Wrong decision! Howard County Circuit Court Judge Lynn Murray either cannot read plain English language or someone got to her when she approved the ENGIE Emerald Green Solar project for eastern Howard County. This project will take 1,800 acres of prime agriculture land — some of the best and richest in the world — and put it under solar panels for decades.
Murray’s decision flies in the face of crystal clear language in the county zoning ordinance itself. Under the Agriculture (AG) District section, the Board of Zoning Appeals is directly addressed. The language states , “Board of Zoning Appeals: allow a special exception use (which specifically includes “power generation facility”) only when it is clearly a benefit to the adjacent properties”. How is that in this instance?
Further, under 7.08 Special Exception language states, “…. will not permanently injure other property or uses in the same district and vicinity….”.
How Murray concluded all of this language, which is very clear, can be violated is seriously in question. A grade school student would understand what is meant by “clearly benefit” and “will not permanently injure”; words in the zoning ordinance.
It is obvious to me that someone got to the Board of Zoning Appeals when they approved the ENGIE Emerald project in the first place. Even Board membership was manipulated. Their approval, too, was in direct contradiction of zoning ordinance language. Did someone get to them, too? I think so. Money talks.
No reasonable person could conclude that adjacent properties will “benefit” and that they will not suffer permanent injury. But, Judge Murray did exactly that. She and the Board of Zoning Appeals should be ashamed of themselves.
It is my hope that the property owners who took this case to court will continue on to the Court of Appeals. Maybe there they will find judges who can read. If Murray’s ruling stands, it becomes even worse given there is another solar project of 1,700 acres right behind it. Again, hundreds of acres of prime agriculture land will be taken out of production for decades and, frankly, probably ruined for much longer.
[Kristi Noem is the Governor of South Dakota. This article is adapted and edited from testimony delivered before a recent hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture.]
I come before you today as the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. My home state is known for the gorgeous Black Hills, rolling plains, and, of course, the historic and iconic Mount Rushmore. If you haven’t visited us yet, consider this a personal invitation.
Agriculture is our number one industry, followed by tourism, so protecting our land is incredibly important to our people.
Today, the focus of this committee hearing is “The Danger China Poses to American Agriculture.” Over the years, I have witnessed this hostile communist country work to systematically take over more of America’s vital food supply chain. Decades ago, I watched China start buying our fertilizer companies and making us more dependent on them for this crop care product. Then, they went after ownership of our chemical companies. I watched our government offer citizenship to members of the CCP in exchange for investment and ownership of our food processing systems. Now, they’re buying up our land.
Flag of China
Between 2010 and 2020, the Chinese Communist Party’s holdings of U.S. agricultural land increased by 5,300%. Reports show China owns about 384,000 acres of U.S. ag land valued at about $2 billion. This should be alarming to all of us. The USDA admits this may not even account for all of the land that has been purchased.
Why? Because the federal government does not monitor and track foreign interests in these large transactions. There is little reporting and very few consequences for allowing countries that hate us to buy up our assets.
Just this past summer, my Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources was contacted by Chinese nationals wishing to meet, tour, and have conversations about how we process and grow our food. We declined those meetings, and within days, the State Department contacted us to notify us that those individuals were Chinese spies trying to steal our intellectual property and crop genetics.
Make no mistake, the CCP will do anything to control our food supply. The Chinese Communist Party is not our friend. It is not our partner. It is not our ally. The CCP is our enemy – a rapidly expanding national security threat that cannot be ignored.
Let me be clear. China is buying up our entire food supply chain.
When America can’t feed itself and relies on another country to feed us, it becomes a national security issue. The country that feeds us controls us.
Let me remind you of why we do a Farm Bill. In the past, the Farm Bill has always been a bipartisan issue. I had the opportunity to work on two of them as a member of Congress. A Farm Bill is simply a safety net. America decided years ago that our nation’s security needed a safe and affordable food supply that we grow. Every family in this country should be able to afford to go to a grocery store and buy their family’s necessities.
The Farm Bill ensures that. Farmers who get up every day to make sure there are groceries on those shelves can have one good year and pay their bills and look forward to the next planting season, or have one bad year and have drought, hail, or flooding and lose everything. It is a risky business, and I’ve often said some of the biggest gamblers I know are our family farmers.
The Farm Bill should be designed to help farmers, not environmental extremists. Our farmers don’t want President Biden dictating their agriculture practices to fulfill his extreme climate agenda. As a conservationist committed to protecting the abundance of natural resources in my state, so-called “climate-smart” agriculture dictated by the Biden administration does not help farmers who need help developing conservation, natural resource, and wildlife habitat solutions that best meet their needs at the local level.
It is in our nation’s best interests that those farmers exist because we do not want one entity to eliminate their ability to keep prices low for our families. The Farm Bill manages that risk and is their safety net. I implore you to do your jobs and get it done.
Recent media reports show the largest Chinese holder of American ag land is shipping food and medical supplies to China to be stockpiled by the Chinese military. We all saw when China purchased land in North Dakota that they claimed it was for a corn processing plant. But there wasn’t enough corn around to support that kind of a facility. And it was just a few miles from a U.S. Air Force base.
South Dakota is home to Ellsworth Air Force Base, the B-1 bomber, and the MQ-9 Reaper drone. It will soon be home to our next-generation bombers – the B-21s. This platform will protect our nation for the next 50 years. As governor, I refused to let what happened in North Dakota happen in South Dakota.
For almost two years, I worked with our legislature, our ag community, and our business community to stop China and five other evil foreign Governments from buying ag land in our state near our military assets. I’m happy to report that we’ve banned them – and strengthened reporting requirements to identify and stop illegal purchases in the future.
China doesn’t allow American companies to own their land – they don’t even allow their people to own land. Why would we allow them to purchase our most significant asset?
It’s clear President Biden does not have a plan to protect the American people – not against crime in our major cities, not at the southern border, and not against the threat of China. So, today, I’m here urging Congress to stop the CCP and other nations that hate us from infiltrating our country.
In summary, let me remind you that for decades, China has manipulated their currency, stolen our IP, spied on us, mistreated us in trade practices, is purchasing our nation’s debt, controls our nation’s prescription drug supply chain, is poisoning our children with Fentanyl, unleashed a deadly virus on the world, uses Tik-Tok to spy on and control our nation’s population and is willing to put their people through horrific situations to fulfill the plan they have had for thousands of years to be the dominating world power.
The only thing standing in their way is us. America. If we lose this country, where will we go?
The time is now to ensure that every policy we pass and champion puts America First. Our safety depends on it. Our security depends on it. Our American way of life depends on it.
“We Indians know about silence. We are not afraid of it. In fact, for us, silence is more powerful than words. Our elders were trained in the ways of silence, and they handed over this knowledge to us. Observe, listen, and then act, they would tell us. That was the manner of living.
With you, it is just the opposite. You learn by talking. You reward the children that talk the most at school. In your parties, you all try to talk at the same time. In your work, you are always having meetings in which everybody interrupts everybody and all talk five, ten or a hundred times. And you call that ‘solving a problem’.
When you are in a room and there is silence, you get nervous. You must fill the space with sounds. So you talk compulsorily, even before you know what you are going to say.
White people love to discuss. They don’t even allow the other person to finish a sentence. They always interrupt. For us Indians, this looks like bad manners or even stupidity. If you start talking, I’m not going to interrupt you. I will listen. Maybe I’ll stop listening if I don’t like what you are saying, but I won’t interrupt you.
When you finish speaking, I’ll make up my mind about what you said, but I will not tell you I don’t agree unless it is important. Otherwise, I’ll just keep quiet and I’ll go away. You have told me all I need to know. There is no more to be said. But this is not enough for the majority of white people.
People should regard their words as seeds. They should sow them, and then allow them to grow in silence. Our elders taught us that the earth is always talking to us, but we should keep silent in order to hear her.
There is a chance that solar sanity will ultimately be brought to Howard County. A ruling by Howard County Circuit Judge Lynn Murray for or against the development of a 1,800 acre solar field titled “Emerald” by ENGIE, a French multi-national company, is expected sometime in May.
This comes as a result of several Greentown area residents, who own properties adjacent to the prime agriculture land proposed to be covered with solar panels, taking their case to court. They challenged the legality of the approval of the solar project by the Howard County Board of Zoning Appeals on several grounds.
The ENGIE Emerald project had been denied twice earlier by the BZA. In the interim, one Board member who voted “no” was replaced by a Board member who voted “yes”. This member replacement or maneuver was questionable at the time. The final “yes” vote was a 3-2 yes/no vote; so the Board was split even in its final approval vote. Earlier it had been a 3-2 no/yes vote which denied the project.
The primary case for denial of the special exception for a solar field made by adjacent property residents rests in language found in county zoning ordinance itself. Under the Agriculture (AG) District section the Board of Zoning Appeals is directly addressed. The language states, “Board of Zoning Appeals: allow a special exception use (which specifically includes “power generation facility”) only when it is clearly a benefit to the adjacent properties.”
Further, under 7.08 Special Exception language states, “…. will not permanently injure other property or uses in the same district and vicinity….”
Any reasonable person would readily conclude the presence of a 1,800 acre solar field next door would not be “clearly a benefit” to adjacent properties, but would definitely damage adjacent properties in value and likely in physical ways. Judge Murray, however, need only conclude damage would come in the form of lower value for adjacent properties and not “clearly a benefit”. Who, really, would want to live right next to 1,800 acres of solar panels. The case is really simple as should be the decision by Murray.
Then there is yet another solar field proposal by another company to cover about 1,700 acres more of prime agriculture land. So, the decision by Murray is critical.
And as a former newspaper publisher, there remains a nagging question in my mind. That question is whether any local official or citizen, other than the landowners whose fields would be covered with solar panels, had financial gain from BZA approval of ENGIE: Emerald.
The EPA is at it again. In an agency draft, it again backs the use of this very toxic herbicide, paraquat, claiming it is safe for use across millions of acres of American cropland despite what public health advocates characterize as virtual scientific proof it causes Parkinson’s disease.
By law, the EPA is required to review pesticides every 15 years. It did and approved paraquat again in 2021. The EPA was sued by several agricultural and public health groups in 2021 charging it had ignored broad scientific consensus linking paraquat to Parkinson’s. The EPA agreed to review its approval. They did and here we are again at the same decision as before. Oh, the EPA did agree it will review more science and could change course when issuing a final report next year. In the meanwhile, the poison stays on the market.
The fight over the use of paraquat in the United States has been going on for decades. This chemical poison, a very effective weed killer, is manufactured by Syngenta. Interestingly, nearly 60 countries have banned paraquat use. This includes the UK and EU countries. Another fact…. A state-owned Chinese company bought Syngenta in 2017 but paraquat is banned for use in China.
Scientific research clearly shows paraquat interferes with dopamine production and regulation, and people with Parkinson’s have reduced dopamine levels. Paraquat is also linked to respiratory damage and kidney disease. Ingestion of a single teaspoon is considered deadly.
And finally, those most at risk seem to be the communities and farmworkers in the central California farming area. This is the area of enormous production of crops for the food market in the United States. It appears the EPA could care less about the communities and workers there as long as Syngenta makes a profit. But even worse is that residues from paraquat likely find their way onto the food we all purchase at the grocery store. I have to wonder how many cases of Parkinson’s have resulted.
In looking back at pesticide use which really began after WWII, it is crystal clear we have not made wise decisions. The first big alert was DDT. Then in Viet Nam during the war there, we covered that country with Agent Orange. That was devastating to Viet Nam and to thousands of US military personnel; even to those in the supply chain that got that chemical from the United States to Viet Nam. When will we wise up? But, again the story is that money talks the loudest!
Reason had a victory. This past week a US federal court in Arizona banned three weed killers (poisons; biocides) widely used by American agriculture, finding the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) broke the law in allowing them to be on the market.
The ruling affects dicamba-based weed killers produced and sold by Bayer, BASF, and Syngenta. Dicamba killers have been blamed for millions of acres of crop damage and harm to endangered species and natural areas across the Midwest and South.
The court concluded the EPA had not followed law in granting approval of dicamba for use on genetically engineered crops, typically GE soy beans and corn, that were resistant to it use, but killed weeds around them. The problem is that dicamba is very volatile! This means it easily goes up into the air and drifts to areas afar causing widespread damage to crops and vegetation not resistant to the pesticide. Result: unintended consequences… death to vegetation, including crops, elsewhere and death to animals and insects (pollinators, for example) dependent on that vegetation.
All of this comes on the heels of massive law suits against Bayer/Monsanto involving the use of Roundup (glyphosate) pesticide. So far those suits have cost Bayer billions in jury verdicts and settlements. The plaintiffs allege Roundup causes non-Hodgkins lymphoma. And Syngenta is already facing nationwide litigation over its paraquat herbicide which thousands of plaintiffs claim causes Parkinson’s disease.
Apparently enough lessons have yet to be learned following the debacle with DDT. Rachael Carson in her book “Silent Spring” brought that to headlines. Eventually DDT was banned everywhere. I am thinking the whole use of biocides (pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc) on crops needs to severely restricted. We are in the process of poisoning ourselves and the planet.
Of course, all one has to do is follow the money. The creators of the biocides are the same companies that genetically engineer the crops to resist their effect. This means they sell the biocide resistant seeds to create the resistant crops and then sell the poison to put on it. Pretty good racket if you can get by with it. In the meanwhile, you make people and the planet sick. Ask the bees.
When thinking about the possibility of beginning Substack writing in addition to continuing my WordPress Blog, almost immediately the Osprey came to mind. The art I have used as the logo was by an artist I knew named Don Gabbert from Minnesota. I have kept this art of the Osprey close for over 30 years. It is precious to me.
At the bottom of the Osprey is a saying written by Don. It says, “It’s Our Earth, Too!” That saying really says it all. We are only one of God’s marvelous creatures that call Earth home. Yet, we are the creature that seems to be destroying it.
The Osprey is a raptor: a hunter. Its primary source of food is fish that it catches by diving from air into the water below; something no other raptor can do. Its sight is phenomenal to be able to see fish in water from very high perches above. Its flight is precise. Its goal clear. Ospreys symbolize new beginnings, healing, and cooperation with nature.
And fish…. Almost all of my graduate work at Purdue involved water environments and fish. My doctorate focused on the evolution of Acipencers: the Sturgeon. The sturgeon are estimated to not have changed for millions of years. They are some of the oldest fish species on Earth. I see them as the “Wise Ones”. In Native American mythology, the sturgeon is often seen as a symbol of strength, resilience, and perseverance. In Celtic mythology, the sturgeon was associated with wisdom and knowledge.
So, together, it is my hope that the spirit of both the Osprey and the Sturgeon will guide my way forward.
Times change and new opportunities emerge. Substack is new to me, but it sure seems to be a path for me to be able to write what I want when I want. In eons past, I was able to write articles and columns for the Kokomo (IN) Tribune at will. You see, I was part of the family that owned that newspaper. I was either in top management or the CEO/Publisher of this then a 34,000 daily newspaper having about 185 employees and over 300 newspaper carriers. All employees were considered family. Together, we were designated the top newspaper in the USA for penetration (subscribers) of its market for 9 of 10 years running; and second the one odd year. On top of that, we were leaders in new technology in the industry. Times have changed since then…. and not for the good. Many communities now are news deserts without a local newspaper.
I do write a blog and have for many years: kentblacklidge.com. I will continue to post on it, but I have become rather erratic in posting. I know why. I no longer have and have not had the decision authority for decades about what goes into the Kokomo Tribune. Since my family sold the KT, this newspaper has passed through two group owners. It is now owned by a group (CNHI) that editorially is way too far left politically for me. The Managing Editor has published columns I have written from time to time, but I have given up that route. It felt constrained. In recent times, when the KT prints a column with which I disagree strongly, I typically will email the columnist directly. Again, constraint given no one else reads/knows my thoughts and writing directly has resulted in fewer blog posts. Not a good reason, but true.
On a national and state level, I write representatives directly. I intend to continue this but at the same time will post any letters to Substack and my blog. I have things to say even if no one else gives a damn about my opinions.
My interests are wide. I have indicated in Substack I would be particularly interested in politics, government, science, and the environment. These interests are not limited to local issues. They would include local, state, and national matters. And what credentials do I have to write about these areas: four degrees from Purdue University which are a BS Industrial Management, MS Conservation, MS Aquatic toxicology, and a Ph.D. in genetics. Those plus over 20 years in newspaper journalism.
In my opinion, honest and open communications between people is the glue that holds communities and countries together. The major media, print and electronic, in the USA have failed. They largely have become propaganda tools of the political left. It is up to us, individuals, to restore the integrity of news offered to the public. We must. I intend to do my part. The Peoples Osprey on Substack is open.
Kent Blacklidge Ph.D. (kentblacklidge.com and peoplesosprey.substack.com)
“It took most of human history for our population to reach 1 billion—and just over 200 years to reach 8 billion. But growth has begun slowing, as women have fewer babies on average. When will our global population peak? And how can we minimize our impact on Earth’s resources, even as we approach 10 billion?” American Museum of Natural History
Now demographers are predicting human population on planet Earth will peak at about 10 billion. That is when birth rates and death rates are predicted to equalize. The big question is whether planet Earth can survive at this level of human beings. In his book, 10 Billion, Dr. Stephen Emmott, who is the head of Computational Research at MicroSoft Research, does not think so.
Emmott summarizes his conclusions on the last two pages of his book. “The biggest and most important experiment on Earth is the one we’re all conducting, right now, on Earth itself. Only an idiot would deny that there is a limit to how many people our Earth can support. The question is, is it seven billion (our current population [which is now 8 billion]) ten billion, or twenty-eight billion? I think we have already gone past it (at 7 billion). Well past it.”
“We could change the situation we are now in. Probably not by technologizing our way out of it, but by radically changing our behavior. But there is no sign that his is happening or about to happen. I think it’s going to be business as usual for us. As a scientist, what to I think about our current situation? Science is essentially organized skepticism. I spend my life trying to prove my work wrong or look for alternative explanations for my results. I hope I’m wrong. But the science points to my not being wrong. “
“As I said at the beginning, we can rightly call the situation we’re in an unprecedented emergency. We urgently need to do — and I mean actually do — something radical to avert a global catastrophe. But I don’t think we will. I think we’re fucked.”
The two most populated countries on Earth are China and India. Chinese population is estimated at a little over 1.4 billion. India’s population is also at a little over 1.4 billion. In comparison, USA population is about 332 million. The continent of Africa population is a little over 1.2 billion and growing. All ten countries with the highest birth rates are African with those in the Middle East being not far behind along with some in South America. And take a look at living conditions in most of those countries. Many at poverty levels.
What happens then? Population number pressure in one area results in pressure to migrate to areas of lower population and higher standards of living. We are seeing this worldwide which is causing major disruptions to countries and cultures. Look at Europe and the USA now. It is happening. The hordes are moving. And unless there is back pressure, it will continue.
Until we face head on the fact that Earth cannot support an ever increasing human population — or even the current population level — the planet is headed for biological collapse. The wisest decision is to find ways to gradually decrease human numbers and consumption levels and natural resource use over time, but no one appears to really take this seriously. Unfortunately, Dr. Stephen Emmott may be right…… “Fucked”.
“Here we are, arguably the most intelligent being that’s ever walked planet Earth, with this extraordinary brain, yet we’re destroying the only home we have” Jane Goodall
The beat goes on. We get caught up in the crisis of the day and lose sight of the big picture. All over the planet we have mass migration of people going on. Why? There was a time when people stayed close to where they were born for generations. The natural resources were there to nurture them. Now we see those resources being used up rather than conserved. What happens then. In the past when there was what was perceived as unlimited resources elsewhere, populations just moved to other more resource rich areas. That is no longer possible. Planet wide natural resources are now limited and being used up at alarming rates. We are seeing exactly what happens when a species overshoots what supports it, but in the case of humankind, it is the entire planet. I believe you can conclude what happens eventually.
The biggest issue now seems to be “climate change”. I prefer to call it what it once was: “global warming”, which is a more accurate description of what is happening. The evidence of warming is overwhelming. The questions arise over whether this is part of a natural Earth cycle or is being caused by human activity; specifically the burning of fossil fuels and the creation and release of chemicals that contribute to the capture of solar energy on the planet. My conclusion is that the argument does not matter. We have passed the point of any effective action. The planet is warming and will continue to warm for an indefinite future. Nothing human beings can do will make any difference at this point and certainly the USA alone cannot do anything effective. The hysterical move to electric vehicles is absurd and counter productive. More waste will be created. And where is the electricity going to come from? I do not see any significant moves to modernize the electric grid in the USA and to increase electric generation by some means to replace generation by coal or natural gas. Certainly, solar panels and windmills cannot possibly do the job and they both have significant downsides including environmental damages. So, we are really stuck with global warming and the continued use of fossil fuels to power modern civilization. Hang on.
