'Green' Health Hazards Highlighted by Physicians for Civil Defense
TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In their zeal to replace "dirty," coal-black energy sources with "green" "renewables," climate-change doomsayers neglect the health hazards of wind and solar, states Physicians for Civil Defense president Jane Orient, M.D.
The mining of the rare minerals needed for photovoltaic cells and the generators in wind turbines, and the production of the steel and concrete for the towers, are neither clean nor green, she stated. Much of the environmental impact and human cost is exported, as to China and Africa. The U.S. no longer mines rare-earth elements.
By 2050, the amount of solar panel waste in the world, already at 250,000 metric tons at the end of 2016, could reach 78 million metric tons, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). When panels are broken, as by hail, tornadoes, or hurricanes, pollutants such as lead or carcinogenic cadmium can be almost completely washed out of the fragments by rainwater over several months.
Wind turbines have been called the "rotors of sickness," and the German Ministry of Environment has been accused of covering up evidence of harmful levels of infrasound, sound at too low a frequency to be heard. Effects include reducing cardiac muscle strength. Infrasound affects the inner ear and the brain and can cause sleeplessness, emotional reactions, and many other distressing symptoms. It has been investigated for use as a weapon.
Rooftop solar panels have caught fire, and nearly destroyed an apartment complex in Holland, while releasing toxic fumes. Wind turbines have been described as a "perfect incendiary device."
"Regulators and politicians ignore the devastating environmental impact on the huge land areas needed by wind and solar farms," Dr. Orient said, "while imposing costly requirements on other energy sources for relatively trivial effects."
"Energy poverty due to unreliable and unaffordable energy is also a major health threat," she added. "Carbon-based fuels supply 80 percent of the world's energy. Why are they not considered 'green'? The carbon dioxide they release is essential for life and is measurably greening the earth."
Physicians for Civil Defense distributes information to help to save lives in the event of war or other disaster.
Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com
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SOURCE Physicians for Civil Defense
