This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Monday, 26 April 2021
Baby: It's a Wild World!
Life can be very complicated. Solar energy is a cheap, non-polluting (in terms of 'greenhouse gas' production), mode of electricity generation. The UK has finally got round to using more of it, in spite of its government offering few/no inducements. Solar power is clearly a 'good' thing. There is a report, however, that 40% of UK solar farms use panels, linked to forced labour in China's Xinjiang region (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/23/revealed-uk-solar-projects-using-panels-from-firms-linked-to-xinjiang-forced-labour). Solar panels utilise polysilicon, a material manufactured in Xinjiang. China is a world leader in the production of cheap, efficient solar panels. The link between solar panels in the UK and human rights was always likely (although it didn't occur to me, until now). Forced labour is clearly a 'bad' thing. Am I wrong to want a fast uptake of solar energy and a quick abolition of forced labour? Clearly, I can't have both simultaneously!
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