Are alternative energy sources more dangerous than oil spills?

Question

How harmful are alternative energy sources, i.e. wind farms killing birds, hydroelectirc power destrying fish and river habitats, and biomass fuel emitting carbon? How is using oil more harmful? Sources are great. Thanks.

Answer 1

i wrote a whole 12 page paper on this...but basically,

wind farms are like nuclear waste - "not in my back yard!" they take up a lot of acreage, and are very noisy. plus, when there is no wind, there is no electricity, which makes wind farms a pet project for somebody with too much money, not for a serious company meaning to make a profit. (unless the government subsidizes it, then the income comes from the subsidy, not from the profit). how many birds do they kill? i haven't seen any data on this.

in terms of fish, well, forget fish migration. can't happen with hydroelectric, so now you have to build an alternate habitat for the fish...

solar panels? when you're done using it, you have this waste blob of panel material that is more harmful to the environment than the electricity you extracted from the sun.

biomass fuel ... arguably, oil and coal ARE biomass fuel, just that they have aged a bit more.

oil is the most efficient, and that is its biggest credit. if you were to run cars on batteries on some sort, remember:
first you lose say 70% of energy burning the coal or gasoline to make it into electricity (due to inefficiency).
of that, you lose 70% more to make it into a battery.
total loss = 91%.(1 - .3*.3)

compare this to going straight from oil to getting the energy for your car (only 70% loss).

there is no evidence that we are causing global warming, versus this being a natural occurrence.

you will also note that of the three major oil manufacturers, the only one claiming we're running out is the one that can't find it. the other two manufacturers don't share this opinion.

if you consider say, nuclear power, you will see that it's very concentrated, which means that you end up getting a lot of energy from a very small mass of fuel, and you end up with less wastes. plus with all the regulatory oversight, it also turns out to be the safest energy source around.

Answer 2

I believe everything needs a balance.

I believe instead of using one energy source spread it out. I also believe birds learn and in time will avoid these areas. some won't, but some times it is those few that serve the many.


Everything has risk. I think solar is a good source of energy, people can have panels on their homes. If you look on goggle you can find allot of info on solar, wind, water power, also check out popular science there are some good articles about alternative energy's, and there pro's and con's

Answer 3

You are right to a certain extent. Man's use of energy -- no matter what its source -- is going to affect the environment.

However, we know two things about the use of fossil fuels.

1. Their use is heating up the planet, and global warming will lead to the death of all life on earth, including birds, fish, and various habitats.

2. There is a limited supply of fossil fuels. When we use those up -- which is estimated to be within the next 20 years or so -- then that is it. There ain't no more.