· If you could choose one alternative energy source to develop which one would you choose? Why?

Question

· If you could choose one alternative energy source to develop which one would you choose? Why?

Answer 1

Biofuel made from SWITCHGRASS.   Much of the current biodiesel effort is unrealistic (unreal amounts of land needed for corn) and terribly destructive (forests being ripped down to obtain palm oil).   But switchgrass grows like a weed (even in less-than-optimal soil) and doesn't require irrigation and pesticides to produce a good crop.

Answer 2

Tidal power.  It would provide employment in the old dockyards and is an area in which an island nation would excel.  We used to be world leaders in it before Thatcher got in.

Answer 3

Nuclear power, because if we built 700 more of them we could shut down every single fossil fuel power plant in the country.  It would take 50,000 wind generators to do the same thing.

Answer 4

Nuclear. Do the maths, it's the only choice.

Answer 5

Tidal.It happens twice a day every day.

Answer 6

Solar.  That's a resource that's not going to run out.

Answer 7

Methane gas. Think about it. Methane is produced inside the f***s of animals. As long as we eat meat and feed our cows, then the p**p could be used to light fires and draw energy.

Answer 8

Two votes - My first vote is solar. There are already some really cool solar energy  companies out there like  www.reware.com and www.firstsolar.inc.

Second vote - Cement. Interesting blog post about pollution-eating cement.

http://sattlerclothing.com/blog/?s=Italc...

Answer 9

I would find a way to harness all the CO2 spouted from the mouths of the PC/Global warming sheep and use it to fuel a space catapult to launch the **** into space

Answer 10

nuclear and solar

Answer 11

Solar - even on a cloudy day in Britain it can generate a fair bit of energy, every house can have there own solar panels and it doesn't look garish on the top of buildings!

Wind - The wind will never stop so we should harness its power!

Answer 12

This is not an alternative energy scour, this is energy:  air. Why, it Has the most potential. Cars, trains, planes, ships, can all use air to run on with a small battery or nuk.

Answer 13

I would agree with nuclear power.  I read an article recently and it really isn't as dangerous as people think.  It has its drawbacks but they are well worth the amount of energy produced.  On top of that power we could also utilize tidal, solar, and wind.  They are all relatively effective.

Answer 14

The best answer requires a mix of energy options including solar, wind, tidal and nuclear. However, the one that is not ready but has the greatest potential is solar. When solar becomes more efficient and more economic, it will have a huge impact on our energy grid.

Answer 15

jim

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live completely, 100% “off of the grid and are completely self sufficient” using alternative fuels / energy. I was in the exact same situation as you few years ago.

http://www.agua-luna.com/about_us.html

We’ve lived self sufficiently off the grid for over 5 years now. In 2003 I left an Engineering position with Boeing, sold 2 houses and most of our positions, purchased a small ranch in West Texas near the Mexican border, built a completely green home using 100% recycled and local (rocks, lumber, sand from the ranch) materials, built a wind generator and some solar panels, built a hydrogen generator and converted the vehicles to run on alternative energy, I produce my own biodiesel, methane and ethanol, purchased some goats, chickens, ducks, lamas, etc, a composting toilet, water storage tanks, planted crops and fruit trees and settled down for the long run. We typically don’t leave the ranch for 6-8 months at a time, and only then to visit family.

The house is built utilizing natures natural materials, Woodburning stoves, solar chimney, solar AC, solar heating, solar water heating (pool and home), solar stove, solar power, wind power, hydrogen powered back up generator, hydrogen back up water heater, hydrogen stove, 2 hydrogen powered trucks, 1 EV (electric vehicle) and satellite internet.

To see some pics of the ranch you can check out my photobucket below, navigate with the tabs on the left (hacienda, misc, guest house, etc), we’re adding every day so be patient and don’t laugh at my scraggly winter beard..

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e88/ar...

We also built many small cabins on the ranch that we offer to family, friends and our on-site off-grid workshop guests, including one straw bale, one papercrete, earth bag and adobe, one cob and cordwood, one underground and rammed earth, one log and post and beam and one rock.

Hope I didn’t ramble on to much, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at http://www.agua-luna.com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Retired Boeing Engineer now living 100% Off-the-Grid with my family, using Alternative Energy & loving every minute.

for more info visit agua-luna com or email me at [e-mail]

Answer 16

Nuclear. Homes and Building Heating / Cooling is the majority of our CO2 Production. Cars only produce 10-12%. I would focus on the Electric Power Production. Nuclear is the only proved reliable and cost effective alternative source known today. Wind, Solar, Geo., etc can help as well and should also be promoted, but only Nuclear can provide the massive amount of 24 HR power need cost effectively.

Wind and Solar are great, but primarily because their production depends on nature, they are not always available and are more expensive. Can you imagine depending on Solar in Seattle? Can you imagine depending on Wind power 24/7 anywhere?

Countries like France produce 80% of their power by Nuclear. Nuclear also has the advantage that it can be renewable using breeder reactors.

I know many fear Nuclear. Our media and some radical finatics destroyed our Nuclear Power Industry in the 80's. Now Electric Power is our largest producer of CO2, and we are much less safe because of our dependance on foriegn oil.