You may think that renewable energy is a huge step towards a 'cleaner' future, but is it doing more harm than good? Here's why renewable energy isn't all it's cracked up to be...
SOLAR
Solar farms are an inefficient use of space. They use large fields which would be better put to use for farming or re-wilding. What's more, they use concrete to install the panels - and concrete accounts for something like 9% of all carbon emissions. After 15 years the panels will no longer work, creating a vast waste issue of both the panels and the land. Not to mention that solar panels are made with lithium - a finite resource just like oil. I have also read that solar panels contain many toxic chemicals.
WIND
Wind turbines can't be recycled at the end of their lifetime, so they have to be buried in a large hole, creating a possible pollution issue; and eventually, we will probably run out of materials to make them with. Digging also releases carbon that has been stored in the soil - rather silly if they are being made to reduce carbon emissions! It is also worth mentioning that birds often get killed flying into wind turbines.
Wind turbines would be okay if they were made from reclaimed materials, (say, a bicycle wheel) and designed so that birds can't crash into them, but this is not common practice.
ELECTRIC CARS
Some electric cars actually have a higher environmental impact than petrol out diesel cars due to the way they are manufactured. They also require lithium. And when they are recharged, the energy could be non-renewable; or renewable, which, as written above, isn't that great. In a switch to electric cars, loads of people would also lose their jobs - in vain to the environment too!
SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
I am calling on everyone to reconsider what kinds of energy are 'sustainable'. Don't get me wrong, I am very much against fossil fuels. But, as explained in this article, I feel as if the current renewable energy scheme is a step in the wrong direction. We need to find better ways to source our energy, and reduce our demand wherever possible. And for that, I suggest we all get thinking...
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