I thought one future problem with solar cells is that they require oil to produce. I recently read somewhere (here?) that solar cells require about 60 years of use before you get a return on your investment. Maybe with full accounting...
If it comes down to choosing between using oil for transportation as opposed to using it to make solar cells, hospital equipment, medicines, pesticides, fertilizers, and other tools, I'm all for the tools. A few months back on the Common Dreams website, there was a report about peak oil. It quoted the former Shah of Iran who said "Oil is too valuable to burn." From all I've read, though, there is no substitute as useful or efficient as oil in transportation: gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants. If it comes down to choosing between eating corn and using it for transportation, I'm all for eating it. I think China recently passed a law to prevent ethanol from taking food out of the mouths of its people. I told students majoring in wildlife conservation that, ideally, their goal is to work themselves out of a job. If they are successful, we won't need them. Unfortunately, if they're not successful, we won't need them either, because I'm afraid we're running into another reality most visible now in Africa with the bush meat as protein problem. If it comes down to eating it or conserving it, all of us will vote against starvation. CL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cara Lin Bridgman P.O. Box 013 Phone: 886-4-2632-5484 Longjing Sinjhuang Taichung County 434 Taiwan http://megaview.com.tw/~caralin/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
