Environment & Energy

... and we all have to come to terms with the irrefutable fact that manufacturing anything has its environmental downside. The potential toxicity of elements used in making solar cells has to be weighed against the well-known damage to the environment and the air we breathe caused by refining and burning fossil fuels.
This is the only planet we've got, and, in all likelihood, the only planet we'll ever have. Even if there are other habitable planets – and it's statistically impossible for there not to be – in even our own galaxy, never mind any of the other billions of galaxies out there, they are far, far too distant for us to get to them. SO. It behooves us to do anything and everything possible with the resources presently available to mitigate the proven harm fossil fuels inflict, while at the same time working to minimize the harm that manufacturing alternative power sources may pose. Everything's a trade-off.
Responsible stewardship of Mother Earth and its resources is the most important thing that we, as human beings, will ever undertake. But try telling that to the psychotic corporatists that know the harm they're causing, including the harm they're inflicting on their own children as well as ours, they just don't give shit. Money trumps everything. (Pun intended)
Hope I cheered you up! Have a nice day.