[pct-l] OT Re: Powerline Threats to the PCT

[Gary Wright]

On Oct 24, 2007, at 2:32 PM, Sean Nordeen wrote:
> I wonder if people remember several months ago the controversy of  
> the proposed powerlines along the PCT near San Diego.  The current  
> fires have severed several of the external power links to San Diego  
> County and they are facing the possibility of rolling blackouts as  
> they are struggling to meet demand with whats left.  This is likely  
> to cause a lot of political pressure in the near future for the  
> construction of more power lines to link the growing area to more  
> external grids.  If you felt that the idea of powerlines running  
> near the PCT was a bad idea before, then you should remain viligant  
> for the next couple of years as we are likely to see even more  
> proposals.  I'm not against more power line construction as I  
> personally like having electricity, but we need to make sure that  
> political pressure doesn't cause a rush to a poor solution that  
> threatens the PCT.

I marked the subject OT because this type of thread can
rapidly lose its PCT-relevance.

An opposition strategy based on not allowing *any* power
lines across the PCT route will fail miserably.  Successful
opposition to a particular power line siting plan must
acknowledge that some *other* particular siting plan will be
acceptable.

Unfortunately NIMBY attitudes are pervasive when it comes to
large infrastructure projects.  Take a look at the Cape Wind
project that just failed off of Cape Cod.  There seemed to
be a large overlap between people who are 'for' alternative
energy strategies and simultaneously 'against' the Cape Wind
project.

Gary Wright
"Radar"