[artbyjody]

I won't argue anyone else's points - because in all honesty, they are all accurate within some measurable degree.

Instead, think about "Alternative Energy" and where it has been and where it is going, and why it is not a financially viable indulgence for most Americans in general.

From the 70's onward, we have been peppered with "green and freely renewable" energy sources such as solar, wind, and even water turbines. For the most part DIY adoption occurred by those whom lived off the grid to begin with and had no actual option. Solar in general, has been cost prohibitive from its inception.

It is now 2008, and we still are looking for viable solutions? No, its not that we need viable solutions - we need to make them more affordable, but no one addresses that aspect. Instead we lump it all into a major "Global Warming Solution" which means that purchasing is done under guilt and not necessarily under financial worthiness.

Take a look at all the wind farms that litter the CA, OR, and WA landscape. Did you know that such installations typically take well over 20 years to even pay back what the purchase cost originally was. It doesn't take in account either the maintenance aspects and associated costs. In one way - I look at this as a fleecing of America, because if it costs you more to generate electricity - than it produces? But it is the right thing to do because we associate solar and wind with "free energy" - but in reality no such thing.

Same goes with home owners. If it costs you 30K+ and you have to take a loan out for it. Considering if and only if that the average electric bill is $700 a month prior to install - it takes approximately 4 years to see any saving in that respect of the initial base investment - if and only if, the installed solution is able to produce the amount of energy required.

The good news is that solar is coming down in prices. But nearly enough to make it even remotely attractive even with higher oil / fuel costs. The reason being is that these alternate energy companies do not want the prices to go lower, they want the demand higher than number of units as a way of controlling the costs.

The issue really is not that we do not have the technology - we do. More of it would be available to the general public if companies that produce these products stopped working niche markets to guaranteed high profit margins or created such products under standards like NMEA where all can work together regardless of the manufacture.

Try a simple experiment. Look up solar, wind, and water turbines - then try and find price quotes for the products they sell. You can't get them because they do not want competitors to know what they charge and more importantly they want us the customer to think its an elusive emerging product.