Editor, The Smithfield Times:

NIMBYISM is not new. It peaked 10 years ago on Cape Cod with a proposed offshore wind farm. Times change and now one is planned for their waters that will consist of 130 large turbines serving 200,000 homes.

One thing that has changed are the dire warnings relative to climate change in a report released this past summer by the United Nations. One statement stands out: “Human induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region around the globe.” Talk to the folks who live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and they can tell tales of how much stronger the hurricanes are.

Land used for solar farms can also be productive in agriculture. “Solar energy use in U.S. Agriculture,” a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, outlines how vegetables, raising bees and sheep can coexist on a solar farm.

Bottom line: We all must do our part fighting climate change. The cost of inaction keeps mounting.

 

Earle Mitchell

Springfield