4 ms·

So tilt the solar panels a little so the sand falls off? Disclaimer: I don't know anything about solar panel farms or desert sand.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
The one project that attempted this with lofty goals, ended up with around 1% of the energy they claimed. Dust covering panels, abrasion, wind damage. Total fail. Also, I'm surprised at the blasé way folks dismiss the total obliteration of the delicate desert ecosystem. Its like strip mining on a massive scale, to install square miles of solar panels. But everybody is on board for some reason.
- ponker 6y ago
  There’s a lot of desert. If a few lizards and cacti get their habitat fucked so that humans belch less CO2 in the air affecting every species on Earth it’s a tradeoff I support.
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    See? There it is! Try to bulldoze one meadow for a development and you're killed in the press. But the desert doesn't get that respect. People seem almost proud of their disrespect for desert ecosystems.
    - ponker 6y ago
      Well that’s just humancentrism. The meadow delivers value to me while the desert does not. And most environmental policy is about preserving the environment for humans — after all, if we stumble into population collapse the rest of the world’s species will celebrate.
      - jcranmer 6y ago
        I mean, it's not like the Saharan Desert does anything useful, like feed nutrients (via dust storms that blow across the Atlantic) to the Amazon Rainforest that is the lungs of the world.
        ponker 6y ago
        It will do that with a few hundred square miles of solar panels.
        Rzor 6y ago
        Not to nitpick, just to inform, but oceanic plankton produces more oxygen than all tropical rainforests combined. In fact, Prochlorococcus alone does more for our biosphere than rainforests.
      - vbezhenar 6y ago
        A lot of species would collapse with humans.
- vbezhenar 6y ago
  Why would anyone care about desert? It's inhabitable space unfit for humans. I would happily replace all deserts with woods and grasslands.
  - lizknope 6y ago
    The desert is habitable by plants and other animals. Not every desert is the Atacama. Deserts in places like Arizona and Utah have tons of life.
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    Or just go straight to housing developments! Perfect habitat for humans. Because Ecology isn't a thing, and the planet isn't fragile at all.
  - frosted-flakes 6y ago
    I think you mean uninhabitable.
- nradov 6y ago
  There are deserts and then there are deserts. The Mojave Desert contains a delicate ecosystem. The Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) contains a few scorpions.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

The one project that attempted this with lofty goals, ended up with around 1% of the energy they claimed. Dust covering panels, abrasion, wind damage. Total fail. Also, I'm surprised at the blasé way folks dismiss the total obliteration of the delicate desert ecosystem. Its like strip mining on a massive scale, to install square miles of solar panels. But everybody is on board for some reason.

ponker 6y ago
There’s a lot of desert. If a few lizards and cacti get their habitat fucked so that humans belch less CO2 in the air affecting every species on Earth it’s a tradeoff I support.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  See? There it is! Try to bulldoze one meadow for a development and you're killed in the press. But the desert doesn't get that respect. People seem almost proud of their disrespect for desert ecosystems.
  - ponker 6y ago
    Well that’s just humancentrism. The meadow delivers value to me while the desert does not. And most environmental policy is about preserving the environment for humans — after all, if we stumble into population collapse the rest of the world’s species will celebrate.
    - jcranmer 6y ago
      I mean, it's not like the Saharan Desert does anything useful, like feed nutrients (via dust storms that blow across the Atlantic) to the Amazon Rainforest that is the lungs of the world.
      - ponker 6y ago
        It will do that with a few hundred square miles of solar panels.
      - Rzor 6y ago
        Not to nitpick, just to inform, but oceanic plankton produces more oxygen than all tropical rainforests combined. In fact, Prochlorococcus alone does more for our biosphere than rainforests.
    - vbezhenar 6y ago
      A lot of species would collapse with humans.
vbezhenar 6y ago
Why would anyone care about desert? It's inhabitable space unfit for humans. I would happily replace all deserts with woods and grasslands.
- lizknope 6y ago
  The desert is habitable by plants and other animals. Not every desert is the Atacama. Deserts in places like Arizona and Utah have tons of life.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Or just go straight to housing developments! Perfect habitat for humans. Because Ecology isn't a thing, and the planet isn't fragile at all.
- frosted-flakes 6y ago
  I think you mean uninhabitable.
nradov 6y ago
There are deserts and then there are deserts. The Mojave Desert contains a delicate ecosystem. The Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) contains a few scorpions.