Chicken farmers’ “Green” smells a little brown to me

Darky sent word of a pilot program in Delaware in which chicken growers will be installing solar panels in an attempt to recoup some of the money that’s required to power the ventilation systems needed when you’ve got tens of thousands of birds crammed into a single building. The government will be chipping in around $250,000 towards the pilot project, and growers who adopt the system might even be able to earn “green credits” for their good work for the environment. Yep, chicken farmers will be seen as an environmental force for good, at least to the people who don’t live downwind of their farms. Those people will continue to stay indoors on warm days. As for the plan, I see a few problems. First of all, if they’re putting the panels on the roof, the heat absorbed by the dark panels might reduce the power savings, since more power will be used for cooling. Secondly, this plan is being proposed to growers who are contracted by the poultry companies to raise the birds, but I’m guessing the savings, if any, will be quickly absorbed through reduced margins on the chickens, since the poultry company (who’s actively participating in the pilot) will know exactly how much more can be squeezed – United Food and Commercial Workers say that the current system already has 71% of growers earning below poverty-level wages. Finally, come, on! If a large scale poultry operation can release ammonia and arsenic through vast amounts of manure and qualify for green credits by slapping on a few solar panels with the intent to enable production of even more toxic gasses, there are more than a few things wrong with the US environmental program. Link.