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For those of you who have been giving Clark some heat over his support of nuclear power, this note's for you: There are now plants generating solar energy by using rotating mirrors to follow the sun's path. These plants are popular in the Mountain West where there's fantastic sunlight. In fact, the sun gets so intense that Clark's brother -- who lives south of Phoenix -- has to flee to San Diego for about a month every year!

The New York Times reports there are 2 of these mirror-equipped facilities already on the grid, while 8 more are in the planning or construction stages. It's good to know that there are new solutions on the supply side.

On the demand side, meanwhile, Americans now are using less fuel thanks to fuel-efficient vehicles. Clark recently got a question about whether it was smart to ditch a 4-year-old SUV and buy a new fuel-efficient vehicle. The answer is no, you must instead buy a 4-year-old used fuel-efficient vehicle. Remember, let somebody else take the hit on depreciation!

What others are saying

Solar panels
I don't see how solar panels generate electricity at night. You still need some source of power for the lights. Therefore you still need conventional power plants to make up for when the sun doesn't shine and when the wind doesn't blow. There is no free lunch, there is no way to store commercial quantities of electricity.
By Michael Herr @ 07/29/08 09:56:45 AMreport abuse
Conservation
Unfortunately, conservation efforts are backfiring. When we conserve, we barely get a chance to pat ourselves on the back before the news that the low taxes paid in because of low consumption are resulting in the govt types raising taxes to meet the budget. So you may be saving some kind of resources, but your own budget won't show the impact in the long run.
By Andrea @ 07/23/08 04:36:22 PMreport abuse

Solar panels

I don't see how solar panels generate electricity at night. You still need some source of power for the lights. Therefore you still need conventional power plants to make up for when the sun doesn't shine and when the wind doesn't blow. There is no free lunch, there is no way to store commercial quantities of electricity.

By Michael Herr @ 07/29/08 09:56:45 AMreport abuse

Conservation

Unfortunately, conservation efforts are backfiring. When we conserve, we barely get a chance to pat ourselves on the back before the news that the low taxes paid in because of low consumption are resulting in the govt types raising taxes to meet the budget. So you may be saving some kind of resources, but your own budget won't show the impact in the long run.

By Andrea @ 07/23/08 04:36:22 PMreport abuse

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Jul 23, 2008 -- Solar energy popular in the mountain states

What others are saying