He's often hoarse at the end of the day because he performs his dialogue out loud as he writes it. (This may account for its strikingly naturalistic quality.)
Hills and mountains are often regarded as the epitome of permanence, successfully resisting the destructive forces of nature, but in fact they tend to be relatively short-lived in geological terms.
Moreover, materials that have transitions at the temperatures that terrestrial solar-energy systems are likely to encounter are usually destructively corrosive at those temperatures.
People usually don't pay much attention to how much water industry uses, but you may be surprised to know that industry uses 59% of the water in developed countries.
Damage often occurs slowly, with peripheral vision affected first, and many sufferers do not realise there is a problem until their sight is badly affected.