Air of Tension: Zealous environmentalists in California are busy outgreening each other in court

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) - In an environmental dispute seemingly scripted for ecofriendly California, a man asked prosecutors to file charges against his neighbors because their towering redwoods blocked sunlight to his backyard solar panels.

But the couple next door said they should not have to chop down their trees to accommodate Mark Vargas’ energy demands because they planted the redwoods before he installed his solar panels in 2001.

Experts say that such clashes could become more common as California promotes renewable energy and solar systems become more popular.