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We hear all the glorious things solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles are going to do for global warming, but what aren't they telling us? Let's take a closer look.
The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that 78 million tons of solar module waste will be generated worldwide by 2050. Solar modules contain lead, cadmium (a category 1 carcinogen) and other toxic chemicals.
The disposal of solar panels took place in regular landfills, but it is “not recommended” because the modules can break and “Toxins” can get into the ground and cause drinking water problems.
Used solar panels really should be classified as hazardous waste. Natural events such as hailstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. can damage the panels. For example, in 2015 a tornado broke 200,000 solar panels in a solar park in California. With 100,000 pounds of cadmium in 1.8 million solar panels calculated for a proposed 6,350 acre solar farm in Virginia, any break is cause for concern. In addition, it was found that even rainwater washes out cadmium in an intact solar panel. Are you worried you should be!
Is wind power really environmentally friendly? The public must also be aware of this tragic reality. Every wind turbine has a generator based on a super magnet made of highly toxic rare earth metals (neodymium).
The mining of neodymium in China has resulted in major deaths and has one “Appalling Environmental Impact” this raises serious questions about the credibility of so-called green technology.
The toxic waste lake created is only 6 miles wide and 100 feet deep, and gets 3 feet deeper every year. We have 60,000 wind turbines today with an average of 180,000 blades 200 feet long that need to be replaced / disposed of every 10 years. The US will have more than 720,000 tons of blade material in the next 20 years. There are currently no plans to dispose of retired blades in an environmentally friendly manner. Decommissioned blades are known to be difficult and expensive to transport. They must be between 100 and 300 feet long “Cut up on site” before they are driven away “On special equipment” on a landfill / field. They are simply stacked and covered in dirt like a huge mass grave and do not biodegrade.
What about the big batteries in electric vehicles? Fewer than 12 facilities around the world today recycle EV batteries. The total recycling capacity worldwide is equivalent to 300,000 EV batteries per year, or about 10% of global annual EV sales today, but 1% of expected annual sales in the early 2030s. The rest just piles up in our landfills.
And they call it the Green New Deal! At what cost in dollars, lives and for our environment?
Arthur Keller
Beavertown
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