Tom Sloan Cartoon: Solar Panel Roadblocks

Written by Tom Sloan

Installing a photovoltaic solar panel may bring up unexpected problems. Here’s Tom Sloan on why solar panels may not work.

aNewDomain.net — An elderly man had a farm with at least 30 acres. Wanting to do his civic duty, he decided that putting up photovoltaic solar panels would be environmentally friendly. The planned array would have covered about a half an acre. Again, trying to do the right thing, he went to the town council to ask permission for the installation. He stated his intentions to the duly elected representatives. Much to his surprise, it did not go the way he expected. There were two major objections followed by one brilliant suggestion. The first objection was that the photovoltaic panels would be too noisy. The second was they would cause flooding. The man tried to explain that neither problem was a problem.

At that point, one of the councilmen suggested, “Why not bury them underground?”

Amidst a roomful of giggling people and puzzled councilmen, the farmer walked away shaking his head in disgust. He regretted not just putting the photovoltaic panels up on his own, in secret.

Period.  He should never have opened up his big mouth to the authorities.

The worst thing? This is a true story.

cartoons107 underground solar

For aNewDomain.net, I’m Tom Sloan.

Tom Sloan has drawn cartoons and illustrations for numerous publications — including the original BYTE magazine. Not limited to print, Tom’s cartoons and collages are displayed in museums and galleries throughout the United States. He’s also an accomplished animator. He’s created animations for such as clients Sesame Street, HBO, Nickelodeon, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, Burger King and McDonalds.