After the reading the article in the National Geographic Aug I was wondering what everyone else thinks, we as a human race should look to for as a renewable source of energy for our electrical needs. I would have liked to put a poll in.
The other options other then Coal and Natural Gas which provide the majority of the Worlds power are ofcourse: Solar, Wind, Nuclear, Hydroelectric, Biomass, and Hydrogen Fusion.
If you have any Ideas or debatable questions about the topic then feel free to place your arguement here as well.

I personally would like to see more of an International effort in making more effective solar panels and increased research into fusion.

Solar I think is the least intrusive to the enviroment. Just think of a salt flat or desert bed lined with solar panels. That could be a good start. Fusion as I understand it has a radioactive by product. Not sure what Biomass is, Hydroelectrice usally involves much change to a landscape to build the damn, then there is the matter of flooding the area, then killing all the fish and the creature that get huge at the mouth of the damn eating in the deep water. This is a man made change I think will effect us over time.

Nuclear... Nah I know it is clean but the radioactive by product is scary. How can you store something for hundreds of thousands of years safely? Wind kills many many mnay birds belive it or not.

See the float on wind curent and.... BAM dead fucking bird falls to the ground after striking the wind mill.

In OR we currently use solar, turbine and wind for our power for the state; california also buys most of our power at a discounted rate; the power company jabs us people who live here in the ass though (funny, we live here and we're charged more than california who they sell our power to)

First, fusion's only bi-product is hydrogen, which cannot be radioactive (Its atoms aren't big enough to be unstable)- however, after billions of dollars of research, we've failed to produce 1kw from the thing.

The risk from nuclear powerplants isn't too bad if we take necissary precautions (like using deionized H2O instead of molten Na metal for the cooling process), and it's likely to be used more extensively in the future (the earth's supply of uranium is nearly limitless - not to mention the tons of radioactive materials in space).

Biomass is using alternative fuels that come from plants (mostly corn).

Solar power is clean, but not very efficient (or cheap). The most expensive part of solar energy generators, are the actual panels (or mirrors, depending on the process). Instead, I propose that it is actually possible to use plants to produce harnessable energy through photosynthesis.

The science checks out - H2O + CO2 + Solar Energy => C6H12O6 + 02 (photosynthesis). C6H12O6 + O2 => CO2 + H20 + Free electrons (aerobic respiration).

It is possible to harvest the glucose produced by plants, and break it back down into CO2 and H2O via micro organisms. Then, the free electrons can be picked up via carbon electrodes, and voila!

But wait!!! This produces CO2!!! CNN told me that CO2 is bad!!! WTF??? - No problem. The C02 and H2O is sent right back to the plants for more photosynthesis - thus providing a closed system with no by-products, which (according to CNN) is good. :p

Actually according to the article: The readily available uranium fuel wont last much more than 50 years.
Though it refers to it as the readily available so I guess your right. Ilike the Idea of using plants as a type of solar panel. Its funny but if you look at it its like all the renewable enery sources comes from the sun. Even wind is genertated by heat from the sun.

well hydroelectric is renewable but has enviromental issues.

And even with hydro electric. If it wasnt for the sun that allowed the ocean waters to evaporate into clouds so they may rain and make rivers to dam, we wouldnt have hyroelectric.

What if world governments passed a law that would phase out construction and sale of all non-hybrid cars? Would you support it?

sure, I would think it was a step in the right direction but cars would go up in price. You would have the issue of all older existing cars still out there. Diesle is used for many power trucks and I doubt hybrid would work.