What Does the Sierra Club Stand For?
I believe in environmental activism, including organizations such as the Sierra Club, but is there a single energy source that the Sierra Club supports? For example, there are many instances where the Sierra Club has backed individuals who are against solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal, or other renewable energy resources all across the U.S. As an example, the Calico Solar Project in San Bernardino County, California would have allowed for 800 MW of carbon free generation if constructed as originally designed, but the project was terminated in part because of a lawsuit by the Sierra Club.
When I was in California in May, the sheer scope of the State’s all of the above energy portfolio was truly amazing. I saw the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, which is a 392 MW concentrated solar thermal plant. I saw over 400 MW of wind turbines in Palm Springs that were spectacular from my bedroom window. I even tried to get a view of the Coso Geothermal Plant in Inyokern. NIMBY was not a problem for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the emission and stack free experience.
The Sierra Club is also against nuclear energy. Nuclear energy provides emissions free generation and can aide in baseload generation for the decommissioning of coal power plants that are a part of the Beyond Coal Campaign. Obviously, the Sierra Club is anti-coal, but I am unsure what energy resource the organization is actually trying to promote. If the Sierra Club believes in anthropogenic climate change, which it may not because the organization does not list a specific stance on climate change, then the Sierra Club should be taking an all of the above strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Surely, the organization would look at energy projects based on the net benefits to society. Coal power plants are not going to be constructed in the United States any time soon because of cheap natural gas, but clearly, the net benefits to society of a coal fired power plant today are less than the same generation from a wind or solar farm, a nuclear power plant, a hydropower plant, or any other carbon free resource. The Sierra Club needs to stand by its mission statement and protect the natural and human environment by promoting energy resources that have net benefits to society. The Calico Solar Project could have been a great start.