I enjoy reading about various energy savings attempts, off grid efforts, and various cool examples of DIY engineering in the name of "Green".
However, one thing I never see mentioned is the actual environmental cost of making these modifications, and whether there is ever any actual payback in terms of emissions. People seem to neglect that manufacturing efficient devices consumes energy, and replacing a device before it is worn out is far mroe wasteful than whatever additional energy it uses.
Example:
Replace incandescent lights with CFL's. If you throw away a perfectly good incandescent and preemptively replace it with a CFL, whatever amount of CO2 used in the construction of that incandescent is now lost over less than it's full lifespan.
Appliances. Throwing a decent refrigerator for an energy star will never (I bet) offset the CO2 of the waste.
The list goes on. What is the manufacturing cost in CO2 of a solar panel? Why do people tout geothermal as "Green", after dirty diesel engines and trenchers spew tons of CO2 into the air while digging holes?
Surely I'm not the only person who questions the environmental impact of replacing, rebuilding, and reengineering?
However, one thing I never see mentioned is the actual environmental cost of making these modifications, and whether there is ever any actual payback in terms of emissions. People seem to neglect that manufacturing efficient devices consumes energy, and replacing a device before it is worn out is far mroe wasteful than whatever additional energy it uses.
Example:
Replace incandescent lights with CFL's. If you throw away a perfectly good incandescent and preemptively replace it with a CFL, whatever amount of CO2 used in the construction of that incandescent is now lost over less than it's full lifespan.
Appliances. Throwing a decent refrigerator for an energy star will never (I bet) offset the CO2 of the waste.
The list goes on. What is the manufacturing cost in CO2 of a solar panel? Why do people tout geothermal as "Green", after dirty diesel engines and trenchers spew tons of CO2 into the air while digging holes?
Surely I'm not the only person who questions the environmental impact of replacing, rebuilding, and reengineering?