Quote:
Originally Posted by loquitur
dc_dux, this is an unsupported leap of faith. I agree with you that this is a nation of innovators, but with the possible exception of the space program and perhaps the military (and even as to those, it's an issue of characterization), the government doesnt' and cant' force or direct innovation. Innovating is overwhelmingly done by people with some form of profit motive....
....If you're proposing that there will somehow materialize a new source of energy we don't yet know about that will magically replace petroleum, I wonder where it can come from or what it would look like? What else will have as much "punch" and convenience as petroleum? This isn't a mystical or religious exercise; it's a scientific one. Is there any science about alternative energy sources that points to a plausible petroleum substitute?
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loquitor...do you think the Pickens Plan is a leap of faith....to generate 20%+ of power generation needs through wind power in 10 years.
Creating the wind power is relatively simple and requires little innovation...building the pipeline/infrastructure to deliver it nationwide is the challenge...but it is a $$ challenge, not an innovation challenge. And in any case, would require government coordination.
The other challenge is converting vehicles to natural gas....utlizing the natural gas saved by converting power plants to wind.
Who will benefit most from this plan....probably Pickens...but thats fine with me. Isnt that how capitalism (with some government stimulation and coordination) is supposed to work.
No one is suggestion replacing the need for petroleum completely.