HI all, In general I am a lurker on this list that benefits from all the wonderful learning I get to do via this listserv. Thank you everyone who posts!
We are having a discussion right on on the Village of Freeville listserv regarding a proposed solar farm next to Willow Glen Cemetery. There are so many sensitive issues to consider both at that location and Dodge Woods, still I urge folks to show up to the Dryden Town Board meetings and listen to the concerns and opinions of others and to voice their own- the dates and times are listed below. My main concern was that not many people knew about this issue since the language used in disseminated materials used something along the lines of protest a Power Generating Plant, an omission that I felt came with detrimental outcomes. In fact when I wrote my email to the village many responded privately saying thank you, and that they did not know about this proposal for large scale solar in Dryden. I would like to leave you with a little bit of my perspective and linking to an online document <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfP36WCeAHVazasXpxb3tgkfTOLkDEEsmpcvD-8KGVNACqp-Q/viewform?c=0&w=1> that might be of use to other folks out there who wish to leave their concerns, pros, cons, etc with the Dryden Town Board. My opinion- I greatly respect the people that are willing to speak up for what they believe in now, and for people that are willing to stand up and work across generations, inter-politically, and across other divides for solutions that we all need now. Solar is the number one solution for our energy crisis currently. *We said no to fracking.* If we say no to solar now the next time fracking corps come through nobody will have the fight left in them to stand up to them. How could we fight next time when we would clearly know that we cannot follow through with solutions, that we are after all only NIMBYists? How would a hydraulic fracking operation look next to Willow Glen Cemetery, or the woods at Dodge Rd? Maybe a giant plant next to a cemetery is not the best idea? Perhaps we can use a screen to shield the view if there are so many concerns about that? Are there other places where we can do this? One worry though is that we will say no to one location after the other, and that this is no time to waver on our commitment to sustainable energy sources. Please voice your concerns to the town board via this google form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfP36WCeAHVazasXpxb3tgkfTOLkDEEsmpcvD-8KGVNACqp-Q/viewform?c=0&w=1> soon as they are trying to make a decision soon, by March 30th I believe or come to one of these meetings. Even if you have concerns regarding these specific locations please let the town board that you support solar in Dryden (that is if you do). Currently there are no regulations or laws in Dryden about solar and this is an opportunity to weigh in and do this right. I'd feel much differently about this community if we said no to solar after we said to to fracking. And if you are a Dryden resident come to a meeting at the Dryden Town Hall *March 23 at 7 pm (today)* *March 30 at 7 pm * Thank you for your time, Lea Elleseff On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 8:47 PM, Gary Kohlenberg <jg...@cornell.edu> wrote: > I imagine this new solar farm will be leased by Cornell, but built / > maintained by a third party just like the one at the airport. For the solar > company low installation cost will be the driving factor. Many separate > panels all over campus installed by Cornell wouldn't be as cost effective > and CU would have to maintain them. > The PSC got rid of net metering for residential solar this week so I > suspect individual homeowner installation will become less desirable even > as it has also been moving to leased systems. > > Gary > > On Mar 22, 2017, at 3:22 PM, Melanie Uhlir <mela...@mwmu.com> wrote: > > I wish all parking lots had solar panels over them. It would be win-win > since it would shade the parking lots and they are giant heat-generators > and wasted space anyway. Put solar panels on top of malls too. On top of > hospitals, industrial buildings, schools. There are lots of non-habitat > spaces solar panels ought to go instead of places that support wildlife. > Why is that not happening? > > (yard bird news: I still had 2 Fox Sparrows visiting as of yesterday. I > haven't seen them today.) > > On 3/21/2017 5:40 PM, Dave Nutter wrote: > > If the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas production, then cutting down > trees > is counterproductive when installing solar panels. Also cutting trees down > if they > are just along the edge of the array makes little sense because the great > majority > of solar energy is during the middle of the day, not early morning nor > late afternoon. > > Putting solar panels in places that are just creating heat islands, not > habitats, makes > lots of sense. Put them on rooftops. Put them over parking lots. Put them > on lawns > that were already getting mowed. That's why home solar is great, but > industrial scale > makes problems. Those fields that are being replaced as solar "farms" > (cute name) > will still get rain and have seeds blow in. How will succession be > blocked? Poisons? > > If Cornell first decided to put solar panels on all its rooftops and over > all its parking > lots, then over, say, the Ag Quad, and had run out places where they could > put solar > panels without being destructive, I'd be more supportive. I think that > grove is pretty > special, having seen several Long-eared Owls and a Northern Saw-whet Owl > there. > > --Dave Nutter > > On Mar 20, 2017, at 12:18 PM, marsha kardon <mfkar...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Please consider this in your efforts to minimize your contribution to > climate change: > > Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report > warns > 6.3K <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772#>Share > > Print <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772#> > > 29 November 2006 – Cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse > gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, and smarter > production methods, including improved animal diets to reduce enteric > fermentation and consequent methane emissions, are urgently needed, according > to <http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html> a new > United Nations report released today. > > “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most > serious environmental problems,” senior UN Food and Agriculture > Organization (FAO) official Henning Steinfeld said. “Urgent action is > required to remedy the situation.” > > Cattle-rearing is also a major source of land and water degradation, > according to the FAO report, Livestock’s Long Shadow–Environmental Issues > and Options > <http://www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.htm>, > of which Mr. Steinfeld is the senior author. > > “The environmental costs per unit of livestock production must be cut by > one half, just to avoid the level of damage worsening beyond its present > level,” it warns. > > When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the > livestock sector accounts for 9 per cent of CO2 deriving from human-related > activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful > greenhouse gases. It generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, > which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this > comes from manure. > > And it accounts for respectively 37 per cent of all human-induced methane > (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive > system of ruminants, and 64 per cent of ammonia, which contributes > significantly to acid rain. > > With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy > products every year, the report notes. Global meat production is projected > to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million > tonnes in 2050, while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million > tonnes. > > The global livestock sector is growing faster than any other agricultural > sub-sector. It provides livelihoods to about 1.3 billion people and > contributes about 40 per cent to global agricultural output. For many poor > farmers in developing countries livestock are also a source of renewable > energy for draft and an essential source of organic fertilizer for their > crops. > > Livestock now use 30 per cent of the earth’s entire land surface, mostly > permanent pasture but also including 33 per cent of the global arable land > used to producing feed for livestock, the report notes. As forests are > cleared to create new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation, > especially in Latin America where, for example, some 70 per cent of former > forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing. > > At the same time herds cause wide-scale land degradation, with about 20 > per cent of pastures considered degraded through overgrazing, compaction > and erosion. This figure is even higher in the drylands where inappropriate > policies and inadequate livestock management contribute to advancing > desertification. > > The livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s > increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to > water pollution from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals > from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. > > Beyond improving animal diets, proposed remedies to the multiple problems > include soil conservation methods together with controlled livestock > exclusion from sensitive areas; setting up biogas plant initiatives to > recycle manure; improving efficiency of irrigation systems; and introducing > full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale > livestock concentration close to cities. > > On Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 11:55 AM, Martha Fischer <m...@cornell.edu> wrote: > >> Dear All - >> >> Please make a commitment to USE LESS ENERGY. >> >> Turn off lights that are not being used. >> >> Reduce your use of the clothes dryer and other conveniences. >> >> Accept inconvenience. >> >> And then let¹s have this discussion. >> >> Take care, >> >> Martha Fischer >> Town of Enfield >> >> On 3/20/17, 9:48 AM, "bounce-121351030-3494...@list.cornell.edu on behalf >> of Nari Mistry" <bounce-121351030-3494...@list.cornell.edu on behalf of >> n...@cornell.edu> wrote: >> >> >There is urgent need for lovers of birds and wildlife along Dodge Rd. to >> >be aware of imminent developments along Dodge Rd. >> > >> >The massive industrial scale solar farm proposed in all the Cornell >> >owned fields along Dodge Rd and Stevenson Rd (as well as Turkey Hill >> >Rd.) is planning to start construction in a few weeks. There was a >> >hearing in Dryden last Thursday at which many residents spoke out >> >against the massive scale of the project which will devastate wildlife >> >habitat. >> > >> >We have just learned this morning from a member of the Dryden >> >Conservation Board that they are proposing to cut down the Spruce Woods >> >bordering the WEST side of Dodge Rd. because they will shadow the panels >> >slated to go right along the very edge of Dodge R. next to a >> >(barbed-wire topped) fence! >> > >> >If you are concerned about this assault and the effect of replacing all >> >the grassland in the fields with sod under the panels (and >> >herbicides???), please write immediately to the Dryden Town Board and >> >ATTEND THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING scheduled on THIS Thursday March 23, >> >at 7pm at the Dryden Town Hall on Main Street. >> > >> >Please express your opinion that may help reduce the scale of this >> >commercial operation that will devastate wildlife in this favorite >> >location for viewing wildlife! >> > >> > Nari & Gin Mistry >> > >> > Ellis Hollow rd. >> > >> > >> > >> > >> >-- >> > >> >Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> >http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >> >http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >> >http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigu >> rationLeave.htm >> > >> >ARCHIVES: >> >1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >> >2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >> >3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >> > >> >Please submit your observations to eBird: >> >http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >> > >> >-- >> >> >> -- >> >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigur >> ationLeave.htm >> >> ARCHIVES: >> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird: >> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >> >> -- >> >> > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
