Residents of the early 21st century live in quite an exciting time. We have a thriving Internet culture, an unprecedented understanding of the natural world and we can even watch episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" on our mobile phones. But of course, the world is ever in transition, and we currently find ourselves suspended between two ages: a time dependent on fossil fuels such as oil and coal, and a future dominated by renewable energy sources. Yet not everyone is sold on this vision. Options vary on just how dependable some of these renewable energy sources are, as well as how well they'll be able to sustain us in a post-fossil fuel era.
Out of all this uncertainty, a number of myths, misconceptions and outright lies have risen to the surface. In this article, we'll forgo the loonier notions out there concerning new world orders and Area 51 battery packs. Instead, we'll look at five of the bigger renewable energy myths currently making the rounds.
1. Clean Coal Is the Answer. Coal continues to play a vital role in global energy production, and you simply can't reasonably ask everyone to stop burning it -- not when renewable alternatives aren't ready to pick up all the slack. That's where clean coal enters the picture, theoretically to mitigate the impact of coal pollution until such time as it can be abandoned altogether. Problem solved, right? Wrong. A great deal of clean coal technology centers around capturing and storing pollutants that would otherwise be released in the burning process. With CO2, this involves either pumping the gas down wells to depleted oil fields or into deep-sea depths. Not only can the later option potentially endanger marine ecosystems, but also they both require care and monitoring to prevent polluting the environment anyway. Critics charge that all this amounts to a redirecting of pollution, not a true reduction of it.
2. Solar Energy Doesn't Provide Enough Juice. Photovoltaic power may not be in a position to solve all our energy problems right now, but its potential for the future is great. Remember, we're talking about leaching energy from a titanic, star -- one that steers an entire system of planets, our atmosphere and life as we know it.
3. Wind Turbines Are Noisy, Costly Bird Killers. To be fair, wind turbines do kill birds -- but so do vehicles, skyscrapers, pollution and the introduction of invasive species into their habitats. As daunting as a field of wind turbines may look, they're responsible for statistically few bird deaths -- less than 1 in every 30,000. But even without the death cries of a thousand birds, aren't wind turbines a noise nuisance? Actually, modern turbine technology renders them relatively silent -- essentially no more than the soft, steady whine of wind through the blades
4. Renewable Energy Is Worthless Without Government Incentives. Of course it makes sense to invest in renewable technology if a government program is going to pay for most of it through incentives and tax breaks. But this, they argue, artificially backs an unsustainable energy model. While it's true that renewable energy benefits heavily from government incentive programs, it's important to realize that this is true of most energy sources. This includes everything from gasoline and nuclear power to ethanol production and solar power.
5. Renewable Sources Can't Replace Fossil Fuels. Just as it would be unreasonable to think renewable sources could take the reins now, it's equally unreasonable to think they can't eventually facilitate an end to fossil fuel dependency. The transition from the sinking ship of Fossil Fuel to the vessel of the future may take longer than we'd like. We might have to live with both for a while, no matter how much we'd like to see the oil age vanish beneath the waves.
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