Letters to the Editor
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Not sure "short of tricks" is the problem
I remember reading an article a couple years back (in Wired, I think) about the coming energy crisis, and how the big problem was that there wasn't any source of energy that could do all of what oil is doing for us now. I remember thinking at the time, "So what? If we get all the needs covered using multiple sources, rather than just one, that works, too." We already know that some areas are better than others for solar, hydro, and wind power. Fine. We can use those where they work, and, uh, something else where they don't.
The main problem, as I see it, is that we're not taking it seriously as far as investment is concerned. Over time, the capacity of solar cells has increased, making them workable in places they weren't before, and increasing their benefits in places they were in use already. And this is just with the piddling investment from government and private industry.
Believe it or not, you can solve some problems by throwing money at them. It's hard to say what we'd come up with, and how fast, if we started putting serious R&D money into alternative fuels research. Fact is, if I were the CEO of Exxon (which I'm sooooo not), I'd be pouring money into researching hydrogen, or anything else that looks promising. Why? They already have the gas stations and other infrastructure. If they develop the technology, they can license it to other companies. They can convert gradually (gas station > gas/hydro station > hydro station). Besides, think about what happens to companies when their main product becomes obsolete. The ones that live on embrace the new technology (think Sony) and survive. The others fade into oblivion (think railroads).