Chapter 9—Future Power Generation and the Environment

Natural and man-made changes in the environment create a very complex picture. This book analyzes this picture and provides snapshots of different areas of interest and makes suggestions for future work on cleaning and stabilizing the Earth’s environment. Starting with conventional energy generation and moving on to renewable energies, this book analyzes and calculates their environmental impact and the lesser-known aspects of their “cradle-to-grave” life cycle such as the irreversible environmental damage done during the manufacturing of solar and wind equipment and during the installation, operation, and decommissioning of large scale hydro, solar, and wind power plants.