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[smjjames]

Or fusion even? Granted that's still decades off.

I believe that it's 30 years off and has been 30 years off for about the past 60 years.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That's just the US though and people in the US aren't the only ones working on it.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

I don't consider electric cars viable as long as humanity will not invent much better ways to store electric power.

Besides, if humanity will switch to electric cars tomorrow, that will mean only one thing: we will burn more stuff to generate electricity

heard about nuclear power?

Yep. But sadly nuclear power is opposed by huge number of people.

large coal/natural gas plants are more thermodynamically efficient than small gasoline engines.

Yep. But coal has more carbon emission, right?

Anyway. Should humanity get batteries that a)cheap enough and b) have roughly same energy density as gasoline then electric cars will win the game no matter how low or high oil prices will be.

With gasoline having roughly 40 MJ/kg and  rechargeable batteries having less than 1 MJ/kg... I can't see electric cars being more than a niche market

[mainiac]

So fusion power only got slightly more government R+D funding in 1976 then solar power R+D gets today.

[smjjames]

Kind of going off topic on the energy tangent, just saying.

[LordSlowpoke]

Would you describe the current gridlock in Washington to be demshiza?

i do not think demshiza can be applied to western nations

hardcore libertarians maybe but that's a stretch

[Sergarr]

Would you describe the current gridlock in Washington to be demshiza?

i do not think demshiza can be applied to western nations

hardcore libertarians maybe but that's a stretch

+1. I don't use that term anyway, since it's kind of needlessly demeaning.

[10ebbor10]

Spoiler: tangent (click to show/hide)

So fusion power only got slightly more government R+D funding in 1976 then solar power R+D gets today.

Unlike fusion however, solar did get commercial funding from the beginning.

[Guardian G.I.]

Would you describe the current gridlock in Washington to be demshiza?

i do not think demshiza can be applied to western nations

hardcore libertarians maybe but that's a stretch

+1. I don't use that term anyway, since it's kind of needlessly demeaning.

It gradually fell out of use in recent years in favour of an analogous term "liberast".

[Knit tie]

Would you describe the current gridlock in Washington to be demshiza?

i do not think demshiza can be applied to western nations

hardcore libertarians maybe but that's a stretch

+1. I don't use that term anyway, since it's kind of needlessly demeaning.

It gradually fell out of use in recent years in favour of an analogous term "liberast".

Which isn't used to signify the whole of liberal movement, I must add, but rather the obnoxious neocon "limousine liberals" who drone on and on about how Russia's bad while sipping Chardonnay and eating Camambert on the terraces of their private villas.

Regarding thermonuclear power: just wait until we start to actually run out of oil.

Regarding nuclear power: it's a little known fact, but coal power plants are worse for you than the nuclear ones.

[Helgoland]

Heh, I live in a major coal-producing region, but people in my home town are more worried about the old research reactor we have lying around.
Not that they're too worried about that, either. It's the Rhineland, after all.

[Sergarr]

It's hilarious, because coal is radioactive, too! Just in lesser amount. But on energy basis, coal power station actually produces more radioactivity than a comparative nuclear power station.

[Sheb]

Well, not really, the radioactive fuel is more radioactive, it's just that nuclear power plants don't turn it into really small particle (read, smoke), before pumping it out the smokestacks.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

Russia to sell 19% of Rosneft

Interesting... It is a rather weird time for privatization

[Knit tie]

Also, a huge gas deal with China

Interesting... It is a rather weird time for privatization

Rosneft was privately owned by oligarchs anyway.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Rosneft was privately owned by oligarchs anyway.

Owners
Russian government (69,5%), BP (19,75%)

Yeah, we know.