Even the problems of alternative energy are exciting to me. Wind turbines are noisy and birds often run into the blades, killing themselves. Compared to smog and greenhouse gases, these alternative energy problems are so darn easy! Solar cells are too expensive. Wow, is that ever an obvious problem to throw some technical expertise at. They're too big. Miniaturization? Easy, just give us time. Solar water heaters often leak. Leaky pipes? Easy. Geothermal systems need to tear up a person's yard to put the pipes into the ground. I'm guessing smaller, specialized drilling equipment and ways to make the pipes all curly so they need less surface torn up.
Don't these seem like easy problems to solve? Compared to nuclear (break down go boom) and even hydroelectric (flood thousands of acres to make a dam) I just don't see the "barriers" to alternative energy. It's just a matter of time and energy. Lord Buckminster Fuller said that all our reliance on non-renewable energy sources is just stopgap until we get the renewable sources ready. It looks like coal, oil and gas should last just about long enough for that.
10:08:20 PM 
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