Urban sprawl, not solar, is the main threat to farmland
I would like to respond to Kevon Martis' Feb. 27 column where he says I repeat a lie that he is misusing professor Steven Miller's economic impact study. He says he has an email from Miller exonerating him, but offers no content of the email.
The misuse of Miller's study was outlined in the July 29 Michigan State University letter where the university states: “We believe the MSU report has and continues to be represented out of context by special interest groups that seek to impede commercial development of solar energy in Michigan.” To see the full document in question here is the link: https://climatecrock.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/miller_msu_fina1.jpg.
On Feb. 28, a LaSalle Township zoning meeting was attended by many who seemed to be antisolar. The board appeared distracted by several people in the crowd wanting their leader to speak at the meeting.
They said he was a zoning administrator, but I believe that he also is a director of an antigreen energy nonprofit that travels the tristate area trying to prevent renewable energy with exclusionary zoning. He speaks about responsible solar zoning like in Deerfield and Riga townships, but those examples include zoning that is too faulty for the benefit of any solar company.
With farmers garnering 39% of their income from federal government subsidies and state Sen. Dale Zorn recently cosponsoring a $1.4 billion state aid rescue package for farmers and rural areas, you'd think some responsible township or state official would tell their leader enough is enough. Think farmers and rural communities want to earn their own way from their own enterprise and not take Zorn's proposal that is paid for by the rest of us?
The United Nations’ Climate Report was recently released with a dire outlook for our future climate. The news is grim, especially for our children. Increased desertification caused by man-made climate change is shrinking traditional farmland of world farmers. Back home in southeast Michigan, we live with a solar disinformation campaign by those who aren't transparent with their real motives or their outright rejection of science and facts.
Urban sprawl is the largest destroyer of farmland, yet the alleged farmland savers never acknowledge it. Why would anyone welcome more urban sprawl, which are destroyers of farmland that can never be repurposed as farmland unlike a solar farm? Why would anyone want higher taxes from more demand on schools and infrastructure? Why would anyone want more traffic, more congestion and more crime from the urbanization of rural areas? There are just too many downsides to urban sprawl that increasingly consumes farmland.
Solar farms will keep the peaceful, quiet, rural feel of farmland and taxes lower. With many increased demands to destroy farmland, solar farms are the best economical option at saving it for future use. It will keep the developers at bay when the developers try to call the shots in a township.
Paul Wohlfarth lives in Riga Township and is retired from Chrysler Motors. He can be reached at wolfmanwon@aol.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Paul Wohlfarth: Urban sprawl, not solar, is main threat to farmland
