Will Alternative Energy Run Out Of Gas?

Clean-Energy Field Getting Bitten By Credit Crisis, But Long-Term Trends Point In Its Favor

(CNET)  By Martin LaMonica

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People in the alternative energy business have said repeatedly there are "great fundamentals" driving their businesses, namely high fossil fuel prices, supportive government policies, and growing environmental awareness.

Now some of the pillars underpinning green technologies are wobbling. Oil prices have plummeted more than 50 percent since the summer, making traditional energy sources look a lot more affordable than they did six months ago for businesses and consumers alike. And the global credit crisis that has sucked the wind out of the economy has done damage to the funding of alternative energy projects as well.

The hardest hit by a freeze or reluctant lending are renewable energies which are already commercial, or on the cusp of getting there. These aren’t cheap little startups we’re talking about: Constructing a biofuels plant costs upwards of a $100 million while connecting a solar power plant, capable of powering tens of thousands of homes, is in the range of $500 million and $800 million, depending on the size. In the current credit market, it’s tough to come up with that money.

But don’t write off clean tech as another casualty of the souring economy quite yet. Today's clean energy field is a lot more resilient than in the days of the 1970s oil price shock for one simple reason - society's priorities have changed since then. Climate change and energy security are front-page issues that still command the attention of consumers, businesses, and politicians, regardless of the economy.

Industry is also catching up to the demand for greener and energy-efficient goods, everything from non-toxic cleaning products to small wind turbines. The solar industry projects that cost reductions from technology and manufacturing scale will make solar power match the retail cost of electricity in some areas within a few years.

Nonetheless, the ballyhooed clean tech revolution is being slowed. The length of that delay hinges on the economy, of course, and government policy. Federal incentives to stimulate the transition to more diverse energy sources could serve as a backstop to keep the alternative energy movement on track for both economic and environmental reasons, according to Mark Fulton, the global head of climate change investment research at Deutsche Bank. That is, if there aren’t other spending priorities, like bailing out Wall Street.

"The current debate in the next year will include arguments around energy security, which will be combined with the climate change issue, in order to get people focused on the fact that it's a necessity and an opportunity," Fulton said.

Business fundamentals

Just a few years ago, hardly anybody heard the terms "clean tech" or "green tech," which describe products that make better use natural resources. Renewable energy and efficiency certainly aren't new. But the clean-tech wave is founded on an important idea: a company can make money with environmentally friendly goods. GE's Ecomagination initiative and Wal-Mart's solar-powered "sustainable" stores are two high-profile corporate examples. But there are hundreds of small firms which have formed over the past five years.

Venture capitalists - the same people who bankrolled the dot-com boom - have lavished money on green-tech firms, making it the fastest growing investment sector. But these start-ups come with a hitch, one that's only getting worse with the credit crisis: Energy technology start-ups typically require far more money than what venture capitalists are equipped to invest to take a product from the lab to the market.

The current fiscal environment makes getting that "late-stage" funding even tougher and, if debt is involved, more expensive. In particular, financiers of energy projects don't like technology risk. Wind turbines are well proven and the returns predictable. But understanding the economics of making ethanol from wood chips at commercial scale is still a black art at this point.

To some, that late-stage funding barrier exposes a structural flaw when it comes to technical innovation in energy, environment, and water. "We need a new financing system," says Matthew Nordan, the president of emerging technology advisory firm Lux Research. "The old one from the 1970s is unlikely to make it happen."

A role for government?

But even amid slumping financial markets and volatile energy prices, there's cautious optimism regarding alternative energies. Why? Politicians - most notably both major presidential candidates - say renewable energy will play a major role in fixing the nation’s energy problems.

Government spending is the real wild card. State and federal governments have helped get many fledgling clean-energy companies out of the nest. Michigan and the Department of Energy, for example, funded construction of a plant to make ethanol from wood chips, one of several DOE-backed projects. States tend to be eager to promote clean-energy businesses to help grow their economies and create jobs. But these projects are likely to be squeezed as tax receipts fall and budgets scrutinized.

Renewable energy industries like wind, solar, and geothermal, got an important federal tax credit extended last month. Among other things, consumers can now get a 30 percent tax credit for solar electric panels.

Clean-energy advocates say much more should be done, such as bulking up the power grid and mandating that utilities get a percentage of their electricity from renewable sources.

On climate change, experts believe it's only a matter of time before there are federal laws to restrict greenhouse gas emission from heavy polluters, like utilities; California and the Northeast states have already pushed ahead with their own carbon-emission reduction programs.

More immediately, the world leaders' reaction to the financial crisis could determine whether and how quickly clean energy technologies will make an impact on the energy business.

Governments may treat the economic crisis as a reason to backpedal on emissions reduction targets. Another school of thought is to make energy and environment an important part of government stimulus spending to upgrade infrastructure.

Many technologies - solar, wind, geothermal, cellulosic ethanol - can be scaled up today. Others, such as storing carbon underground at coal plants, need more active government involvement to make economically feasible, said Fulton of Deutsche Bank.

"We do indeed have many technologies that are in commercialization, or close to it, that can have significant impacts on the whole energy and electricity mix," Fulton said. "But there are still some looming that need public and private capital to keep pushing them down the cost curve."

[runningralph]

Consumers cheer the decline in fuel prices. But if fuel is too cheap there are bad consequences. Low prices encourage liberal consumption, pollution and discourages development of alternative energy sources. Fossil fuel won''t last forever. Consumers should keep conserving. Oil producers should cut production to stabilize prices and look for viable alternatives.

[sloppymonkey]

The easiest way to stretch our oil reserves is to attack it from an efficiency stand point. A revolution in efficiency engineering could provide quality jobs in AMERICA where we are desperate for real work. The cost of foreign oil is not as big an issue as the fact that it is FOREIGN. American dollars going overseas. If what is left of Detroit would get off their seats and get to the drawing board and improve mileage instead of lobbying against efficiency we could pull out of this economic spiral. Quit missing the ball. It is on a tee. Gas can drop to a dime a gallon but with no good jobs to drive to we will all be sitting at home soon. It is not just Detroit it is estimated that 50% of energy is lost in electrical transmission. Efficiency engineering could be the key to a sustainable future. By replacing old technology Americans could have quality jobs again. Education and innovation are the keys to putting America back in the drivers seat.

[Jim1900]

It is strange that we are willing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (not including the cost of the current war) defending oil supplies from the Middle East, but won''t invest a small fraction of that for our own energy resources. That would do a lot more for our security then defending a resource that is going to disappear anyway. And apparently most people aren''t aware that most of the oil from Saudi Arabia now goes to China. So we are bankrupting ourselves to protect their oil supply. Such a deal.

[sumose]

can we look at hemp now?

[egresor]

yes it will

the cause?

the focus wont be on wind (which it should because it the fastest means and safest and abundant and free)

no and not on other alternative fuels. it''ll be bio fuels. that means taking america grains from the food supply. and what happens when taxpayers subsidize that? (which you do) food stocks get reduced drastically too...cause all that food grain will be going for biofuels.

your food prices will rise.

at least pickens has a sensible plan for wind and natural gas. biofuels is a losing plan for americans. dead end plain and simple. you think food costs a lot now? waith til all thos bios generators start producing. they have a built in guaranteed profit thanks the our own government''s stupidity.

[nothappyatall]

"The easiest way to stretch our oil reserves is to attack it from an efficiency stand point."
Sloppymonkey"

NO, efficiency is a LOSING game because the goal post keeps moving! Cars today get 300-400% more MPG than the cars driven in the 70''s did yet we use MORE gas than ever before and it grows everry year despite more MPG requirements on engines, conservation etc.
The root cause of ALL the problems is OVER POPULATION, until and unless that is addressed with some serious controls and CAPS on births, we will be doomed to require more and more and more resources, energy, space, homes, fuels, food, water, waste treatment plants, power plants etc.
It wont matter how many MPGS cars get or how many wind generators are put up- you double the US population from 150 million in 1950 to 305 million today and double it again in that kind of time frame and there WILL BE severe problems in every aspect.

[jd2408]

Oil is always sold on the world market. It does not matter where it comes from. If the USA drills more at home it will still go on the world market and may not do anything for this country. We need safe alternative energy such as wind and solar and better cars. Every time our country turns to alternatives the oil prices go down. That is very strange. It was the same in the last oil crises and is the same now. We need to push Congress to get us out of being dependent on oil. Our country will never be truly free unitl we do.

[tannerbird]

Do not let this drop in oil prices have anything to do with alternatives this should not change not one thing.

[sloppymonkey]

Newster1 Your numbers are flawed, My 1967 Mercury averaged 21 mpg. to suggest that Detroit has tripled or quadrupled the mileage on these vehicles is very misguided. Heated leather seats are the best innovation out of Detroit since the 80''s. America is some 5% of the worlds population devouring an estimated 25% of foreign oil resources. Even if we cap population growth we still use substantially more than our share. You Malthusians can preach your population explosion ideas but today''s culture of consumption in America is outpacing population.

[ubrew12]

"Oil prices have plummeted more than 50 percent since the summer, making traditional energy sources look a lot more affordable than they did six months ago."

Market based approaches to energy always prefer the local timeline for the long horizon. In the long term, oil prices are going to go up, until they are out of sight. We better develop alternatives now before its too late.

But, try telling that to the Joe Sixpack crowd, who measure energy costs by the cost of accessing this years World Series, future be damned.

[jd2408]

The oil from the Alaskan pipeline is now sold to Japan and other Asian countries. Oil is always sold on the "World Market". The USA does not control our domestic oil supply. The world market does. When you understand that you will understand that the USA can not become energy independent until we get off of oil and turn to supplies of energy that can not be sold outside of this country. It does not matter how much energy we use but what energy we use and how we develope it.

[booneradio]

BooneRadio (dot ) com
And the other one million plaus supporters will keep the pickens plan vision alive

BooneRadio(dot)com

[jd2408]

There have always been alternatives to oil. They''''ve been around for decades. Finding an alternative is not the problem. The problem is using one.

Posted by william8891 at 12:05 AM : Oct 25, 2008
+ report abuse

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Amen,
As long as we allow Corporate greed and our paid for Congress we will not see our country free. We need to let them know its time to stop playing their game. We want something done now. If we don''t speak up and pressure them it will not happen. We need to take back our country. Its time.

[tiktin]

Wind power and solar energy are not practical alternatives. We can become energy independent without polluting the air, but the only way we can do that is by switching to nuclear and hydroelectric power. I don''t know how you convince people who dont know what they are talking about that they do not know what they are talking about. That is really the heart of the problem. The politicians listen to those who make the most noise. Engineers and scientists, the ones they should be listening to, are uncomfortable talking to laymen (except for a few charlatans)and talk mainly to each other. So they are not heard. An energy policy based on fear, ignorance and superstition is not going to succeed.

[sloppymonkey]

JD2408, Nationmaster informs me that the US is exporting 1,042,000 bbl/day of oil we import 13,150,000 bbl/day of oil and we produce 7,610,000 bbl/day . As a nation we consume 20,730,000 bbl/day while exporting a measly 5% of what we use. More than the next 5 countries combined including China, Japan, Germany, Russia and India according to the 2007 data. By doubling efficiency across the board we reduce demand by half. The fuel source does not matter though I prefer to keep corn as a food source for obvious reasons.

[jd2408]

Wind power and solar energy are not practical alternatives. We can become energy independent without polluting the air, but the only way we can do that is by switching to nuclear and hydroelectric power.
Posted by tiktin1 at 12:14 AM : Oct 25, 2008
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tiktin1, Go ask the people in Chernobyl if they agree with you.

[jd2408]

Posted by Sloppymonkey at 12:15 AM : Oct 25, 2008
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I feel oil supply and prices are being controlled. Domestic suppliers are not using most of the land contracted to them. Domestic supplies are being sold outside the country. It is not a shortage but a controlled method to gain the most amount of money for the supply and supported by our Government. If we developed clean coal technology we have enough coal in this country to last hundreds of years.
William 8891 is right on that we have the means and ability for alternative fuels but are not using them. It is all about greed and our pay to play Congress. It is too funny how they blame all this on our so called "addiction" to oil. Ask our President and VP what this addiction really feels like. I just bet they know first hand along with many others in Congress.

[erasmus81]

A few weeks back, on the news, they were going to be talking about the wind turbines and I missed it. They were saying something about the people that lived near them, getting really sick and getting severe headaches. Has anybody heard that, or know what that is about?

[downtowner97]

There is a great deal of disinformation about alternative energy from the people who have the most to lose: The oil and coal industries.

To learn more about alternative energy, watch "Fuel", a new documentary coming in November to a theater near you. Go to thefuelfilm.com

[sloppymonkey]

JD, sure oil prices are controlled. By OPEC. America is not an OPEC producing nation. We can run for maybe hundreds of years on coal but I take you to my first point of efficiency again, Even if cars are going to run on coal generated electricity efficiency is important. Losses in electrical transmission will deplete this resource at an unnecessary rate as well. Also even "Clean Coal" has devastating effects on the environment in the form of strip mines and mountaintop removal. There is money in efficiency. Technology is jobs. It will simply not be made by energy companies. Further OPEC nations feed their children on our demand for oil. They too lobby against higher fuel economy. It is their primary business. Nuclear electricity may be an option but high level waste will always be both a health and security risk so I say again the fuel source does not matter. We should engineer every drop of efficiency we can out of every unit we use.

[downtowner97]

I run my car on biodiesel, and have for 3 years. My car is a V-10 twin turbo VW Touareg, and it''s faster than a Porsche Cayenne. It doesn''t smoke, it isn''t noisy, and it doesn''t stink. You don''t have to anything to your deisel car or truck to run on biodiesel. Combine biodiesel cars, public transportation, living near your work, and electric cars running off distant wind power for short drives, and we can get off foreign AND domestic oil.

[jd2408]

Posted by Sloppymonkey at 01:00 AM : Oct 25, 2008
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I agree with you. Many of us are doing everything we can to save energy and cut cost. You are so right that we all should be doing this regardless of the type of energy we use. I just get really fed up with the games played by the energy companies and our Government. They play us all like puppets on a string. We are getting smarter and some day they will find out just how smart we are when they are voted out or hear from millions of us who are sick and tired of their games in the quality of our lives and our environment. They have made a mess of our economy with corporte greed and their buddies in Congress that I think enough of us have had enough of them. We will see what the future brings.

[robert2237]

It would use almost as much fuel to charge your battery as you do in you gas engine. I think as a lot of people think that we need to attach this in more than one or two fronts. Drill for the short term we may never pump a drop of oil but if we are drilling OPEC will be so worried they will keep the price down. They know that America has more oil than they do we just don''t drill for it. NOw some will say that is not true but if you do a little research you will find there are vast amounts in the NOrth in midwest and offshore. Some will require new technology to get it due to is depth. Next we need to star nuclar plants as fast as possible. If you are worried about the enviorment then you have only one choice and that is nuclar, there is no question about that. Next wind will allow for a minor amount of our needs as will solar. LNG should be a major source for us. T. Boon Pickens has stated this on a number of times. We could get that up and running very fast and save a lot on fuel.

[robert2237]

egresor- I do have to disagree with you on biofuel. Grain can be a stop gap moving on to other types such as switch grass. Pickens plan is the best out there for the short term and improve on it. But it will work. wind and soliar is not a fessible in a large scale. It is great for a small farm house but to run the whole country not usable at all.

[andor3]

judging everything only in terms of dollars and profit is what got us INTO this mess. Finance is only meaningful in a very tiny sliver of real life.

Being rich does not mean you are smart, happy, wise, popular, healthy, loved, nourished, or lead a meaningful life. It only means you are entitled to many pieces of green paper or shiny metals, both of which are useless to humans except as game pieces.

[robert2237]

Jim1348 - If you go back and look you will find that some have tried to get bills passed to develop our own fuel supplies but the dems. and liberals won''t let it happen. They do not care one dime about how much you have to pay for fuel as long as they are able to keep the far left groups happy they get their vote and that is all the dems care about.

[andor3]

even "alternative" is a misleading label; it makes it seem like fossil fuels are the "main" choice, and everything else is different. Really oil, gas and coal come from the sun--they are just dirty and inefficient ways to use solar power.

[sloppymonkey]

Thank you JD. But where conservation can be attained at an individual level, efficiency must be tackled at the corporate level. Investments in not only alternative energy but education in science and technology could take us so much further. Stacking solar and wind or the 100mp unit family car are only the beginning. Don''t let this fuel price reduction fool anyone into believing we do not need alternatives and remember that wise use can take us much further per unit mile.

[downtowner97]

The oil industry has spent a great deal of time and money on the psychology of selling oil. They have convinced most of the people in our country that we NEED the convenience of using the same form of energy this year we did 20 years ago. They added in a little heavily subsidized ethanol to make us feel like we''re each pioneers in the field of alternative energy. The truth is, regardless of whether your a Democrat or a Republican or a Libertarian or just don''t care, we need to use another form of energy that we can make here in America.

Much of the oil we use comes from America, but even that doesn''t create jobs and a sustainable future. A few people make all the money, and we the people get to clean up the mess.

[loudpipes3]

----Havent heard anything from Pickens lately.

------Hmmmmmm.---------

[billpl-2009]

it''s still a lot cheaper than spending $10 Billion a month killing Arabs

[egresor]

Grain can be a stop gap moving on to other types such as switch grass. Pickens plan is the best out there for the short term and improve on it. But it will work. wind and soliar is not a fessible in a large scale. It is great for a small farm house but to run the whole country not usable at all.

Posted by robert2237

hmmm....yes and no

wind is abundant and it could be implimented very rapidly compared to bio fuels. costs much less and create more jobs too. far better than bio as a stop gap. ther are vast areas in the west with winds to generate much more than you may think. ''

natural gas is abundant and if exploited properly would greatly reduce dependence on imported oil.

bio fuels aren''t practical for food reasons and we subsidizing them tremendously....so we only hurt ourselves choosing it as a stop-gap.

we need oil, but held captive by the oil companies. it''s a monopoly (competitive) and either you pay or you don''t get.

[egresor]

If you go back and look you will find that some have tried to get bills passed to develop our own fuel supplies but the dems. and liberals won''''t let it happen. They do not care one dime about how much you have to pay for fuel as long as they are able to keep the far left groups happy they get their vote and that is all the dems care about.

Posted by robert2237

sorry bit i think you mean the preserve in alaska?

do you actually think it will reduce prices one ota? or even reduce our dependence on imported? statistics show that even if they get access to anwar it will contribute very little to supplies. very little.

people have this fanatasy that if they do get access our dependence will be reduced aharply and that just isn''t true. the real percentage is very small. i don''t have the stats available now but i think it''s in the small single digits.

and if you think that''ll reduce prices --- no it will only be more oil.

[nothappyatall]

"natural gas is abundant and if exploited properly would greatly reduce dependence on imported oil."

We IMPORT LPG by the tanker loads because we don''t have enough, or did you miss that? been in the news because people dont want LPG offloading terminals and the explosion risk of a container ship packed full of explosive liquified pressurized gas in THEIR "backyard."
Did you also miss the supply and demand ratio? increase the demand for LPG and the PRICE skyrockets like it did about 3-4 years ago to double per therm.
Its not the "libs" or the "Dems" who dont want drilling in ANWAR, its the envirofreaks who file LAWSUITS to block it and protest it.

[nothappyatall]

The entire state of Alaska had only provided at most 14% of the oil we use in the USA, but Alaskans themselves use 76 barrels of oil per capita for each of the 700,000 residents there- they consume themselves 1/5th of all the oil they pump and is #1 for highest per capita use of all 50 states.
Alaskas oil prod declined 65% since peaking in 1988

The US uses over 20 MILLION barrels A DAY, the USA produces 1.8 million barrels a year (2007) of which Alaska produced 263 million (but the state consumed 1/5 of THAT- or roughly 50 million)
Alaska prod only 4.8% of all the crude and oil products supplied to the US- counting all sources.
Ethanol, wind and solar will never amount to a few single percentage points of the whole- hel1 the entire prod of Alaska''s oil fields has amounted to only 4.8%, the US population and demand grows every year.

Natural gas if demand increases will see PRICES increase dramatically, and why not? the producers/distributors/middlemen all want as big a cut as they can get

[nothappyatall]

Those huge wind turbines are another issue, they DO make noise people nearby object to- the blade tips travel faster than the wind so they produce a low pitch whoosh sound as they pass the vertical tower. The generators up top have been measured to produce up to around 106 db''s.
They are ugly and people don''t want to see them- the NIMBY syndrome.
Also, a bunch of NEW ones in Maine had to be replaced due to gearbox problems, others have failed in various ways with the blades coming apart, shattering or "exploding" in spectacular displays when speed limiting brakes failed in windstorms or lightning hit- Ive seen the video clips and the news reports and they have some design and quality problems- they are too dam BIG

[andor3]

"We IMPORT LPG by the tanker loads because we don''''t have enough, or did you miss that? "

No. Do the research. If you seek an energy source that the U.S. has in abundance, you find natural gas. Not only do we have a lot without importing (reduce dependence on foreign oil), but it is clean burning and easy to use in cars and trucks on the road now.

[albertw40]

No alternative sources of energy won''t be forgotten, not of Barack Obama is elected. I believe him when he says alternative energy and energy independence will be a priority. He is smart enough to know where the future lies. I''m hoping we can get back on the right side of history. George Bush''s first act was to have *** Cheney hold a secret meeting with oil producers. We still don''t know what happened in that meeting, but we do know these eight years brought greater, not less, dependence on oil. Bush refused to sign the global warming treaty. Again he was on the wrong side of history. The same with his "go it alone" foreign policy. And of course Bush''s "deregulation at all cost" philosophy caused an economic meltdown. Talk about being on the wrong side of history! If Obama is elected, my prayer is that he will work to put us on the right side of history on all these and several other important issues.

[albertw40]

Don''t you love these CBS computers that censor. I wrote a little comment, and the computer listed Vice President Cheney''s name as *** Cheney. What a hoot.

[BeyondGreen]

PUHLEASE!...OPEC just cut production by 150 million barrels a day to manipulate production hence supply and demand. We all know what happens in that scenario. The damage done by the past year of exorbitant gas prices will be long lasting and has all but destroyed our economy Families have been stretched to the max between filling up the family car to get back and forth to work, higher utility bills and the effect of high fuel on every consumer product we need to purchase. Jobs and homes are being lost at record rates..We need to wake up and realize how much our dependence on foreign oil and our slavery to OPEC has hurt our economy.We have so much available to us between free energy such as wind and solar to technologies such as hybrid and elec plug in cars that it is just ridiculous to continue on the path we are on. The cost of charging and driving an electric car would be equal to paying 60 cents per gallon of gas. The problem is electric cars cost too much for the average Joe (pun intended) :) Our government tries to stimulate our economy by handing out 168 BILLION dollars in stimulus checks.How much good did that do our economy really? And now Bernake wants to hand out another stimulus check. Solar and wind are free sources of energy.Let''s invest in getting those set up. Jeff Wilson just published a new book called THE MANHATTAN PROJECT OF 2009. Very interesting read.Our goverment needs to get serious and develop a plan to get us off oil.

[patriot2381]

Sheep are easy to fleece. People are sheep, green is fleece.

[sleepyric]

At Somerset, PA. - on the PA turnpike, stop and get a coffee and a danish and see the 6 mountain top windmills. I wish there were 60. They are impressive, logical, beautiful, and they work! More please. In fact, you could put on in my back yard if you wanted.

[gmcnally2]

Battery Technology is coming. Solar Technology is coming. Truly renewable and free power from your roof to your car. Of course, then no more gas tax. And no more pound of flesh for the energy companies every paycheck. Switch over to an electric car now, beat the rush. Can always upgrade the battery system. And battery tech is nearly to the point of long range practicality where they can be recharged in minutes with special equipment. It is perfectly clean, it is quiet, it is efficient, it is proven. Get on board, be part of the solution. Demand we repower America.

[noboundary]

The most abundant and most sustainable energy resource is without a doubt solar. If natural gas is used, it should only be used in fuel cells which deliver a conversion efficiency at least double that of a conventional steam turbine. And of course, all cars should be electric. Putting these technologies all together would mean the death of OPEC and the resurgence of American technological supremacy.

[jng123-2009]

alternative energy is not likely to just go away. itisn''t just about cost; it''s about the Concept. where i live, everyone recycles, and uses reclaimed water for their lawns. people are working on ways to use the methane produced from landfills as different energy sources. a japanese man has produced a water car. that''s right, it only runs on water. and not just purified water, but any kind, including salty water or even tea. just think, no more stopping by mcdonalds for a cheap coffee cuz your machine is built right into your vehicle''s console!

[missingamerica]

If we do not actively pursue alternative energy, then we need to nationalize the oil companies. Otherwise they and/or OPEC and/or speculators will just rape us again - and again, and again, and again.

People are running too close to the edge in the "paycheck-to-paycheck" cycle. We either control energy costs, or ripple affects from price surges could cause another tipping point - assuming we recover from the current one.

Nobody has an extra spouse to send to work anymore in an attempt to deal with higher energy costs. We already sent them to work in the ''80s in our - *economically - successful attempt to cope with both higher energy prices and the initial impact of Republican "trickle down" economics.

(I say "economically" because I think that, overall, not having one spouse at home full time for the kids had and is having serious effects in the social realm.)

[missingamerica]

Conserve on your use of gasoline and oil. The drop in Oil from 150 to 68 dollars a barrel came after americans started to do this.

Posted by mroutside12 at 10:01 AM : Oct 25, 2008

lolll...are you sure about that?

Going strictly by supply and demand, your position suggests that global demand has gone down by over 50%, in line with the reduction in oil prices.

Massively successful conservation attempt, that...

Or, perhaps, the explosion of the funny-money (CDOs, etc.) removed the leverage people were using to speculate in the oil markets...

Or perhaps the oil companies stopped speculating in the oil commodities market with their own windfall profits out of fear that a more honest Administration was on the horizon...

[of11of]

if everyone builds a few of these ( http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.htmlsimple ) air generators and keeps at it, learn as we go, (come on people, - don''t be so wimpy).., and spend the same money we would''ve spent on 3 or 4 dollars a gallon for fossil fuels, (we''re spending it anyway?), on already searched, researched and learned methods, while also cutting back on a lot of UN-necessary luxuries, wouldn''t we get better at it?. I''m willing to bet we would get better at it. Humans are known for intelligence and adaptability. My ''74 chevy pick-up is a dinosaur. I love it but it needs to be in my antique collection.. I say humans because saying ''us americans'' would just be well un-american. hmm

[windmaster12]

The Global Economy is Teetering, in Part,
by the High Energy costs last year--
Faltering businesses were pushed over the edge--

The USA''s enemies know we are most vulnerable
through economic subterfuge

Getting a Marshall style program to stop the
flow of funds to dangerous regimes is imperative.
One of the greatest National Security threats we face

We can argue over which is the best alternative
But lets find one fast--
Before our enemies reduce us to breadlines!!!

[prodgodq]

The whole premise of this article is flawed. First, it assumes that oil and gas prices are going to continue to decline. Second, it presumes that alternative energy is not subject to the global recession. EVERY business is subject to the global recession.
As some previous posters have correctly shown, the easiest way to affect this country is through energy.
I believe that it''s absolutely imperative that we develop at least some energy independence, or there won''t be an "America" as we have come to know it.