I am glad that Carl Zichella recognizes a current trend within the environmental movement: inaction (HCN, 6/22 & 7/6/09). I have done my part volunteering and writing letters for the Sierra Club and other groups focused around conservation/sustainability/general green-ness, but I am tired of constantly opposing things and never seeing any changes.

If all the power we have revolves around saying no, how can we be progressive? Yes, energy development can be harmful ... but it can also be a good thing. Just because someone is making money doesn't disqualify him or her from bettering the planet.

Take, for example, the proposed wind farm outside of Ellensburg, Wash. A big developer wants to put in a wind farm, but people are opposing it because of their negatively impacted views. Let's not turn the developer into a villain simply because that developer will benefit from the project.

There is never going to be an energy project that doesn't offend someone. Let's remember that we do have an imperative to stop climate change, and that sometimes it means taking action, not saying "no" on principle.

"Concerned for the future"