The 'dirty side' of cleaner technologies
Cleaner technologies are not always welcomed by local and national communities. 'Wind farms', for example, may consist of hundreds of wind turbines and are frequently criticised by some local communities for their negative environmental impacts. They are often seen as a 'blot on the landscape' as well as posing a danger for birds and bats, whose migratory and flight paths may take them into collision with wind turbines and towers.
Other alternative energy sources have created similar controversies. The production of biofuels has resulted in food price inflation worldwide, with land previously used for growing food for human consumption being transferred to the production of crops used to produce biofuels.
A 2011 report from the Nuffield Council on the Bioethics examined the ethical issues of biofuels and the serious negative impacts on the livelihoods of some of those who cultivate the land, on the sustainability of cultivation systems and on biodiversity.
The following videos discuss the role of science in addressing some of the problems associated with finding, and commercialising, alternatives to fossil fuels:
Improving alternative energy sources
Why are subsidies for alternative energies still lagging behind those for nuclear oil or coal?