Can you quantify that? I'm seeing comments in this thread saying, over and over again, that manufacturing these things is an environmental disaster. But without numbers, the statement is meaningless. We are currently poisoning pretty much the entire planet for our energy needs. If we cut that down to, say, poisoning an area the size of Texas for our energy needs, that would be a massive win.
Solar is definitely far better than fossil. It's just not entirely clear that it's better than nuclear, especially with the advanced reactors that get a hundred times as much energy from the same fuel, and produce only a small amount of short-lived waste.
Humanity is an environmental disaster. The issue at stake is avoiding the worse evils right now so that we can continue to lead a somewhat prosperous existence which, with some hope, will eventually become sustainable.
Yes, but mining them is an environmental disaster.