New power technology 30 cents a watt
independence from foriegn oil-—priceless!
Not so simple. A 747 cannot get its power from a solar cell. If we really wanted to be independent from foreign oil, we fully have the resources to do just that: the US has twice has much in hydrocarbons in the form of coal and oil shales as OPEC has in the form of crude oil. We could convert other organic waste materials such as sewage sludge. At this very moment, ConAgra Foods is converting the waste from processing Butterball turkeys into a marketable liquid biodiesel. Lastly, we have placed fully 85% of our continental shelf out of bounds from drilling for oil.
see:OSD Clean Fuels Initiative (US DOD PDF presentation):
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/energy_expo/2005/pdfs/t_s4c.pdf
Anything Into Oil from DISCOVER Magazine:
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/apr/anything-oil