Here is a different way to look at Green Energy. I think we all would agree that there is no such thing as a "free lunch". That being the case, what do you want to give up to have Green Energy. We can not have our cake and eat it too. For as long as we can see into the future, Green Energy will cost more than other forms of energy. Don't think so, think again. Let's take a simple example of a farmer.
We have a farmer who has 40 acres of land that he farms with his tractor that runs on gas. He could buy green energy in the form of bio-diesel, but the fuel would cost more than gas. He could divert some of his acres to growing fuel for his tractor, but that would leave less area to grow food. The cost of the food would also cost more. Now his customers would have less food to buy and the food that the farmer did grow would cost them "more". Now, the question is, "what do his customers, you and me, want to give up". Are you starting to see the picture? Talk is cheap until we all have to realize what we have to "give up". Food is going to cost more as will fuel for heating and for transportation. At least half of the world now goes to bed hungry. What do you think would happen if food costs were to go up significantly? Starvation.
I know that a lot of you would say that what we have to do is to earn more. Good idea, but just how would you do that. Make your own cloths. Most people in the USA are now being paid more than they are worth. If that were not the case, why would so many products that were once made here are now being made some where else? Look a public employees like teachers and doctors. Can they make the same kind of money any other place in the world? Answer, No! I rest my case.
Back to the original question. What do you want to give up? It has to be some thing and it has to be big because green energy costs so much more than other forms of energy. What if we did nothing and kept on our current course? We would not run out of energy, it would just keep costing more. Green energy just makes the cycle go faster. In the end, there is really only one thing that we can give up and that is the number of people on the planet. We have 7 billion now and it doubles every 33 years. That means in 100 years we will have 8 times or 56 billion. We will have to farm every square inch of land and the cost of food will be many times higher as will the cost of energy, if we can produce it. We will need many times more than 8 times as much energy and it will cost several times more in terms of the number of human man hours that it takes to produce. My guess is that we will need 25 times more energy in 100 years and it will cost 10 times more. That works out to 250 times the cost today. Do you really think that us humans are smart enough and productive enough to produce that much more? Not a chance. We are going to have to give up "people" just like Easter Island did 750 years ago and shift to a low energy input system like "hunting and gathering". Wow! We will be back to square #1.
