What happens after the oil is gone?

crashfrog writes:My understanding is that hydrogen doesn't have much storage density; there's less chemical energy in a bottle of pressurized hydrogen than the mechanical energy stored as pressure! Metal hydrides are better, apparently, but I don't know much about them. (Not my cup of chemistry.)For the most part, I think the "buzz" about hydrogen economy is about one thing - you can pump it into a car like gas.

jar writes:The US, perhaps more than almost any other country, faces one additional problem.We built our cities and living areas based on cheap gas.We face a situation where for the last thee quarters of a century we expanded where we live, work, grow food and play around cheap gas.

Coyote writes: Bah!Try dragging a three-horse trailer into the back woods with public transit.The silly little libs graduating from Yale and Harvard have no idea what goes on in the real world. Yet they are set to rule us all--for our own good, of course.

Coyote writes: What I am saying is that mass transit is not the solution to all problems, although libs in the northeast seem to think it is. It's for our own good, you know.

Coyote writes: Gee, that's big of you. The guvmnt will come by to save us, real soon now.You libs sure seem good at trying to order our lives for us. Don't know what we'd do without your help. (But I'd like to try.)

Japan eyeing plan for solar panels on all new buildings-NikkeiTOKYO | Sat May 21, 2011 11:02pm EDTMay 22 (Reuters) - Japan, seeking to promote renewable energy as it struggles with the world's worst nuclear crisis in decades, may this week announce a plan to make solar panels compulsory on the roofs of all new buildings by 2030, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday

New solar cells could even work at nightIdaho Falls, Idaho (UPI) Dec 20, 2010
U.S. researchers say they've developed a new kind of solar cell that can generate energy even at night, promising a new form of renewable energy.The key is their ability to harvest infrared radiation as well as visible light, Steven Novack at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls says.Almost half of the available energy in the spectrum of solar radiation resides in the infrared band, and infrared is re-emitted as heat by the Earth's surface after the sun has gone down, meaning the cells can even capture some energy during the night, he says.Novack estimates a complete system using the new cells would have an overall efficiency of 46 percent, whereas the most efficient current silicon solar cells top out at about 25 percent.Also, currently solar cells can only produce their top output in a narrow range of conditions. For example, if the sun is in the wrong position, sunlight is reflected off a silicone solar cell instead of being absorbed to create energy.The new cells can absorb radiation at a variety of angles, the researchers say.