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I met a environmental biologist (it was some similar sounding job) who does environmental impact studies for solar farms in the desert. He said lots of stuff g
by devoutsalsa 3y ago
I met a environmental biologist (it was some similar sounding job) who does environmental impact studies for solar farms in the desert. He said lots of stuff gets displaced or killed when they install the panels. There’s no way to avoid it. It definitely stresses the environment.
- ericbarrett 3y agoThe biological soil crust in much of the Western U.S. is easily trampled (a single footprint can do it), and takes years to regenerate: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_soil_crust https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_soil_crust I live by BLM (open public) land of this kind, and you can definitely see the change in flora growing on a given patch of land for several years after it has been disturbed. It may look barren, but the desert West is host to all kinds of critters: multiple species of ants, beetles of all kinds, lizards, horny toads, quail, rabbits, bobcats, ravens, hawks, owls, bees, wasps, butterflies, snakes, etc. etc. Why not put the panels on the warehouses where the land is already disturbed?
- devoutsalsa 3y agoTo your point, it can be avoided by not doing it at all. But you’re definitely 100% going to screw up the environment by installing panels on unspoiled land.