Free Republic

British researchers say the world’s production of solar panels is being fueled by forced labor from Uyghur Muslims in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. An investigation by Sheffield Hallam University says some 45 percent of the world’s supply of a key component in the panels—polysilicon—comes from Xinjiang and is obtained through a vast system of coercion involving the Uyghur ethnic minority. In Broad Daylight, the report from the university’s Helena Kennedy Center for International Justice, says the world’s four biggest panel manufacturers use polysilicon tainted by forced labor, and urges producers to source the substance from elsewhere. It cited an...

Today, a seven foot-tall ignoramus stuffed his mouth full of greasy hamburger and french fries and began a comedic monologue while shooting saliva-soaked food shrapnel around the room. Even the sign language guy looked disgusted. “Just think of this when you think of vaccination,” Mayor de Blasio gasped, fighting to breathe as his entire skull was now occupied by food. We felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly anti vaxxers. Keep this moron away from important stuff, please. And then there is John Kerry. Kerry is not...

Fearing that incessant warnings about manmade climate cataclysms would not be enough to end U.S. fossil fuel use, the Obama-Biden administration instructed a special Interagency Working Group to concoct a “social cost of carbon” concept. The SCC would “scientifically” calibrate the dollar value of damages that a ton of carbon dioxide emitted today in America would inflict on the USA and world in the future.The price tag was set at $22/ton in 2010, raised to $36/ton in 2013, and just as arbitrarily increased to $40, before finishing the Obama era at $51/ton. President Trump disbanded the IWG and had the...

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas emphasized the need for people to reduce energy use... As temperatures dropped to near-record lows Sunday, electricity operators warned that demand could overwhelm the state’s power grid and force rotating power outages. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, emphasized the need for Texans to reduce energy consumption. “We are experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped Texas ... At the same time, we are dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines ... If power reserves fell too much, an...

President Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) admitted during his confirmation hearing that the United States is at a distinct disadvantage in the clean energy market because most of the parts necessary for solar energy and green vehicles are made in China.During his confirmation hearing last Wednesday, Michael Regan, Mr. Biden’s nominee to head the EPA, was questioned by Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), about China’s complete disregard for the goals of green activists on the issue of climate change.Regan referred to his time at the head of the State of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, admitting...

Most people seem to believe that wind and solar panels produce no waste and have no negative environmental impacts. Unfortunately, these people are wrong. In reality, everything that humans do has an environmental impact, whether it be mining, using a coal-fired power plant, or even tourism. When it comes to energy and environmental policy, the real question to ask is not “will there be an impact?” but rather, “can the impacts be minimized?” ... Because everything has an effect on the environment, it is important that everyone understands the impacts of all energy sources so we can make the best...

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidosborne1_techthatmatters-drinkingwater-offgrid-activity-6693117178482319360-r1jm [video link]. This is a game changer in the worldwide fight against disease. The lack of clean drinking water in impoverished areas of the globe contributed more to disease and mortality than COVID19 has or will ever have.

Incentive programs for electric cars and solar panels mostly benefit those who can afford those things, while regulations that drive up the cost of energy hurt those who can't afford much to begin with. ... a growing rift on in the environmental world between those who favor the state's far-reaching "green" policies—and those who want to hector us to use less energy. "Wealth is a prominent driver of demand for residential energy, ... a constant theme from the environmental community when it comes to every resource-related policy debate, from electricity production to fossil fuels to water availability. Activists talk about...

Californians who screech about climate change were furious after discovering that the expensive solar panels they installed on their rooftops don’t work during a blackout unless they buy an equally expensive battery system. This week, a mass power outage occurred when utility company PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric Co.) shut down the electric grid in Northern California to prevent wildfires, which have been ravaging the state. The grid shutdown in 34 counties caused more than 738,000 area customers to lose power, KCRA reported. The irony is that California’s insistence on solar panel installation has not helped at all during the...

The last few years have seen growing concern over what happens to solar panels at the end of their life. Consider the following statements: The problem of solar panel disposal “will explode with full force in two or three decades and wreck the environment” because it “is a huge amount of waste and they are not easy to recycle.” “The reality is that there is a problem now, and it’s only going to get larger, expanding as rapidly as the PV industry expanded 10 years ago.” “Contrary to previous assumptions, pollutants such as lead or carcinogenic cadmium can be almost...

wind turbines only last for twenty years, and after that time the turbines must be torn down .. wind turbine blades cannot be recycled ... more than 100 wind turbine blades measuring 120 ft long have been dumped in a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, landfill, but there’s a problem: the massive blades are taking up too much room ... A wind farm near Albert Lea, Minn., brought dozens of their old turbine blades to the Sioux Falls dump this summer. But City Hall says it won’t take anymore unless owners take more steps to make the massive fiberglass pieces less...

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc sued Tesla Inc , saying solar panels supplied by the electric car maker were responsible for fires at about seven of its stores, according to a lawsuit filed in a New York court on Tuesday. The fires destroyed significant amounts of store merchandise and required substantial repairs, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket losses, Walmart said in the lawsuit.

Walmart on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the company's solar-energy subsidiary of gross negligence after multiple stores experienced fires they say stemmed from solar panels on their roofs.

A transition to renewable energy sources is a likely scenario if the anti-fossil establishment manages to persuade lawmakers to implement their green energy policies.Given the high probability, and the transitions already happening in some countries, it is high-time for us to inspect the functional and operational efficiency of renewable sources, especially the highly acclaimed solar installations.The Renewable CrazeThe so called “craze” about renewable energy is a myth. The top users of fossil fuels are still actively generating power from fossil fuel and are also helping other countries to develop fossil fuel technology.The major reasons for this are the high cost...

“What should the U.S. do about The Wall?” is a question that’s destined to divide many Americans. But there’s one proposal for the U.S.-Mexico border that, at least in theory, seems agreeable to everyone. A consortium of 28 engineers and scientists has proposed that — instead of building a simple barrier along the approximately 2,000-mile border — the U.S. and Mexico could work together to build an industrial park along the divide that would include desalination facilities, solar energy panels, wind turbines and natural gas pipelines. The plan would not only provide the region with border security — considering it’d...

While visiting the Rehoboth area of Massachusetts I noticed a lot of home with Solar Panels. I find it difficult to believe that the payback would be worth it in an area that seems to be clouded over alot. Anybody out there that has some inside knowledge of the Solar market? Good tax benefits????

The people who are best described as members of a renewable energy cult are lately promoting the idea that we should run the country on 100% renewable energy, whatever that is. I say "whatever that is" because different branches of the cult have different definitions of renewable energy. It seems to be a matter of fashion and prejudice. One definition of renewable energy is that it is naturally replenished on a human timescale. Solar energy and wind energy fit in nicely with that definition. Most fans of renewable energy explicitly reject renewable hydroelectricity if it involves damming a river. Most...

President Trump wants Chinese solar panels firms to make more of their products in the U.S. -- and they appear to be getting the message. A week after the Trump administration unveiled tariffs of up to 30% on imports of solar panels, one of China's biggest manufacturers announced that it plans to open a new plant in the U.S. JinkoSolar said in a statement Monday that its board of directors had given the go-ahead to "finalize planning for the construction of an advanced solar manufacturing facility in the U.S." The statement suggested Jinko's decision was tied to the new tariffs,...

Solar panel units for the roofs of Norwegian homes are to be sold in-store for the first time by electronics retailer Elkjøp. The electronics chain has noticed a strong growth in demand for the solar units in its online stores, reports Dagens Næringsliv. Now the technology will be available in physical shops for the first time. Solar panel power in Norwegian homes has tripled in the last year in terms of overall effectivity, according to the report. […] The technology developer said that he wanted to take solar power from the “niche market to the mass market”. …

Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of electricity generated than nuclear power plants, according to a Thursday report from the pro-nuclear group Environmental Progress (EP). The report found that solar panels use heavy metals, including lead, chromium and cadmium, which can harm the environment. The hazards of nuclear waste are well known and can be planned for, but very little has been done to mitigate solar waste issues.