"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...
The solar fallacy sort of follows the same thinking as purchasing
your own home is a good investment. Of course your home will
appreciate in value over time. However when you add up the interest
paid on the mortgage, the taxes, insurance, maintenance and upkeep as
well as the purchasing and selling costs it can actually be a loss.

You have completely discounted the value of "feeling good about saving
the environment." While admittedly this is hard to quantify, contentment
is often a high-priced item.

For those for whom intent trumps results, solar panels would be a good
deal at twice the price.


*I also did not consider bragging rights. I am not familiar with the
manufacturing process for solar panels, but I would think that the factory
uses electricity (Solar?) and other utilities for lighting, heat,
computers etc. Then there's the diesel trucks that deliver the panels to
a warehouse and get unloaded by a forklift. Then a local gas or diesel
powered truck delivers them to the end user. How many trees were cut down
for the factory and warehouse to be built? How much wildlife was
displaced to make room for the parking lots and driveways? How much
fertilizer will be put down on the factory lawn and garden to make it look
pretty?

Solar cell manufacture or any semi-conductor mfr is one of the "filthiest"
industrial process on the planet, which is why most of it is made in asia.
I don't know if the EPA would even allow those plants in Merka.


My personal opinion is that the only way to really save the environment
and live in harmony with it is to stop population growth. There are too
many people living on this planet sucking the life out of it.
Unfortunately our economic system depends on growth and expansion. We
bank on that premise.

A super-excellent point.
Our economies, by mere dint of the demand that they constantly grow and
expand, makes them *by definition* ponzi schemes.
The words "equilibrium" or "sustainable" or "steady state" -- or, in
thermodynamic parlance, "reversible" -- are sacriligious concepts today.

Why? Because the puppeteers of the world just make mo' money, mo' money,
and mo' money off the resulting ponzi frenzy.

The '50s, 60s are long gone, along with analog.
Digitalization is the ass****ing of the (m)asses.
The best you (plural you) can hope to do is find a longterm supply of
vaseline. Might I suggest mixing in some Vits A and E....
--
EA