California clean energy project threatens thousands of protected Joshua trees: reports

I love watching anti-science Progressives fight among themselves.  But, in the end, regardless of which side wins,  we the people LOSE.

“Last year in June 2023, the Globe reported:

UC Berkeley/LA Times Poll Claims “Californians Fear Worsening Weather Swings Due to Climate Change.” In fact, the Los Angeles Times claims “Nearly 70% of registered voters say they expect that volatile fluctuations between severe drought and periods of heavy rain and snow — what some call weather whiplash — will become more common in the future due to climate change, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.”

It was BS in June 2023, and it is BS in June 2024.

Extreme Weather Watch reports Sacramento June Weather Records for 1877–2024 starting with the hottest Sacramento June day in recorded history was 115 degrees in 1961:

• Highest temperature 115 °F June 15, 1961
• Lowest temperature 41 °F June 1, 1990
• Highest daily low 78 °F June 23, 1909
• Lowest daily high 57 °F June 6, 1914
• Hottest average high temperature 95.1 °F 1961
• Coldest average high temperature 76.3 °F 1884
• Most daily precipitation1.1 inches June 4, 1993
• Most monthly precipitation 1.5 inches 2011

Tress, turtles, solar panels killing birds—all of this based on a scam, non-science, ideology and emotion, not facts or science.  We are spending billions and lying to young people, scaring them to suicide, because a few scam artists wasn’t power and money.

California clean energy project threatens thousands of protected Joshua trees: reports

The Aratina Solar Project will be installed on 2,300 acres of land in the Mojave Desert, and involve the destruction of over 3,500 Joshua Trees

 By Greg Wehner Fox News, 6/2/24   https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-clean-energy-project-threatens-thousands-protected-joshua-trees-reports

A California-based renewable energy company plans to clear thousands of protected Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert to make way for a solar project that will generate electricity for nearly 180,000 homes in coastal neighborhoods instead of the impacted communities, according to reports.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the company, Avantus, is planning to build the Aratina Solar Project on 2,300 acres near Boron and Desert Lake, California, two towns in Kern County.

Residents of the poverty-stricken towns are angered by the project, not just because of the construction dust, but also because the land where the solar facility will be located is home to endangered desert tortoises.

The residents’ concerns reportedly were ignored by county officials, who unanimously approved the project.

It’s destroy the environment to save the environment. That seems to be the mentality,” Deric English, a teacher at Boron Junior-Senior High School told the LA Times. “It’s hard to comprehend.”

California’s efforts to establish and generate clean energy are surrounded by controversy, as is the case with the Aratina project, which highlights the trade-offs state and local officials are willing to make in their quest.

In order to develop solar and wind fields that will be used to cut back on greenhouse gases and slow down climate change, projects like Aratina involve the destruction of undeveloped land and harming wildlife and endangered plants.

The projects also affect nearby small communities, which lack the political power to stop such projects.

The Times spoke to a person briefed on the project, who reportedly declined to be named because they were not at liberty to discuss the Aratina project.

The person told the publication that crews are scheduled to begin clearing the Aratina Project site, which includes Joshua trees, on Monday.

In order to reduce the visibility of tree clearing, crews will have machinery on location to shred the trees instead of putting them in piles or loading them onto trucks and driving them out.

Fox News Digital reached out to Kern County for comment on the project and did not immediately hear back.

Still, the company addresses how the project will impact Joshua trees in the area, on its website.

“Avantus is working to preserve native Mojave plants like Joshua Trees while also preserving California’s ability to achieve its clean energy goals – and the economic and climate benefits that come with them,” the company said. “While trees will be impacted during project construction, vastly more Joshua Trees are being threatened by climate change caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, which the Aratina solar project directly addresses.”

Avantus told Fox News Digital the Aratina Solar Center will generate clean, reliable electricity to help California meet its clean energy goals and also fight rising temperatures threatening species and ecosystems across the state.

The company said the solar center has been under development in Kern County for several years, and the plans were adjusted based on community feedback in an effort to be good neighbors and good stewards.

In May, Avantus and local contractors started to prepare the site, and the company says they will soon begin “selectively clearing the area of vegetation and other large natural obstacles,” which have been approved for removal by county officials and the state department of fish and wildlife.

“Avantus takes care on all projects to minimize any unnecessary impacts such as noise, dust, or traffic throughout all phases of the project, including site preparation and construction,” the company said. “Avantus is committed to being a good neighbor by partnering with local organizations to provide direct community benefits and create good-paying jobs.”

In the environmental impact statement for the project, which is posted on the Kern County website, Avantus said about 4,700 Joshua trees were located on the site, with over 500 of the trees standing 16 feet tall.

A person familiar with the project told the LA Times the company plans to destroy 3,500 Joshua trees.

The company also addresses how Aratina will impact local wildlife, saying it has a “positive track record” with wildlife agencies and environmental organizations, and past projects were able to garner support from the Sierra Club, Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“We design each project to avoid or minimize potential impacts to threatened or endangered species and ensure proper mitigation measures are provided as appropriate,” the company said.

As to concerns about dust, the company claims it will use dust suppression to control and minimize potential impacts on construction workers and surrounding communities.

The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the Aratina project in October 2021, and according to Alexander Sundquist, who to county officials before the decision was made, the project comes with $3 million in sales taxes and $73 million in property taxes.

County officials, the publication reported, claim Avantus put $1.4 million aside to protect Joshua trees in other areas across the state. It also reportedly purchased grazing rights on 215,000 acres of federal land in the county, including 80,000 acres of Western Joshua tree habitat, and plans to work with officials to preserve the land.

As to where the electricity will be sent, the company has remained mum. But the Times said the company has signed contracts for some of the electricity to go to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Central Coast Community Energy, both of which are nonprofits that provide green energy to homes.

California lawmakers, in 2023, approved the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, banning the killing of trees without a permit. The Aratina project, though, was approved by state officials before the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act was approved, as well as before the state made the Joshua tree a candidate for protection under the state’s endangered species act.