The greenest pieces of Obama's speech: Can we really have a clean energy economy?

DO WE REALLY HAVE A CHOICE? - What difference does it make if we reduce the deficit and increase the GDP if our Grandchildren inherit a dying Planet? Floods - Famine - Pestilence - War and Death are right at our doorstep; because we continue burning carbon fuels like there is no tomorrow - I hope we are wrong. But besides all that - $150/barrel OPEC oil caused the downturn that led to people not being able to make mortgage payments and collapsed the economy - now oil is $50/barrel to try to keep us from finding Green future - I say choose FREEDOM.

I compare America of today with the America of my youth. I was born in the 50s and grew up in the 60s. Our country, at that time, had noble goals: eliminate poverty, and put the first man on the moon. I completely believed that when I grew up, I'd be working for NASA, or some other prestigious place, doing fascinating work, and earning a decent salary, too. That dream took me far. I earned a PhD in Mathematics and started my career in the early 80s. My career has had its ups and downs, but for the last decade it's been down, very down. America has lost its dreams. There are no jobs anymore for educated people. America's industry has systematically eliminated it's research labs, and government labs are a mostly a joke, presumably because of budget slashing and science wars.

When I hear Obama's rhetoric about green energy jobs, it gives me hope, that there will be useful work for hardworking talented people again. America needs to dream again. Our children need to believe that they can do something great with their lives. A green energy program is a great idea.

Just be careful to not let the energy companies kill it.

Why does our "leadership" continue to ignore proven 21st century nuclear technology. Europe successfully embraces it - France is almost 90% nuclear powered. The key to 21st century nuclear power success is the concept that each plant utilizes the same proven design and components and thus can benefit from this shared engineering - not unlike the benefits that have accrued from the latest Boeing aircraft successes. And modern reactors actually reprocess their own nuclear waste. Wind and solar are great, but they do not provide the "runs 24 x 7" capacity needed to power our cities. Obama should not be beholden to anti-nuclear activists still battling ghosts of '60s technology.

A combination of green energy sources holds great promise. The shortcoming of wind & solar is that generation sites are usually far from population centers and do not generate consistently. The shortcoming of hydrogen is that it takes more energy to produce the hydrogen than you get from the cells. Why not use wind & solar to produce hydrogen, which is transportable? Replacing local substations with hydrogen fuel cells (you could even have a home sized version) would also decentralize our energy production, making it less vulnerable as a security concern while adjacent neighborhood "grids" could be connected for potential backup. The days of large scale or rolling blackouts would be over.

I'm a 49-year old engineer, and a few years ago I was talking with a colleague at Evergreen Solar. We worked out that you could get enough solar cells and batteries to power a modest-sized house for about $25,000. That was about the price of an SUV, and you would never need to buy fuel.
So why didn't Amriecans buy solar cells instead of SUVs? Because SUVs were stylish, and Americans were willing to go over their head into debt to buy something stylish. They weren't willing to pay the high capital cost for green energy sources.
Now green energy is stylish again. And if we are very lucky, the President and the people will make the investment now that they should have made years ago.

The answer to nearly all of humanity's problems is an abundant, clean, cheap and safe supply of power, and the answer to that is in development--or rather COMPLETION of development--of the Integral Fast Reactor. It is estimated that there is enough fuel, just in existing mine tailings stored in barrels, to run America for 500 years. With its closed fuel cycle, inherently safe design (if it overheats or attempts to go supercritical, it shuts itself down; this has been PROVEN in tests!) and re-processing of its own fuel, it is estimated that there is 50,000 years(!) of fuel available. Unlike Solar, Wind or other so-called renewables, this is highly ordered energy; fully dispatchable, and able to be placed anywhere it's needed. Google the words Integral Fast Reactor Argonne Laboratory Dr. Charles Till and spend a few minutes reading what you come upon. The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of a broader concept, will never return to its original size.

While I am no Obama fan, this is the reality for 4 years, so……

My question is, “who is going to do this? The US Gov’t?” If the renewable energy technology could be scalable AND profitable in the current economic environment I believe private industry and investment would be knocking down the doors.

We need to take a step back and separate real environmental savings from feel good “green” initiatives and movements. All those folks that bought a Toyota Prius to thump their chests about reducing their carbon footprint are fooling themselves. The Prius produces exponentially more damage to the planet to make than a Suburban, look it up. The specialized raw materials for that car travel around the world several times more than traditional vehicles. Seriously, look it up sometime. People need to really think “green” through and decide what is the real direction we are going to go in, and come up with a complete plan.
While I am no Obama fan, this is the reality for 4 years, so……

My question is, “who is going to do this? The US Gov’t?” If the renewable energy technology could be scalable AND profitable in the current economic environment I believe private industry and investment would be knocking down the doors.

We need to take a step back and separate real environmental savings from feel good “green” initiatives and movements. All those folks that bought a Toyota Prius to thump their chests about reducing their carbon footprint are fooling themselves. The Prius produces exponentially more damage to the planet to make than a Suburban, look it up. The specialized raw materials for that car travel around the world several times more than traditional vehicles. Seriously, look it up sometime. People need to really think “green” through and decide what is the real direction we are going to go in, and come up with a complete plan.

The key to achieving energy independence within a reasonable event horizon is community-based, distributed generation. Major off-shore projects are 10 years away, and major land-based farms are too far from demand. Distributed generation places fewer demands on an already over-taxed grid, requires less investment because of the proximity to demand, and can have a significantly reduced physical impact on the land because of the size of installations/facilities. But even more important than that is the pro-active effort of millions of Americans to support construction of renewable energy generating facilities. Just as generations past have made sacrifices when the nation faced a great challenge, so too this generation can step up and allow reasonable proposals for turbines and solar arrays to move ahead - the time for NIMBY politics has long-since passed.

It’s time to build, baby, build!

Show your support at buildbabybuild.net

Civilization came a long way without having an "energy infrastructure" and it's not clear that it needs one to survive in the long term. With technological innovation, we can bash down our energy needs to the point where we no longer need a massive infrastructure of high-voltage power lines, natural gas distribution, etc. "Energy" and "civilization" are not the same thing.

Technology got us into this mess and it can get us out, too.

While I am enthusiastic to hear an American President speak of these possibilities, the market barriers are very significant. If you look at the history of the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the amount of delay and industry litigation, the future doesn't look much better. Cheap oil will dampen market demand for alternative fuels. The incremental purchase price and lack of refueling infrastructure are also significant market barriers. But I am hopeful. It can be done, probably just take longer, like through the next generation. But hopefully I am wrong. Lets wish him well in Congress.

"Wind and solar are great, but they do not provide the "runs 24 x 7" capacity needed to power our cities. Obama should not be beholden to anti-nuclear activists still battling ghosts of '60s technology." - Anonymous

Anonymous, wind/solar are better options (in this day and age) than nuclear for at least two reasons:
1. Wind and solar power do not produce radioactive waste products that need to be disposed of.
2. Wind and solar power have much less detrimental fallout if targeted by terrorists.

2

Building solar panels and wind turbines, constucting fuel efficient cars and buildings can't be outsourced? You want to bet? We'll just be doing some final assembly here, if we're lucky.

This photo of the Hull turbine makes me proud. Think of the 'yes we can' formula, and think of a youngster from "The South Side". He asked the Hull Light board if he could announce for Governor "right at the foot of your city turbine". We said "yes you can" A Chicago 'southie'. Call him Mr. Patrick, call him Mr. Obama. Winners both.

I was a Commissioner on that muni light board then. I had campaigned for office on a 'Green Energy' platform. Turned out I could win election on that idea -- and won re-election in 2004, on the same idea. Green Energy is a winner.

Yes they can. Call them the 'yes we can' southies. We southies can both win political office, and then install Green Energy hardware. Obama can start with PV panels atop the White House, then move out to the nearby Delmarva Peninsula where Bluewater Wind offshore project is building momentum. Yes he can. So can Mayor Bloomberg. We got room for a Melrose northie in the movement. Bloomberg may just team up with Councilman Vacca of Bronx to repeat the 'yes we can', -- and then show the world they mean it. Their track records are Winners. Green Energy is a winner in small towns, big towns and possibly, if Obama follows throuth, worldwide too. I like his new New Deal, the Green one.

Anonymous - France is roughly the size of a large American state. There is not enough fissile material for nuclear energy to be a major factor in the US, and that's without considering the major environmental issues associated with nuclear power.
This sin't simply about finding a new power source, it's about finding a sustainable, renewable one. Nuclear is not sustainable, it's not renewable and it's not clean.

Oh, and wind certainly runs 24-7 and you don't have to worry about meltdown safeguards. I grew up in Plymouth, the nuclear warning system always gave myself, my family and our friends the chills.

The firs thing Americans need to do, however, is learn to CONSUME LESS.

We will never have a green economy. The usa for a very long time
has used oil, black dirty oil to raise trillions in tax revenue.The goverment is use
to a endless ammount of revenue taken in my the dozens of taxes on oil. Unless
the green economy can match the oil dirty one. all new and renewable energy sources, will be delayed , regulated to death. big oil means BIG OIL. its the lifeblood of politicans, cash cows to fed state and local goverments.clean green energy is just a dream, about to be shattered by our govermen t.

What a shame that in the 21st century we still do so little to end our dependence on fossil fuels. Let me repeat the obvious what we do: during the summer heat we burn coal or gas in our cars to make electricity to power air conditioners. We feel good in our climate-control compartments while we let the energy from the sun radiate back into the space. What a waiste! And then, in the winter we get cold, so we burn fossil fuels again. What a shame that we don't do enough to stop walking this dead-end street. If you pray or listen to your self-talk, don't say anymore this: "I am a siner", but say this: "what a shame that I can't capture this energy from the sun and wind". Please support the new president and invest in alternative energy sector. Visit the Chicago wind energy expo in May and get inspired. Thank you!