was tried (so they then snuck it in by calling it the Lisbon TREATY, instead … and as a TREATY it didn’t need a plebiscite … yup).
Maybe support has dipped even further but the EU was never able to withstand any popular vote. Heck, in Britain they made a sport of intentionally not letting anyone vote on anything about it.
All that said, Eurotrash is just doing what Eurotrash does … killing themselves and destroying everything within arm’s length of them. They’ve been pulling this destructive suicidal junk for almost a century, now.
Let us not forget that Barky was always a bigger hit in Europe than he ever was, here. Heck, the biggest political rally (possibly in history) was Barky’s illegal, un-Constitutional, un-American and offensive Berlin rally for Germans. Barky never should have been allowed to return to the US after that. The Eurotrash loved him … they should have been forced to keep the retard.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Can I buy Spain yet on Ebay?
Capitalist Hog on May 15, 2013 at 10:11 PM
How long before they change the EU to eewwww?
socalcon on May 15, 2013 at 11:00 PM
Just as a technical reminder – European GDP estimates are not annualized, so if one wants to compare it to what the BEA puts out there, multiply by 4 to get a close-enough-for-government-work approximation. That makes the overall rate -0.8%, and Germany’s rate +0.4%, on an annualized basis.
As for the continued German support for the pEU, they must be thinking that Brussels is once again in Greater Germany.
Steve Eggleston on May 15, 2013 at 11:26 PM
S&H is going to kill you.
trigon on May 15, 2013 at 11:47 PM
Totally agreed!!
jimver on May 16, 2013 at 2:10 AM
If we had accurate data, instead of politically massaged propaganda, we would see Europe is not alone.
dogsoldier on May 16, 2013 at 8:02 AM
Not yet. But I wouldn’t say it’s impossible that we’ll see such a thing in our lifetimes.
We’re getting a front-row seat at the final stages of what happens to nations that subscribe to some moronic liberal sing-around-the-campfire version of international unity, with a generous dose of economic socialism used in the recipe.
MelonCollie on May 16, 2013 at 8:14 AM