In looking at the ethics of a technology, we need to assess whether it is value laden or neutral. If a technology impacts on the rights of people then it is value laden, if it does not it is value neutral. There can be a tendency to think that technology is value neutral, that is that people’s use of the technology introduces ethical implications, but the technology itself does not. The old “guns don’t kill people” argument is a simple example. It’s true guns by themselves don’t kill people (not tradition firearms anyway) but guns are designed and manufactured to kill people (and animals and empty bottles, but we are talking about people here) – efficiently. Their purpose is to either kill or disable others, so they are value laden. I am interested in the ethics of solar power. Solar power helps to reduce pollution and CO2 generated during electricity production, with the potential to replace fossil fuels. On initial inspection it appears to be a perfect solution: clean, unlimited power from the sun and intrinsically value neutral. But I believe there are extrinsic concerns relating to the environment and justice which need consideration. 

Environmentally, there is the impact of mining raw materials (Sonter et al., 2020) at the beginning of their lifecycle. And what happens at the end of the solar panel’s lifecycle? At the moment they are mostly ending up in landfill, despite being recyclable (King, 2021). Meanwhile, the batteries used to store the power are uneconomical to recycle and are also going to landfill, with an estimated 11 million tonnes of batteries needing recycling by 2030 (Gardiner, 2017). It can be easy to adopt a technologically optimistic stance and say “oh, we’ll figure that out”, but given that 67% of Victoria’s waste stockpile is recycling (Rizmal, 2019), should we be so confident? These issues will affect future generations who are unable to consider or state their position on this because they are yet to be born or are too young to understand the issues.

In terms of justice there are a number of issues. The batteries that are used to store solar generated power can use child labour in developing countries (McKie, 2021) and forced labour can be used in manufacturing solar cells (BBC News, 2021). This breaches human rights of children to be free from exploitation and harmful work (UNICEF, n.d.) and more generally for all people to be free from forced labour (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). On a national scale, countries who are unable to afford grid-scale solar infrastructure could have their ability to participate in emissions trading schemes impacted – or at the least be reduced to preserving their environment to gain credits (World Bank Group, 2021). This could impact their ability to further develop their economies and the benefits it would afford. This could add further to an already large power imbalance between the developed and developing nations. 

Having looked at the extrinsic impacts on the environment across the solar cell lifecycle and justice on an individual and national scale which negatively impact on power imbalances and individual’s agency,  I believe that solar power is value laden.

References

Australian Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). Freedom from slavery and forced labour. Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-slavery-and-forced-labour

BBC News. (2021, May 14). China uses Uyghur forced labour to make solar panels, says report. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57124636

Gardiner, J. (2017, August 10). The rise of electric cars could leave us with a big battery waste problem. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/aug/10/electric-cars-big-battery-waste-problem-lithium-recycling

History and future of plastics. (2016, July 18). Science History Institute. https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics

King, R. (2021, June 6). Rooftop solar produces clean energy but most panels end up in landfill despite being recyclable. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-06/what-happens-to-solar-panels-after-their-useful-life-is-over/100193244

McKie, R. (2021, January 3). Child labour, toxic leaks: The price we could pay for a greener future. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/03/child-labour-toxic-leaks-the-price-we-could-pay-for-a-greener-future

Sonter, L. J., Dade, M. C., Watson, J. E. M., & Valenta, R. K. (2020). Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17928-5

Rizmal, Z. (2019, June 6). Scathing report finds waste stockpiling poses “unacceptable risk” to public health, environment. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-06/victoria-auditor-general-scathing-report-waste-management/11186702

UNICEF. (n.d.). The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The children’s version. UNICEF. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version

World Bank Group. (2021, November 8). Healthy forests are fertile ground for carbon markets. World Bank Group. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/11/05/healthy-forests-are-fertile-ground-for-carbon-markets