“Planet of the Humans” Shows the Dark Underside of Renewable Energy and the Hypocrisy of Some of Its

“Planet of the Humans,” a documentary film released on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22, 2020), looks behind the curtain to reveal the real inconvenient truth behind many forms of renewable energy. Jeff Gibbs wrote and directed the documentary which was produced by the ever-controversial Michael Moore and less-controversial Ozzie Zehner (author of Green Illusions).

I viewed the film on Earth Day and was unimpressed that it only had around 26,000 views on YouTube. However, two weeks later the documentary had over 6.7 million views and was getting the attention of and negative comments from the renewable energy industry.

The documentary paints several renewable energy choices as being no better than fossil fuels. This is particularly true with biofuels. Wind and solar energy do not survive unscathed and neither form of alternative energy comes out looking as green as proponents would have you believe – since producing the solar panels or wind turbines also require vast amounts of fossil fuel and other resources.

Several environmental groups and leading proponents for “beyond coal” renewables come off as blatant hypocrites. Many groups, such as the Sierra Club and Bill McKibbon’s 350.org supported biofuels that produced as much carbon dioxide as fossil fuels. Al Gore’s inconvenient truth was that he supported investing in biofuels before producing “Inconvenient Truth.”

It is too simplistic to think all renewable energy is good and that it has no adverse impact on the environment. Clearing the landscape of forests to use as biofuel or to “plant” solar panels in place of trees is hardly green. There are tradeoffs with all energy choices. It is important that these choices begin with an honest discussion of the tradeoffs. “Planet of the Humans” raises important concerns that need to be part of that discussion.

The movie will be up for a limited time on YouTube (if you want to get an idea of how many people viewed it or to leave comments). You can also access the movie “Planet of the Humans” directly on its own website.

Watch “Planet of the Humans” on YouTube here

The Environmental Disaster of Solar Energy

Written by John Hinderaker, in Energy, Full Article online here, on August 15, 2019

Solar energy is terrible for the environment in a number of ways, including the fact that large land areas must be devoted to it. At Forbes, Michael Shellenberger highlights another problem with solar energy: it produces vast quantities of hazardous waste, which are not being adequately dealt with.

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 completely washed out of the fragments of solar modules over a period of several months, for example by rainwater.”

All of these statements come from solar industry insiders. Cadmium is a particular toxic waste problem:

The fact that cadmium can be washed out of solar modules by rainwater is increasingly a concern for local environmentalists like the Concerned Citizens of Fawn Lake in Virginia, where a 6,350 acre solar farm to partly power Microsoft data centers is being proposed.

“We estimate there are 100,000 pounds of cadmium contained in the 1.8 million panels,” Sean Fogarty of the group told me. “Leaching from broken panels dama

ged during natural events — hail storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. — and at decommissioning is a big concern.”

This is how OSHA describes cadmium:

Cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic and exposure to this metal is known to cause cancer and targets the body’s cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems.

Disposal of decommissioned solar panels in regular landfills is “not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil.” But where do most decommissioned panels go? Landfills. Recycling is often recommended, but is not practical because “recycling costs more than the economic value of the materials recovered, which is why most solar panels end up in landfills.”

Worse, many decommissioned solar panels which were supposed to be properly disposed of are instead labeled “used” and sold to Middle Eastern countries that have no ability to deal with hazardous materials like cadmium.

Some might ask, don’t all sources of energy involve hazardous wastes? Perhaps, but the volume of waste produced by solar panels and wind turbines vastly exceeds that associated with reliable power sources, as this chart shows:

Solar panels rarely produce electricity–never at night, not much when it is cloudy, and in a Northern climate, not when they are covered with snow and ice. In Minnesota, solar panels produce electricity less than 20 percent of the time. The intractable problem of hazardous waste disposal associated with solar panels is one more reason why they are a terrible investment.

John Hinderaker spent 41 years as a litigator with Faegre & Benson and its successor Faegre Baker Daniels, during which time he tried 100 jury cases and appeared in courts in 19 states. Upon his retirement from the legal profession at the end of 2015, he became President of the Center of the American Experiment. John has had a long association with the Center, including co-authoring several papers published by the Center and serving on the organization’s Board of Directors. John was Chairman of the Center’s board in 1998-2000.

In addition to his legal career, John is a long-time commentator and activist. He founded the web site Power Line in 2002 and has been a prominent voice on the internet and elsewhere since that time. He has appeared as a commentator on NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN and CNBC and is a frequent guest and guest host on national radio programs. John has lectured at Dartmouth College, Harvard Law School, Carleton College, St. Olaf College, Macalester College and the University of Minnesota.

Hungry for Change; Solar Panels are not on the Menu

By Herb Eckerlin

United Nation scientists met in Geneva, Switzerland last week to shed new light on the global warming issue. They have concluded that human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the Earth’s land, and the way people are using the land is making global warming worse.

These conditions are creating a vicious cycle that is making food more expensive, scarcer and less nutritious.

The UN scientists believe that humanity must change the way it uses the land to avoid “world hunger.” Given that reality, why are we covering arable farmland to build solar power plants that cover thousands of acres?

In light of the scientists’ conclusions, can you think of anything more irresponsible?

Removing farmland from agricultural production is not a gradual process like the effect of global warming on the land, it is instantaneous.

The UN scientists have sent us a warning. It is: “You had better change your ways before you do any more damage.” As NASA climate scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig has stated, “The cycle is accelerating.”

The threat of climate change and the improper use of agricultural land will affect our future food supply and create, in the scientists’ words, a “Hungry Future.”

We have to find another way to address the Global Warming problem, and preserve our future food supply. Placing solar panels on agricultural land is simply making matters worse …. much worse. Let us heed the warning of these scientists.

To avoid a “Hungry Future,” we had better change our ways and stop taking farmland out of agricultural production.

Dr. Eckerlin has over 60 years’ experience in the energy field, including experience in electric power plant operations (with VEPCO – now Dominion Power), electric utility boiler design, and solar research and design. In 1987, he founded the NC Solar Center to promote solar energy in all its forms across the United States. He is now retired and is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University.

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