OK, so long as I\'m not boring anyone!
I guess a lot depends on your time frame. On one hand, the utility guys have to worry about tomorrow afternoon - the next peak load on the electric grid. We should all be worrying about this winter because many are predicting a huge price spike in natural gas and hence electricity. The big problem under debate now is the structure of the electric markets - deregulation has been a huge bust in many respects yet the feds are still pushing it on the many states that don\'t want it or wish they could turn back the clock.
We\'re still building new coal plants in the US - that ought to be stopped - now - even if we don\'t want to sign on to Kyoto. What I\'d like to see is for the US to decide to shut down the worst 20% of our existing coal plants and replace them with new nuclear plants. Nuclear plants take years to build and the equipment suppliers are not eager to stay in the business, such as it is.
Worst, the liberal politicians only want to talk about alternatives and conservation - especially here in California. I really admire Bush and Cheney for putting forth a serious energy plan even if I disagree with big chunks of it. The plant to require ethanol in motor fuel is the worst kind of political pork too. The North Slope (ANWR) is really pretty trivial and looks to be more of a bargaining chip.
On the long horizon, most current alternatives just don\'t have the potential. I would love someone to propose some new ideas but we\'ve pretty well exhausted the possibilities based on our current science.
What I really like to see is direct energy conversion from fission or fusion. There is such a huge potential to make fission work smarter. Even pebble bed reactors need some sort of boost and they\'re not that new or innovative - although a big step forward from our current nuke plants.
\"Cold fusion\" is interesting. Some people I respect - serious people - have shown that its a real pheomenon. But its a case of the real world getting ahead of the scientific establishment. The government\'s panel of physicists took one look and noticed that 1) it was easy to do and 2) it lacked the negative side effects expected - and declared that it just couldn\'t be. Time will tell.
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