Catcher N The Rye

The Current State of the Solar Energy Sector

It's an absurd notion to assume that electric vehicles and pug-in hybrids will be supported by solar energy. Owners of these vehicles will just plug into the existing power grid at home- whatever the power companies find as the cheapest cost of producing electricity.

Mastercard Should Benefit from VISA IPO Hype

Does Visa (or MasterCard) get a transaction fee, if any, on their sponsored debit/bank cards with user purchases? I've never seen indication of this.

The Current State of the Solar Energy Sector

Just how much crude oil is used in electric power generation in the United States?

Very little, about 3%.

Sources of Electric Power in 2007:

Coal 49.7%
Nuclear 19.3%
Natural Gas 18.7%
Hydroelectric 6.5%
Crude Oil 3%
Other 2.9%

Yes we need to rid ourselves of the burning of fossil fuels, but those that promote solar power as an energy alternative to crude oil deceive us intentionally on our dependance on imported crude oil (OPEC). Crude oil is refined mostly into gasoline, diesel, and various fuel oils. Plastics take 10-15% of imported crude. Very little fuel use contributes to electric power generation. Heating oil in the N.E. will not be replaced by solar power any time soon. Solar power as an alternative to crude oil, is a red herring.