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I agree. Of course there materials used in solar panels that are not renewable. They aren't made of plants. Yet, the energy they are able to produce once they are established as infrastructure does not diminish any supply of potential energy with usage. There may be maintenance on the equipment and materials that have to be used which are non-renewable, but this is negligible in comparison to the what we use today that is non-renewable simply within a 24 hour period around the globe, and is no excuse to not convert to "non-renewable" energy sources. Oil is going to run out within 150 years tops, so we are going to have to make a conversion at some point. We should do it now.
It is amazing how few people can actually read.
" You need raw materials, real estate, and other things that will run out one day. You need stuff that has to be mined, drilled, transported, and bulldozed -- not simply harvested or farmed. You need non-renewable resources"
I didn't miss a thing. Don't be an asshole. This is far from an arguement against RENEWABLE energy. This is just another excuse for a lazy republican to continue to drive his SUV and feel good about it, or rather, not have to feel bad about it. "Let's just give up and continue to use oil until there is no more... then we will worry about it." Fucking morons. Have some consideration for future generations who are going to have to deal with this mess, and will have to deal with the escalated price of oil while trying to put into place an infrastructure of RENEWABLE energy.
You better fire off a memo to China!
China pledges 'green' push over next five years
"We will effectively conserve resources and protect the environment. We will respond actively to climate change," Wen said in a speech to open the annual session of China's parliament, or National People's Congress.
The country will seek to reduce carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 17 percent in the 2011-2015 period -- as part of its wider goal to reduce carbon intensity by at least 40 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.
It will slash energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent by 2015, and hopes to raise the percentage of non-fossil fuels in its energy mix by 11.4 percent from 8.3 percent last year, the premier said.
Wen said the country had made "genuine progress in energy conservation, emissions reduction, ecological improvement and environmental protection" in the 2006-2010 period, and had "vigorously developed clean energy" technologies.
Energy consumption per unit of GDP fell 19.1 percent over the past five years -- close to the original target of 20 percent, the premier said.
China pledges 'green' push over next five years - Channel NewsAsia
Green China? You'd better believe it
A recent report by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that China was the worlds number one investor in green energy in 2010.
With a total investment of $54.4 billion, China was well ahead of second-ranked Germany ($41.2 billion) and the US in third place with $34 billion invested, not to mention Australia with $3.3 billion and ranked 12th.
In terms of installed capacity, Chinas wind power sector alone doubled every year between 2005 and 2009. According to the latest statistics from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), China added 18.9 GW of new wind power capacity in 2010, thus overtaking the US with the most installed wind power capacity in the world.
Chinas parliament, the National Peoples Congress (NPC), recently considered a 'New Energy Industry Development Strategy which is to be adopted as a major policy document by the State Council (some changes are expected due to the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster).
According to this proposed development strategy, during 2011-2020, China will invest about $800 billion in seven green energy areas, namely, wind, solar, nuclear, bio-energy, hydro, coal cleaning and smart power grid.
Green China? You'd better believe it - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Did you read about all the pollution that is happening in China because of "green" energy?
They hope the water comes back to the surface fast enough and hot enough to create cheap, clean electricity that isn't dependent on sunny skies or stiff breezes without shaking the earth and rattling the nerves of nearby residents. Renewable energy has been held back by cheap natural gas, weak demand for power and lack of political concern over global warming. Efforts to use the earth's heat to generate power, known as geothermal energy, have been further hampered by technical problems and worries that tapping it can cause earthquakes. Even so, the federal government, Google and other investors are interested enough to bet $43 million on the Oregon project.
They are helping AltaRock Energy of Seattle and Davenport Newberry Holdings of Stamford, Conn., demonstrate whether the next level in geothermal power development can work on the flanks of Newberry Volcano, about 20 miles south of Bend, Ore. "We know the heat is there," says Susan Petty, president of AltaRock. "The big issue is can we circulate enough water through the system to make it economic." The heat in the earth's crust has been used to generate power for more than a century. Engineers gather hot water or steam that bubbles near the surface and use it to spin turbines that create electricity. Most of those close-to-the surface areas have been exploited. The new frontier is places with hot rocks, but no cracks in the rocks or water to deliver the steam.
To tap that heat and grow geothermal energy from a tiny niche into an important source of green energy engineers are working on a new technology called Enhanced Geothermal Systems. "To build geothermal in a big way beyond where it is now requires new technology, and that is where EGS comes in," says Steve Hickman, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. Wells are drilled deep into the rock and water is pumped in, creating tiny fractures in the rock, a process known as hydroshearing. Cold water is pumped down production wells into the reservoir, and the steam is drawn out.
Hydroshearing is similar to the process known as hydraulic fracturing, used to free natural gas from shale formations. But fracking uses chemical-laden fluids, and creates huge fractures. Pumping fracking wastewater deep underground for disposal is suspected of leading to recent earthquakes in Arkansas and Ohio. Fears persist that cracking rock deep underground through hydroshearing can also lead to damaging quakes. EGS has other problems. It is hard to create a reservoir big enough to run a commercial power plant. Progress has been slow. Two small plants are online in France and Germany. A third in downtown Basel, Switzerland, was shut down over earthquake complaints. A project in Australia has had drilling problems.
MORE
Don't tell that to Germany and China.
Whitey, you are a certifiable looney.
43.5 gw of wind power installed as of September, 2011.
Wind Powering America: U.S. Installed Wind Capacity
