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Unfounded concerns about photovoltaic module toxicity and waste are slowing decarbonization

Heather Mirletz, Henry Hieslmair, Silvana Ovaitt, Taylor L. Curtis, Teresa M. Barnes

2023 · Nature Physics

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Chilko
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> if there is no accounting to prove it's green? It's almost as if this movement is a scam. No CO2 equivalent publications on solar, or on recycling You state this as if that's a fact - just because you haven't looked for them doesn't mean they don't exist. Here's two examples showing that wind [1] and solar [2] have good environmental payback times in my home country due to avoided emissions, a country which already has an ~80% renewable grid. Additionally, [3] is a good resource that puts the potential waste from solar farms into context with other sources (such as coal ash) and shows this is an unfounded fear. Do some research and challenge your biases before you…
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spread misinformation. [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2024.2... [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X2... [3] https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02230-0 [3 - sharing link] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02230-0.epdf?shar...
sunshinesnacks
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> seem to be intentionally ignoring my point. I assumed your main point was something along the lines of any claims that solar is clean are lies, > Best to keep quiet and pretend solar, batteries, and other "clean" sources of energy are actually clean We could probably go back and forth citing articles and search results, but I’ll say that I agree with this recent ~peer reviewed article~ [comment] in a decent journal and leave it there: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02230-0 As to your last 3 questions, they seem hyperbolic and/or inflammatory. I don’t think solar is the best solution everywhere. I don’t think we should clear huge portions of the rainforest for solar. And I never said or implied those things. Edit: looks like the article I linked maybe was not peer reviewed. Still a good article, though.

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