4 hours ago, JAG said:

Renewable power reduces pollution caused by burning fossil fuels - that is one very significant reason!

Not everything, (nor every society) is driven by short term effects on wallets.

Does that take into account the pollution caused by the manufacturing of such items

13 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Does that take into account the pollution caused by the manufacturing of such items

I dont have the statistics but I should imagine that the pollution caused by manufacturing a windfarm, set off against say a 20 year lifespan, is significantly less than the pollution produced by producing a comparable amount of electricity from a coal powered generating station over the same period.

13 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Does that take into account the pollution caused by the manufacturing of such items

The numbers are all over the place depending on the source. My house is solar powered with battery storage at night. I wasn't sure if solar was the answer when I installed the system and still not 100%. Pulling power from the grid is easy and not too expensive.

My system should pay for itself in 6 -10 years and it would be hard to install a more budget friendly system than mine. All the dangers of grid power are still there with the addition of an energy plant on on my roof that is very dangerous for workers that are doing anything attached to the frame and there is always the possibility of energy escaping the system and creating a dangerous electrical loop. Then you have the roof itself to deal with and if you ever move the panels the roof takes a beating. Just cleaning them with a brush, isn't roof friendly without expensive reinforced walkways. I decided a few weeks ago to move everything to the carport and reinforce it. Not going to be cheap.

With all the above said , happy I did it, but for most, recovering the cost should be secondary and probably isn't going to happen for most but it getting easier every year. I already see early adopters here replacing their expensive batteries that are outdated as well as panels. Not too environmentally friendly.

26 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Does that take into account the pollution caused by the manufacturing of such items

HeHe. China had a "civilisation" long before Europe. Silk, the compass, texts written on paper (instead of animal skins) Printing presses long before Gutenberg and a fleet of 300 shipps reaching the shore of east Africa and todays "Arabia". They abandonned the project, as the Chinese rulers came to the conclusion that "they have nothing to give us".

In recent times, Europeans have told the Chinese "how to make things" on an industrial basis. The European "Early Birds" in China made a fortune.

The same European "trailblazers" that are cutting jobs in Europe these days.

x

15 hours ago, swissie said:

HeHe. China had a "civilisation" long before Europe. Silk, the compass, texts written on paper (instead of animal skins) Printing presses long before Gutenberg and a fleet of 300 shipps reaching the shore of east Africa and todays "Arabia". They abandonned the project, as the Chinese rulers came to the conclusion that "they have nothing to give us".

In recent times, Europeans have told the Chinese "how to make things" on an industrial basis. The European "Early Birds" in China made a fortune.

The same European "trailblazers" that are cutting jobs in Europe these days.

Once upon a time they did have one of the world's most advanced civilizations. As did the Muslims. But ultimately, the Chinese turned inwards and paid a terrible price for that. The ironic thing is that now it's Maga supporting Americans who are denigrating the need for Chinese technology and science which are progressing at a dizzying pace.