Credit: Getty Images.

From my home in Athens, I can look across the road where 43 acres are slated to become a solar farm. As someone who studied sustainability, volunteered with Work on Climate, and took courses in circular design, you might assume I would be celebrating. Instead, I feel conflicted.

I believe in solar. I voted for leaders who pushed for New York’s ambitious Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. My 5-year-old starts her mornings chasing butterflies in our yard. Soon she may wake to bulldozers instead of birdsong. My husband and I have spent years renovating our home by hand and becoming part of a close-knit neighborhood, sharing barbecues, coffees and snowplow runs with our neighbors. We chose this place because of the woods, the community and the sense of belonging.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

That’s what makes this project so........

© Times Union