Wind power blows away development
Always concerned about the height of buildings in Palm Springs, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet recently admonished us to “get on board” with wind energy development in the valley (powering up the valley with windmills).
This is a perfect example of economic and environmental injustice where windmills are concerned. Pougnet and his fellow City Council members know that when they advocate wind energy it won’t be in Palm Springs, in their backyards, wrecking their mountain views and decimating their property values.
Instead, it will be in unincorporated Riverside County in the areas around Desert Hot Springs and West Garnet, two of the most economically depressed areas of the valley, where residents don’t have the resources to hire lawyers to protect their property from wealthy wind energy developers who have given big campaign donations to Mayor Pougnet.
What wasn’t covered was what we forfeited to get all those giant windmills. Plans for an upscale hotel and shopping center and new home development that would have been a great economic boost for Desert Hot Springs were immediately scrapped when Riverside County supervisors approved the windmills.
Kris Brown
Desert Hot Springs
16 June 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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