The pessimistic optimist

Wind's Our Future, but Natural Gas Is Now

ok.
from what I see here many are on the right track. Love or hate Boone he will put up a grip of cash and he so far is the only whale willing to do it that I am aware of. Yup, he will profit but that is a later story. To focus and keep all eyes on this ball is most important. The latest witnessed by this author's eyes... a solar panel designed into the roof of a Prius driving down the road in front of me. So you have solar and the all wonderful electric car now on the street. The Nat gas play.. I like the gen plants to creat electricity to recharge as opposed to running on NG. Case in point the new Lexus. Power house of a car and efficient to the inth degree. I drove a NG car and power was waining.. in my opinion.
Now then the corridor for wind and how that plays into pattern changes? There will always be wind.. how much and where is going to be a goliath of research. Sure there is the pan handle corridor. (up through Texas into Oklahome etc...) How will the additional generation towers effect the environment and topography in that area. How many are we really taking about? USFS will have some data . Adiabatic diyurnals ( day to day over cycles) wind patterns will reveal useful information as to maybe where the best placement might be and what it means to the land. Remember light hands on the land? Forest service theory. Arch sights too. How about NIMBY groups through that channel or maybe those groups who would like a royalty for the use of their crop lands.
It is going to be tough to convert engines on trains a.k.a. CSX GWR BNI and the likes to anything but diesel which get great fuel milage vs. the alternatives. Is there an efficient alternative to those.. steam..again? I say drill off shore. I say get us off our dependence on foreign oil. How about Iran and many many leased VLCC from many Ocean tgransports just waiting for the moment to pounce and bring that sour crude to our ports into our markets. Remember the first time it happened? You may have heard this " never forget". Many may be too young but it happened.
I say become the country we all seek to be. Get the USA off dependency of energy. Most of all I say is there are many ways to go green even with the continued use of oil. Regen plants on diesels which burn over 65% particulates before exiting the exhaust pipe. That is one of many examples.
Cannot forget fertilizer/compost resevoir salvaged NG.. think WMI. How about switch grass/cellulose fed waste produced by sugar cane crops ethanol. how about ADM. No vegetable produced ethanol. Feed the people...and not to each other. Gov't says 20% by 2012? I think by 2015 we could be closer to 50% household to household with a total buy-in. The caveat is the gov't will also have to consider incentives never before seen.
Ok.. I am off my podium now anyone care to take this ball one step farther? I know I left things out.. these just came to mind.