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I am all for being green and energy independent. In fact I added a ground source heat pump (geothermal) HVAC system in my house two years ago. My heating and air conditioning needs are now off fossil fuels except for the electricity needed to run the equipment. The fuel is the renewable sunlight stored in the ground as heat. I love the GSHP/GEO system and have no regrets paying for it but honestly I just don't think solar panels are a good investment right now. I wish people would stop pushing the solar panels so hard and place some effort in developing more ideas for energy independence. There is certainly room in our economy and society for more than just solar panels as green options.
All of our energy needs are available from the Sun. We only understand a fraction of the energy that bombards the Earth and is all around us. Solar is what our scientists should be focusing on. Today’s solar panels are a joke.
In short, until solar panels are standard for all homes, every county in the USA should have a backup supply. That way, if a major oil producer goes into anarchy or embargoes us, we won't be held hostage.
Even worse, we need to protect ourselves from a nuke goes off in low earth orbit above Kansas, so that its EMP won't knock out the oil and gas line pumping stations, which even in the best case will take several weeks to repair.
Panels especially are easily transportable over long distances, less clumsy to load and unload than coal and especially oil (you don't have to shovel or pump it), and once installed you don't have to await the next shipment of them (or at least as often). Also, there's much less, if any, need to ration energy like we did in the early to mid 70s during the Arab oil embargo and the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
So it seems to me that this is where freedom and environmentalism meet. Green energy means a free America, if you want to catchphrase it.
Only a tiny fraction of US electricity is produced with oil. The vast majority comes from coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydro.
Only a tiny fraction of US electricity is produced with oil. The vast majority comes from coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydro.
I think the OP has left the discussion. When people talk about energy they inexplicable tie it to oil. You can present all kinds of facts and data and they still can't get away from the oil = energy equation. I don't know whats wrong with people
It would be great if we could all get off the grid with inexpensive, RELIABLE, separate power supplies for all our homes. The energy utilities of course are totally against that. Why transmit power over hundreds of miles, or more. It is very inefficient, and forces people to buy from a monopoly.
Until there is a break through, we will rely on fossil fuels to power the world. It is just reality. We have abundant, domestic supply, and the U.S. can, and will be a net exporter of energy.
I don't think we have to worry, coal is going to save us.
In the long run, you are correct.
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When people talk about energy they inexplicable tie it to oil. You can present all kinds of facts and data and they still can't get away from the oil = energy equation. I don't know whats wrong with people
