ENVIRONMENT
Here’s Why Renewable Energy Can’t Save the Planet
Renewable energy sources cause more problems for the environment than they solve
We have been led to believe that renewable energy is better for the environment. So, if we care about the planet, we should use more renewable energy sources, right?
Well, not according to Michael Shellenberger. He says renewable energy production causes more harm than good. Here are the reasons why.
Wind turbines are dangerous
They kill thousands of endangered birds every year such as eagles, kites, and owls. They are one of the biggest threats to those species, and also kill at least a million bats every year.
And sometimes, these wind turbines catch fire. There was a case in 2013 in the Netherlands where two engineers were on top of a turbine when this happened. One of them fell to his death to avoid the flames, while the other one was burned to death.
Solar farms need a lot of land
Solar energy is a dilute source of power. So, generating enough electricity requires large solar farms.
To build a big solar farm, the area needs to be cleared of all the wildlife. The animals usually get taken away to captivity, where many of them die.
And solar farms are dangerous to birds, too. About six thousand birds every year catch on fire above solar farms and then fall to their deaths.
Hydroelectric power is difficult
It’s not easy to turn hydroelectric dams into batteries. There can be a geographical problem because it needs a particular formation for it to work. It’s also quite expensive to convert a dam into a battery.
And in some places, such as California, water is in short supply.
Nuclear energy is safer and more reliable
Nuclear power is reliable. It doesn’t fluctuate as renewable energy does.
It’s also far safer. The World Health Organisation says 7 million people die annually from air pollution. Nuclear plants don’t emit that pollution. Climate scientist James Hanson said nuclear power has saved 1.8 million lives to date. Simply because it has reduced the amount of fossil fuels we’ve had to burn.
Uranium fuel is extremely energy-dense, too. A piece of uranium the size of a Rubik’s Cube can generate all the electricity a person needs for their whole life. So, not much land is required to generate plenty of nuclear power.
It takes 450 times more land to generate the same amount of electricity from solar power. And it would still be less reliable.
Nuclear is the only form of power where the waste gets contained and internalised. All other forms emit into the natural environment as pollution or material waste.
Renewable energy is unreliable and thus ends up being worse for the environment
Solar and wind only generate electricity about 10–30% of the time during most of the year. So then you need to fill in those gaps by burning fossil fuels. This is because nuclear power plants cannot be ramped up and down quickly.
So, the more renewables a country uses, the more pollution they generate from fossil fuels too. Whereas if they relied more on nuclear power, they wouldn’t need to burn so much fossil fuel. This is because nuclear power is more of a steady, reliable source of electricity.
Solar panels need 17 times more materials than nuclear power plants do. That even includes nuclear fuel.
And solar panels don’t last forever. When they reach the end of their life, that material needs to be dealt with. It usually gets shipped to Africa or Asia, where it exposes people to high levels of toxic elements. For example, lead, cadmium and chromium, which permanently remain toxic.
This article was based on the following video:
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