Is NIMBY Political?

Is it a "political" thing when somebody doesn't want invasive infrastructure that doesn't benefit them in their backyard?  By its very nature, NIMBY-ism is supposed to be a selfish thing - Not in My Back Yard.  My, me, it's all about me, right?  I'm pretty sure it's all about me's sense of place, not me's politics.  Why, then, does E&E News file this story under "Politics?"

Is it because the NIMBY in this story has a career as a political lobbyist?  What if she was a brain surgeon?  Would E&E file it under Health & Science?  NIMBY this and NIMBY that - NIMBY is enjoying a new liberal media renaissance.  But it's all about NIMBY resistance to "clean" energy projects.  I haven't seen any NIMBY gas pipeline stories filed under politics.  Is it simply about turning NIMBY into a political issue, where NIMBYs are sorted by their political affiliation into "good" NIMBYs we support, and "bad" NIMBYs we revile?  Do some NIMBYs deserve to host invasive infrastructure due to their political views?  Is there some political chess master somewhere who decided to seize upon NIMBY and use it as a political tool?

Here's the thing... NIMBY isn't political at all.  Groups who oppose invasive infrastructure in their communities are politically blind.  It's about the community, not the politics.  Opposition members who try to draw politics into their battle are routinely shunned from the group.  Opposition works because the group is non-political.  Trying to make opposition political in order to disband or disperse it doesn't work.

Nobody wants invasive infrastructure in their community, especially when they don't benefit from it.  And opposition is working to delay and cancel projects. 

What's wrong with NIMBY?

Susan Ralston does not mind opponents attacking her for being part of the "NIMBY people."
"My husband would say, 'Well, what's wrong with NIMBY?'" she said while drinking a skim latte at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. "So what if I don't want it in my backyard!"

So what indeed!  If it doesn't go in her back yard, would it go in someone else's back yard?  Would it turn into back yard hot potato until it ends up in the back yard of someone who wants it, or someone without the knowledge or resources to successfully oppose it?  That's the glittering generality being attached to the NIMBY renaissance.

David Murray, executive director of the SEIA chapter that covers Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, said that in general residents tend to question solar energy because it is fairly new. People who live near fossil fuel plants historically did not have the luxury of fighting the operations, he said.
"A number of folks say, 'I like solar, but I don't want it near me, and I don't want to have to look at it,'" he said. "Communities who live near coal plants didn't have an option to live near those. We kind of ignore the fact that historically, fossil fuel plants have been in communities that haven't had that opportunity, and they are now feeling the effects of increased air and water pollution."
"Anytime you have folks who are willing to spend a lot of personal money to ensure they don't have to look at solar panels — that's going to make it more challenging for us to transition away from fossil fuels," he added.

Fossil fuel plant neighbors didn't have an option or opportunity?  Of course they did.  It's just that they were crushed by the politically connected who didn't want those things in their back yard.  Where were these political folks back then?  So now we want to "socialize" the misery by releasing fossil fuel plant neighbors from their burden and placing it elsewhere, preferably in "red" states.  Is it their turn?  Or just because they're not part of the political elite who drive the liberal media?  How about we stop with the utility scale renewables and make every community responsible for their own energy burdens and avoid sacrifice for benefit of others entirely?

Adding to the false political narrative are political front group "investigators" such as the "...Energy and Policy Institute, which tracks opposition to clean energy nationwide."  It's only about opposition to clean energy?  What about opposition to dirty energy?  Does nobody care where their funding comes from?  It comes from mysterious dark money organizations who provide grants and donations to "clean energy" fronts, like the Energy and Policy Institute (hey, there's even mention of this mysterious group's founder "having ties to" Tigercomm).  Hmm... what is that smell?

"One of the challenges in researching this stuff is that there is often no money trail to follow," Anderson [of the Energy & Policy Institute] said, adding, "I don't think everyone who shows up to events in the community is an agent of the fossil fuel industry. But it's hard to suss that out."

The anti-solar groups appear to be separate from front groups that are propelled by fossil fuel interests, said Anderson.

Both anti-wind and -solar activists are often tied to conservative ideology, Anderson said. "They are sort of a different tier of more NIMBY-type activists who are not necessarily being paid but they are clearly being influenced by these conservative groups," he said.

Oh my, tied to?  You don't say!  Because Anderson can't find any money changing hands, it's now all about conservative "influence."  As if being NIMBY is a choice that is influenced by politics?  It's either your back yard or it's not!  Energy and Policy Institute loves to find "ties to" things and associations between unrelated groups in order to make up stories about who is behind the front groups this front group gets paid to expose.  It's a front group hall of mirrors! 

Bad guy once bought something from WalMart, and WalMart makes political donations to a party I don't like, therefore, Bad Guy is working for the political party I don't like and must be a really bad guy.  That's how "ties" work.  What a load of baloney!

What is the common denominator in all of these bad NIMBYs against "clean energy" project stories?  I'm not fooled.  Are you?  Maybe it depends on your political affiliation.