Social media platforms have become clearinghouses for conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation.
One Reddit post put all three on display, asking for people's thoughts about a Facebook diatribe on solar power, which would have been comical if not for the outright lies and pseudoscience therein.
The theories in the Facebook post were attributed to George Franklin, with the text noting his apparent expertise as a "literal rocket scientist." He said he was "Microsoft certified," and not many if any of his "bonafides" were applicable to his claims.
"Solar farms will become thunderstorm and tornado incubators and magnets," one conclusion read. Another asserted solar panels exacerbate "weather extremes."
Among the debunking information shared by commenters, they noted the post's complaint about the efficiency of solar panels was spurious. They also knocked down the writer's submissions about panels' production of heat and radiation.
Solar panels generally convert about 20% of the sunlight that hits them into energy, which is close to their maximum output, and when compared to the 0% efficiency of a roof or landscape, it's quite an upgrade. Moreover, a study showed solar farms do generate heat but that it "dissipates quickly and can't be measured 100 feet away," and other research backs this up.
Solar panels are costly to install but can lower energy bills dramatically. They also don't produce planet-warming pollution like burning dirty energy sources such as coal and natural gas does. There are tax benefits, too, while community solar programs offer a no-installation route to using cleaner energy.
"The basic thermodynamics fail here is obvious to anyone who's done a community college level class in them," one Redditor wrote about the Facebook post. "Unfortunately this copypasta bulls*** [is] aimed squarely at people who haven't, and are already motivated to believe the bulls*** through some other lead-in issue that brought them into the tribe."
Someone else said, "The fact that this is sent around like a 1990s chain mail makes me doubt this aerospace engineer exists."
|
What is stopping you from upgrading to a heat pump system?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
The cost of installation 💵 Another commenter provided the comic relief everyone needed, writing: "All I know is when I got solar panels, 8 months of the year my power bill dropped from $200 to $38. How that magic happens, I do not care."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
