Enviro-ironies at blacklistednews.com

As I write, it so happens that the top story at that extremely jam-packed site is

Deutsche Bank Offices Raided in Carbon Tax Fraud
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20695042

........and the rest of the page -- the week's stories -- are about the wonders of renewable energy. Mostly. Such as:

Canwea president says prospect for wind energy in Canada are excellent

Rise in renewable energy will require more use of fossil fuels

Energy groups to Obama: Change in wind credit would boost investment

New York State Windpower: Enough Business/Government Cronyism

Rise in renewable energy will require more use of "fossil" fuels 

Oh, what to think? I urgently wish to place some hope in passive energy gathering. I'm not an environmentalist wacko but am bitterly concerned about what the laughably-misnamed fossil fuels, nuclear etc. are doing to us and the entire natural realm. But one hears numerous black marks against the  renewables: they're way too dependent on fickle weather conditions, they're not cost-effective, their power output is pitiful. Wind towers are extremely expensive and shocking owl-killers. I thought the idea was to save the environment?

The cost factor is where the stuff appears to me to fall to pieces once and for all. Solar cells reputedly need replacing every decade or two, maybe less. Making them (and disposing of them?) isn't exactly a green process -- in the age of Clinton I saw a column giving full particulars of the raw materials and smelly processes that went into their labor-intensive production at that time, etc.

How about those wind turbines -- how much do they cost? How much is their upkeep? How many people die erecting, maintaining or removing/replacing them? Will somebody please make a documentary on how they're made, from the mining or formulating of needed raw materials to the full production process to their transportation to the site, et al -- with a carbon footprint analysis for the whole scenario? How long is each supposed to last in our throwaway society? Eventually everything wears out and becomes junk.

These will be a gigantic form of litter: "The blades are usually colored white for daytime visibility by aircraft and range in length from 20 to 40 metres (66 to 130 ft) or more. The tubular steel towers range from 60 to 90 metres (200 to 300 ft) tall" (Wikipedia).

Energy production is a serious problem for humanity, and all other species of life are potential or actual "collateral damage". Surely the real solution is not more of the problem, but less consumption overall.  I'm trying to do my part -- only ran the heat about 30 days last winter, and have just turned it on for the first time since summer this week. Call me a slob if you like, but I find that a great deal of the cleaning that goes on in most households isn't strictly necessary. I never water the lawn -- it looks less classy than my neighbors who do, but I hope they don't find their town suddenly runs out of drinking water one fine day. We've spent at least a decade in a state of drought and haven't had a heavy, lengthy rain in a long, LONG time.

One thing for absolute certain is that politicians don't give a hoot about climate change, real or imagined. And their utopian "carbon credit" schemes (or similar) are nothing but further attempts at hoodooing us into handing more of our money, rights and well-being over to these shysters.

/\/.\/\/.   torpenhow@charter.net