How ChatGPT makes me sound like less of a knuckle dragging hillbilly then I normally am … 👊🏻

So I was working on my testimony for the public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the solar farm proposed for Curry Road in the Albany Pine Bush. I drafted up some testimony based on my thoughts and then asked ChatGPT to make it sound like professional sounding testimony, no more the 3 minutes long. It really cleaned up my work.

Public Comment on Proposed Solar Project – Albany Pine Bush
Andy Arthur – 15A Elm Avenue, Delmar, NY

Good evening. My name is Andy Arthur, and I live in Delmar at 15A Elm Avenue. I’ve recreated in the Albany Pine Bush for many years and have been a volunteer with Save the Pine Bush for over two decades — leading hikes, assisting with events, and providing GIS and data support.

I want to express my strong opposition to the proposed solar project within the Albany Pine Bush. While I fully recognize the urgent threat of climate change and support renewable energy, this particular project is not the right solution — nor the right location.

The proposed site would remove over 75 acres of land identified in the 2017 Albany Pine Bush Management Plan as essential for restoration and full protection. These lands are critical to building a viable preserve and support habitat for rare species, including the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly.

Solar facilities like this one can be sited in many other locations — on brownfields, rooftops, or marginal lands — without threatening globally rare inland pine barrens. We should not sacrifice high-value ecological land when cleaner energy options are already being added to our grid and existing plants continue to improve.

Building an industrial solar farm here would not only cause permanent ecological loss, but also hinder fire management and future preserve expansion.

If the project does move forward, I ask that two conditions be included:

1. That the solar site be dedicated to the Preserve once the facility reaches the end of its useful life; and
2. That 2772 Curry Road, which is not being developed, be added to the Preserve immediately.

Thank you for considering my comments, and for your stewardship of this unique and irreplaceable landscape.