Quote:
Originally Posted by Smarti5051
As I type this, I am already regretting it, because I realize there is never a rational discussion of anything that has been politicized. But, on a micro level, I can tell you that when I bought my house 12 years ago, I had a high energy bill. So, I paid to have solar panels installed on my house. They are still pumping out about 900 KwH of energy each month and to my knowledge do not put any added stress on the environment. We also bought two Teslas, not for energy reasons - just because they are fun to drive and the X was a business tax write-off, and have not had to rely on gas for the past four years and that should continue for several years. So, again, on a micro level, I like to think that we have decreased the world's reliance on energy sources that could be harmful long term to the planet - maybe I am wrong. I also like to speculate that if everybody in a sunny climate did the same thing, it would have a more meaningful effect.
I believe there are plenty of profiteers and and a multitude of politicians that have used the environment solely for personal gain (on both sides of the aisle). But, on a basic academic consideration of the topic, it seems hard to argue that renewable energy sources do exist and could help decrease the reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
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This sounds great. Turning sunlight into electricity is a great concept, especially when you can also use that electricity as a substitute for gasoline. If I lived in a sunny state and had the dough, I'd love to do what you're doing.
The problems, as I see it, lie in the politicalization of it. First, the lies (like, CO2, which comprises less than 1/2 of 1/10th of one percent of the atmosphere is "too much.") and second, the hypocrisy. The batteries in your Teslas require lithium, nickel, and copper among other elements. These need to be mined. Here in Minnesota, Twin Metals has been trying for more than a decade to open a mine to extract proven reserves of nickel and copper. Like the Keystone pipeline project, when conservatives are in power the process moves forward. When liberals gain power, they shut it down.
And that's the hypocrisy. The people who proclaim and mandate a nationwide transition to electric vehicles too often shut down efforts to obtain the necessary raw materials. Meanwhile, there are environmental concerns about discarding used solar panels and batteries.
On the micro level, solar looks like "clean" energy. On the macro level, not so much. Concerns about mining, disposing of waste, ramping up power plants to handle more EV demand, etc. reveal the whole "clean energy" movement to be, well, not so clean after all.