Green Energy Technology Is Not Better Nor Safer Technology Than Oil Drilling

The lesson from the BP oil well catastrophe is not one about the harmful effects of oil spills. It is an example of the difficulty of managing large-scale energy production risks, whether it is carbon-based or green.

Green energy producing technologies for energy production are neither riskless technologies nor technologies without potential environmental harm. Green energy is low carbon output and energy efficiency. Green energy production might be better for global warming, but it is not risk free energy production.

Non-carbon based energy production is not necessarily less risky or more environmentally friendly than oil.

The US is 300,000,000 energy using people producing $16 trillion of goods and services each year that require a huge amount of yearly energy production.

The devastation from BP's Deepwater oil rig explosion and oil well leak is mostly from the scale of the operation and the vast amount of oil released.

The vast amount of harm from BP's disaster is due to its size and not to it being a carbon based energy form.

Any large-scale energy production facility or any large-scale energy component manufacturing facility, including green technologies, will have risks and the potential for a devastating and catastrophic event.

All large-scale production facilities have the potential for catastrophic harm.

Green energy is hydroelectric power plants requiring the building of many dams and the flooding of acres of major land areas, destroying and displacing many of the local fauna and flora.

Green energy is battery technology than requires large-scale mining operations, the substantial use of dangerous heavy and rare metals, such as indium, lithium, cadmium, etc. and manufacturing plants containing the dangerous elements. These metals are mined outside of the US.

Green energy is compact florescent lighting than uses and contains poisonous mercury.

Green energy is solar cell farms covering many square miles of land area with effects on the local environment.

Green energy is large-scale wind farms covering thousands of acres of land and ocean with potential weather disruption and environmental harm to birds and other animals and plants.

Green energy is multiple nuclear power plants.

Green energy still requires large transmission lines from electricity generating areas to users.

All large-scale energy production will have the potential for large-scale harm and catastrophe.

The BP tragedy does not lead to the conclusion that green energy is safer or more environmentally friendly than oil or other carbon based energy.