Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward
May I counter some misperceptions. We leave-us-alone types are quite capable of embracing change. But we do it on our terms. Not on somebody else's terms. Show us the advantage of change, and we'll jump on it. But is has to be an advantage.
I personally don't buy the "we'll all be toast soon" theory. Believe me, I have looked at an enormous sheaf of data, and I don't find it matches the hype. Just one example, peak oil. Probably true. But in 10 years I'll be able to get all my energy needs off my suburban rooftop, cheaper than what I'm paying today.
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Yes and no. Suburban rooftop implies solar power, and specifically photovoltaic conversion. Solar power for things like heating and cooling has been around for a while. It most sensible for hot water heating, as that's up to 20% of the average energy bill, and there is a relatively fast payback on the investment.
Photovoltaics are quite another matter. They've seen limited deployment because of cost.
And even if you can get all of your energy requirements that way, that doesn't end the requirement for fossil fuel. The last I looked, electricity was about 25% of the total national energy budget. (The rest went to residential and light commercial heating and cooling, industrial usage, and transportation -- all things that likely aren't feasible to use electricity instead.)
Ultimately, economics will prevail. We won't run out of oil. It will simply become more expensive than other alternatives, and we'll switch to something cheaper. Alternative energy has had only niche penetration thus far because it usually
is more expensive than using oil, coal, or gas.
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Dennis