Media Misinformation

At the top of my STOOPID list this week is this article from Inside Climate News.  In his push to help make transmission siting and permitting a federal responsibility, this "reporter" from NYC interviewed some twit from the partisan Brookings Institution named Samantha Gross.  The Gross quote said this:

Transmission lines are among the most difficult projects to receive speedy approval, Gross said, because they tend to cross multiple states and jurisdictions, each of which have their own set of requirements the developer would need to fulfill. In fact, Gross said, she already knows of one transmission line currently under development in the Midwest that would immediately benefit from state level reforms. 
The project—a lengthy transmission line called the Grain Belt Express, which would deliver electricity produced at wind and solar farms in Kansas 800 miles to Missouri and Illinois—has been delayed for more than a decade by the regulatory process and legal challenges.
“If those contiguous states had some permitting reform, you could probably get that project done,” Gross said. ​

Yup, that sure is gross.  Miss Samantha doesn't know diddly about Grain Belt Express, apparently.  Grain Belt Express is stalled right now because it doesn't have enough customers to make the project economic.  Fact.  Making permitting a federal affair would have absolutely no impact on Grain Belt Express.  Permitting "reform" won't make anyone want to sign up for GBE.

Neither one of these people realize how STOOPID they sound to people who know the truth.  But, we're not really the target audience... STOOPID feeds on STOOPID and that "article" just makes everyone dumber.

Samantha needs to stop spewing misinformation born of her own presumptions and ignorance.  And the NYC reporter needs to quit printing it.