POLITICO confirms: public pushback and social media outrage are impacting solar and wind companies

A feature POLITICO piece on my activism in the New York solar space and the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) aired this week. It confirms social media outrage is changing everything.

I braced myself last weekend for what I believed would be a total hit piece on me, my life, my past, and my activism in the irresponsible solar and wind sprawl space across Upstate New York. From the conversations I had with the POLITICO reporter, I knew the article was trending in a not-so-favorable direction.

To my surprise, the POLITICO article not only admitted that I have become an “unlikely power player” in the world of renewable energy siting, but also that my social media, activism, and relentless posting have changed the electorate across the state. I, too, was surprised by the admission.

The article emphasizes, and questions, the reach that my social media channels have secured in the last year. I am not above being criticized - that’s a fair accusation to explore. But as the article detailed the communities that have congregated under my pages, POLITICO made (perhaps on purpose) one thing powerfully clear: public pushback has terrified the bureaucrats at ORES while seeping into the governor’s race.

Here’s why that admission is a game-changer for those of us who want to take back our home rule.

Pulling back the curtain

New York State continues to rest on a defense that my social media channels have endangered the bureaucrats who sit at ORES, with their names, information, and titles wiped from the internet. In a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request I submitted with my attorney earlier this year that requested credit card statements for those working at ORES, one document showed the department was paying for software to wipe their internet presence.

These people do not want to be known or named. I find that to be wildly unfair, considering they dox me and my work to the journalists they send after my nonprofit. In fact, one pro-solar lobbying group hosted a webinar last week specifically on me and spent over an hour delving into my social media and what I post.

I also find it unfair that elected officials have to weather constant public scrutiny, but the bureaucrats at these state agencies who make decisions that impact our homes, land, and water sources get to remain in the shadows.

I identified this early on in the ORES battle. From my days studying political philosophy, I knew the people who were on the scene here with ORES years before me were playing by the rules of an old game. Their opponent, ORES, had changed the rulebook entirely. The game cannot be won unless you access the same rulebook as your opponent.

It was time to even the playing field. That meant shining a light on what happens inside these ORES dockets and covering the individuals, law firms, engineering firms, and foreign corporations that are behind each ORES permit.

All of this is public knowledge. I link to the dockets, downloads, and files every single time I cover a change inside the ORES dashboard. Since this is a matter of public interest that is impacting tens of thousands of New Yorkers, as well as tens of thousands of acres, this is protected by free speech.

As was uncovered in the POLITICO article, ORES does not like free speech or my right to use it. Typically, when someone has a problem with free speech or their work being covered online, it means they are committing fraud, going against the constitution of our state, or agreeing to back-door deals with foreign governments and corporations.

It’s been confirmed that one stubborn and relentless person, posting about ORES every single day for one year, has terrified the office… and is starting to scare off corporations that were ready to cash in on their green energy subsidies and credits.

And that, my friends, is a win in and of itself. The confirmation of that is enough to light my fire for another year. It’s proof that connecting, congregating online, taking photos and videos, and posting about what’s happening in your town can, essentially, change everything.

Copy and paste this approach

If your community is staring down one of these monstrosities that you don’t want to host, do not discount the power of doing exactly what I am doing on here every day. The everyday rural American has been treated terribly for far too long by the powers that be, sitting in capitals far away from where our food is grown. They want you to think you are powerless. And in some ways, they do a good job of hoodwinking you into believing that.

But this week is proof that if rural Americans awaken and gather, that camaraderie is enough to scare hidden bureaucrats into wondering if conspiring against the United States of America is worth the extra money.

There is a lot to come here in New York State over the next five weeks. Things are going to get interesting. Stick around.

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