I am proud of these legislators for taking this action.  Gates needs to put his money where his mouth is.

...his management company refuses to take down several dams in Oregon, despite protests from Fish and Wildlife, and local tribes, who say the dams are ruinin' the salmon runs.

Gates being a smart person, must have a reason for doing this. It may just be as simple as he left investments on autopilot and let managers manage them. If that's the case then at worse he's a little near sighted perhaps and not realizing what he's invested in. Buffet being a 'hawk' when it comes to his investments is being more prudent.

Just because someone is a genius in software technology investment doesn't necessarily imply it correlates with good corporate and environmental stewardship or appears wise to other environmentally savy folks.

My hunch is his money managers have a hand in this, even though he himself would not approve of such a move.  However, maybe the coal industry is a huge Microsoft customer.  

My suggestion would be to use the purchasing power you have to make big statement in that regard.

-JChan

Minnesota has huge wind resources and progressive utility companies, like Xcel, that are investing in wind and smart grid technology.

More coal for Minnesota?  Idiotic.  Gates is insulated from reality by corrupt underlings or oblivious or both.  If Buffet can't even get his attention!

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

C'mon. Get A GRIP. There are many projects underway to wean us off coal in Minnesota. However, in the interim YOU JUST DON'T FLICK A SWITCH pardon the pun, and just switch to something else. Unless you want to turn off your computer RIGHT NOW, stop your stupid bitching! Coal will be here for a bit, so deal with it!

This plant will generate no more carbon dioxide then existing plants, if there is no demand for power. Coal plants go up and down, and can change their coal burning rate, based on demand.

If this coal plant is more efficient (therefore cheaper to run) then existing coal plants, then it will offset other coal plants that already on the grid.

Coal plants don't create carbon dioxide. The demand for and production of electricity does. If nobody wants electricity, or if all the demand is fulfilled by wind power, then Big Stone I and II will simply sit idle, releasing no emissions at all.

Other IT companies are trying to find renewable resources to a) help with their own enegry consumption and b) help find better solutions for the public in general. But in the mean times Bill Gates is causing more harm.

I hope Apple uses this against them in their PC versus Mac commericals.

- thats why I like Apple and GOOGLE. - they are hype and in touch with trends and issues.