Thursday, August 17, 2006

Freedom Should Not Mean Corporate Anarchy 1

Part 1 of 9


They tell us that its all been decided.

They tell us that it has to be done.

They tell us that there is no other way.


They want to drill for what little water the high deserts of Rural Nevada have accumulated over tens of thousands of years and pipe it to Las Vegas, a city right next to the Colorado River. And they want to build coal fired power plants to run the pumps.


It just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want to build a massive project to ship water out of the desert using power from some of the dirtiest and most water hungry technology available? And why would they base their decision upon the price of coal – which is highly likely be more expensive once we become locked in as customers? Why not just build and operate (small, mass produced, offshore, wave powered) desalination plants for California in return for a larger allotment from the Colorado River? Why not just do the right thing that has the longest term benefits? We all know that desalination plants in the Pacific Ocean will never run out of water, and that desert wells won't last all that long. We all know that taking another community's water is essentially stealing from their future. And we all know that the desert will suffer the most, when it's water is taken away.

How can our business environment be so out of touch with the actual Environment? Are those who are making these decisions just being greedy (there are billions of dollars at stake), or are they being forced by some twisted political circumstances to make such strange and dangerous decisions? For instance, why would Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) want power from coal fired power plants, knowing that these plants would be competing with them for water?

All of a sudden, just as it was beginning to look like alternative power generation was starting to take off, a number of companies are rushing to build coal fired power plants in Nevada. What happened? Is this a sign?

Is this a sign of how bad things really are? Are our systems so screwed up that we can't do the right things? And, why hasn't the government stepped in to help us with the right decisions? Isn't long term planning what good government is there for? Worst of all, why is it that no one seems to care enough to do anything to fix things?


This is a story of systematic greed and oppression in our own country – right now. This is a story of the real American Dream gone wrong. This is a story that could have a happy ending - but, only if we don't allow others to decide our fate for us.

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