The Real Cost of “Green” Energy
Are we on the Right Path with the Green New Deal? No.
Modern civilization has been characterized by improving nutrition and health, better living conditions, educational opportunities, upward mobility, and equal access for marginalized, poor, and indigenous populations. Yet, the Green New Deal is proving to have a regressive effect.
Despite 30 years of operation supported by trillions of dollars in subsidies; wind, solar, and battery technologies will never be reliable, efficient, or capable of providing enough energy to power an affordable, safe, healthy, and secure modern civilization. The movement from fossil fuels, as a primary source of energy, is crippling the world's energy infrastructure. No environmental conservation program will improve the outlook for a better future for mankind unless it can sustain and grow modern civilization.
Manufacturing critical components for “Renewable” or “Green” energy technologies requires petrochemicals which depends on a continued reliable supply of fossil fuels. Doubling down on the Green New Deal only makes matters worse for the environment. Procurement of manufacturing materials requires 2-20 times the current mining activities. This requires enormous amounts of fossil fuels, imposes widespread deforestation, and deposits deadly contaminants into the air and water; disproportionately impacting the poor, indigenous, and people of color.
Along with having a substantial carbon footprint, these new technologies have a short lifespan (20 years) requiring they be replaced periodically. Most of their highly toxic components are not recyclable: ending up in landfills and polluting the ground, air, and water.
It is projected that by 2050 the volume of worn-out solar panels will equal all of today’s global plastic waste and this does not include batteries, windmill blades, and other non-recyclable components.
Adding a new extraction-based industry to support a technology that cannot exist without fossil fuels will produce damage to our environment potentially worse than we currently face.
Each half ton EV Battery requires mining, moving, and processing 250 tons of earth. This takes the world’s largest battery factory (Tesla, Nevada) 500 years to make enough for one day of US energy needs.
The Dark Side of “Renewable” Energy.
The latest renewable energy technology is antagonistic to nature, destroying habitats, farmlands, killing oceanic wildlife and more.
The Green Plan Calls for Solutions that Harmonize with Nature.
Top conservation groups like Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society and more are calling for conservation and restoration to prevent loss of habitat and to treat the pollution and contamination caused by human activities around the world. They have recently raised the alarm that neglecting natural environmental solutions, in a rush to new technologies, will not restore the health of our planet.
Natural environmental solutions repair and restore human caused environmental damage and promote preservation of our remaining pristine natural areas using a toolkit of proven conservation measures, many of which are centuries-old and can be rapidly scaled. They’ve made tremendous progress in enhancing biodiversity and improving the resiliency of areas degraded by human activity and mismanagement while supporting the poor and indigenous populations directly impacted.
Scaling up some of the most effective natural climate solutions will slow down the rise of pollutants and give us more time before impending Climate impacts can occur. As a direct consequence of Natural Climate Solutions, we can:
Reduce human & industrial pollution
Cool the planet
Stabilize soils
Reduce erosion
Restore and prevent loss of habitat
Preserve well-functioning and cost-effective energy infrastructure