Comment by tzs
7 years ago
Their issue with electricity is with depending on the grid, not with electricity per se. They want to minimize critical dependencies on outside sources, especially single outside sources.
Gasoline is a commodity available from many sources, so doesn't cause the kind of dependency the grid would. Many Amish do use non-grid electricity, from solar cells, batteries, windmill driven generators, or gas powered generators.
I wonder... would the same community be ok with building their own grid, with a small power generation plant? They could run it off hydro/wind/solar and end up LESS dependent on the outside world than they are currently (where they need a steady source of gasoline, the production of which relies on the very same electric grid they want no part of joining).
This feels like a very strange place to draw the line, thought I realize like all such social/religious things, a line has to bee drawn and can be redrawn in the future. Kind of like Shabbat elevators in NYC.[1] Both seem, to me as an outsider, to be somewhere between ingenious life-hack and outright cheating. But, it's not my life and they aren't asking my opinion.
1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_elevator
So, do Amish consider solar power acceptable?
Any question like that is hard to answer as Amish groups are pretty diverse. Some do. It depends on how that particular group views that technology's impact on the community.
Solar power as in stove with parabolic mirror - probably yes, solar power as in photovoltaic panel - probably not. The reason is that you can build one yourself and you can't the other.
No dependency during usage is less bad but you're still depending on manufacturer - and you want to avoid dependency.
Can they refine diesel and build an air compressor themselves? And I mean in practice, not theoretically.
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Can solar panels be made in ways they make their current appliances and tools? I'm guessing not. I'm guessing a huge reason solar panels are made in China is because their production pollutes a lot[1]. I'm guessing the Amish are against anything that pollutes.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23...
But gasoline & diesel are okay despite polluting? That doesn't make sense, nor does it follow that petroleum based fuels are permitted despite be extracted and refined using tools and appliances well beyond what most Amish communities currently permit.
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This criticism of solar power is mostly propaganda from the fossil fuel industry.
There are 5+ types of solar panels. Cadmium-Telluride solar cells, the ones criticized for toxic components, only make up about 5% of all solar panels produced.
Most conventional solar panels are made from Silicon. Silicon is produced by refining sand. It's not toxic and makes up objects that we use every day (i.e. windows or cups).
My understanding is that many Amish are enthusiastic solar adopters, precisely because it's off the grid.