The cheapest and dirtiest source of energy is coal.

That cheap energy is old sunlight in the form of decayed plants compressed over millions of years (a so called fossil fuel, coal).

The future cheap energy is eight minute old sunlight.  Estimates are that enough solar energy strikes the earth every day to provide the power the entire planet uses in a year.

Here is a link to the SOHO Satellite which monitors the sun.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/gallery/bestofsoho.html

Warning: this solar observation can become very addicting.

The technology to capture sunlight and convert it to electricity already exists.  We have solar photovoltaics, like we install on the roofs of buildings, and CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) like utility companies are building.

Here are videos about both of these technologies:

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-2-v-5.html

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-2-v-108.html

As the scientist from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory says in the video about CSP, the hope is that America will invest in solar energy the way that Spain and other European countries are.

If a country were looking for a way to invest in economic security and energy security while stimulating a sagging economy, there is no better use of our money than to move from the cheap old sunlight (coal) to the cheap (once the collectors are installed, it is close to free) new sunlight.

Green jobs and energy independence in the rebounding economy.

The 44th President of the United States is taking office at a time when critical decisions about the future of our economy will have to be made rapidly and accurately.  There is little margin for error.

One of the things we heard during the campaign was a push for “Green” jobs.

President Obama can stimulate the economy by making the obvious connections between short term economic stimulus combined with energy conservation, mid term alternative energy subsidies and long term planning to make the country energy independent.

The economy is in dire straits due to the housing bubble pop.  Now that pop has triggered a crisis in the automotive industry.  So we have a built infrastructure (stationary) problem and a transportation (mobile) sector problem.

Our energy challenges break into two segments: stationary and mobile.

The overarching message of Obama’s green economy push could be:

“We should use our economic stimulus dollars to solve two problems at once, get the economy going again and move our country toward energy independence.

In the short term, we will use federal money to help our automobile companies build energy efficient cars.  We will also provide funding for the construction industry to improve the energy efficiency of  buildings, both residential and commercial, throughout the country. (As far as I can tell from Census Data, in 2006 Automotive Manufacturing accounted for .7% of GDP and Construction accounted for 4.8% of GDP).   This will keep automobile workers and auto dealership employees on the job and help to revive the incredibly important construction industry.

In the mid term, we will subsidize alternative energy technologies funded in part by a cap and trade greenhouse gas program.

On the strategic long term planning level, the government will establish a “Manhattan Project” to chart an energy independence road map that ends our dependence on non-renewable energy.

These moves will put American on a path to short term economic recovery while assuring our long term ability to maintain our standard of living sustainably.

We cannot do this without everyone pitching in to help.  As a nation, we must dedicate ourselves to making the sacrifices and tough choices that will allow us to pass a livable world on to future generations.”

Here is a great video by Shell Oil which shows the importance of charting a course for our energy future instead of following our current haphazard scheme.

http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/our_strategy/shell_global_scenarios/
scenarios_videos/video_2/

How about starting a war for “endependence” = energy independence that ends dependence on polluting fuels.