environmental problem with solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and biomass?

Answer 1

If this is a question, the answer is YES. All have significant limitations in terms of the total amount of energy we can get from them. But, the complexity of our very serious energy & environmental problems will require that we use all sources of energy, not just a few.

Answer 2

Aside from the obvious possible contributions mentioned so far I think we should consider the less obvious.
1 Solar energy provides heat and UV radiation to the surface of the earth. What will happen when we remove this. Us solar facilities in the mojave desert see vegitation growing in the shade beneeth the panels at solar farms where none grew before.
2 Wind along the coasts carries warm moist air off of the oceans to supply storms and weather fronts further inland. As we remove energy from these systems we slow them down and allow the rain to be deposited sooner than it otherwise would have been. At current levels this is not even a factor but if enough wind farms a re installed then it could be.
3 Geothermal is great so long as we collect the passively released energy but humans will need predictability. Allowing geothermal vents to rise and fall and shift location as they do will be way to costly. We will invevitably try to contron vent size and location as well as opening vents where none existed before. How can we screw up the earths heat venting mechanisms by messing with that. And please don't anyone say that the earth is too big for us to have any effect. I've put up with enough global warming chanter to accept we can affet it.
4 Biomass seems nice untill you start planting a single crop type over vast miles of the earth. You only think deforrestation is a big deal now. Wait till the earths fuel source is sugar cane grown in south America. The rainforrests are cut at amazing rates now to grow food crops. Biodiesel will be far more profitable in the future and the rain forrest clearing will go into overdrive as the poorest people in the world attempt to cash in.

Just a few things to consider.

Answer 3

Although all of these energy sources are much better than fossil fuel and nuclear power, none are perfect.

The manufacture of solar power cells generates some toxic waste.

Windmills kill some birds, generate noise, and are considered visually unattractive by many people (although they are probably no uglier than smokestacks and smoke).

Geothermal energy can cause the release of small amounts of toxic materials if the water that's in the rocks or the water that is pumped down into the rocks picks up poisons (such as arsenic) and the water is later released.

Burning biomass can cause air pollution. Also, it would take a huge amount of land to grow enough biomass to satisfy the demand for energy in the developed countries. Using that much land would drive up the price of food and reduce the diversity of species.

In addition, the construction of any power plant (including windmills, geothermal plants, etc.) uses up non-renewable resources and typically involves release of some toxic materials.

Nonetheless, all of these are probably far better than what we are doing now.

Answer 4

Very little environmental problems with any of those alternative energy sources.

If i had to choose the worse one, I would say biomass, because we are still burning oil. Although it is recycled oil and it burns cleaner, its still being burned and it still produces some pollution.

Geothermal and solar energy are fantastic and I really do not see any environmental problems associated with them.

Wind power is also great, but they are responsible for a few bird deaths, but as the designs change those numbers are quickly becoming insignificant.

Answer 5

There are many problems with all types of energy.
Solar takes energy to make the cell but will usually return that amount of energy in a couple of years. It also produces some byproducts but with proper care they can be used for other products.
Wind has a faster return when it comes to the energy it takes to make compaired to what is generated and may take as little time as a day. It can kill birds and have viewshed problems. But smoke stacks kill your view rain down pollution many miles away and yes I have seen dead birds around them too.
Biomass same as above but it is more environmentally friendly than caol.
Biogas is great burn methan produced in landfills. Does release greenhouse gas though.
Geothermal can be a a good source but it can also release some substances we may not want. But again with proper design these substances may be able to be used in other items.
But let remember this for all the downfalls of renewables our current systems are much worse. A coal fired power plant can use upto 36,000 tons of caol a day or 72,000,000 pounds of coal a day. This coal is mined by various means such as basting the top off of mountains filling in the vallies with the waste rock, moving the coal from the mines to the plant hundreds of miles away with polluting trucks at first, put it on trains which caries it to the river put it on a river bardge, take it out of the bardge palverize it so it will burn. Burn the caol smoke goes out the stack and halfway around the world making desease rates go up and then we have the ash left over at the plant to. This we dig large lakes some of them several hundred to a thousand acres fill these lakes with ashes like fly, bottom, light and sofourth all of which contain toxics like arsinic, lead, mercury, selenium, and many other items.
Take your choice renewables can cause some pollution but in general one large coal power plant will cause more devistaion and pollution than all the windmills in the United States.

Answer 6

no. all of them are environmentally friendly