Letter to the EDITOR

ladwp

LADWP headquarters, Los Angeles

Today the Inyo faces difficult decisions regarding proposed solar arrays. We have the ability to make our mark anywhere on the planet, yet lack the restraint to deny our own comforts in favor of preserving nature. As humans, our very fabric and spirit belongs to the land. Our evolution occurred on undeveloped earth, this is why we seek our re-creation through outdoor activities in the wilderness. Undeveloped earth is our heritage; it is our home and protector, our flesh comes from it. As a people we have sacrificed our ability to be good stewards of the earth in favor of convenience. Now that we have scarred nearly every mile of Western California we traverse the once impenetrable Sierra to replace nature with our creation.

A solar panel cannot recharge my spirit; it cannot give me a genuine feeling from life experience in the wilderness. The cultural, historic, biological, spiritual and aesthetic costs of having large solar arrays in the Inyo are too high in relation to any benefit. The panels will be visible for hundreds of miles in the Sierra and Inyo mountain ranges. What is the fate of people who cannot put labor out of their sight, even for a moment? It is slavery. Our utility is dictating how and why we live under the guise of service. This is another tipping point in which the cost of our luxury becomes higher than the benefit we receive from it.

In a few years these panels will be completely obsolete, the landscape permanently scarred, and our rich native and biological heritage destroyed. The Inyo lays bleeding without the ability to protect itself. The rape of our land continues while the real treasures of the earth are scraped away and replaced with industry. The placement of panels in the Inyo by DWP will negate any incidental benefit nature has received as a result of their water actions. The project does not need to be in Inyo, Inyo is probably just the easiest and cheapest solution for the utility. One day water and power technology will obliterate demand and render DWP obsolete. The land will be scarred and the structures abandoned. On that day, it will be too late to turn back the clock and revive our legacy. On that day we will realize the error of our ways. We cannot afford to destroy our limited resource, Inyo the beautiful, with our unlimited penchant for expansion.

Thanks, Mongo Ignacio, Los Angeles

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