In all seriousness, the mining of rare earth elements needed for solar panels

Mar 29, 2017
8:19:33pm

BigEasyCougar Contributor

is not exactly environmentally friendly. But using solar helps people feel better about themselves which probably the point.

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BigEasyCougar

Bio page: BigEasyCougar
Joined: Apr 4, 2011
Last login: May 2, 2024
Total posts: 2,131 (2 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Does anyone else worry about the unintended consequences of alternative energy?

Thunder Buddy I beat up Derik Stevenson

3/29/17 8:28am

Good call. TNT had just added a new group to his hate list

TNT

3/29/17 8:29am

<< Deleted >>

JimmyZ

3/29/17 8:30am

Hate is a very powerful word and, in most instances, it applies to the situation.

foofcoug

3/29/17 8:31am

Yep. JimmyZ has been added to the ignore list. TNT "hates" him

TNT

3/29/17 8:31am

<< Deleted >>

JimmyZ

3/29/17 8:34am

RE: Yep. JimmyZ has been added to the ignore list. TNT "hates" him

monkeycowboy

3/29/17 8:49am

Meh. The Jedi were freaking clueless

TNT

3/29/17 8:51am

RE: Meh. The Jedi were freaking clueless

monkeycowboy

3/29/17 8:58am

Plus, if we use up all the solar energy,

El Careeb

3/29/17 8:33am

Unless you've been growing plants on your roof, the energy is wasted anyway.

Archaeovagrant

3/29/17 8:34am

What about unintentionally?

TNT

3/29/17 8:36am

Not true. See my post below.

OldCosmo

3/29/17 8:41am

Yup. We're basically turning Earth into Starkiller Base.

jbcoug

3/29/17 8:36am

Oh cool. TNT never thought of it that way.

TNT

3/29/17 8:36am

If you're lucky, Daisy Ridley will come to the rescue any second now

jbcoug

3/29/17 8:40am

Like that satellite weapon in Bond's "Die Another Day". Or the Death Star. This

unctoothman

3/29/17 8:59am

Also, what happens once humans consume all the water on Earth? Anybody ever

Left Shark Coug

3/29/17 8:37am

Wow. TNT had not considered that. Isn't that why folks are warming the earth

TNT

3/29/17 8:38am

This is why I only drink 100% recycled water

Northwest Cougar

3/29/17 10:12am

I agree. Here in NV we have so many solar power plants that the poor Desert

OldCosmo

3/29/17 8:40am

Hey TNT has the same issue as the tortoises!

TNT

3/29/17 8:42am

You aren't as frisky once you have to get out of your chair? It's a real thing.

Breaded Hamster

3/29/17 2:05pm

Why did they build the male and female tortoise dorms so far apart?

Northwest Cougar

3/29/17 8:54am

They "heard" by sex. The dominant males attempt the journey to breed at the

OldCosmo

3/29/17 8:59am

Not gonna lie. That was actually mildly interesting to learn.

Northwest Cougar

3/30/17 11:29am

I didn't want to mention the plight of the dessert tortoise (which is an illegal pet in UT, btw) but that's just another

Thunder Buddy

3/29/17 9:53am

RE: I didn't want to mention the plight of the dessert tortoise (which is an

Northwest Cougar

3/29/17 10:09am

When there are huge farms that cover huge amounts of land I have thought about that actually.

yaxcoug

3/29/17 8:42am

Call me old fashioned

Solomon Levi

3/29/17 8:44am

In the specific instance of putting them on homes, it would actually be helpful to trap the energy and convert it to a

theOnceler

3/29/17 8:52am

What about the problem of solar panels making the earth more reflective and

Caboom

3/29/17 8:52am

That's scary

TNT

3/29/17 8:53am

Holy moley. Unsubscribe.

crazY

3/29/17 9:33am

The problem of wind power (what the libs don't want you to know)

spinner

3/29/17 9:08am

Holy moley. Subscribe

TNT

3/29/17 9:12am

Mind. Blown. wait...

Solomon Levi

3/29/17 9:13am

Pretty funny, but honestly

Chambana Coug

3/29/17 10:37am

its an investment in infrastructure, ROI isn't the most important part

Dissenter

3/29/17 12:29pm

That makes no sense. If it's worth more, then it would be worth more in dollar terms.

Chambana Coug

3/29/17 6:44pm

whats the value of a road? They have 'negative ROI', but are valuable

Dissenter

3/30/17 8:03am

Absolutely, and you can quantify that value. They are not negative NPV.

Chambana Coug

3/30/17 9:40am

And I believe that coal has negative value, regardless of energy output.

Dissenter

3/30/17 10:20am

I'd love for you to expound on that.

Chambana Coug

3/30/17 10:23am

You literally have no idea what you are talking about

Solomon Levi

3/29/17 1:40pm

"Stop listening to conservative talk radio" -- True life advice right there

Dissenter

3/29/17 6:29pm

I have a family member that was a project manager for a large installment of windmills. He's an expert in the industry.

Chambana Coug

3/29/17 6:42pm

So, you literally have some idea of what you're talking about.

Breaded Hamster

3/30/17 12:38am

I would be curious to know more about your family member

Solomon Levi

3/30/17 2:22pm

You didn't even talk about the bigger problem.

Almaden Cougar

3/30/17 12:49am

You should write fro the Onion

mudpupper

3/29/17 9:27am

Can't tell if serious . . . .

CosmoK

3/29/17 9:47am

It would only take a tiny bit of worthless desert land in CA, AZ and NM to power

Windward_Coug

3/29/17 10:31am

Nope, the big solar array they built in California, 45 miles from Vegas, is only

TheDeek

3/29/17 11:17am

yeah but it gives us something to look at while on I 15 and on that stretch of

monkeycowboy

3/29/17 11:22am

Ivanpah has been pretty bad. But there are better examples.

CosmoK

3/29/17 11:30am

Railway power storage for the win baaaby!

OldCosmo

3/29/17 11:59pm

People are often surprised that storing energy is difficult.

CosmoK

3/30/17 9:30am

You sir are correct. But this project will die because of the Desert Tortoise.

OldCosmo

3/30/17 9:51am

At least we have an answer to this important question

Northwest Cougar

3/30/17 11:34am

My problem is that they are ugly.

Mr Blue

3/29/17 10:49am

Mr. Musk may have something to say about that.

Blue Golfer

3/29/17 4:52pm

The only thing you need to worry about...

canofpicante

3/29/17 11:15am

Look what it's doing to our water supply:

Shabwak

3/29/17 11:26am

They must be putting things in our oxygen supply!

phageman

3/29/17 5:44pm

In all seriousness, the mining of rare earth elements needed for solar panels

BigEasyCougar

3/29/17 8:19pm

What's worse, rare earth mining or nuclear waste?

kapcreations

3/29/17 9:18pm

Mining. Just my opinion.

Caboom

3/29/17 9:42pm

Good question. I don't know. Every single energy source has

BigEasyCougar

3/30/17 5:32am

I also have a similar concern about water. If we drink water, the porpoises

NotOfYourFaithBYUFAN

3/30/17 3:24am

Yes! These are black holes of sunlight. If we don't act now, who knows how bad

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