Your article describes the economic and environmental costs of semiconductor chips. Interestingly, the impacts on the environment are very similar for the manufacture of solar cells. Many environmentalists place such unrealistic expectations on solar cell energy that they overlook certain facts. First, solar cells yield at most 30 percent efficiency. Second, solar cells do not last forever. Most manufacturers only rate cells for 25 years. Third, manufacture of solar cells still requires large amounts of fossil fuel because growing a single crystal requires lots of heat.
Sean Walton Columbus, Ohio
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