Quote:Solar panels are no good after about 10-20 years then they are junk, and there aren’t even enough rare earth metals left in the earth to even make enough solar panels just for the U.S. alone.
Since you brought it up, I'm going to derail the thread (for my post at least).
It's true that solar panels have a finite lifetime, but so so all other energy generating machines. Coal/gas, etc. electric plants all have things that wear out and must be replaced. The issue is the scale that solar panels are needed to displace fossil fuels will create a very large waste stream down the line, whereas there are just a few small (relatively) parts to replace in traditional plants. Though, I suspect the issue will be sorted out and a way to recycle most of the materials in solar panels will be found. But most solar panels don't suffer for the need for rare-earth metals (specific types do, but they aren't very popular). You might be thinking of the permanent magnets that are used in wind turbines, neodymium and dysprosium are rare earth metals that are used there. But, new magnets and ways to reduce or remove the need for permanent magnets are being developed. Every new technology brings new issues. Solar and wind are not different.
But, I disagree that they are worthless energy sources. Coal/gas/oil are finite resources. We can't continue to burn them forever. Nuclear power is also finite (the way we currently use the fuel). Even if climate change were not a pressing issue, the need to change to a energy source that is sustainable is needed. Humans often continue to use things until we run out of the resource and are forced to use something else, and the transition is never easy. We've hunted whales to near extinction for their blubber, we've cleared forests to take centuries to return, hunted bison to near extinction for their furs, there are numerous examples. But change our ways we must. And even with this change we will generate new problems, that's just the way we work, as large 6 foot tall viruses (as the lovable Agent Smith from "The Matrix" so lovingly described humans).