"At one level, it's a surefire scheme. As coal eventually runs out, it will become very expensive. Even a combo wind/solar/geothermal/smartgrid solution will be cheaper one day. RE really will be < C."

In a few hundred years then, coal levels are still quite high, especially with the coal reserves found off the Norwegian coast in 2005 (enough to supply the worlds requirements for a few hundred years), they just need to find a way to get it out :)

Hmm... that qualification in Natural Resources BS certainly appears to be handiest one Mr Terrill has acquired.

I heard this yesterday, it was an interview with Eric about this very thing.

I quite liked his honesty at one point in the interview when he said (and I'm going from memory so not a direct quote) "Google uses a lot of electricity, this will help bring down the cost of electricity, so in the long term this will save us money, we're not doing this to be kind, or gentle, although their by products, and welcome ones, this comes down to the bottom line"

Full story and listen again link here :

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94756055

Now, who was it had the answer to how to cover electrical usage when the wind stops blowing? and ditto for when the sun isn't shining. Hopefully they're the same ones with the answer on how to level out the electrical usage when wind power IS available and when solar power IS available and / or HOW TO STORE IT FOR OFF-HOURS USAGE.

What, no answer? Didn't think so. It isn't so bloody easy so all you windmill and solarcell tards out there start thinking realisitically about the frikkin problems involved with trying to implement these. YES, there is a lot of energy out there NOT being used / gathered right now. NO, it's not going to be cheap or easy (or convenient or pretty).

At least we haven't heard from the "OMG we're running out of uranium" crowd yet. thanks for that.

Paris, 'cuz even shen knows there's more to it than friction and lubrication.

how about RE<n (where n is nuckare)

as coal runs out we will need large base load genrators and nuclar plants looks like coal ones and even take up the same space so just build a reactor where the boilor is