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A dirty (and dangerous) shade of green

Sara Wolcott | Monday 18th May 2009

China's rolling out a Green Economy, thanks no doubt to an increase in global demand for green and the Green New Deal trends that are spreading fast.

But in the rush to green success, there's a dirty and dangerous shadow. As reported on Celsius.com, Silicone tetrachloride is a waste product from solar panels. Unless recycled carefully (which is what happens in the EU and the US), it forms a dangerous, sticky white acid makes it difficult to breath - and destroys the soil on which it lands. Recycling it is time consuming, expensive, and energy-intensive. Companies are saving millions, making more profits and cheaper products - which is good for consumers... and bad for the local population and the local environment. The government isn't paying much attention, assuming, again, that environmental costs can be figured in later.

It's not the first time governments have let businesses put profits before people and our habitat - but doing so when producing for the 'green economy' seems particularly unethical.

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