Capital Press Reading Activity

Another in the series of Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom non-fiction text examples to be used in your classroom. These will be available every Friday morning at 7 a.m. during the school year.

These questions are designed to use in conjunction with a selected article from the Capital Press. To obtain access to an e-edition of Capital Press FREE to educators and students visit http://capitalpress.or.newsmemory.com/nie.php/ For more information about this program and ways to use it in your classroom visit the program webpage. 

Article: Temporary rules restrict Oregon solar development (Page 1)
Download PDF of Article 

Questions:

1. What are the temporary restrictions on solar arrays? 
2. Why is this a complicated issue? What are the varying opinions presented in the article?
3. What is one exception allowed under the revised rules?
4. What other information or data would be helpful to form regulation?  
5. What do you think? Should solar panels be allowed on farmland, why or why not? 

Answers: 

1. The temporary rule is that solar projects cannot use, occupy or cover more than 12 acres on high-value farmland. 
2. This is a complicated issue because it restricts the development of clean energy, but takes top-quality farmland out of agricultural production. The article presents viewpoints in favor of the restriction because of the protection that it provides to this farmland and also opposition because of the restrictions that it places on solar development. 
3. The revised rules allow solar facilities of up to 20 acres on this high value farmland if the project includes a "farm use element". 
4. Answers will vary. More data about the proposed projects and the impact on the farmland would be helpful. Mary Anne Cooper from the Oregon Farm Bureau also stated that it would be good to look at other factors of agricultural productively in addition to the soil quality. 
5. Answers will vary. 

Archives of past editions are available here. 

We welcome feedback or ideas to make this program as effective as possible! Please direct your questions or suggestions about this program to Jessica Jansen, Executive Director Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom  jessica.jansen@oregonstate.edu.