What about Deepwater horizon mess?
Exxon Valdez
The thousands of oil refinery and chemical plant explosions around the world over the years polluting and killing thousands
coal mine collapse around the world killing tens of thousands over the years
Chernobyl
strip mining that forever ruins the upper topsoil
Every industry has issues and nothing is 100% perfect.
Solar panels are being created that will withstand the worst hail and also panels are in development stage that as soon as hail hits or detected via computer they will move vertically via small motors so the panels will be saved.
Deepwater Horizon: one blowout out of tens of thousands of wells drilled.
Exxon Valdez: One boat wreck, and you missed the Torrey Canyon (another boat wreck).
About as much chance as getting killed by poisoned Tylenol.
What about WWII? If you want to talk about pollution...
As for strip mining, where do you think lithium and rare earth elements come from? Extracting some materials is messy. Without petroleum, have fun making those panels. As for coal mine collapse, that's why strip mining is attractive. Reclamation has progressed, if it is done correctly.
How about the city blocks leveled by...bakery explosions?
The flood of molasses that hit Boston?
You want a
real explosion? Check into what happened in Halifax, Nova Scotia or Beirut, Lebanon.
Like you said, every industry has its risks.
Instead of proceeding with industries where we understand the risks, you advocate taking on another set of unknown risks and discarding the body of safety knowledge developed over centuries for a whole new set of problems, some of which we don't even understand yet.
What will be the effect of raising lithium levels in groundwater? from mining? from disposal of batteries, or even 'recycling' operations? Humans with Lithium imbalances are
interesting, to say the least.
...
are being developed...like the flying car, so many things have gone from 'being developed' to well, 'being developed'. When functioning prototypes are ready to take to market, we'll talk about it.
I don't see you addressing the sheer acreage that will be taken out of agricultural production for placing these panels where they can get sunlight in meaningful quantities (not happening at my latitude, the wind would tear them apart sooner or later, and sunlight angles are too low on the horizon), nor the effects on watersheds and the environment of shading out that land.
As for the appearance of health in the oil industry, everything available to drill that will pay out is being drilled because the rules are changing almost daily with this administration. The anticipated damage almost guaranteed by a second, lame duck Biden Administration will be severe. There are no guarantees that Biden will lose, and it will take time to remove his administrative state and the unconstitutional laws they have decreed.
The major unseen damage is in the lack of new leases being offered for sale and the changes in the leasing process that make it more difficult and expensive to drill in the future. Projects have been stopped in their infancy by this administration, and the future is when this will become apparent, unless the policies are reversed. It can take a decade, from concept to oil in the pipeline (and you have to be able to build the pipeline). So what looks healthy today will face a full court and hyped up adversarial Administration in the event the steal and/or propaganda prevail, in a lame duck environment. Eight years, if Biden gets back in, of unsure CAPEX targets means oil companies are looking overseas and elsewhere to make their money, and the bottom line is that the war against domestic energy production continues.
That doesn't make me want to run out and buy an EV that won't work for my needs, it makes me want some intelligent and sensible people in control of policy, and for the rest to quit digging in my pocket for money to boost the industries which would not otherwise present immature technology as a solution, at my hard-earned expense.
Just quit shilling not ready for prime time tech as a plug and play replacement without considering all the ramifications, some of which are not even on the radar.
