WINTER IS windy season in Wyoming. On a particularly gusty day, those brave enough to travel on the I-80 highway will find that their fingers curl in a death grip around the steering wheel as winds buffet the car. The side of the road becomes a graveyard for lorries that have been blown over. Yet the same terrifying gusts make Carbon County, of all places, an ideal site for a wind farm. PacifiCorp, the biggest utility in the American West and a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway’s energy arm, operates a suite of wind farms in the county. Philip Anschutz, a billionaire who made his fortune from fossil fuels, wants to turn his Wyoming ranch into a sea of turbines.
Wyoming (population: 580,000) cannot possibly use all of the energy it can produce. In order to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of decarbonising the economy by 2050, America needs to move energy from the windiest and sunniest places to those with the most demand. In practical terms, that means using the megawatts generated by Wyoming’s winds to charge a Tesla in Los Angeles. But a bureaucratic thicket stands in the way. Both PacifiCorp and Mr Anschutz have spent more than a decade trying to get high-voltage transmission lines that cross multiple states approved. TransWest Express, Anschutz Corporation’s proposed line from Wyoming to the Nevada-California border, has yet to break ground.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Mr Biden’s signature legislation and the most ambitious climate law America has ever passed, includes all manner of tax credits for clean-energy projects. But the process to get them approved can be long, onerous and litigious. McKinsey, a consultancy, reckons it can take up to five years to get a permit for a solar farm and seven for an onshore wind farm. An ambitious timeline to build a high-voltage transmission line is at least ten years, says Scott Bolton, vice-president of transmission development at PacifiCorp. The Rhodium Group, a consultancy, estimates that the…
2023-01-29 12:02:55 America needs a new environmentalism
Original from www.economist.com In recent years, there has been an increasing urgency among the American public to take more responsibility for the environment. Climate change, resource depletion, and air pollution are some of the challenges the country faces today. For years, the federal government’s response has been inadequate, relying on words rather than action. Now, it’s time to develop and implement a bold, new environmentalism agenda that starts at the top of the United States government and leads the charge in fighting climate change and protecting the environment.
A comprehensive environmentalism agenda should begin with federal legislation. The United States needs to pass sweeping legislation that reduces emissions from vehicles, powers industry with renewable energy sources, and creates green infrastructure. This should be accomplished by putting a price on carbon, implementing a national renewable energy standard, and providing incentives for businesses to invest in clean energy technologies.
These changes should also be accompanied by a renewed commitment to protecting our natural resources. The federal government must develop and put in place a comprehensive conservation plan to protect our forests, public lands, and oceans. This may involve enacting more stringent regulations on oil and gas drilling, preventing the destruction of wetlands, and prohibiting development in fragile ecosystems.
On the state and local levels, the American public has grown more conscious of the environment in recent years and has been engaged in advocacy. This energy needs to be channeled into an effective grassroots movement, as local action is often more effective than federal legislation. The public and governments must work together to create a network of local initiatives and policies that guarantee that communities are involved in the decision-making process and enact sustainable resources measures.
Ultimately, to successfully fight climate change, the United States must adopt the philosophy of sustainability into all levels of government. This means that all aspects of public policy should seek to reduce environmental damage, cultivate resilient ecosystems, promote environmental justice, and protect our natural resources for future generations.
The time for inaction has passed. America needs a new environmentalism, one that not only puts words into action but also anticipates and prepares for the effects of climate change. Our future depends on it.