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The Sahara project is really just a concept. It will take a trillion dollars to make it anywhere near reality and I dont even know of the technology exists to make it viable.
The real issue with doing something like that in America is the cost of fighting off the wacko environmentalists worried about some desert gecko or something.
But never fear, the lovely dynamic duo of Cantie & Collie to the rescue.
"Two senators, Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, have proposed an alternative that they call cap and dividend, under which licenses to pollute would be auctioned to producers and wholesalers of fossil fuels, with three-quarters of the revenue returned to consumers in monthly checks to cover their higher energy costs."
Progress in the science of converting sunlight to energy is proceeding rapidly, almost like Moore's Law for PC chips.
It's coming to this country, but the big money is keeping quiet about it. Once in a while news leaks out about what's going on here. For example, Goldman Sachs and other BIG money players are buying up huge tracts of land in our own desert southwest for the utility-scale solar projects that ARE coming, i.e., they want to corner the market on big tracts of sunny land, and when they do, watch for Congress to implement incentives to build the solar installations.
Texans love to talk about oil, but few folks are aware that TX is about the largest producer of electricity from wind power, enough to power over a million homes....and growing.
A new energy economy is taking root now. Big money knows that oil reserves are dwindling and that new reserves are in hard to get at places (deep oceans, Arctic areas, etc). The same big money knows that the ability to pump it, transport and refine it are also limited. Politicians have little to do with the new energy economy, save for the usual political posturing of claiming fatherhood of successful outcomes (Success has a thousand fathers, Failure is an orphan). I do LIKE that Obama is trying to lead us out of the oil prison, the transformation has been gathering steam for some time, and any incentives he can apply will be welcome.
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A new energy economy is taking root now. Big money knows that oil reserves are dwindling and that new reserves are in hard to get at places (deep oceans, Arctic areas, etc). The same big money knows that the ability to pump it, transport and refine it are also limited. Politicians have little to do with the new energy economy, save for the usual political posturing of claiming fatherhood of successful outcomes (Success has a thousand fathers, Failure is an orphan). I do LIKE that Obama is trying to lead us out of the oil prison, the transformation has been gathering steam for some time, and any incentives he can apply will be welcome.
I'm glad that the military has considered global warming a national security threat.
These are the guys that gave us cell phones, GPS and the web.
If anybody can make clean & green tech happen its those guys.
This guy is brilliant, taking a seeming defeat for green/clean energy and turn it into a measured victory.
"We are at a crossroads for President Obama to seize the moment by establishing our own National Oil Trust. It could be modeled after our own experience with the TVA and that of the world's third largest energy exporter, Norway's National Oil Trust.
Were we to have a similar program, the trust could be mandated to direct its revenues toward developing alternative energy programs and to expand mass transportation, thereby becoming a cornerstone for energy independence and combating climate change.
President Obama, now is the moment to build on Roosevelt's legacy! "
"At the pace of a fast bicycle, a solar-powered plane took to the skies for its maiden flight Wednesday, passing an important test on the way to a historic voyage around the world – a journey that would not use a drop of fuel."
Kovert, a lot of money is being spent towards solar power in the USA.
A lot of government money here and in other countries. I know Spain and Germany are often cited, the current rate of subsidization in Spain is around 40 cents a kWh and upwards of 55 cents in Germany. The average cost per kWh in the US is about 12 cents last time I looked.
A lot of government money here and in other countries. I know Spain and Germany are often cited, the current rate of subsidization in Spain is around 40 cents a kWh and upwards of 55 cents in Germany. The average cost per kWh in the US is about 12 cents last time I looked.
If you think Spain is interesting, check out what Denmark is doing.
"Their use has not only reduced the country’s energy costs and reliance on oil and gas, but also benefited the environment, diminishing the use of landfills and cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The plants run so cleanly that many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration."
I always knew Nordic chicks were hot but this takes the cake.
"Unbeknownst to them, these sweaty Swedes have become a green energy source: "They're cheap and renewable," says Karl Sundholm, a project manager at Jernhusen, a Stockholm real estate company, and one of the creators of the system."
Not surprising coming from the Japs (http://www.grist.org/article/2010-04-26-worlds-first-taxis-with-easily-swapped-batteries-hit-tokyo/ - broken link).
"The world's first taxis with easily replaceable batteries hit the streets of the Japanese capital Monday in a government-funded experiment.
Tokyo can become the capital of electric vehicles"
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