Part V – Examples of what’s being done to assist with power production and mitigate climate change with Tribes in the Owens Valley and elsewhere.
Provided by the Fort Independence Environmental Climate Change Working Group
Chair: Dennis Mattinson
Intro
Solar energy seems like a logical solution to help mitigate climate change and answer the power needs of the western United States, which can receive over 300 sunny days a year. Native American Tribes have recognized the need to be proactive in helping to reverse the effects of greenhouse gases.
Fort Independence Indian Reservation
The Fort Independence Indian Reservation has installed a new solar array to power their meteorological and air sampling station. Solar powered lighting has been installed at their travel plaza, and they are planning to solar power their tribal and environmental offices.
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe has installed 11 solar arrays, totaling 540kw of power. This system was installed to help reduce their energy costs and as a side light, assists with reduction of Greenhouse gasses.
Moapa River Paiute Tribe
The Moapa River Paiute Tribe is set to begin construction on a 910,000 panel solar plant capable of generating 350 MW of solar power. This is largest solar plant to be built to date on tribal land and is set to break ground this fall. This is a commercial plant to supply power for their Reservation needs and to sell power to the Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles.
Solar panels are indeed a great way or mitigating climate change. The carbon emissions of producing a solar PV system are easily offset by the energy produced by it. Solar is also a great way for any organization to reach their sustainability goals. EnergySage is a solar marketplace that makes… Read more »
Uh – oh!
You have entered into the dangerous territory where you just may be labeled a Liberal and when that happens anything you present will automatically be discounted and ignored.
(boisterous laughter) : >
Neoconservative spokesperson Rush Limbaugh likes to frame the environmental debate as a contest between him and the “environmental wackos”, it is really Limbaugh’s word against the overwhelming tide of scientific knowledge. Some examples that his loyal followers today believe: Chlorofluorocarbons and Ozone Depletion: RUSH FICTION: Limbaugh proposes that environmental “alarmists… Read more »
Sadly, two very intelligent men who commented at the Inyo Supervisors’ meeting earlier this week had to start their comments by saying to the Supervisors, in effect – “You probably think I’m an environmental wacko (they used these words) but I am concerned about real things.” Both Mike Prather and… Read more »
Rush Limbaugh, the thrice divorced morbidly obese drug addict who’s education ended in high school and progressed no further? He is not much more than a glorified radio dj, but people treat him almost as an oracle while ignoring the wisdom of experienced PhD physicists and climatologists, sneering at them… Read more »
DT – For some of our easier led fellow Americans all one has to do is say something about liberals and that’s enough for them.
Neocon favorite Ann Coulter has made fortunes with the word.
Uh – oh!, not you again, the person of many names with nothing of value to contribute…
I find it amusing to see the person of many names contributing by shedding light on what a neoconservative hero is telling his loyal legions 3 hours a day, 5 days a week and reruns on weekends. I hope he/she keeps it up.
Aren’t you the same person with many names? Hey, it’s okay by me.
BK
Hey, what’s in a name?
Meaning, vibration, identity.
BK
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is a commonly quoted part of a dialogue in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet argues that the names of things do not matter, only what things “are.” In this case, a quick perusal of when some… Read more »
Here’s another quote from another champion from the nasty Right: “The ethic of conservation is the explicit abnegation of man’s dominion over the Earth. The lower species are here for our use. God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it’s yours. That’s our job:… Read more »
Does anybody else see a problem with the fact we are one of the few countries in the world that hasn’t come to a consensus on climate change? -Could it be because we have a big enough percentage of the population who would rather interpret the changing climate as “the… Read more »
I’d pick all of the above. There is a huge amount of money from vested corporate interests spreading disinformation. People don’t like change generally, so are willing to believe the propaganda, which contradicts 95% of scientific opinion. Plus much of the evidence is in models, which are far from imperfect… Read more »
“Solar energy seems like a logical solution to help mitigate climate change” Solar energy is not an effective form of climate change mitigation. In fact, the amount of carbon emissions generated in the production of one solar panel is greater than carbon emissions saved by the solar panel over the… Read more »
Your statement : “In fact, the amount of carbon emissions generated in the production of one solar panel is greater than carbon emissions saved by the solar panel over the course of its entire lifespan.” is interesting except I can’t find anything to back that claim up unless of course… Read more »
In addition, his claim hinges on the use of certain fossil fuels to power the processes used to manufacture the solar panel in question. If the power source was hydroelectric, solar, wind or tidal power, his “calculation” is no longer accurate.
Nice to throw out wild claims though.
Solar is best used for direct heat transfer such as passive solar designed buildings and heating water. Much of this just requires simple design methods used for millennia. Since roughly 50% of household energy goes to heat, this saves huge amount of petroleum. Especially useful somewhere where there is ample… Read more »
I would like to see more SW tribes get involved as it is a win win. Employ native americans, profit for the tribe, less coal pollution.
“Holocaust?” Ninety million Indians? Only four million left? They all have casinos — what’s to complain about?”
“The days of them [minorities] not having any power are over, and they are angry. And they want to use their power as a means of retribution.”
– Neoconservative spokesperson Rush Limbaugh
My kids challenged me to find one IPCC warning that says anything more than just “could be” a crisis and one that isn’t full of “maybes”. I can’t even find one single scientific paper let alone the billions of IPCC warnings that says any crisis WILL happen and is inevitable… Read more »
Misery? Maybe you need to set up rules for your children – after all, leaving lights on costs you money if nothing else. Suggestion – life is full of uncertainties. Smart people, including scientists, do their best to uncover the truth about our environment, health, and other aspects of life.… Read more »
By all means, Google “climate change”. Also Google “hide the decline” and “East Anglia emails”.
Climate science is based on probabilities, because science works by investigating anomalies. Newton’s theory of gravity was not 100% correct. Now the consensus is that Einstein’s theory of relativity is correct, but it is still being tested. The IPCC is 95% certain on climate change. By comparison, one bullet in… Read more »
All good reasoning. But it will do no good. Nothing meaningful will be done to avert climate change. People won’t feel motivated until Florida and New York and parts of San Francisco and Southern California are under water. And those events aren’t even the worst that will happen.