Well, since anti-freeze comes in orange and yellow too, you can do your part to help me!!

InvictusV

I just want jobs (as long as they are legal)

I want jobs to.
There is a limit to what I am willing2 pay for them.

I understand that people just want to see more jobs. The thing that gets me is that they think these jobs are going to pop up over night. Many of these projects take years to get rolling. This isn't going to happen overnight.

Shifting to solar energy is something that is going to happen, especially in the southwest where sunshine is abundant.

And as far as cost....things get cheaper when they are produced in mass quantities. I remember back in the 1970's when pocket calculators were first coming out....they cost over $200!!!

I thought everything in Texas was legal...

The southwest is a place where solar power could be used effectively. But even so, it's still just an option for individual home owners. There is no viable system to provide solar power from a single source to multiple locations. There are a few photovoltaic power plants being built in California, but they cost over a billion dollars each and only provide a fraction of power necessary to make a large impact. It's a start, but we are a long way off from it becoming a reliable source of power.

Electricity is an inelastic product. It is something everyone must have and whether the price is high or low, the demand changes very little. I belong to a local Co-op and the more people that belong the lower the prices.

If you look at solar on an individual basis, there will be less demand for power produced by the provider, but with fewer subscribers the cost for everyone who remains will rise. It costs the provider the same amount to produce the product, but fewer people paying for it will lead to higher rates.

Cutting rates would make no sense, because the people that you provide power to, aren't going to go out and buy 2 more refrigerators, 5 more tv's, or turn up their heat to 100 degrees during the winter to increase demand to make up for the loss of subscribers.

Until a system is in place that can provide reliable single source to multiple locations power, the cost to those that can't afford the single home supply units is going to be overwhelming.

Puuuuulease

Medicinal pot isn't legal here.

Yikes! Your hiding from me today?

So if I may, for all of you living east of the Rockies you have my sympathy but...

If we are suffering Global Warming why is it that this summer was so damn nice! We only had a couple of days hit 100 here. Now usually when it is 110 inland it is about 100 here but it is MILD today and it was kind of chilly yesterday.

So why if we are supposed to be getting hotter why then here in Sunny CA things have been BEACHN'?

Could it be Al Gore doesn't live in California??

I don't know why you say it would "just be an option" as there is no viable means to deliver power from a solar plant to homes. I believe there is sufficient transmission corridors in Arizona to provide power all over this state. We have plants all over the state that provide power....even send a lot of power to California!

I don't think photovoltaics is the way this will happen. We have had a couple plants constructed here already....and operating for years now that use mirrors and Sterling Engines. It's really an amazing thing to see....the mirrors track the sun, focus onto the sterling engine and that produces steam to run turbines.

All this takes is glass and steel to make....and we have plenty of that here in America.

money to pay the bills isn't gunna pop up over night either... there is a reason why some are impatient.

i wish it was... but i doubt it ever will with perry in office...

So people are impatient...soooo.....let's fire the guy that's trying to fix this mess?

Do you really think anyone else could be doing a better job?

I seem to recall John McCain telling the people to face reality, that many of these jobs will not be coming back.

What if this were to happen....what if Prsident Obama were to say "Okay, I get it...the American people think the stimulus money was a watse...every state has until January 21 to pay it all back to the US Treasury."

And "further more, I am resigning and so is Joe. He will apoint Sarah Palin who will be the next President effective November 1st"

"Then we will all watch and see how well the conservatives do at pulling this car wreck out of the ditch."

Do you really think anyone could do any better?

it doesn't matter i think... people are losing everything they own, their cars, houses, credit rating, everything... and i have seen obama losing more jobs than he's made... ford and gm are moving plants to mexico, closing the doors here in the states...after obama bailed them out... we supposedly have the best economic minds in the world here, but still no answers...

Even if we switch over to solar energy, it will not be cheap. Sure sunshine is free, but just like everything else, once the govt. sticks its nose into it, the prices will skyrocket and the heavy taxation will begin.

I think it will be just the opposite. These companies are hoping for the government to get involved....to help subsidize the start up of operations to keep the price spike down.

Right now, there are rebates and tax incentives to switch to solar. There are many companies starting up here in Arizona but are having a tough time getting off the ground due to the economy.

We also only have 2 primary utlity providers here in AZ and both are jumping on the bandwagon to get into green energy. They both seem to view it as the wave of the future....and these are huge companies.

It's very hard these days to get power plants built. I think the last major plant built here...Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (I believe it's still the largest nuke plant in the USA) was built back in the 1970's. And that project must have sat on the table being debated for 10 years before they ever built it.

Nothing happens fast....people need to be patient and keep the ball rolling in the direction of solar energy.

The news appears to be full of "items" that appear to mean one thing, but actually mean something else. Billions of dollars of loan guarantees went to the Arizona solar plant to fund a company from Spain who will own and operate the plant. Millions of dollars went to Michigan to build the auto battery plant (that was also in the news) which is owned by a South Korean company. Other examples exist also.

Sending profits to foreign companies is not what our country needs. The profits are what creates capital to create new jobs and pay taxes.

Small solar systems have and will be viable and have made a dramatic and unexpected positive impact on the German economy. However, all the money and investment is beginning and ending in Germany. America is not copying the good aspects of the German model, they are simply throwing money at the problem, much of which is going overseas.

Obama, in his campaign promises, stated that new nuclear power plants would be started immediately to help change the trend from the US relying more and more on foreign sources of energy. This plan was implemented very successfully by France after the first oil embargo. After the election the "nuke" program slid onto the back burner.

Bush directed five billion dollars to the department of energy specifically to fund expansion in key US universities to permanently expand solar research and specifically develop plans to improve US manufacturing capability. This program was very successful but now the science to improve America's competitiveness in the PRODUCTION of solar cells is being given to China ... apparently as a gesture of "good will".

The description of the Bush program has now been deleted from the DOE websites opening web pages.

I agree that it would be much better if American Owned companies were heading up these projects.....and I blame the American companies for their failure to get with the program here.

Sure, profits are going to foriegn companies but there are still many components and US labor involved in the manufacturing, construction and operation of the plants.

Look at Toyota....how many people does Toyota employ in the USA? Thousands and thousands. I know they have plants all over the USA from California to Texas to Indiana, Kentuckey, Alabama & Mississippi.

Abengoa Solar Inc. is a multi-national corporation....seems like all the big companies are multi-nationals these days. It is a global economy.