Hydro is playing a major role in wild salmon runs dwindling to the point of Esa listing
Wind farms kill millions of endangered birds every year
Solar farms drastically change the surrounding environment with elevated temperatures
That's not even getting into the carbon footprint to dispose of decommissioned windmills or solar panels...
That's not even getting into the environmental damage cause to mine the rare earth minerals to produce solar panels. Or the creation of the various products in a windmill (aluminum, copper, etc)
Mining the minerals need for concrete isn't good for the environment for dam construction. Neither all the mining and refinement needed to produce materials to built the turbines.
And none of covers the carbon footprint for needed repairs, maintenance, and decommissioning processes.
None of that is good for the enviroment...so please tell me a renewable that doesn't harm the environment...
Hmmm, we have a major source of hydro in my region that affects no salmon whatsoever. Water-based energy doesn’t cause salmon issues, it’s the implementation that does.
Wind farms kill an estimated one million birds a year. Window strikes? One BILLION. Cats? Up to FOUR billion. Eliminate windows and cats if birds are your concern.
Solar FARMS. Put panels on every rooftop and skyscraper and tell me how it causes elevated temps versus the existing asphalt. Better yet, use mirrors that focus sun on a boiler in the desert. Panels are not zero-footprint, but they are significantly less footprint than fossil fuels AND are recyclable.
Dams are not zero footprint, but they are far less footprint than never-ending coal mining and oil extraction.
I could build a heater that doesn’t impact the environment negatively, but a true zero footprint source of energy on a large scale is not practical. Does that mean we should continue to make as big a footprint as possible?
Gas was over four real dollars per gallon in 1918. It was cheaper until recently. A model T then got 15mpg and produced 22HP. A Camry gets 35MPG and produces 268HP with a smaller carbon footprint . Should we not have made more efficient, less polluting vehicles since gas got cheaper over time?
Should we avoid new energy sources that have a smaller footprint but are not a ZERO footprint?