It has been thirty years since we have been exploring alternate energy sources. Why are none in place?

Question

Is it a conspiracy? Is it that the alternatives are not able to produce enough energy? Is it that the alternatives cause their own pollution that would be just as hard to deal with?

You have to recognize that who ever provides energy is going to make massive amounts of money. It is the one thing that every one needs.

Don't you think if the oil companies are buying the patents for alternatives that if there was one that made money they wouldn't market it?

Answer 1

We have developed alternative energy sources. Solar power, wind power, electric cars, etc. But oil is cheaper, more effective, and more reliable than those alternatives. As we run out of oil it will keep getting more expensive, and once it gets to the point where it's more expensive than solar power, we'll switch. People complain about oil, but it's actually very cheap, effective, and reliable. It's quite extraordinary. Asking for something better is unrealistic.

Nuclear power is one alternative that actually is pretty good. I think France gets like 70% of their power from nuclear energy. We should too. It's stupid that we don't. But the politicians won't let us build more nuclear power plants.

Answer 2

Why fix something if it isn't broken? There is no conspiracy. Fossil fuels are the most efficient, cost effective, convenient source of energy available. On the contrary of what you are saying, the call for alternate energy is the conspiracy. Everyday people are lied to in schools, on the T.V. in magazines, etc. that we are "destroying" the earth.

Facts:
#1 The earth renews and cleans itself. Think about when a volcano erupts. How many millions of tons of sulfur, C02, Carbon Moxoxide, Acid, etc. does it spew into the atmosphere? What about natural fissures under the ocean which vent out millions of gallons of crude oil every day?
#2 There has ALWAYS been a hole in the ozone layer.
#3 Global Warming is just a radical term for "We are coming out of an Ice Age". Core samples collected at Antarctica indicate that the Earth has been gradually getting warmer over obout the last 10, 000 years. OMG! and one day *gasp* it will start cooling again. But still, power hungry politicians and biased media will tell us that it is our fault.
#4 Regardless on what you may have seen on TV, Al gore is NOT a scientist. He is a career politician and will tell you what he wants you to hear.

My conspiracy theory plays out like this: Politicians started this hype because it is just that: hype, and Americans LOVE drama so this gains them credibility. Also there are a few tree-huggers who actually believe this stuff and have enough credibility and influence to get their own message out.
On the Political side, politicians hope that Americans see a crisis and will turn to the government, giving them more power. Now that this is a governmental issue, the government has that much more control over taxation and regulation anything organic to the dilema. Yes, higher taxes, expanded government, and one more agency for US citizens to support with their hard earned money.
Now, on the private side, the tree huggers are benefitting from advertisement, money recieved for lobbying, etc.

Its a vicious cycle.

Answer 3

Until we learn how to use ocean water to create a fuel that produces nothing but clean water, it is a dead end. Solar is a joke on a large scale. everybody complains about everything else. Wind, kills birds, block views, ethanol still burning, methane still burning, even if you had a way to burn water, you would be removing drinking water which is running out. Now I am NOT a environmentalist. I think GW. is bull crap, just as the "hole in the Ozone" which cost American millions for no reason was. I like nuclear , we have tons of warheads that could be converted. If the spent fuel is so hot that there is no where to put it, then why not continue to use it, until it is all gone? it has to be possible, with today's tech. there is no reason the Nuclear energy can not be made safe clean and cheep, we are fools to not use what we have.

Answer 4

The Big Bad Oil Companies? The people who blindly state this are followers and are incapable of free thought.

We don't because the market has not lead us down that path. Until recently, when Toyota and Honda introduced a well designed hybrid, they are only 2 seaters the went 35 mph for 5 1/2 miles then needed a recharge. We will see more hybrids and further advancements of alternative fuels as the public realizes they go expressway speeds, save fuel cost, and cost the same.

Forcing alternative fuels will only hurt the economy.

Answer 5

Well one of the alternatives was Nuclear energy,a source that could be providing most of our electric power right now if we had chosen to do so. Then of course we could also start looking into plug in hybrids and fully electric cars,of course at the moment it's not going to make much sense to build them because we will just build more coal fired power plants to provide the electricity. Then again "environmentalists" like Al Gore don't really care about results.the only concern is feeling like your doing something and of course the control their policies will give them over the lives of others. Their are lots of alternatives out there,eventually most environmental groups will fight the alternatives as well. There's already the obvious hatred of Nuclear energy,I've even seen people fighting against windmill placement,due to supposed risk to birds and even scenic reasons,God forbid we put up a windmill and mess up the view.

AD

Answer 6

The primary reason is none are economically feasible today. Considering that and the constant whining from the leftists about the cost of fuel, it is not going to become feasible soon, maybe not in my lifetime, so get used to it.

I have yet been able to get a leftist to tell me where it is in the Constitution that we have a right to cheap fuel.

Using ethanol as an example, the production costs and all others at the pump are around $2.30 per gallon, and its energy level is about 60% of gasoline for a final cost of $3.83 per gallon, which today is more than gasoline. Not only does it cost more per unit of energy, using it for fuel is going to increase our food costs, since Congress passed its bill there are shortages of corn products all over. The sad part of this, we are a major producer of carbohydrates for the LDCs in the world, and this is going to really hurt the people who need the food.

The road to ehll is paved with good intentions and with the loony left we are going to ehll quickly, just because it makes them feel good.

God help us if we are to survive the socialists.

Answer 7

Conspiracy of sorts.

Oil companies have been buying up all the patents for alternative energy so they never see the light of day! They DON'T want alternative energy, they make too much now and they would actually have to spend money!

Answer 8

A combination of those factors (except the conspiracy of course:) ). We are still to find an economically viable form of alternative energy. In addition, most alternative fuels seem to have their own set of problems. For example, solar and wind energy are way too intermittent and expensive to be viable alternatives. Also, in countries where wind turbines have been used the damage to the bird population has been significant. The turbines act as large sucking engines that suck in the birds and then slice them into pieces.

Answer 9

Developing renewable energy sources requires that the technology used is sufficiently difficult enough to reproduce that the cost can be controlled .

Imagine a basic enough technology that could be reproduced cheaply that provided power .

See its not that we do not have enough material and technology to make life better .

Its that the powers in charge fear what we will become .

What happens when people have to much free time on their hands .

Seriously if you have no talent for writing or painting or the arts and you lack the motivation for sports like golf and tennis and other organized sporting events what would you do with all the free time .

America is gambling and living fantasy lives on the Internet in chat rooms and lately becoming interactive with web cams and instant communication which has lead to adults meeting children for sex .
Thats illegal but how many adults are hooking up with other adults for sex not that its any of my business .
But domestic violence is on the rise and jealousy and insecurity plays a role in all this .
Husbands sit at work checking out the pictures of married women who are posting suggestive pictures and chatting with strange men online hoping not to find their wife on their .

What would we all do if things got easier .

If you could go to the store and have what you wanted and you only worked 20 hours a week .

You say that would be great but I suspect that people would do what comes natural and that would be chaos .

With out the around 12 hours each day we spend involved in our survival what would we do .

Arrests go up and more deaths happen every holiday and on the week ends when we are free to do as we want .
Imagine 5 days off and just two days working and I think you will begin to get why people are only paid a certain amount of money for working .

And why the government makes the rules so hard on people who want to make a product and sell it . Or provide a valuable service in high demand .

You are happy to pay a well dressed some what intelligent individual to come to your home and fix a computer problem and happily pay them $150.00 and yet the yard man makes maybe 20 bucks and hour . The painter who does you entire house in a few days makes and average living also .
The day an average person stops working he begins to pile up debt .
Cause his bills and rents and utilities are all based on him working those 40 hours each week .

Why do the drug dealers get noticed so quickly .
They are not working and appear to pay all their bills and have way to much free time .

DO cops hate drug dealers because of the drugs or the unlimited free time and fun they have .

Answer 10

More than that. When energy prices spike, there is a big rush into synfuels R&D. When prices drop, everyone loses interest. The basic problem is that long range planning means the next annual report.