What would the tortoises think of a controversial energy proposal?

by: Jennifer Bowles
Ever wonder what the tortoises would think of a controversial energy proposal?
Rik Livingston thinks he knows. The artist from Joshua Tree won $300 on Saturday for this poster below.

In fact, his poster was judged the top winner at a public meeting in Yucca Valley about the controversial renewable energy project being proposed by Los Angeles Department of Water and power.

Livingston's check was awarded by the California Desert Coalition, which formed to oppose the proposal by the Los Angeles utility that would carve out new transmission corridors for a renewable energy project.

The coalition is opposed to the corridor options that would slice through desert preserves in the Morongo Valley and elsewhere. Other options could string power lines through the San Bernardino National Forest and potentially raze homes in the more urbanized areas of the Inland region. Click here to see coverage of the meeting and what utility officials had to say about possibly burying the power lines.

As for Livingston, who recently moved to Joshua Tree from San Francisco:
"I have donated my poster's image to The California Desert Coalition (CDC) for use in the fight to preserve and protect our desert I now call home," he wrote in an e-mail.

Also, I got an interesting e-mail from a reader after that story was published.
"In the interest of discerning those who genuinely stand behind their convictions from those who are outright hypocrites, please ask people who are strongly opposed to either new power lines through the desert or a new generation facility in their own community if they are willing to contact their local power company and have their power shut off."