Are conservationists the biggest threat to our climate?

NIMBY is alive and well, regardless, as you say, with respect to both transmission and generation. Note the opposition to wind projects off Nantucket, Massachusetts, ostensibly from local pseudo-conservationists.

So if one objects to paving over the environment  with renewable energy machines and supporting infrastructure, then what? Those objecting must be the enemy?

The underlying fundamentals of the green energy movement are essentially religious dogma. Namely,  CO2 controls the climate and man can control the planet’s CO2 levels. In both cases, vastly more complex processes are in play, thus rendering the dogma as essentially nothing more than marketing claims to enrich the few at the expense of the many.

Seems to me the motto of the green energy movement is: we had to destroy the environment to save the planet.
 

The question is whether distributed energy resources and energy efficiency is more cost effective than a grid-scale project with added transmission. Too often utility planners fail to consider these alternatives because the companies don't make money from them. In California, rooftop solar took nearly 20% off of the peak load since 2006 but the utilities are unwilling to acknowledge this impact.

Have you heard of "BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Never Again?" The legal/regulatory/compliance industrial complex is a detriment to progress. CEQA/NEPA are weapons now to prevent any type development or progress for ANY infrastructure. I used to admire "tree huggers", but they've gotten to a point where their aims and means are counter productive. My 2 cents...