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Solar panel waste to reach crisis levels in next two to three years, Australian experts warn
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2024
72 points (81.6% liked)
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so a product with decades long lifetime made almost entirely out of easily and commonly recycled parts like aluminum and glass, vs fuels with lifetimes of a few seconds with zero recyclability, all of the waste is immediately mixed into the air. Fuck off fossil fuel pawns.
What's with the hostility? No one is disputing that solar in Australia is obviously a good choice and far better than fossil fuels. But that doesnt mean the (relatively small) downsides shouldn't be discussed.
Your headline sounds like anti-progressive doomerism, that's what. Who cares whether this ton of waste came from solar panels or other appliances? The talking point should be on how solar has much room for improvememt in regard to recyclability, life expectancy, manufacturing waste reduction etc.
I used to work in the sector, and we saw significant reduction in waste over my tenure due to improved practices and engineering innovations.
Calling solar waste a "crisis" when the solar industry has had a net-positive effect on the planet is disingenuous.
"my" title was the title of the newspaper article (by the Guardian who run a climate crisis section) based on a paper from AUSTRALIAN CENTRE for ADVANCED PHOTOVOLTAICS who are a proper research institute working on creating and improve solar power. This isn't people trying to do down solar power it's people who actually work in the field doing serious research. No one benefits from overselling renewables as perfect, all that's going to lead to is a backlash down the line. I had hoped that this community would be more open to discussion and a bit less culty and filled with toxic positivity as the climate subreddits, I'm sad to see it isn't the case.
That's a Straw-Man fallacy. No one's saying it's perfect. It just doesn't matter that it isn't perfect. What matters is that it's one of the few net-positive energy sources in a world full of polluting alternatives. We don't need people pushing the ignorant voters away from renewables- "i HeArD sOlAr MaKeS tOo MuCh TrAsH sO i'M vOtInG rEpUbLiCaN."