To the editor:

Let’s be very clear about the “prime farmland” in Grant Township that Save Our Soils Kaw Valley Foundation purports to preserve from a solar installation through a frivolous lawsuit based on meaningless technicalities.

The land in question is currently producing commodity crops for feeding hogs and cattle, not people. Further, because it is being conventionally farmed, the land is likely subjected to regular herbicide and pesticide applications, as well as deep annual tillage, which destroys the structure of the soil and rips up beneficial mycorrhizal fungal chains.

If the solar panels were installed, the land could be sown in native grasses and wildflowers, the optimal utilization for pollinators and the ecosystem. Or, through proven examples of agrivoltaics, the land could produce specialty crops that can be consumed by people.

Change is very difficult for all of us, but “I don’t want to look at it” is not a helpful response to soaring temperatures which are breaking records across the globe.

Nor should we succumb to the conspiracy mindset that the solar operation will lead to a data center. The two are not inextricably linked.

Our community could be a leader in installing large-scale renewable energy which abates global warming and lowers our utility bills.

We all need to face reality and set our sights on the future instead of dwelling in the past. Let’s join together to save not only our soils, but the planet.

Margaret Kramar,

Lecompton