2/22/23

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To Whom It May Concern,

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The proposed solar project does not further or protect life on this planet. While I do not support the use of fossil fuels, the suggestion that we move away from them and into wind, solar and battery-powered alternatives is an incredibly destructive, false solution for three major reasons.

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1) It Exacerbates Existing Harms Because It Requires More Mining

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To replace our current energy sources with renewables like lithium batteries, wind farms and solar panels requires mining new materials, particularly heavy metals, and would require more metal than we have ever mined, or are capable of mining.

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Mark Mills unemotionally explains this in his presentation: The energy transition delusion: inescapable mineral realities; available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOEGKDVvsg&t=2006s

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According to the Manhattan Institute:

"This means that any significant expansion of today’s modest level of green energy—currently less than 4% of the country’s total consumption (versus 56% from oil and gas)—will create an unprecedented increase in global mining for needed minerals, radically exacerbate existing environmental and labor challenges in emerging markets (where many mines are located), and dramatically increase U.S. imports and the vulnerability of America’s energy supply chain."

The full article: https://www.manhattan-institute.org/mines-minerals-and-green-energy-reality-check

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As PTP correctly states of such mining projects:

"Claiming that it’s possible...without fossil fuels (and thus, without greenhouse gas emissions) is just flat out wrong."

Charts and diagrams for one mine are available in the full article here: https://www.protectthackerpass.org/emissions-from-a-green-mine/

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Lithium is only one material. Solar panels require quartzite, graphite and a host of heavy metals for energy transportation and storage.

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2) If Completed, It Would Create New Harms

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Surely you are acutely aware of some of these harms. According to Basin And Range Watch's investigative report on the impacts of solar projects on avian life:

"Bureau of Land Management (BLM) just informed us that to obtain the actual monthly avian monitoring reports themselves the public information officer for Solar Reserve said the company still considers these documents to contain proprietary information."

They continue:

"Even if changes were made to the configuration of the testing solar flux, we are not convinced birds would be safe. The diagrams below show CEC models of the less intense solar flux at the edges of the solar field, with the same intensity as parts of a testing configuration. These energy levels will still injure birds, singe feathers, and possibly cause blindness, according to CEC staff."

The full article, replete with diagrams and footage: http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/Crescent-Dunes-Solar-Flux.html

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Birds are only one kind of creature affected by these projects.

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3) It Does Not Solve The Problem We Have

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According to Guy McPhearson, as quoted by John Dillon in Kairos:

“We will have very few humans on the planet because of lack of habitat. ... All the evidence points to a lock-in 3.5 to 5 degree Celsius temperature rise above the 1950 ‘norm’ by mid-century, possibly much sooner. This guarantees a positive feed-back already underway, leading to 4.5 to 6 degrees above the ‘norm’ and that is a level lethal to life. ...

"While the human body is potentially capable of handling a six-to-nine degree Celsius rise in the planetary temperature, the crops and habitat we use for food production are not. ... Humans have to eat and plants can’t adapt fast enough to make that possible for seven to nine billion of us.”

https://www.kairoscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Briefing-Paper-41.pdf

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Focusing on replacing existing energy sources does not sequester carbon. Not just a false solution, it is an obtuse preservation of lifestyle, at the expense of maintaining the biosphere as we know it.

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Sincerely,

Rev. Trinity La Fey

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Send your own letter here:

https://www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-seeks-public-input-proposed-dry-lake-east-energy-center-solar

Comments are open until 3/22/23.