Stakeholder #3

In a world where global warming threatens us all, is it really important to focus on the small impacts that renewable energy is making? Let's see what the new environmentalists have to say.

Kahn, Phillip "Gopherus agassizii" 5/2/08 via wikimedia. Public Domain.

1. Can you describe this stakeholder in 200-250 words?

While environmentalists bring an image of 60's hippies to many people's minds, it is important to distinguish that in the case of the Ivanpah controversy, these "hippies" are nearly everything but. From California senator Dianne Feinstein to the Center for Biological Diversity, the opponents to the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility are incredibly varied and come from many different viewpoints. The new environmentalists focus their attention online, where they know that they have an ability to elicit feedback from a captive audience around the nation. It is for this reason that there is no real way to put a face or a label on environmentalists, and part of the reason that their movements are able to gain so much traction across the nation. When one person claims they have a new crusade, it becomes very easy for others to join in.

2. Can you identify THREE specific claims being made by this stakeholder? The claims should be public and about the specific story you're investigating. Provide direct quotes for three different claims or ideas made in public by this stakeholder. Each quote should be clearly hyperlinked to the original source.

1. "Deserts don’t need to be sacrificed so that people in L.A. can keep heating their swimming pools" (Source)
2. "The CEC in December proposed to deny (PDF) BrightSource's petition for another power tower in California — the 500-megawatt Palen project — mainly because of regulators' concern over solar power tower flux danger to avian species" (Source)
3. "Environmentalists ... are concerned the project will devastate the desert tortoise habitat and the Mojave's scenic vistas" (Source)

3. Can you explain how valid these claims are?

While these claims may be valid, the vast majority of the environmental appeals are based off of emotional appeals rather than solid facts, so these claims are not as substantial as the claims of both BrightSource Energy and the USFWS. However, many people will still follow these claims so they are mildly successful in getting people to believe their cause.

4. Can you explain how these claims are similar and/or different to the other stakeholders?

Because the environmentalists are often considered the opponent to the the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, their claims vastly differ from those of BrightSource Energy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service who are attempting to prove that Ivanpah is not a mass avian killer, and that the environmental impact of Ivanpah itself has been minimized in many ways.