Letter: Unintended consequences of solar energy
Headlines: Solar Energy is Hurting the Environment and Solar Energy Endangering Ground Water. What? Isn’t it supposed to be saving the environment by damping climate change and saving mankind. It seems that even a good thing can be too much and run into the law of unintended consequences.
By using arable farmland in the Midwest breadbasket as solar farms the downside happens as the wind strips the land under the solar farm making it unusable. Then less available crop land, fewer crops are produced, and the price of those crops gets more expensive. The solar farms also give off heat and that heat can raise the weather conditions to a more active storm pattern that includes a higher volume of tornados. It can also dry out underground aquifers with the above ground heat depleting the available water.
As some scientist stated a long time ago: for every action in nature there is a reaction. While we are in a headlong race to get rid of petroleum, are we also racing into another conundrum with the use of solar for energy? Just some food for thought.
Duane Mara, Montgomery
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Letter: Unintended consequences of solar energy
