Energy versus environment

The environmental organizations are between a rock and a hard place - on the one hand, it is important to allow the production of renewable energy. On the other hand - such projects may damage nature and cause the extinction of animals and the elimination of unique habitats

Today it is already clear to every rabbi that the continued use of fossil fuel harms the environment, contributes to global warming and harms the health and quality of life of the population. Even the "Environmental Protection Agency" of the USA issued a statement that "carbon dioxide is a pollutant that may endanger public health".

The harm and the risk are so clear that most governments allocate budgets to the development of alternative energy sources, energy production from renewable sources and in an environmentally friendly manner, it turns out that the two goals: energy production from renewable sources and preventing damage to the environment do not always go hand in hand.

In the past I have already referred to the production of vegetable fuel, a fuel whose use results in a low emission of pollutants, but when you calculate the cost of its production from sowing to refining it is not clear that there is a saving in emissions, in addition to this you must also consider the fact that in the fields of growing plants: peanuts, soybeans, corn, sugar cane And others, which are intended for the production of fuel, were in the past a source of food products, products that are now lacking in the market and whose price is increasing.

One of the most promising sources for producing clean energy is the sun. Solar farms where installations that generate electricity from the sunlight are placed are planned and established in more and more countries and sites, in many countries concessions are given to citizens who install solar installations on their property / on the roofs of their houses and it is good that despite the high cost of these installations their advantage in savings in burning fossil fuel outweighs their disadvantage.

Another source of clean energy that can be exploited is the wind, installations for generating electricity from wind are set up in many places as production farms or individual installations on private houses. The problem begins when huge farms are established that occupy large areas, areas that in many cases constitute unique habitats for a variety of plants and animals.

The Mojave Desert in California seems to be suitable for the development of solar farms and wind farms, and indeed a huge project is planned to be built in the desert, a number of companies have submitted plans for solar farms on an area of ​​2000 square kilometers, but it turns out that a unique population of turtles lives in the project areas. Opponents of the project claim that the establishment of the farms will be an aesthetic hazard and will cause the destruction of the desert environmental system and the disappearance of the turtle population. People from green organizations claim that the area planned for the energy farm is designated as a nature reserve and as such there is no place for an energy farm, the same organizations offer a replacement - a desert area that has already been destroyed and where it can be developed without further damage, according to the direction in which the wind blows it is assumed that the Greens' proposal will be accepted.

In another place, they are initiating the establishment of a solar farm where the sun's heat will be used to heat water and operate turbines to generate electricity, here too there are opponents claiming (correctly) that the few water sources in the area provide special and unique habitats, damage to the water sources will be a death blow to animal and plant species and therefore the establishment of A photovoltaic farm where no water is needed, here too the chances of preventing damage to the environment are good.

A survey in the USA states that the initiative for energy production caused that in most habitats there is a 30% decrease in the bird population, shaving forests in search of coal in the Appalachians harms the forest birds and this is clear even without any survey - turning wild plots into corn fields for ethanol harms the birds of the plains .

We have already dealt with the pros and cons of growing corn (instead of as food) for fuel. However, the same survey shows that even as a proposal from the development of alternative energy sources there is a serious harm to the population, with the main culprit being the wind farms, the establishment of a huge farm to produce electricity from the wind harms many birds on land and at sea, many birds do not adapt to the wings of the propellers and collide with them, (I got to "hang out" near farms wind... the noise is unbearable). To avoid damage, these farms can be established away from gathering areas or flight paths of birds. Most collisions between birds and propeller blades occur at night.
Because of their height, the wind towers are marked with lights, a new study conducted in the USA shows that: "Blinking (non-permanent) lights at the top of the towers will prevent most collisions". As a result of the research, it is recommended to place flashing lights at the top of towers, antennas, high-rise buildings, high-voltage poles, etc., flashing lights will save millions of birds!

Wind farms as well as solar farms spread over large areas, in many countries (we are at the top) there is a lack of open areas in which activity will not harm the environment, in Spain an original and interesting solution was found, a solar farm was erected over a cemetery.
To carry out the project, a lot of imagination (and audacity) was needed, but it turns out that the final result pleases all parties, the solar collectors were placed above the graves and thus there is no disturbance to the mourners (the shaded ones), in other places solar collectors are placed on public buildings, for the benefit of the public and the environment.

We have similar problems and yet I wonder what will happen when an entrepreneur wants to build a solar farm over a cemetery... for example in Eilat? Those who are at the forefront of the fight for the development of clean energy sources are the green bodies, therefore when the authorities, planning institutions, entrepreneurs and others plan energy farms and when such farms are planned in sensitive areas, when the entrepreneurs do not consider all the environmental data, there is a risk that the farms will cause environmental damage that cannot be repaired, Damages that in many cases can be avoided.

In such cases, the green organizations find themselves between a rock and a hard place, but there are solutions, as in California, so here too, it is possible to combine forces and find the right and suitable areas. It is possible to find the right location to establish an energy farm that will not damage the environment or that the damage will be minimal and repairable,

Solar farms can be set up (without harming the environment) on the roofs of buildings in the city and in the countryside, in rural areas you can set up solar collectors on farm buildings (barns, chicken coops, etc.), and even cover permanent greenhouse buildings with solar collectors. When you give a little thought and a lot of cooperation between different parties, you can find many places and areas to establish a solar farm. The location of a wind farm is more difficult, but even here it will be possible to find an acceptable solution.

Wind / solar farms are a positive, if only partial, replacement for the harmful use of mineral fuel, the establishment of such farms must only be after a comprehensive examination of the field data, an examination of the biological findings in the field, the chance and risk to biodiversity and weighing the viability of energy production against the risk to the environment, in many cases You can find an intermediate path even if it is not the "golden path".

More on the subject on the science website

• Survey by the Technion - wind turbines can be erected in Israel only in limited areas
• Al Gore during his visit to Israel: Renewable energy is good for the Jews