I began looking into the Crown Hydro project at the behest of a friend of mine who is working tirelessly to see that it happens and I knew going in that the objections ranged from the legitimate to the downright petty.
Little did I realize that it would be the downright petty argument which would bubble to the surface first. With all due respect to my friend, Ken Avidor, who was gracious enough to put this issue up for discussion over at Democratic Underground the benefits of creating another venue for clean renewable energy far outweigh the fact that the owner of Crown Hydro once held a fundraiser with Dick Cheney and Michele Bachmann. Have we sunk so low as to permanently black list those with whom we disagree on some issues even when they are right on a very important issue? Are we prepared to spite our principles of a cleaner greener environment simply to punish our political rivals? I for one, refuse to do so and hope that those like Mr. Avidor who I have the greatest respect for and have learned much from in our Dump Bachmann pursuits will see that and change their minds.
What we need to understand is that this project was granted a FERC license in 1999 which in my understanding is one of the most rigorous processes for examining energy production proposals. Those weighing in included the US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service. My hope is that the Minneapolis Park Board has a far more legitimate reason for opposing this project than petty political gamesmanship. What information does the Park Board have which could possibly trump the combined expertise of all the aforementioned organizations?
As we in outstate Minnesota sit in the shadow of nuclear and coal plants with their significant environmental risks, it is downright shameful for renewable energy options to be shut down for what appear to be illegitimate reasons.
I will continue to address more legitimate objections as they become available...
However, you can also look to Two Putt Tommy over at Minnesota Progressive Project as he is digging deeper into this story.
Little did I realize that it would be the downright petty argument which would bubble to the surface first. With all due respect to my friend, Ken Avidor, who was gracious enough to put this issue up for discussion over at Democratic Underground the benefits of creating another venue for clean renewable energy far outweigh the fact that the owner of Crown Hydro once held a fundraiser with Dick Cheney and Michele Bachmann. Have we sunk so low as to permanently black list those with whom we disagree on some issues even when they are right on a very important issue? Are we prepared to spite our principles of a cleaner greener environment simply to punish our political rivals? I for one, refuse to do so and hope that those like Mr. Avidor who I have the greatest respect for and have learned much from in our Dump Bachmann pursuits will see that and change their minds.
What we need to understand is that this project was granted a FERC license in 1999 which in my understanding is one of the most rigorous processes for examining energy production proposals. Those weighing in included the US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service. My hope is that the Minneapolis Park Board has a far more legitimate reason for opposing this project than petty political gamesmanship. What information does the Park Board have which could possibly trump the combined expertise of all the aforementioned organizations?
As we in outstate Minnesota sit in the shadow of nuclear and coal plants with their significant environmental risks, it is downright shameful for renewable energy options to be shut down for what appear to be illegitimate reasons.
I will continue to address more legitimate objections as they become available...
However, you can also look to Two Putt Tommy over at Minnesota Progressive Project as he is digging deeper into this story.
We'll get to that, in the weeks ahead, because there are a lot of story lines in the Crown Hydro Project story. Story lines such as Minnesota's 25 by 2025 renewable energy bill and Sister Mary and Big Stone II and nuclear evacuation plans and a powerful politician that likes his view and and a high school kid and national defense and budget deficits and the Minneapolis City Charter and others that just make you wonder why a shovel ready project in Minneapolis that will generate renewable energy and union construction jobs without needing any federal tax dollars has been held up for years.Feel free to leave your comments and objections and stay tuned for more...It's a story about issues that affect us all, it's going to take a lot of posts to tell, and they all relate in some way to the Crown Hydro Project.
