While the Biden administration plans to seize tens of thousands of untouched public land in eleven western states to build solar energy farms, news outlets that once criticized the Trump administration for proposing to use public lands are remaining silent, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Receiving little to no national attention, the Biden administration’s land grab, which implicates much for farmers and wildlife, further reveals media bias against Trump initiatives and in support of green energy policies.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that “building utility-scale solar factories requires taking over vast swaths of land, while ‘farms’ of solar panels disrupt animal grazing habits, destroy small wildlife habits, and harm vegetation. Around 6,000 birds are incinerated each year by the heat-reflecting panels at just one solar project in the Mojave Desert.”
Pointing to California as an example, the drawbacks of solar energy are clear. Since 2010, when the state began its solar energy use, electricity prices have increased by a whopping 70 percent, and the average household in California pays nearly 83 percent more than average homes in other parts of the country. The Washington Free Beacon also cited the rolling blackouts in California that resulted from excessive air conditioning use during a historic wave which solar power could not support.
Though it is no surprise that mainstream media favors Democrats and their energy projects, overlooking the drawbacks of such endeavors puts many at a disservice. A conservationist in Nevada shared with the Washington Free Beacon that residents near him are worried about a proposed 26,000 acre solar farm. He called it “armageddon” noting that the solar farms are an “eyesore for nearby residents and also emit heat and blinding glares.”
With solar panels, much is threatened in the surrounding community. Apart from harming wildlife and being unpleasant to look at, the solar panels themselves are made in forced labor factories, and solar panels that have been discarded have been found to leak toxic waste into California landfills. While the mainstream media only covers their favorable view of the Biden administration’s land use for solar farms, it is imperative that the consequences of such use is also covered.