Environmental Justice Over The Global Life Cycle of Renewable Energy
Environmental Justice Over The Global Life Cycle of Renewable Energy
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROBLEMS Life Cycle or Supply Chain Perspective • NUCLEAR Wate...
Environmental Justice Over The Global Life Cycle of Renewable Energy
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROBLEMS Life Cycle or Supply Chain Perspective • NUCLEAR Water Competition & Pollution,Risk • BIO MASS Food &Water Competition, labor conditions • WIND Water Pollution, local wind and bird problems, community labor conditions • SOLAR Water Competition & Pollution, batteries, rare earths, silicosis from mining • HYDRO Water Pollution & Competition
Nuclear Power Production: “Safe”, Unsafe & Accidental Water “Infusions” Indian point feb 2015 386000 pci/l picocuries per liter
Fukishima Nuclear Accident
Outflow from Soviet Nuclear Plant Techa river
Water Competition from,Concentrating Solar Thermal Plants: Cooling & Cleaning
Concentrated Solar Thermal Plant
Wet Recirculation For Cooling Turbines
Cleaning Mirrors
Solar Is Often in Dry Areas
Abu Dhabi
California Mojave Desert
HydroPower Production: Water Pollution
Downstream Pollution .
Wind Power Production & Water Pollution
Leaks Can Contaminate Drinking Water. . http://ramblingsdc.net/Australia/WindProblems.html#Erosion_of_sites .
Water as danger: ice on blades
Water Problems of Solar and Wind Power INSTALLATION
Installing turbines can cause trees to be cut, erosion and clogging of local water courses Solar Panels must be washed during Installation
OIL!
Wind Turbine & Solar Production Chain
Destruction of Chinese farm land due to processing rare earths used in wind turbine production.
SOLAR PANEL PRODUCTION: Rinsing & Cleaning And Production Process
RINSING& CLEANING: Cadmium in thin film manufacture
RINSING& CLEANING: Sulfur Hydrofluoric acid Lead if lead solder used PRODUCTION: silicon tetrachloride by product if not recycled
Nuclear: Extraction Uranium Mining
Signs due to Uranium Mining on Native American Lands
Mining of the Rare Earths used for Wind and Solar power and Pollution
Rare earth mining produces radioactive waste and some mines are known to have contaminated ground water
California Rare Earth Mine
Biomass: Growth or Extraction
Corn is an especially “thirsty” plant
Biomass can compete with food crops for local water and land (Switchgrass option in NYC Watershed )
Water Pollution from back up lead acid batteries for solar power
Path of lead mining wastes to lake near Manchester, England
Towards Solutions
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACROSS THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN interdependent tools: custom, soft & formal law eg life cycle perspective accepted behavior “requirements” lacking government enforcement : laws with government enforcement
CUSTOM across the supply chain SL C FL
• HARMFUL CUSTOMS
– RACISM, SEXISM & OTHER DISCRIMINATIONS – INDIVIDUALISM AND MATERIALISM
• HELPFUL CUSTOMS: – NON-TOXIC DESIGN (and less toxic design) • Design and inventorying of ingredients for recycling • Solar: Sodium hydroxide replaces hydrofluoric acid & zinc sulfide replaces cadmium
– GREEN PURCHASING (general and use of guides) • eg goodguide.com
GOOD GUIDE INFORMATION ON A REFRIGERATOR BRAND • • • •
10 is high Miele 36" Refrigerator - 36190101USA 7.5 Health N/A Environment This company's environmental policies, practices and performance place it among the best 5% of companies rated by GoodGuide. 7.6 Product 7.7
• Water Pollution, Indicates the strength of a company's wastewater policies. –GoodGuide, Environmental and Social Company Assessments –Rating: 6.0 out of 10
Green Purchasing Custom: Solar
Source: Silicon Valley Toxics CoalitionThe Solar Scorecard:
SOFT LAW transparency & action across the supply chain C SL FL
* Governments: • TREATIES (an informal request for national formal law) – –
FEDERAL NATIVE AMERICAN TREATIES to protect against mine waste Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste
* Often NGO generated & used by market actors • CERTIFICATIONS (action in supply chain) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) Certificate
