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Home Front: Culture Wars
Cut trees for Solar Panels
2011-09-29
You just can't make this s#!t up !
RICHMOND (KCBS) -- A solar power project that involved clear-cutting groves of eucalyptus and oak trees to install solar panels has been halted near Richmond after county supervisors said they were embarrassed caught off guard on the tree removal.
Not mentioned in the article : It was a green building project
The Contra Costa County Board of Dolts Supervisors said it never signed off on a plan to remove the trees at Pt. Pinole Regional Shoreline Park to install solar panels for the county. By some estimates, nearly 100 eucalyptus trees and one dozen oak trees were chopped down.
But they block the sun!
"To say that we're flabbergasted is to say something kind of pissed off mild," said Beverly Lane, president of the East Bay Regional Park District Board.
Crap we look stupid..
She maintained the district had nothing to do with extensive tree removal.
Nope...not us...move along...nothing to see here..
Instead, the county signed a contract with Main Street Power to have solar panels installed on top of county buildings including the West County Detention Facility near the park.
SolarMan - the green crime fighter
"Had we known that these solar panels were going to be on the ground, near the entrance to a regional park, we would have definitely said no," said County Supervisor John Gioia.

He said the work has been halted at Pt. Pinole Regional Park.
So not only will they not put the panels where they just clear cut but taxpayers will foot the bill to plant new trees...also not mentioned in the article
Jonathon Postal, a spokesman for Colorado-based solar company, said that company officials plan to meet with county officials this week to bitch-slap them for screwing the pooch discuss the project.
Warthog, please notice our standard formatting for in-line comments for future endeavors. Thank you!

-- trailing wife 3:46 p.m. ET
Posted by:Warthog

#10  Since all this is going on in the S.F. Bay area, would it be safe to assume the political affiliations of the various officials is NOT GOP-centric?
And BTW TW, I think your 'tree-bugger' is dead-nuts on, pardon the expresion....
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2011-09-29 23:27  

#9  "tw; Actually, tw, I think you may have coined a very important and thoughtful saying here, even if by serendipitous means. I intend to use that expression from now on."

Yes, definitely a good catch which helps Rantburg be a journalism site in pursuit of truthful reporting. Great work guys.
Posted by: newc   2011-09-29 22:49  

#8  #6 tw; Actually, tw, I think you may have coined a very important and thoughtful saying here, even if by serendipitous means. I intend to use that expression from now on.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper   2011-09-29 20:29  

#7  Here's a LINK to a story on California's eucalyptus trees. It did not turn out to be a good import for a number of reasons.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2011-09-29 20:01  

#6  Ebbing Uluque6305, y'all wouldn't have anything like your current problem with wildfires if there weren't so many eucalyptus trees...for the same reasons that you like it as firewood. As you point out, are plenty of non-native species that are both beneficial and well-behaved. :-)

Separately, my apology to the gentle readers of Rantburg for the tree-buggers. It was meant to be spellt with an h, but I missed. :-(
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-09-29 18:38  

#5  I know people who think eucalyptus trees are weeds. They are native to Australia, not California.

I've heard people in Hawaii curse them bitterly. All I could tell them is they make good firewood. I'm sure they're not as nice as koa or sandal wood.

We're not so picky about non-native species in California. We can and do grow just about anything. I like eucalyptus myself. But there doesn't seem to be any shortage of them so I wouldn't worry about cutting them down the way I would an oak.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2011-09-29 17:47  

#4  Something else may be going on here. Eucalyptus trees are not native to North America, and in fact are considered an invasive species, replacing native oaks, mostly. More importantly, they are a safety hazard when found in numbers, because they are extremely flammable -- or inflammable, I always confuse the two -- as California has found to its cost.

Since ignorant tree-buggers, as opposed to knowledgeable ones, scream bloody murder any time there is an attempt to remove such species -- as California has found to its cost -- it may be that the Park Board decided to quietly take advantage of an opportunity. I can't speak to the oaks with this little information, but there are plenty of reasons to cut down badly damaged or diseased trees as a matter of good forest management.

There's an awful lot of missing information in this article. I suspect a journalist willing to play to an agenda and no idea of what questions to ask beyond the usual.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-09-29 15:42  

#3  a contract with Main Street Power to have solar panels installed on top of county buildings

these solar panels were going to be on the ground

What's wrong with this picture? If they contracted for roof mounts then the company breached the contract and should be libel for all damages.

If that WASN'T what the contract said than Ms. Lane is a lying scum sucker that should be flogged.

So, which is it?
Posted by: AlanC   2011-09-29 15:06  

#2  Probably 'delay' or termination costs for the contract with the electric company as well. Like the total cost of the contract.
Posted by: Skidmark   2011-09-29 14:50  

#1  Green stupidity and hypocrisy has reached singularity.
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-09-29 14:29  

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