Leslie, Perhaps you did not consider what's the best energy PARADIGM? As some have likely pointed out, large power generation projects have large impacts, whether "green" or otherwise. Large solar or wind farms have large impacts just like hydroelectric dams (i.e. altering local weather patterns or killing wildlife).
And some have noted (though I haven't read all responses) that distribution of energy is a constraint/impact. So perhaps we should be looking harder at solutions outside this paradigm. There are many folks working on an alternative: distributed power generation. Small point-of-use power generators (through various methods - micro-solar, wind, and hydro to name the big ones) that are shared locally in order to create flexibility and stability. Besides the distribution problem and large generator/impacts problem, this seems to provide many other benefits (enormous stability to name a great one). The obvious problem with this is it doesn't fit well with the current power brokers. I think they could simply broker this new system but they seem to be reluctant to walk away from the trillions they have invested in the current paradigm. Sorry, I have to run; if you need more info please let me know (I have some resources). David Thomson M.S. Restoration Ecologist/Wetlands Scientist Schaaf & Wheeler 100 N. Winchester Blvd., Suite 200 Santa Clara, CA 95050-6566 (408) 246-4848 x119 (408) 246-5624 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Leslie Mertz Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 5:30 AM To: [email protected] Subject: What's the best energy source? I got an interesting question yesterday. From an environmental point of view, what is the best, yet still feasible, way to power the world? Any thoughts? Leslie Mertz, Ph.D. science writer/author, educator
