[Professor S]

Well, wind and solar have a host of issues

Wind - The sheer number of wind urbines and the amount of high tension wire needed to make this viable. The technology we have now isn't going to cut it.

Solar - Photo-voltaic cells are a mess. They are only 40% efficient, expensive, big, heavy and worst of all... FRAGILE. The maintenance and replacement costs alone make it prohibitive.

Solar does have a future right now, but it isn't photo-voltaic... its steam. Redirect the rays into piped water and let the steam produce the energy. An excellent option for the southwest. Honestly, beyond nuclear most alternative fuels are regional at best (wind in the midwest, solar in the southwest, etc.)

I'm all for alternative energy, bu the hard fact is we are much further away than ten years from having carbon fuel replacements. Even if we had viable solutions now, there would still be millions of gas burning cars on the road and oil/natural gas burning heaters in America's homes. We need usable energy NOW and we need a plan that uses ALL the options at our disposal, and also give us options to move away from carbon over time in a way that won't cripple our nation.

1) Exploit out narutal resources, including oil, shale, natural gas, and regional wind and solar (where it makes sense).

2) Give tax breaks to companies that invest in alternative fuels and grants to companies to set up nuclear power (the start up costs of nuclear are astronomical).

3) As viable carbon alternatives for home and auto emerge, offer tax breaks to individuals who are early adopters and take the risk of switching.

Coming from a standpoint of complete ignorance, I imagine it will take 30 years to make these changes if each administration carried the torch, and thats a huge if, especially if oil prices plummet and cheap gas becomes attractive again.