A Friendly Future of "Clean" Energy Debate

Me: The only way to make wind and solar viable is to some how harness it and the only way to do that is to store the energy in a battery. Anyone want to tell me how having massive amounts of lead acid batteries is better than just using our own gas and oil that at least occurs naturally in the earth.

Friend of the Environment Facebook Friend: Electricity would be stored the same way that it is in the power grid today, in capacitors. Good question though. And we do need to utilize all of the resources that we have.

Me: My understanding is that the power grid MOVES electricity , it doesn't ST0RE it.

Friend of the Environment Facebook Friend: I had to delete my earlier response. After researching this issue further, your statement is more true than mine. The large scale electrical storage facilities in use today are storing energy in batteries.

Me: I have to say that I have some personal experience with lead acid, so that's why I know. My hometown, in rural Ohio, was one of the the top 10 worst polluted sites in the nation back in the 1970's. Why? Because my hometown housed a battery dump. I know they have since made the acid so it breaks down in like 3 years, but I'm passionate about it. How can so called "friends of the environment" advocate for technology that would be 100x's worse on the environment than oil and gas which occurs naturally in the earth. Yes, an oil spill is horrible to think about but what do these "friends of the environment" think a lead acid spill would look like ...

UPDATE

A resident of my hometown: [Name withheld]’s basement has to be monitored because of the battery acid pollution in the area from the dump site that you referred to. Really makes you rethink gardening in the area…