First, It Was the Birds, Then It Was the Whales, and Now It's the Trees: Nothing Is As Sacred As the Big Green Grift

Many readers will recall Google’s Ivanpah solar project, a Federally guaranteed boondoggle that fried passing birds and turtles. Pictures of eagles killed by gigantic wind turbines also abound, along with deaths of whales that appear to be a direct consequence of offshore wind development.

And now, 420 acres of Michigan forestland is being cleared for a solar development. The common factor? Government agencies threw off their long-held and proudly proclaimed conservation standards in a milli-second to advance the Big Green Grift, in this case for the 45th Parallel Solar Project to be constructed by RWE, a renewable energy outfit.

The project is located in Hayes Township, Otsego County, Michigan, and the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is leasing state forest land that will be bulldozed to make room for a sea of solar panels. Folks aren’t happy, as this Daily Wire story relates:

Michigan state officials plan to clear 420 acres from a state forest to build a new solar farm in the name of environmentalism.

A “top state official” confirmed to MLive that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) planned to bulldoze a large swath of forestland to build a solar farm as part of a lease agreement.

The outlet noted that the DNR “recently assessed 1,200 acres of public trust land in Otsego County near a major power transmission line to decide whether it was suitable for solar arrays” and decided to lease 35% of the land to go with other solar projects that are already being developed.

The sudden desire to destroy trees for solar panels comes as the state risks failing to meet its own climate goal of 100% “clean” energy by 2040. It won't meet its arbitrary timeframe if it doesn’t increase its development of so-called renewable energy.

The 420 acres about to be bulldozed are part of 4,000 acres of public land that will be flattened to try and meet the 2040 deadline.

The Michigan State GOP and its member lawmakers from the affected area are particularly unhappy:

State Reps. Ken Borton and Mike Hoadley and State Sen. Michele Hoitenga on Thursday called for mass firings within the Department of Natural Resources after recent reporting exposed a DNR plot to destroy more than 400 acres of forest, located just west of Gaylord, to clear the way for solar farms. The legislators said that any person involved in this decision should be fired, arguing that this proposal was made in complete contrast to the DNR’s responsibility to protect Michigan’s wildlife and forests.

“Mind-numbing decisions like this are absolute proof that the DNR is completely rotten to its core,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “This deforestation will destroy habitats and effectively kill wildlife. Let me make that clear, the DNR is choosing to kill wildlife so they can build solar panels.”

“We’ve all read the Lorax. If he thought like the DNR, he’d only be speaking for trees for as long as it took to fill his chainsaw with gas after the solar industry waved a fat wad of cash in his face.”

The legislators questioned whether the DNR even had the authority to lease public land for private use, especially when that decision leads to the destruction of wildlife and forests.

“The people who made this absurd decision signed up for a job to protect our natural resources. Their department is supposed to stand up for outdoor enthusiasts; instead, they sold us out,” said Hoitenga, R-Manton.

“Just as the state rightfully holds citizens accountable for their use of unethical conservation actions—likewise, people are demanding accountability from the government for their unethical conservation management practices.”

In fall 2023, legislative Democrats rammed through radical green energy legislation mandating 100% “clean” energy by 2040, closing reliable natural gas plants and increasing dependence on less reliable wind and solar power. An expert analysis projects that average monthly electric bills could nearly double because of the new laws.

The plan also gave the Michigan Public Service Commission, a three-member panel of state bureaucrats, authority to approve green energy projects, taking away local communities’ discretion over the placement of wind turbines and solar farms.

“It was clear that Democrat-backed laws enacted during the most recent term would strip local control and lessen local input when it came to these decisions,” said Hoadley, R-Au Gres. “Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of that with this project that’s being forced onto northern Michigan. Rural areas were always going to bear the brunt of this government overreach, even when a lot of rural areas don’t want these projects and their elected officials voted against bills that pushed them. What good is so-called green energy when we’re cutting down hundreds of acres of trees to put in the infrastructure that will support it?”

Well said, isn’t it? Why are supposed environmentalists suddenly suggesting it’s desirable to wipe out wildlife and turn the terrain into a shimmering surface of solar panels or clear mountaintops for wind turbines? Follow the money. The same parties investing in the corporatism of the Big Green Grift are also funding the NGOs who, in turn, finance the climate porn used to justify sacrificing the environment to somehow save the planet. It’s incredibly irrational, to be sure, but logic is not involved. Climate activism is largely a cult. It has drowned out conservation with a deluge of beliefs and imagination that trump any facts and other priorities.

That’s where we are today, but the backlash to all the bird, whale,. and tree killing is clearly increasing opposition to green energy grifting. Tree hugging can be overdone, but I think it’s coming back.

#TreeHugging #Michigan #Solar #Forest #StateLand #DNR #Environmentalism #Climate #Whales#Eagles