The Global Fight To Save Farmland From Big Solar

I’ve never met a farmer or rancher I didn’t like. They are the world’s most miserable optimists. This year’s crop may have been bad, but next year — next year — they are sure that commodity prices will be better and their grain silos will be filled to overflowing.

I made this 10-minute documentary, SUNBLOCK, because I love farmers and ranchers and want to tell their stories. This film is available for free here on Substack and YouTube. (Comments here are also open to all subscribers.)

I made this film with my own money on a tiny budget with basic equipment (hand-held DSLRs and a small audio recorder) so I could produce it quickly and shine a spotlight on the global battle to save prime farmland from the encroachment of giant solar projects. Of course, the widespread destruction of farmland doesn’t fit the narrative that’s relentlessly promoted by climate activists, legacy media outlets, and big NGOs like the Sierra Club, NRDC, and Environmental Defense Fund. And of course, the New York Times and NPR are parroting the same pro-solar narrative.

But the facts are clear: solar energy is expanding rapidly; that expansion is gobbling up massive amounts of land; and all over the world, farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners are fighting to protect their property and livelihoods from Big Solar.