This is to stir the pot. read and look at the nice pictures. Pellet Pigs beware.

[Benski]

You were doing fine right up until here "As far as prices are concerned, fossil energy prices can only go up and renewable energy prices can only go down. Said by Hermann Scheer, the German SPD politician who led to the EEG (Renewable Energy Law) adoption in 1999." .

I do not have sufficient background and experience myself to argue with that one. The words are those of the author I mentionned. I'm actually reading a little more on the grounds that led that man to say so.

You should note that price is primarily related to how many produce an item and further that as a new "industry" matures there are actually fewer and fewer producers it is not in their best interests ($$$$) too let prices drop.

Sorry folks that is just human nature writ large corporation.

Fossil and renewables will coexist in the same market for quite a while. There is a quite interesting and challenging future ahead of us. Again here, I don't know enough about macro-economy of large industry. I hear your point but can't argue. I guess I will forge my opinion with time.

Thanks,

Ben

 

[Stentor]

I would like to add a few comments and opinion about coal.

.........
What I would like our world to move towards is satisfy our basic needs of energy from "operations account" and keep the fossil energy (our savings) when there are tougher times, considering coal is easier to obtain (you don't have to wait for it to grow or to harvest it at a limited yield per acre).

Whenever one would have the option of choosing between renewables and fossil, the easy and obvious choice should go to renewables. If the choice towards renewables is not made easy nor obvious, that means the obstacle is what we need to improve for the future.

I think these are reasonable comments. Too many people jump from extreme positions.

Similar thinking should apply to other energy uses, like gasoline vehicles. We'll need gasoline powered vehicles for a long time but gradually having more all-electric vehicles or gas-electric hybrids just makes sense. For example, a large company or a city government that needs vehicles in a fleet owned garaged locally and recharged at night could be very effective use of energy and money. For long distance driving or large vehicles, you will have to use gasoline.

A big underlying problem that many people think in rigid categories. Everything is "either/or". And sensible management of resources comes across as boring and unglamorous.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I would like to add a few comments and opinion about coal.

.........
What I would like our world to move towards is satisfy our basic needs of energy from "operations account" and keep the fossil energy (our savings) when there are tougher times, considering coal is easier to obtain (you don't have to wait for it to grow or to harvest it at a limited yield per acre).

Whenever one would have the option of choosing between renewables and fossil, the easy and obvious choice should go to renewables. If the choice towards renewables is not made easy nor obvious, that means the obstacle is what we need to improve for the future.

I think these are reasonable comments. Too many people jump from extreme positions.

Similar thinking should apply to other energy uses, like gasoline vehicles. We'll need gasoline powered vehicles for a long time but gradually having more all-electric vehicles or gas-electric hybrids just makes sense. For example, a large company or a city government that needs vehicles in a fleet owned garaged locally and recharged at night could be very effective use of energy and money. For long distance driving or large vehicles, you will have to use gasoline.

A big underlying problem that many people think in rigid categories. Everything is "either/or". And sensible management of resources comes across as boring and unglamorous.

Actually the comments were reasonable based upon now but not based upon what will happen in the "renewables world" you need only look at food for a good "renewables" item.

Tell me has the cost of food gone up or down?

Most people deal with most things on the short term basis of what effect does it have on my wallet now. That is but one reason most people never see their individual disasters coming their way, a case in point is the current mortgage (loan) problems, this keeps happening over and over.

The causes are the same, and it is avoidable.

It is stupid to borrow money that is cheap today but which the future price can change on. If you can't handle a loan at its maximum possible interest rate you can't handle that same loan at its current interest rate.

It is also stupid to compensate loan officers by any commission structure that doesn't hold back a significant part of their commission until the loan is satisfied.

Now guess what happens when you add in a few more parties to the loan approval process.

Yep, you should get a whiff test failure.