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>There is a lot more unusable arid land in the mountain west than there are warehouse rooftops. What a very human-centric point of view

walrus01 3y ago
Building a hydroelectric dam and flooding some habitat or burning conventional fuels in a traditional power plant to drive a turbine coupled to a generator with atmospheric exhaust are also very human centric points of view, exactly what is your point? In Google Earth satellite view, go find the entire plateau of dry land wheat farming (non irrigated) on the masive plateau surrounding Waterville, WA. We have already significantly modified the desert environment there for other purposes. Look at all the square areas of wheat farming. Go find "Atomic City, ID" in a satellite view and look at the desert brush land surrounding it for an area that's so arid that humans haven't even tried to irrigate it or do something like dry land wheat farming.
- MikeKusold 3y ago
  > Building a hydroelectric dam and flooding some habitat There has been a large movement that has been working towards tearing these down due to their ecological impact. Additionally, Lake Mead has a risk of the water level falling too low and stopping power generation at Hoover Dam. Some concerns that solar plants could have on wildlife are: - Increased human presence in areas that previously were not frequented - Maintenance roads will need to be built - Migration corridors could be severed, leading to less genetic diversity in an area - Unknown impact on wildlife. For example, maybe the solar panels make it difficult for local hawks to hunt. As of 2021, scientists have generally agreed that more studies are needed to determine this. [0] [0]: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/Solar%20Impacts%20on%20Wildlife%20and%20Ecosystems%20Request%20for%20Information%20Summary.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/Solar%20I...
maxk42 3y ago
Were you planning to build solar panels for the wildlife?
- justinator 3y ago
  I certainly can't talk for the wildlife, but I would guess they would want to not lose their habitat.

walrus01 3y ago

Building a hydroelectric dam and flooding some habitat or burning conventional fuels in a traditional power plant to drive a turbine coupled to a generator with atmospheric exhaust are also very human centric points of view, exactly what is your point? In Google Earth satellite view, go find the entire plateau of dry land wheat farming (non irrigated) on the masive plateau surrounding Waterville, WA. We have already significantly modified the desert environment there for other purposes. Look at all the square areas of wheat farming. Go find "Atomic City, ID" in a satellite view and look at the desert brush land surrounding it for an area that's so arid that humans haven't even tried to irrigate it or do something like dry land wheat farming.

MikeKusold 3y ago
> Building a hydroelectric dam and flooding some habitat There has been a large movement that has been working towards tearing these down due to their ecological impact. Additionally, Lake Mead has a risk of the water level falling too low and stopping power generation at Hoover Dam. Some concerns that solar plants could have on wildlife are: - Increased human presence in areas that previously were not frequented - Maintenance roads will need to be built - Migration corridors could be severed, leading to less genetic diversity in an area - Unknown impact on wildlife. For example, maybe the solar panels make it difficult for local hawks to hunt. As of 2021, scientists have generally agreed that more studies are needed to determine this. [0] [0]: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/Solar%20Impacts%20on%20Wildlife%20and%20Ecosystems%20Request%20for%20Information%20Summary.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/Solar%20I...

maxk42 3y ago

Were you planning to build solar panels for the wildlife?

justinator 3y ago
I certainly can't talk for the wildlife, but I would guess they would want to not lose their habitat.