Lake Powell is a place of extreme beauty.
The water in the lake is like none other that I have experienced.
The deep blue-green water is so clear in the deeper areas that one can see down until the sunlight disappears.
Its summer waters are warm and yet also refreshing.
The landscape is awe-inspiring in its stark, unyielding beauty.
I love the place so very much.
But I could not live there because the coal plant emits so much smoke and pollutants that my eyes stung while visiting there this summer, my throat ached, and my sinuses were aggrieved.
The Navajo coal plant can be seen from the lake spewing poisoned gasses into the air, ruining the blue sky by turning it a hazy yellow.
That plant is poisoning the area.
I was so deeply saddened by the sight of artificially yellow skies in an otherwise pristine environment.
It is a terrible sight.
It seems to me that the federal government should either help the Navajos by installing scrubbers, or better, yet help the entire community by investing in wind and solar in the area to replace the coal plant. The Navajos could earn revenue from energy produced by these alternative and more sustainable energy forms.
Some background from the LA Times.
Navajo coal plant pollution and Grand Canyon haze subject to hearing. May 24, 2011
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/05/navajo-coal-plant-pollution-and-grand-canyon-haze-.html
[excerpted] Leaders of several Indian nations urged a House subcommittee Tuesday to stall plans to tighten emission standards at the Navajo Generating Station in northeastern Arizona, which is partly owned by Los Angeles' Department of Water & Power.
Tribal leaders said they depend on the plant for coal sales, royalties, lease fees, employment and water rights. The plant powers the Central Arizona Project, a system of more than 300 miles of pipelines, aqueducts and pumping stations that supplies about 80% of the state's water users, predominantly in Tucson and Phoenix.
Leroy Shingoitewa, chairman of the Hopi tribal council, warned the congressional panel that closure of the plant would make the Hopi "a ward of the nation."
The Navajo Generating Station and Four Corners power plants are the top source of pollutants among power plants west of the Mississippi River. The Environmental Protection Agency is pushing for retrofits that would lower emissions and reduce haze that often obscures views of the nearby Grand Canyon.
The EPA is scheduled to decide this summer whether to require pollution controls for the plant, one of the biggest sources of nitrogen oxide emissions in the country.
"Our job is to decide, 'Are the parks adequately protected?' " said Colleen McKaughan, associate director of the EPA's air division in San Francisco. "And if they're not, does the facility need additional pollution controls?"
Testimony is continuing before a joint subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee.
The water in the lake is like none other that I have experienced.
The deep blue-green water is so clear in the deeper areas that one can see down until the sunlight disappears.
Its summer waters are warm and yet also refreshing.
The landscape is awe-inspiring in its stark, unyielding beauty.
I love the place so very much.
But I could not live there because the coal plant emits so much smoke and pollutants that my eyes stung while visiting there this summer, my throat ached, and my sinuses were aggrieved.
The Navajo coal plant can be seen from the lake spewing poisoned gasses into the air, ruining the blue sky by turning it a hazy yellow.
That plant is poisoning the area.
I was so deeply saddened by the sight of artificially yellow skies in an otherwise pristine environment.
It is a terrible sight.
It seems to me that the federal government should either help the Navajos by installing scrubbers, or better, yet help the entire community by investing in wind and solar in the area to replace the coal plant. The Navajos could earn revenue from energy produced by these alternative and more sustainable energy forms.
Some background from the LA Times.
Navajo coal plant pollution and Grand Canyon haze subject to hearing. May 24, 2011
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/05/navajo-coal-plant-pollution-and-grand-canyon-haze-.html
[excerpted] Leaders of several Indian nations urged a House subcommittee Tuesday to stall plans to tighten emission standards at the Navajo Generating Station in northeastern Arizona, which is partly owned by Los Angeles' Department of Water & Power.
Tribal leaders said they depend on the plant for coal sales, royalties, lease fees, employment and water rights. The plant powers the Central Arizona Project, a system of more than 300 miles of pipelines, aqueducts and pumping stations that supplies about 80% of the state's water users, predominantly in Tucson and Phoenix.
Leroy Shingoitewa, chairman of the Hopi tribal council, warned the congressional panel that closure of the plant would make the Hopi "a ward of the nation."
The Navajo Generating Station and Four Corners power plants are the top source of pollutants among power plants west of the Mississippi River. The Environmental Protection Agency is pushing for retrofits that would lower emissions and reduce haze that often obscures views of the nearby Grand Canyon.
The EPA is scheduled to decide this summer whether to require pollution controls for the plant, one of the biggest sources of nitrogen oxide emissions in the country.
"Our job is to decide, 'Are the parks adequately protected?' " said Colleen McKaughan, associate director of the EPA's air division in San Francisco. "And if they're not, does the facility need additional pollution controls?"
Testimony is continuing before a joint subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Thanks for sharing all the information about Lake Powell. It feels very good to spend your time near such a beautiful lake.
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