Renewables: Did You Know?

Despite the hype over renewable energy sources, often hidden is a dark side when it comes to environmental, safety and human rights issues -- issues related to pollution, serious safety hazards, habitat destruction, and land degradation. Mining the rare-earth metals required for wind turbines and batteries for electric cars produces five times more waste gas than all the miners and oil refiners in the U.S. and produces thirteen billion meters of gas and twenty-five million tons of wastewater laden with carcinogenic metals.

In addition to this severe pollution, these materials also hide a dark story of child labor and abusive working conditions. Overall, battery powered electric vehicles generate more than three times as much human toxicity as an equivalent internal combustion-engine vehicle. It’s a dark and shocking story that we tell here at DrillingMatters.org.