Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Solar and Wind are not renewable

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Pete Vukovich <pvukovic1@yahoo.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Solar and Wind are not renewable
  • Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 15:49:10 -0800 (PST)

Glad to see this brought up this way though, when we adopted coal nobody bothered with a 'cost' analysis regarding how much energy or human health was required to mine, refine, and distribute it, treat its side effects, etc. Same went for petroleum, and same for nuclear. One thing the alternative energy push could use is a thorough analysis (as suggested by wes jackson and others a long time ago) of what it really costs environmentally and in energy to produce, maintain, and distribute these components. 

With that sort of information in hand  people might begin question whether using a compact fluorescent light bulb is really a better move than just turning off the light, whether a prius's batteries are really a step forward,  TV was really worth it (ok the results are in there), and whether owning a book was as good an investment as having a fully stocked community library. As long as people don't invest in time and importance in analysing it independent from its stake holders and detractors , its just another fast food. Sounds good on the commercials, not so good on a grocery list (honey could you pick up 2 lbs of msg, a bottle of corn syrup , bleached wheat and some hormone infused animal fats on your way home - were having burgers again). 

I don't think people will give up what they are trained to believe are advances until they understand what the advances are really costing them, and are able to see post-consumerism as neo-productive. This species likes to think it knows whats good for it, regardless of what 'it' is.



--- On Mon, 2/9/09, Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:
From: Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net>
Subject: [Livingontheland] Solar and Wind are not renewable
To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Monday, February 9, 2009, 2:38 PM

Just one snag: the raw materials for manufacturing PVC, wind etc. are not
renewable. Some components of batteries for example are vulnerable to
scarcity and unaffordable prices. Aluminum uses high energy to process
bauxite. Bottom line: all manufacturing uses fossil fuels to run and to
make the equipment for manufacture. These parts of the process are easy to
overlook. However, there are renewable organic substitutes for fossil fuels
in lubricants, plastics and manufacturing processes. Hemp oil may be in our
future.

I read that the biggest obstacle to alternative energy is the sheer cost of
conversion. Obama wants to double alternative energy but that's not even a
drop in the bucket. We're going to do a lot less manufacturing and a lot
more low tech or appropriate technology. Never mind bankruptcy or loss of
retirement; many will starve. And that's going to force us a lot closer to
the land itself.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page