Let me tell you another dirty little secret. There is no such thing as 'clean' or 'green' energy because no source of power is 100% efficient, including next-generation fast breeder reactors. That goes for grid power as well as automobile engines and Hydrogen power (which won't work, by the way). In fact, if one considers the entire fuel chain from the source to rubber on the road or the burner on your stove, ~nothing~ approaches even 20% efficiency. That's just a simple fact. It's why there are no perpetual motion machines. It will ALWAYS take more energy to produce power than the amount of power generated. Your Prius makes you feel good, but over it's lifetime it will only save a small percentage of the petroleum required to build it. You traded lower emissions at the tailpipe for more coal burned at the factory and you pay a premium for it because it makes you feel like you are doing something positive. You aren't. No matter what that little girl on TV says, coal isn't clean but, because we made the wrong choices 30, 40, 50...100 years ago, we have no alternative. We now HAVE to burn coal. It provides 40% of our energy (USA) and 90% in many countries. But coal isn't a very good lubricant.
We have already jumped over the cliff and we have outsourced the parachute. This is all going to come to a screeching halt when we have poisoned the atmosphere enough and we cannot prevent it or mitigate it, even a little. While we are waiting, I'd like to say...thanks for all the fish. :-)
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