Comments on: Dark Side of Solar Has Light at the End of the Tunnel http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2009/08/22/dark-side-of-solar-has-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/ Tapping experts in climate, geology, oceanography, ecology, sustainable development, global health, energy, food and water, State of the Planet captures stories of how the Earth works and how we can sustainably make our lives better. Fri, 24 May 2013 17:52:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Osmotic power — prospect of sustainable energy, or water liability? - Water Matters @ Columbia http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2009/08/22/dark-side-of-solar-has-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/comment-page-1/#comment-303 Osmotic power — prospect of sustainable energy, or water liability? - Water Matters @ Columbia Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:13:14 +0000 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=1098#comment-303 [...] possibilities are exciting, but much like with the water-energy nexus controversies involved with solar power generation, I have yet to be convinced that this technology has the power to be implemented globally without [...]

]]> By: Daniel Stellar http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2009/08/22/dark-side-of-solar-has-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/comment-page-1/#comment-302 Daniel Stellar Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:56:57 +0000 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=1098#comment-302 This brings up some great points Meaghan, particularly the potentially negative consequences of large-scale solar, which is generally considered one of the cleanest types of energy production by environmental advocates. No doubt solar has huge potential, but as you point out, it’s important solar development be done in an intelligent way, taking into account both water use efficiency and ecosystem effects.

To me, what this really shows is the scale issue associated with US energy use. The problem is that, to meet the US energy demand, even the “good” renewables – solar, wind, hydro – need to be done at huge scale. While these things are all benign at small scale, there are all kinds of issues associated with scaling them up, such as water use. Unfortunately, I think most Americans (and even most clean energy advocates) don’t really understand the scale that’s needed to really make a dent in CO2 production. This isn’t an excuse for inaction, but it is a call to put some real thought into how we’re going to meet our energy needs.

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