Re: solar power - "to phase-out fossil fuels and nuclear power"

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@aecl.ca>]

> William Prestwich[SMTP:prestwic@mcmail.cis.McMaster.CA] wrote on Wednesday
> May 03, 2000 9:16 AM
> 
> My two bits. Imagine the law suits when a neighbour plants a nice big
> shade tree. Of course trees could be banned from cities. What price
> insanity?
<><><><><><><><><><><><>

You may be interested to know that with "funding... provided by the Toronto
Atmospheric Fund," Greenpeace is now engaged in a door-to-door publicity
blitz on the "Solar Revolution."

> My dad had a visit from two Greenpeace representatives at my parents' home
> in Montreal last week. They left behind a four-page 8½ x 11 color
> pamphlet, with headings like "GO SOLAR," "SOLAR CITY," "SOLAR PIONEER" and
> "Join the Solar Revolution."
> 
> It also says that,
> 
> *	"Solar energy is available now to phase-out fossil fuels and nuclear
> power."
> *	"Solar power is the cleanest energy source available." [[ even
> though it admits that "photovoltaic panels... (are) made from silicon, the
> same substance used to manufacture computer chips" - they don't mention
> the arsenic & cadmium additives.. or the toxic mess that the industry has
> spawned in California's Silicon Valley ]] 
> *	"A typical small solar rooftop system would prevent.. the creation
> of almost 100 kilograms of radioactive waste"
> *	".....photovoltaic panels.... last many decades" [[if you leave your
> bicycle or car outdoors, in Canada, will it "last for many decades" ???
> ...the ones I've seen were totally rusted after just a couple of winters
> out on a balcony of an apartment building ]]
> *	"Nuclear power generates deadly radioactive waste and the risk of
> catastrophic accidents."
> *	"Hydroelectric megaprojects destroy vast areas of wilderness." [[
> debatable -- in many cases there is little difference between a hydro
> reservoir and a natural lake or land-slide impoundment....]]
> *	"New buildings can be constructed with solar roof tiles and solar
> electric windows so that they can generate all the energy they need
> directly from the sun." [[ I get it -- block off your windows with tiles,
> just so you can light your room with a solar-powered light bulb -
> brilliant !   ....the pamphlet has an illustration showing downtown
> highrises with little PV panels on top -- supposedly providing "all the
> energy they need directly from the sun." - yeah, right - wonder when the
> public will get fed up with being taken for a bunch of idiots..]]
> 
> They were however, clever enough NOT to have done this campaign in January
> or February.
> One of the photos shows a guy on a roof pulling up a PV solar collector.
> Greenpeace doesn't provide injury/death statistics for roofers, nor do
> they mention the impact on the cost of repairing leaky roofs covered with
> collectors (and their re-installation afterwards), or corrosion effects of
> winter road salt lofted into the air by automobile traffic ( PV panels
> have very short lives in coastal areas due to salty air ). There was
> certainly no mention of possible health risk due to arsenic releales from
> lighning strikes on PV panels, nor about HAZMAT disposal following
> decommissioning (I suspect they would propose recycling -- only because
> its not used nuclear fuel...).
> 
The Greenpeace scenario of everyone installing rooftop PV solar panels on
their houses made me think of that classic Chevy Chase comedy skit about the
Griswalds' Christmas light installation -- maybe the next movie in the
series could have them do the solar panel installation version of it.

Jaro
frantaj@aecl.ca

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