Definitely big upsides in terms of water savings and avoiding tearing up pristine land for renewable energy generation. The downsides come in terms of the community's response -- how do farmers and farmworkers feel, and what are the impacts to local tax revenues, jobs, etc.? That's what my whole piece is about -- hope you'll read and let me know what you think! https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-01-17/want-to-solve-climate-change-this-california-farm-kingdom-holds-the-key

Hi Ray! Any advice for adult amateur musicians who might be struggling with feelings of inadequacy or feeling frustrated with lack of progress?

Hi Ray! I’m wondering about how much practice in a day is too much. I’m on my first year of my BM in Viola Performance and my workload has gotten very large to the point where 4 hours isn’t covering everything I’m working on. My professor recommends me to start doing 5-7 hours/day in order to cover everything. I understand quality is greater than quantity but do you think that 5-7 hours/day is too much for someone in my position?

I worked on solar fields.(Farmland, forest, etc.,), Tbh, I really mourned the loss of forest, trees, wildlife that was there. The amount of damage caused by leveling these places cannot be reversed. The rain runoff is not the same,, wildlife has been destroyed or have to move and new problems show up. There has to be another way.

What are you doing to minimize this?

Hey, thanks for the AMA.

What is your opinion on solar pollinator habitats?

I’ve read that they could improve crop yield and quality in surrounding farmlands. Are they a viable project or their impact are not significant enough to pursue them?

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Definitely, there can be economic benefits for family farmers to lease arrangements with wind or solar developers -- I saw that in California's Imperial Valley, and talked to some folks who have done it: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-01-17/want-to-solve-climate-change-this-california-farm-kingdom-holds-the-key.

As for my integrity, I'll leave that for you to judge, based on my reporting. But I would say I've spent an enormous amount of time looking at the potential downsides and pitfalls of renewable energy, and the question of how to avoid climate catastrophe without causing too much other damage along the way. That's the whole thesis of Repowering the West, which I hope you'll check out: https://www.latimes.com/projects/repowering-the-west/.

What type of car did you drive on your road trips? Jumping to conclusions, but what was your experience with long distance travel and having to recharge an EV?

Ooh, also an intriguing query!

Hey there, thank you for the comment! Definitely, there is not a shortage of places to put stuff. What I've been trying to confront in Repowering the West is the reality that almost anywhere you try to put stuff, opposition bubbles up -- for reasons that may seem legitimate or not so much, depending on your point of view. Much of that "empty land," for instance, is crucial habitat for imperiled wildlife.

Would encourage you to follow along with my reporting, and please let me know what you think! https://www.latimes.com/projects/repowering-the-west/

Do you have the integrity to be honest on the environmental impact of so called green energy? The mining of materials, and all the negative social issues. What is done with obsolete and broken equipment?

As far as farmland, I am aware of farmers in my State that lease some land for windmills. The revenue ensures survival of the family farm- something likely overlooked as a positive social benefit

Do you think there are any downsides to converting farmland into solar farms? California is already over extracting it's water resources for agriculture and agriculture has already destroyed large swaths of natural habitat.

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Thank you. It's very new, but here in SF Bay Area it looks like WFH is here to stay.

It's also interesting if WFH reduces the carbon-footprint for companies, and how that plays into their ESG scores, but it look like commuters aren't figuring into the equations.

Yes, I've heard of him -- thank you for asking! I've read a decent amount about agrivoltaics, but haven't done much reporting myself. Eager to learn more.

There’s plenty of room for wind and solar. Have you seen all the empty land in the US? Or the projects where solar panels are installed over aqueducts to prevent evaporation? Or the farms where crops, livestock, and solar panels share space? What about all the roofs on top of homes, office buildings, schools, and shopping centers? Covered parking lots? Etc etc.

And when we run out of land, there’s space in the water off the coasts.

California has actually done this! See L.A. Times coverage from a few years ago: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-panels-20180509-story.html.

I don't know if this has gotten serious consideration in Arizona, but definitely other local governments looking at the concept. Thank you for the good question!

As a Steelers fan in Pittsburgh (hope I don’t get scolded for this), I’m all in on the Eagles! Hope you have a blast watching on Sunday!

As the #1 fan, how many jerseys do you currently own and which do you wear the most? 🙂

Edited for dumb grammar mistake

Yes, definitely -- the Inflation Reduction Act (climate bill signed into law by President Biden last year) includes significant new financial incentives for going solar: https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/alternative-energy/how-the-residential-clean-energy-solar-tax-credit-works-a1771685058/.

That said, individual U.S. states have at times gone in the opposite direction, reducing incentive payments for rooftop solar. That's what happened in California last year, which I wrote about here: https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2022-12-22/how-californias-new-rooftop-solar-rules-will-affect-you-boiling-point.

Hope that's helpful. Thank you for the question!

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Nobody condones lying, but nobody holds them accountable for lying.

In your opinion, in places like Arizona would it help to require new home builds to automatically include solar and home batteries.

It seems like that would have several benefits.

I personally hadn't seen this -- super cool, thank you for sharing!

Hey there, thank you for the comment! Yes, as discussed elsewhere on this thread, huge potential for solar carports -- and the more of that, the less conflict over large-scale renewables. But still, all the research I've seen shows a huge need for big solar and wind farms even in a super optimistic scenario for solar panels within the built environment. See, for instance: https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-01-07/how-rooftop-solar-could-save-americans-473-billion-dollars-boiling-point.

Hope that's helpful!