I've been a strong (actually, fanatical) proponent of alternative energies since I was a kid, not only because they save the environment (which was once my main reason), but also because they have the potential to put the all-powerful, mafia-like oil companies out of business, once and for all.* Therefore, I love short articles like this one, which was just published today:
The Solar Revolution and the End of Big Energy by Joe Schembrie Is Big Government necessary for Big Energy? The zealots of Big Energy claim that if we wish to keep the lights from going out, we must accept mammoth public utilities, mandatory conservation measures, and even imperialist military conflicts. We are told that to receive more electrical power, we must surrender more personal freedom. Contrary to the politicians, however, the reality is that we are in the midst of a Solar Revolution, in which the free market is answering our energy needs through technological improvements in photovoltaic solar panels. With investments made on a local and household basis, solar panels offer a personalized form of energy that is independent of Big Government. Yet the ideologues of Big Energy won't give up, and are fighting against the Solar Revolution by resorting to demagogic propaganda. One of their most common lies, for example, is that sunlight is "too dilute" – implying that even if we covered the entire Earth with solar panels we would still not capture enough sunlight to power our civilization. But let's run the numbers, shall we? -- [Click here to read the remaining ten paragraphs.]Bonus link: I also present to you this amazing and inspiring documentary from the late 1990s: Free Energy: The Race to Zero Point. The production quality may make it seem a little dated, but don't let that fool you. The many examples of almost science-fiction-like free energy (but which already exist!) are what count, not the production values.
Footnote:
*Abundant alternative energies would also mean the end of unjust, criminal wars -- at least as far as oil goes, that is. I'm sure the military contractors who control our government would find other excuses to demonize, then invade and, finally, rob tiny countries that pose no threat to our security as an independent nation (as President Eisenhower tried to warn us in 1961 -- 2.5 minutes long).
