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Apocalypse Now: The Downside of Green Energy Technology

December 13th, 2009 Posted in Green Living & News

With a new apocalypse scenario arriving every minute on the Internet, especially with the year 2012 fast approaching, it’s no surprise that scientists have discovered some major downfalls to green technology. For all of the good they promise, green technology is still man-made technology that messes with the natural order of things, sometimes with potentially devastating results.

Here are a few recent examples of technology with some possible downfalls.

Recently there has been a lot of talk about the possible power of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy harnesses the power of the warmth of the earth by deep drilling offshore, especially in known hot spots like the Ring of Fire.

I bet you can already guess one of the possible negative effects: yep, seismic activity like earthquakes. This deep drilling involves cracking a layer or rock then pumping in water to produce steam. Talk about messing with the earth’s make-up. This deep drilling caused an earthquake in Switzerland after an oil man tried this technique. Officials in Northern California decided to halt a similar project after learning of the possibility for earthquakes.

Another way to naturally harness energy is to capture carbon dioxide and use it to enable coal-fired energy without the carbon emissions. Sounds great, as carbon dioxide is one of the main fossil fuels causing global warming. Only no one wants carbon buried in their backyard, so places performing this capture have to release some carbon dioxide into the air. Not the best thing for the environment. This can lead to spontaneous emissions of carbon that are extremely deadly, like the 1986 emission of massive amounts of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon (which killed 1700 people and 3500 animals).

And of course there’s always the debate about nuclear power. With disasters like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, it’s no wonder that people are skittish about nuclear power. And now that global warming has started to show its effects, people have more reason to be cautious. River water is no longer as cool as it used to be, especially in the summer months, meaning it can’t be used to cool down reactors. Many plants have to close in the summer months for this reason.

Finally, a new idea for reducing the sun’s effects on the earth can majorly backfire. Geoengineering is the manipulation of natural systems to prevent incoming sunlight. Definitely sounds like a great way to temper global warming. Unfortunately, geoengineering could result in the slowing of the natural water cycle. When volcanoes erupt, for example, and send massive amounts of sun-blocking ash into the air, rainfall and run-off into the ocean massively decreases. This could happen with synthetic sun-blocking technology as well.

For all of the good that green technologies can achieve, there is never a completely safe new technology. But the attempt to go green is definitely a step in the right direction.

So to do your part to help the planet in small ways, try easy steps to make your family’s life more environmentally friendly. Turn off the water and lights when you aren’t using them and try buying organic. The next time you have an insect problem, for example, try EcoSMART instead of harsh chemical alternatives. EcoSMART even has value bundles, like the Safe Home Value Bundle for natural home pest control.