When green has shades of gray

GREEN-ENERGY advocates and land preservationists in California are on opposite sides of a proposal to place solar-mirror fields in the Mojave Desert. The dispute is reminiscent of the battle over wind power in Nantucket Sound - a clash of competing "goods" where all the players wear green hats. But as with Cape Wind, the threat of global warming is too great to keep all undeveloped land off the table.

Some environmentalists, including from the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, are assisting solar-power utilities in finding places to put mirrors and their accompanying high voltage lines, to speed a low-carbon future. Other environmentalists, from the Wildlands Conservancy and elsewhere, say the project will destroy a fragile ecosystem. They say that before the desert is trampled to soak in the sun's power, panels should first go on top of city homes.

President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar say solar power is a priority. But Senator Dianne Feinstein has said she wants national monument protection for vast swaths of desert. This has not pleased California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is pushing an aggressive renewable energy target for the state. He put it succinctly: "If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave Desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it."

This early debate ought to spark a massive discussion, convened by the White House, to find a balanced strategy for renewable energy in the nation's wild places. Of course precautions should be taken. But Americans consume power like no other people in the world. Unless that changes - and there is little evidence it will - many sacred spots will be sacrificed to serve our appetites.