Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
Renewable energy have no fuel and so they do not have air or water or radiation pollution.
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No fuel? You are picking some very specific forms of "renewable" in that case. Because there are also renewable
fuels (part of renewable
energy) that do contribute to air and/or water pollution.
And all of your "fuel-less" energy generation and (most especially!!) storage does have down-sides. Do you want a 200-foot tower in your back yard? One with 6000 tons of water in it? What happens in an earthquake? And what about your neighbors? And all of their neighbors?
If you pump air under the ground so that it is under pressure, the pressure can escape in ways you do not anticipate. If the pressure builds high enough and suddenly releases, you have the equivalent of a bomb going off. Not something I would like under my living room.
The Arizona deserts may have some important function to the environment (temperature regulation? wind production? other?) that would be disrupted by covering 3/4 of it with solar panels.
And so on.
There are always good and bad aspects to all forms of endeavor.
-soD