The Final Solution To Our Energy Problem Lies At Our Feet

You know, the final solution to our energy problems lies beneath your feet, and I'm not talking about Oil, I'm not talking about Coal or any other form of energy that pollutes the environment.

Better yet, given enough research, it could be made accessible in nearly every corner of the United States.

The truth is, if you dig deep enough anywhere, you can find temperatures hot enough to boil water, and boiling water is the key to energy production. Boiling water can turn turbines and generate electricity. Hot water can drive heat exchangers and hot water doesn't require to go as deep as boiling water.

The only question, can we develop techniques that can be made economic feasible on a nation wide scale, with $20 a barrel oil, probably not. But at $80 a barrel oil, it a entirely different question, and with the right support from the government, I'm betting it is entirely possible. The photo above shows the geothermal potential for the United States at currently accessible depths. The higher the temperature the easier it is to make use of the potential.

For more the latest news on Geothermal energy, read the Associated Press's Energy Search Goes Underground By ELIANE ENGELER and ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS in it they discuss a report by MIT that says "if 40 percent of the heat under the United States could be tapped, it would meet demand 56,000 times over. It said an investment of $800 million to $1 billion could produce more than 100 gigawatts of electricity by 2050, equaling the combined output of all 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S.".

There are problems, but that is what research is for, and if we spend just a fraction of what we currently spend on oil those problems would be resolved. An we would be free from Oil and the Middle East forever. Now that's something I can support, but on the other hand what would we have to argue about.

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