As solar capacity grows, some of America's most productive farmland is at risk

[hunter]

8. Trashing the trashlands... when will it stop?

It's bad enough that so much land is wasted growing food for the animals we torture and eat, or as a questionable fuel additive (ethanol) for our environmentally destructive automobiles.

I'm rather indifferent to solar follies built on land that's already been trashed by humans. I vehemently oppose solar development on previously undeveloped lands, especially fragile desert environments. (Thankfully solar power in California is nudging up against the limits of its economic viability and there will be less incentives for large scale solar developments in our deserts...)

Aside from burning fossil fuels, agriculture is the most environmentally destructive things humans do. We ought to be doing our best to minimize it.

What is "productive farmland?"

I've often said here on DU that "economic productivity" as we now define it is actually a measure of the damage we are doing to the earth's natural environment and our own human spirit.

Vast biological deserts of corn and soybeans drenched in herbicides, pesticides, and excess fertilizer are a nightmarish measure of "productivity." So are vast acreages of solar panels.