Dear Mr. Francis,
Regarding your article “Publisher’s Column: Is Solar Power the Peninsula’s Crop of the Future?”, one question was not addressed by you or the Council members. Is the farmland sought by Shift Solar currently used for growing crops that feed the local population, or is it used to grow feed for animals?
If the former, then the land should be preserved as agricultural – there are sound environmental justifications for permaculture and local food security. However, if the land is used to grow animal feed crops, then converting it to a solar farm makes sense. Animal agriculture consumes far more water and produces far more greenhouse gas per quantity of food produced than does agriculture for a plant-based diet.
There is also the question of losing yet more natural ecosystems if non-agricultural land is selected by Shift Solar.
It is of course the local community’s decision, but complete information should be provided and considered in the context of long-term sustainability and stewardship. This is definitely not a simplistic question of pro-agriculture or pro-solar. It is complex, it deserves full discussion, and like almost everything we do today, the outcome will have long-lasting impacts that will either help our future or hinder it.
Thank you for providing background information on this issue in your Publisher’s column.
Best regards,
Rob Shave
Southampton
