[geeks] Re: [rescue] Energy

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On 8 May 2002, Gregory Leblanc wrote:

> Heh, that must be using current solar electric technology, or
> something.  If you had 98% efficient solar electric cells, it's
> something like 15 square kilometers or solar electric cells to power the
> entire US. 

Someone needs to get cooking on this.  If you quadrupled that figure (and
had equivalent backup systems in places like Arizona, Nevada, Death
Valley, or even west Texas), we could have electric cars, all the old
hardware we wanted, and not have to worry about the messes associated with
dino fuel ever again.

#ifdef POLITICS

To boot, we could thumb our nose to Osama, Saddam & pals and just let them
fight their little war and bloody-well get it over with.  We've got no
business interfering and picking/arming sides, and we wouldn't be, if it
weren't for oil.  Sorta like how pot would still be legal if it weren't
for the tobacco companies so many years ago.

The downside is that, for anything of that scale, you'd have to get the
government involved, and oil has its hands on the government's balls.  Not
to mention that the government would just cock it all up anyway.  It's too
bad that the technology wasn't there while Hoover was in office, or we'd
probably already have widespread solar power.

#endif /* POLITICS */

--Jonathan