Every once in a while there comes an argument that you don't understand. As clean energy grows in its usefulness and affordability, so does the physical space it takes up. This is where the fight takes place.
Solar energy has quickly become a great way to produce lots of electricity. Much of the American West is covered with large swaths of land that can be used to harness tons of clean energy.
The west also holds a lot of unique vegetation and animals. The conservation of the land and animals has long been a bedrock principle of the United States. While conservationists and renewable energy people are technically part of the same "green" movement, they are light years apart.
The solution may come from a somewhat unusual source. Google has established itself as a major green player. Beyond their philanthropic arm, google.org, they also have some great programs that one can download. One program is Google Earth.
The solution that is being proposed is use the program to determine the best place to build solar farms that will harness the most amount of energy as possible. It will also avoid the issues over the environmental costs to land and animals in the area. If this proposal works, Google will once again prove a leader in the new green movement.
