{"id":335177,"date":"2024-06-29T16:36:44","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T14:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335177"},"modified":"2024-06-29T16:36:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T14:36:46","slug":"thousands-of-joshua-trees-set-to-fall-victim-to-green-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335177","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Joshua Trees set to fall victim to Green-Energy transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 3,500 majestic Joshua trees in California\u2019s Mojave Desert are being shredded onsite to make way for thousands of solar panels under a plan approved by California and Kern County officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sprawling solar project will produce intermittent energy on 2,300 acres of land near the small towns of Boron and Desert Lake. It is not clear whether any of the electricity produced at the solar site will serve some nearby communities. But the project\u2019s developer, California-based Avantus, says contracts have been signed to deliver some of the power to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Central Coast Community Energy, both are nonprofits that provide green energy to homes in more affluent coastal communities, the Los Angeles Times reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though many of the trees are estimated to be between 100 and 200 years old, government approval of the solar project in 2021 predated a state decision to protect the Joshua tree under the California Endangered Species Act and last year\u2019s enactment by the legislature of the Joshua Tree Conservation Act, which bans unpermitted killing of the trees. As a result, the targeted trees are defenseless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the fate of the Joshua trees has been sealed, the developer is at pains to justify the Aratina Solar Project by citing its role in combatting manmade climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAvantus is working to preserve native Mojave plants like Joshua Trees while also preserving California\u2019s ability to achieve its clean energy goals \u2014 and the economic and climate benefits that come with them,\u201d the company said. \u201cWhile 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company provides no evidence for its claim that Joshua trees \u201care being threatened by climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the loss of the Joshua trees, which share the same habitat as the threatened desert tortoise, residents will have to contend with massive amounts of dust that will be kicked up during the project\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s destroy the environment to save the environment. That seems to be the mentality,\u201d Deric English, a Boron Junior-Senior High School teacher, told the Los Angeles Times. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to comprehend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two recognized subspecies of Joshua trees are native to the Mojave Desert, where they can be found at elevations of 2,000 to 6,000 feet. The trees enjoy varying degrees of protection in the jurisdictions they inhabit, but those protections can be undermined if a favored project, such as a solar plantation, comes along. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar fate could befall the Mojave Desert tortoise. In April, in a 4-0 decision, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to list the Mojave Desert tortoise as endangered under the Golden State\u2019s Endangered Species Act. The creature has been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1990. Even though the tortoise is California\u2019s state reptile, it is being pushed to the brink by various factors, including vehicle strikes, wildfires, raven predation, illegal marijuana growth, and massive solar farm development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While desert tortoises and Joshua trees are at risk from giant solar arrays on the ground, up in the air, taxpayer-subsidized wind turbines pose a real threat to supposedly protected bald and golden eagles. In February, the Interior Department\u2019s Fish and Wildlife Service updated its rule for an \u201cincidental take\u201d under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to continuing to authorize specific permits, we created general permits for certain activities under prescribed conditions, including qualifying wind energy projects, power line infrastructure, activities that may disturb breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take,\u201d the FWS states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act is a nice law, but, under certain conditions, wind power developers can go around it by getting permits for the \u201cincidental,\u201d but entirely predictable, killing of the eagles the law is supposed to protect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To promote renewable energy, FWS officials allow wind turbines to reach hundreds of feet into the air and go up in areas where \u201cprotected\u201d eagles are known to fly. And by issuing permits for the \u201cincidental take\u201d of a bird, they acknowledge that some of the eagles will be slaughtered in the turbines\u2019 spinning rotors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If wind and solar power are making it rough for endangered species on land and in the air, things are no better at sea. On April 14, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an agreement with administration officials to secure more lease areas for offshore wind development in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More offshore wind turbines would further complicate the migratory patterns of the endangered right whale. Female right whales migrate from the Northeastern Coast to waters off the Southeast, where they give birth before returning north with their calves. Their path \u2014 going and coming \u2014 takes them through an area where Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Energy plans to construct 176 turbines as part of its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If neighboring Maryland becomes a player in offshore wind, the migrating whales\u2019 journey will become even more perilous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lured by generous taxpayer subsidies and encouraged by compliant government officials, wind and solar developers have concluded that endangered species pose little threat to their livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at DC Journal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 3,500 majestic Joshua trees in California\u2019s Mojave Desert are being shredded onsite to make way for thousands of solar panels under a plan approved by California and Kern County officials.<\/p>\n

The sprawling solar project will produce intermittent energy on 2,300 acres of land near the small towns of Boron and Desert Lake. It is not clear whether any of the electricity produced at the solar site will serve some nearby communities. But the project\u2019s developer, California-based Avantus, says contracts have been signed to deliver some of the power to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Central Coast Community Energy, both are nonprofits that provide green energy to homes in more affluent coastal communities, the Los Angeles Times reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":335178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691828703,691818068,691818056,691829472,691829473,691818412],"class_list":{"0":"post-335177","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-aratina-solar-project","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-climate-change","11":"tag-joshua-trees","12":"tag-mojave-desert","13":"tag-solar-panels","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00Joshua-trees.png?fit=1765%2C1180&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1pc5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":405325,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405325","url_meta":{"origin":335177,"position":0},"title":"$2.2 billion solar plant in California scheduled to be turned off after years of wasted money","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Seen from the sky, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California\u2019s Mojave Desert resembles a futuristic dream.","rel":"","context":"In \"California\"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQMD-R8kUo_6X9sdcOINhp3G65eKFsnhgG2avYdk5ouvQtSfe2EEcRkw89chLKDlVxsIwjSuKPFw596bCF2YnMIMC40w3BHqqOJBjKjENfJqUFnNAS4mXf2Pal93Iv0-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQMD-R8kUo_6X9sdcOINhp3G65eKFsnhgG2avYdk5ouvQtSfe2EEcRkw89chLKDlVxsIwjSuKPFw596bCF2YnMIMC40w3BHqqOJBjKjENfJqUFnNAS4mXf2Pal93Iv0-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQMD-R8kUo_6X9sdcOINhp3G65eKFsnhgG2avYdk5ouvQtSfe2EEcRkw89chLKDlVxsIwjSuKPFw596bCF2YnMIMC40w3BHqqOJBjKjENfJqUFnNAS4mXf2Pal93Iv0-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQMD-R8kUo_6X9sdcOINhp3G65eKFsnhgG2avYdk5ouvQtSfe2EEcRkw89chLKDlVxsIwjSuKPFw596bCF2YnMIMC40w3BHqqOJBjKjENfJqUFnNAS4mXf2Pal93Iv0-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQMD-R8kUo_6X9sdcOINhp3G65eKFsnhgG2avYdk5ouvQtSfe2EEcRkw89chLKDlVxsIwjSuKPFw596bCF2YnMIMC40w3BHqqOJBjKjENfJqUFnNAS4mXf2Pal93Iv0-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":343439,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=343439","url_meta":{"origin":335177,"position":1},"title":"California Crews Begin Mowing Down Region\u2019s Iconic Joshua Trees for Solar Farm","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/09\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"However, in 2020, Avantus (the developer behind the project) received an exemption from Newsom\u2019s Fish and Game Commission to clear the trees. Arguably, the 2023 measure is a cover for the realities that are now being played out in the state.","rel":"","context":"In \"California\"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0sunset-joshua-tree-national-park-california.jpg?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0sunset-joshua-tree-national-park-california.jpg?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0sunset-joshua-tree-national-park-california.jpg?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0sunset-joshua-tree-national-park-california.jpg?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0sunset-joshua-tree-national-park-california.jpg?fit=1200%2C679&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":407945,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=407945","url_meta":{"origin":335177,"position":2},"title":"Bird-torching Mojave solar facility shutting down","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The sun will soon be setting on the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California\u2019s Mojave Desert. Boosted by $1.6 billion in taxpayer-backed loans in 2011, the gargantuan project was\u00a0hailed\u00a0by President Obama\u2019s first energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, as \u201can example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"Artificial Intelligence (AI)\"","block_context":{"text":"Artificial Intelligence (AI)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=artificial-intelligence-ai"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOroLORR_w7s18_MFSPNojeHxVHnZVupiTZ1mzNj3KofPP1tdY-0YIRtGic09J44GAr25JW4I9H78ZzOQdDTA1nADKLbf_THBF1J-A4coFTUTZ8jOaIXIGtEVKPfkWL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C904&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOroLORR_w7s18_MFSPNojeHxVHnZVupiTZ1mzNj3KofPP1tdY-0YIRtGic09J44GAr25JW4I9H78ZzOQdDTA1nADKLbf_THBF1J-A4coFTUTZ8jOaIXIGtEVKPfkWL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C904&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOroLORR_w7s18_MFSPNojeHxVHnZVupiTZ1mzNj3KofPP1tdY-0YIRtGic09J44GAr25JW4I9H78ZzOQdDTA1nADKLbf_THBF1J-A4coFTUTZ8jOaIXIGtEVKPfkWL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C904&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOroLORR_w7s18_MFSPNojeHxVHnZVupiTZ1mzNj3KofPP1tdY-0YIRtGic09J44GAr25JW4I9H78ZzOQdDTA1nADKLbf_THBF1J-A4coFTUTZ8jOaIXIGtEVKPfkWL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C904&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOroLORR_w7s18_MFSPNojeHxVHnZVupiTZ1mzNj3KofPP1tdY-0YIRtGic09J44GAr25JW4I9H78ZzOQdDTA1nADKLbf_THBF1J-A4coFTUTZ8jOaIXIGtEVKPfkWL-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C904&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":273087,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273087","url_meta":{"origin":335177,"position":3},"title":"America\u2019s Industrial-Scale Solar Onslaught Wrecking Fragile Desert\u00a0Environments","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Spreading like cancer across rural heartlands, industrial-scale solar is leaving a wake of destruction in its path. 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The Biden Administration\u2019s goal of supplying\u00a040% of the nation\u2019s energy from the sun by 2035\u00a0means covering millions of acres of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-132.png?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-132.png?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-132.png?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-132.png?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335181,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335177\/revisions\/335181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}