max963•18d ago

Saw a huge solar farm being built near my hometown in Iowa and it got me thinking

I drove past a new solar farm going up outside Des Moines last week. It's huge, maybe 200 acres of panels. On one hand, it's great to see clean energy being built right here, and it will power a lot of homes. But on the other hand, it used to be a corn field, and now it's just metal and glass. It makes me wonder if we are trading one problem for another. Are we helping the climate by using less coal, but hurting it by covering up good farmland that could grow food? I know we need solar power, but seeing all that land changed really stuck with me. What do you all think is the right balance between building clean energy and keeping our farmland?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_abby18d ago

Yeah, that "trading one problem for another" feeling is real.

rubywebb18d ago

Tell me about it, @the_abby. My life's a swap meet.