{"id":1419,"date":"2011-01-24T01:45:17","date_gmt":"2011-01-24T01:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/nimbyitis-alert-not-in-my-back-yard.html"},"modified":"2011-01-24T01:45:17","modified_gmt":"2011-01-24T01:45:17","slug":"nimbyitis-alert-not-in-my-back-yard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/nimbyitis-alert-not-in-my-back-yard.html","title":{"rendered":"NIMBYitis Alert: Not In My Back Yard!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most Americans want things to get better in our nation. We want the economy to flourish. We want the government to be solvent. We want affordable, excellent medical care. We want clean energy. We want all of these things . . . but don’t want to have to incur any personal cost or inconvenience to get them. Surely, somebody else has to pay. “Fix it,” we say, “but not in my back yard!” We are suffering from NIMBYitis . . . Not-In-My-Back-Yard-itis.<\/p>\n

A recent edition of the New York Times<\/i> featured a couple of NIMBYitis stories. The first had to do with the federal government and its budget crisis. “Poll Finds Wariness About Cutting Entitlements”<\/a> reports that “Americans overwhelmingly say that in general they prefer cutting government spending to paying higher taxes, according to the latest New York Times\/CBS News poll.” Yet when we are confronted with what cuts in the federal budget entail, we are unwilling to support cuts in anything that impacts us personally. “Fix the budget,” we say, “but don’t take away any of my own entitlements.” Ouch! NIMBYitis alert!<\/p>\n

The second NIMBYitis story hits much closer to home, my home, that is, literally. “Lack of Transmission Lines Is Restricting Wind Power”<\/a> chronicles a debate that is raging where I live, in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio. The problem is that massive amounts of electric power is being produced by wind turbines in West Texas. Yet the state’s transmission lines are not currently able to handle the flow of energy produced by the wind. So, the state needs to add unsightly transmission lines, running them through the Hill Country, which is one of the prettiest areas in Texas. As you can imagine, this created quite a stir, with local residents protesting the “uglification” of their land. State regulators recently approved the route for the new transmission lines, running them right along a lengthy section of Interstate 10. As you’d expect, those who live in the area are not happy. <\/p>\n

\"i10-comfort-5.jpg\"<\/form>\n

Including me, I might add. I love the Hill Country vistas I see on my way to work. Before too long, my view will be polluted by tall poles and giant wires. Ugh! But I also realize that if I want affordable and plentiful electricity, and if I want the world in which I live to be less polluted, then this is a cost my neighbors and I will have to pay. (The cost of burying power lines, by the way, is prohibitive at this point in time. Affordable burying sounds like a great entrepreneurial opportunity to me. Photo: A stretch of I-10 in the Hill Country that will soon be blighted with power lines.) <\/p>\n

Now before you start complaining about Texans and our unwillingness to support green energy, consider this. Texas produces far more electricity by wind power than any other state, by far<\/a>. In fact, we produce more electricity by wind in a given year than California, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Montana, Oklahoma, and New York combined. Texas produces almost three times as much wind-power electricity as the number 2 state, Iowa. <\/p>\n

Moreover, you may recall a similar debate in Massachusetts, one of the most ostensibly “pro-green” states. For years, a battle raged over placing a 130-turbine wind farm five miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The residents, including Senator Ted Kennedy, while he was alive, went ballistic. They tried everything to stop the project because it would ruin their view. When, after years of debate, the project was approved last April, residents and environmental groups vowed to fight the project, which will no doubt be in the courts for years to come. As a lover of Cape Cod, I can relate to those who would rather not see distant windmills in the ocean. But I do find it curious that even in such an apparently green-friendly state, people just don’t want solutions in their own back yard.<\/p>\n

I expect that we will be utterly inundated by this kind of thinking in the next few years as governments (local, state, and federal) try to find a way out of the financial nightmare in which we find ourselves as a people, not to mention a host of other challenges. Who, I wonder, will lead us to consider sacrifices we all need to make for the sake our nation and the world? Who will challenge us to “ask not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country”? And our world?   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most Americans want things to get better in our nation. We want the economy to flourish. We want the government to be solvent. We want affordable, excellent medical care. We want clean energy. We want all of these things . . . but don’t want to have to incur any personal cost or inconvenience to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-commentary"],"yoast_head":"\nNIMBYitis Alert: Not In My Back Yard! - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}