Why do we burn coal and trees to make solar panels? Because that's how they're made.

Workman shovels coal and ore into a silicon smelter in China

Solar panels are made from coal, tar sands coke, burnt rainforest trees, and a lot of non-renewable energy from other fossil fuels and uranium. So why are they called a "clean, carbon free" energy source? Why is the solar industry receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to produce a worthless technology that only increases non-renewable resource consumption and pollution?

In marketing terms, it's called "greenwashing."
In legal terms, it's called "fraudulent misrepresentation" or "deceptive advertising."
In plain English it's called "lying, for huge profits."

Read how solar panels are actually made from the ground (literally) up:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335083312_Why_do_we_burn_coal_and_trees_to_make_solar_panels

See the Four-Headed Monster! and understand what it really means.

Ok, here it is:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pdf/sec1_3.pdf

What it means is very simple, and yet profound:

➤ This diagram shows us that for every unit of energy used by us in the enjoyment of our homes, appliances, entertainment, etc., about three units of "embodied energy" are needed to make and distribute those items, before we even get a chance to enjoy them.

➤ It is not possible for us to even have "energy saving" appliances, "smart" homes and "eco"vehicles without the prior existence of all those energy-hungry, pollution-emitting factories, power plants, and mines (all run by greedy capitalists, of course)
We must stop thinking in terms of personal energy use or carbon footprint, and start thinking in terms of our total energy responsibility.

➤ Our total energy responsibility is several times greater than we have been led to believe, so using a "carbon footprint" calculator to figure our "environmental impact" is like trying to estimate the mass of an elephant by weighing the tip of its tail. If we dare include the embodied energy of imported goods, our global energy responsibility is even higher.

➤ Even if our car seems to be large part of our "carbon footprint" it is really just a small slice of the transportation energy "head" of the monster.

➤ If every single household in America pulled their electric meter, shut off the gas, parked their car, and sat quietly in the dark...our total energy use would only drop about 25 percent.

So why are those greedy capitalists so intent on destroying the environment? Why doesn't SOMEBODY STOP THEM? Who's keeping those greedy capitalists in business anyway? Is it Big Oil? Big Coal? The Republicans? Sadly, No.

WE ARE, every time we purchase one of those new "energy efficient" products. Without our perpetual consumption of consumer goods, those energy-hungry, pollution-spewing, greedy-capitalist factories would cease to exist.

"We have met the enemy, and he is us"

- Pogo the Possum (As told to us by Walt Kelly)

We're going back to the Stone Age! Um... no, not quite.

In a recent conversation with a friend of mine (who sells PV systems for a living), he uttered this statement:

"When the oil runs out, were all going to be living like Cavemen!"

My first thought was that all of the great thinkers, philosophers, scientists, artists and just about everyone who ever lived before the early 1900s (except for actual cavemen) would, and should be offended by this. The vast majority of the great art, literature and thoughts that have led up to our current intellectual richness were conceived during the daytime, or by candlelight.

I don't think Leonardo DaVinci ever thought of himself as a caveman.

At the risk of repeating myself, I mention that many modern "necessities" such as television, radio, text messaging, e-mail, online gaming, blogging, etc. consume a vast amount of time and resources, and supply none of our basic human needs. I submit that in the Big Scheme of Things, these things may turn out to be as much of a burden as an asset.

Hopefully with a little planning, even after coal and oil run out, truly sustainable polyculture/permaculture based villages will be able to support a small human population in the style of the neolithic period. That is if all the remaining farmland and forest hasn't already been plastered over with non-recyclable toxic waste panels, and the busted remains of wind generators abandoned after the misguided pursuit of "renewable energy" in the early 21st century.

What do Jesus and Sir Isaac Newton have in common?

And also:
The Wright Brothers, Galileo Galilei, Leonardo DaVinci, Abraham Lincoln, Michelangelo, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Rene Descartes, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Pythagorus, Archimedes, Socrates, Aristotle... (and of course any women, or anybody else born before about 1850)...  all have something in common:

None of them ever had "electricity", or drove a car, ate a frozen TV dinner, or even had a TV... (or a freezer, for that matter), or sent an e-mail. No A/C, phones, or microwaves. Same goes for running water, etc., etc. etc.

Yet somehow, inexplicably, they managed to make something meaningful of their lives, and in fact seem to have done rather well by their existence... in my humble opinion.

Perhaps if we weren't working 40-60 hours per week just to make the compound interest payments on the car and house, pay the power bill, hire a nanny, etc. we would actually have time to write a symphony, discover a new planet or two, or even start a constructive new form of government. (it could happen?)

Ok, Washington and Jefferson were both pretty rich, and may have had servants or slaves (or both) to handle some of the chores, but that is totally not my point. 
Drop it.

My point is that about 99/100 of the conveniences(?) of "modern life" seem to be self-serving, (or dedicated to debt maintenance) and rather circular in nature. The necessity of having a car so that you can get to work, so that you can earn enough money to afford a car, so that you can get to work, being just one small example.

It seems to me that most of "modern life" has little to do with meeting our basic human needs, or fulfilling a rich and creative existence. Except maybe for farmers, just about everybody else seems to be going in circles to nowhere, like the gears in a large machine...

Ponder this.

Major Point #1, start here.

If you take away nothing else form this blog, take this:

Every single aspect of our modern industrial society is connected with, and wholly dependent upon every other part of the "system," which only exists because of fossil fuels. 

Let's let this sink in a second. 

In order to have manufactured "things" it is necessary to have factories. In order for factories to produce anything they must have machinery, raw materials,"electricity", fuel, etc.

To provide that machinery, we need more factories. For the raw materials, we need mines. To work the mines we need more machinery, railways, roads, and vehicles. In order to power all the factories, we need power plants, a power distribution system, railways, ships and trucks powered by oil, and so on.

None of these things can come into being at all, without the roughly three million pounds of non-renewable minerals we dig from the ground for every American born. mineral-baby

"Earth First, we'll mine the other planets later" is not a joke. Continuous mining is the very foundation of every part of a technological society. Even so-called "renewables" like solar panels and wind generators are made directly from coal and oil, just like everything else.  There's no such thing as "clean, carbon-free" technology. In order to have any technology, we must first have industry, along with the pollution and resource depletion it causes. 

All the world's factories, mines, mills, gas and oil wells, refineries and power plants are all dependent on each other's products to keep working. They are all connected together by a network of power lines, pipelines, ships, trains, trucks, railways, and highways - forming a gigantic, global "super-factory." The interdependence of all technologies and infrastructures means that every single "thing" we don't make ourselves with our own hands is in fact the end-product of all the industries in the entire world, combined.

Let this sink in:

Every single "thing" we don't make ourselves with our own hands is in fact the end-product of all of the industries in the entire world combined.

Up 'til recently, everything was OK

For the vast majority of human history our species did all right with a localized way of life based on sunlight, grass, animals and wood, which was "powered" by animal and human effort. 

The basic human needs of Air, Shelter, Water, and Food were met through direct action by the participants, or through interaction with the village blacksmith, cobbler, potter, tailor, other local farmers, and so on. There were rarely more than one or two degrees of separation between the raw materials and end user.

In a temperate climate, everything necessary for a healthy life could probably be obtained from within a 150 mile radius, usually much less. With the exception of salt and perhaps some spices, all imported items were considered luxuries and handled accordingly. Many indigenous societies made do with what they could find or grow within a day's ride by horseback. In Asia, hundreds of millions of people still farm with oxen and weave their own clothes from locally available fibers. These societies will hardly be affected by the end of the age of coal and oil.

Our current technological global society is a result of the Industrial Revolution, wherein the "stored sunlight" energy of coal, oil, and other mineral fuels is being exploited at an incomprehensible rate, mostly for the purpose of greatly accelerating the exploitation of all other resources. The main purpose of this exploitation appears to be the accumulation of "wealth" and power for the few who maintain control of the land and its resources.

Fair enough, I suppose. Go for it. But, there are a few wee little nagging issues that we need to discuss:

Very rough estimates indicate that we are currently going through all this accumulated solar energy (AKA: Fossil Fuels) about 1,000,000 times faster than Mother Earth could accumulate it...  and she got out of the coal making business a few hundred million years ago. 

Now, after only 300 years, the "Age of Coal" is already in decline, and the great experiment cannot be repeated. Again, rough figures indicate that we have already burned about halfway through with the entire stash, coal wise. 

Also, during the development of this vast, mechanized "system" it has transpired that after a few generations "off the farm" the vast majority of ordinary citizens have no direct connection whatsoever to the actions required for meeting their own basic needs.

Therefore, they have not the slightest idea of how much effort, energy and resources have been expended on their behalf. None. Nada. Zip. 

Power lines, power plants, highways, are "background noise" that has always been there.

Most children born into this "machine" think that food comes from a "grocery store". Most adults do not have much idea where anything comes from.

I find this disturbing.

Let's Save the World! Um, where do we start?

If you are concerned with solving "the energy crisis", "global warming", "the destruction of the environment", "overpopulation", etc., etc., etc. this is the right place to start.

In order to solve any problem, it is first necessary to correctly define the nature of the problem.

So, therefore... If you really want to do something useful to help the current situation it is first necessary for you to actually understand what the problems really are, and this is my best attempt to help you.

You don't have to buy a single thing to save the planet. In fact, that's the biggest problem of all. If someone tells you you need to replace your current stuff with a new "energy efficient" car, refrigerator, (whatever) they are just making things worse.

Why? Embodied Energy. Concrete, steel, glass, plastic, or other highly-engineered materials -  are all very energy and pollution-intensive to manufacture. Here in the over-developed world of the U.S., engineered materials are so inexpensive and easy to obtain that it is easy for most folks to be completely unaware about embodied energy - the invisible debt of pollution, energy use, and mineral consumption inherent in the creation of such things. I'll give you a clue: 

The materials in a single tennis ball have travelled 50,000 miles in oil-powered ships and trucks before making a single bounce: 

https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/the-50-000-mile-journey-of-wimbledon-s-tennis-balls/

If such a humble, everyday object has such an incredibly global, energy-dependent pedigree - what about far more complex items like household appliances, automobiles, and airplanes? The debt only increases. But size is no indication of embodied energy. The materials in a tiny cell phone, or a handheld computer contain more than 70% of all the known elements in the periodic table, have been sourced from more than 15 countries on five continents.

But the vast majority of people living in an over-developed manmade environment think their entire world is normal. They have no clue where anything comes from, because they never had to think about where their daily stuff of life comes from, much less make these items from scratch.

Therefore, it is very easy for anyone to be seduced by fake solutions to real problems. And that is why so may people believe in the false promise of so-called "green" or "renewable" energy.