I was talking with some people at work earlier and they started discussing whether we should start drilling for oil in Alaska.  Their logic was mostly to decrease our dependence of foreign oil.  Supposedly there is enough oil there for the US for 70 years or something….

I think it was chruchill that said something along the lines that humanity always does the right thing, though, only usually after doing all the wrong things.  This would be one of those wrong things!

The oil companies have repeatedly set record profits by price gouging the average person by increasing prices.  Those sons of bitches, right?  Wrong, I am grateful for what they've done.  Al Gore set off trying to deliver his message around the world about Global Warming.  Some people are still ignorant enough to believe that the warming over the past several years is just something natural in the cycle of the planet.  Because of this, people still really aren't as motivated as they should be about doing something to help reduce the damage humanity is having on the environment. 

This is where big oil has helped people make up their minds for them.  They have increased the cost for you to be polluters.  The puts you in a place where decreasing your energy consumption not only decreases your expenses, but also decreases the damage you're contributing to. 

Only with really high prices would it ever be equitable for people to invest in renewable energy.  Wind power and solar are really starting to expand, mainly because it is so much more cost effective.  The technology will always follow the money.  I guess it is a good thing it has also caught the attention of unstoppable Google.  http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207400875

Google has now dropped serious funding into both eSolar and Nanosolar.  eSolar is a company that touts being able to make large scale, cheap heat based solar plants (light is reflected to a specific point generating heat).  Nanosolar makes panels using a CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium-Sellinide) cells on a roll to roll fabrication process.  I have been following nanosolar since I read the first article that Google dropped 100 million to help them start their first major manufacturing plant.  They are now in production there and are sold out passed 2009.  Traditional solar cells cost about $4 per watt by using silicon.  Nanosolar claims their cells can be produced for as little as $.30 per watt and are presently selling their panels for $1 a watt (still some damn good profit margin)!  There are other companies that are also developing CIGS cells but won't be able to provide good  competition with nanosolar for quite some time. 

Don't forget, we also have the new CAFE standards passed by the government from the new energy bill.  Vehicles will have to become smaller and more fuel efficient.  Have you thoughts altered about the vehicles you get and your driving habits by the cost of gas?  If not, hopefully they will be by the time gas is $4.5.  This has also perpetuated many (though I won't list them) companies, mainly in California, that are producing electric or single/double passenger cars.  Again, here the advancement has rapidly accelerated because the demand is starting to shift. 

I only hope though, that these benefits we develop will outpace our increasing energy consumption and finally begin to reduce our demand.  If we can make it to this point, we will owe the oil companies for finally forcing our hand away from them.  Our advancements in the past several years moving toward renewable energy and decreased carbon production has been perpetuated mostly by them. 

Thank you, big oil, for making being more environmentally friendly cost effective!