Alternative Energy: Where It Isn't, and Why

There is no practical reason why there isn't a solar-collecting device of some kind on the roof of every building in the US.

There are political reasons, having to do with the purchasing power of the Oil/Coal/Nuclear energy industry and the bargain-basement deals by which they have purchased the country's elected 'representatives.'

The immediate result of such an installation project would be immense, both in terms of creating new jobs, founding new, green industries, and reducing domestic industrial energy consumption.

There you see the problem, because there already are existing jobs, industries, and energy monopolies, which would lose some, if not all, of their clout.

And all those investments in Congresscritters would have been in vain.

So, until there is a top-to-bottom awakening in the energy industry, serious intervention by the Feds, and there emerges a way for all the people with all the power (as it were) to hold onto their power, wealth and perquisites, nothing's gonna change.

Devote 1/10 the amount of r&d money to solar (pv or water) cells that is being devoted now to "clean coal" (which is total bullshit propaganda nomenclature fuckers, coal is coal) and the thing'd be done.
An opposing view:

The reason is price. Until recently PV cells cost about 50 cts/kWhr vs about 8 from the utility.

Now that they are getting down into the 20s and many are paying close to 20 and we have some subsidies they are starting to make sense and production is exploding.

Which leads to the 2nd reason this is bollocks. In the short run every bit of PV production is sold out. There's no capacity to put a cell on every building in the country.

Markets are not perfect and don't solve real problems, but you can't get people to pay 10X for things very easily.

The reasons you cite, while true, are not VALID, because they free-ride the energy corps which want t preserve the status quo at any price...they get these HUGE breaks, both tax and regulatory. They don't wanna see the gravy train end, and they've been promised by the various Powers that it won/t be, qand fuck the planet, the people, and you if you can't take a joke.

Putting some kind--ANY kind--of a solar collector atop EVERY building that has a roof would immediately reduce the need for 'industrially produced' (oil/coal/nuke) by more than half...then the energy companies could sell what they produce to the manufacturing companies at a fair (instead of a subsidized) rate. You see the problem?

I know that, for exactly that reason, it is unlikely to happen, but I personally won't support the candidacy of any nominee who doesn't include such provisions in their platform.

Yeah, okay, so I won't be voting for the PRez this year, mebbe...I cannot see, with the candidates in the picture now, that it will make any difference.