All the world needs to do is switch completely to renewable energy sources, and the problems of pollution and global warming will be resolved. Right? You would think it’s exactly that easy if you listen only to the enthusiastic public relations efforts behind each type of green technology. Yet as people throw themselves into the use of different green power sources, they need to remember there’s always a cost involved. Whether it’s a cost to the environment and other people’s lives, even green energy doesn’t come out unscathed. And the cost to their pocketbooks is likely to be the first shock.
Some of the green power technologies, even one as well developed as solar panels, either contain toxic materials or can only be manufactured with “dirty” energy. This should make enthusiasts at least take a second look. And more recent technologies being studied, such as the means of harnessing the power of ocean waves, could do damage to an already ailing marine ecology. None of these green energy solutions has a perfect, clean track record.
Questions about materials lead to another disturbing fact connected to the manufacture of green energy technologies. Many of these new tools for generating power, such as solar panels, wind turbines, and powerful, lightweight batteries, depend on rare earth metals for their special properties. And most of these metals, at the moment, are found mainly in China. They are often mined in a destructive way that harms the environment and adversely affects farmers. If the rest of the developed world must depend on these metals to create their renewable energy sources, will they turn a blind eye to the high cost the Chinese people might pay so they can feel virtuous?
It’s simply not possible for human beings, or other living things, for that matter, to live their lives on the earth without having some sort of impact. That applies to green power as much as to anything else. Creating a clean, responsible energy environment may be more difficult than all the PR makes it sound. Yet the human race can’t sit and do nothing either, so it becomes a question of making as much positive change as possible, while still trying to mitigate damaging effects as they arise.
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Tags: energy companies, energy utility, renewable energy sources, renewable power