If you want to get in on the ground floor with your concerns about the solar industrialization of the Mojave Desert, the deadline is this Tuesday, July 15, to submit your Scoping comments on the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PEIS).
At this stage you get to tell the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Energy what kinds of issues you think they should cover when they are evaluating the impacts that blanketing the desert with solar arrays will have on the environment. And don't forget, "the environment" includes desert communities, too!
Morongo Basin Conservation Association has asked that the agencies include in their analysis the alternative of putting rooftop solar on every roof in the "load" areas - the urban areas that will be receiving the electricity generated by the solar facilities - instead of degrading the desert and inefficiently transmitting the power for many miles. We've also asked them to consider the economic losses to desert communities from the destruction of the surrounding open space and viewshed that attracts tourists, recreationists, retirees, cyberworkers, film crews, etc., to our communities and supports our economies. We support solar, but to demand sacrifices only from the desert and not the load areas is not fair!
You can read MBCA's full comments on our Website here.
You can learn where and how to submit your own comments here.
Defenders of Wildlife also has an electronic message that you can personalize easily; view it here.
The PEIS process may be the only chance you get to give your opinion on the idea of the solar industrialization of the Mojave. Make your voice heard!
MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts: Energy.
