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A bad solar site in Milford

By Paul Cunningham, Ph.D. - Milford | Jan 13, 2019

If someone asks me “Do I believe in global warming?” I say, “It’s not a matter of belief, it’s a matter of evidence, so yes, I do.” Solar farms are a good solution to our current ecological crisis. But there are good sites and bad sites for solar farms.

The 120-acre deforestation plan across a wetland-complex inhabited by state-endangered wildlife proposed by Milford’s Selectmen and Town Manager is wrong on so many levels. They are dangling $3.5 million before your eyes hoping to bedazzle you so that you won’t notice that this really translates into only $125,000 per year over the course of 28 years. They don’t want you to take into account the very real social and environmental costs that go along with the bargain.

If the proposed warrant article is passed, the real costs to Milford residents would be (1) loss of recreational opportunities like biking and hiking because trails would be become inaccessible; (2) loss of educational opportunities for children and teachers to learn about the ways of the natural world because the forest would be logged; (3) loss of clean air because living trees give oxygen; dead trees release carbon; (4) loss of clean water because without the forest to protect them from the sun, wetlands and vernal pools that help filter rain and storm water would dry up faster; and (5) loss of local rare, threatened, & endangered species and other wildlife cherished by many Milford residents that require forested habitat to survive and flourish.

The money, we think, will bring the fulfillment of all our desires, but the results will not be what you hope for. The money is a dream – a fantasy as alluring as the Pied Piper. Economics is not and should not be the sole determinant of land use. True prosperity and wealth is more than money and comes in forms that we don’t recognize as wealth.

Brox is a place of great abundance, both in material and spiritual wealth, and we citizens of Milford are blessed to possess it. Look at this gift in a larger and longer-term perspective and as a responsibility to future generations to save this “ecological gem” of Milford. Though it inevitably seems as if we can’t afford it, it is also inevitable that we can’t afford not to.

Go to Heron Pond at Brox. Look very closely and feel the spiritual force in wild nature. Our spirits are enriched and constantly recharged by our connections to the natural world. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor. Building the 120-acre solar farm will have an effect, but will it be the effect and at a cost that is truly best for you and your children and other people of Milford? Solar is a great idea, but this is the wrong site for it. I’ll be voting “No.”

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