Alternative Energy

I just had to have a section on alternative energy. I'm not a tree-hugging hippie or anything, but I am concerned about our environment, and especially about gas prices. It's impossible for us to know definitively how much what we are doing actually hurts the planet. There are just too many variables and no proven cause and effect relationship. While there are a number of strong correlations to be found in this field, it is important that we don't fall into the logical fallacy known in Latin as "post hoc ergo propter hoc" - meaning "after therefore because of it". Just because some things are correlated doesn't mean that one caused the other.

That all said, I think this is a very real issue that should be addressed. The concept of "going green", or lowering our carbon footprint as much as possible, is a good one. On a national level, we should be using clean sources of energy. On a personal level, we should be doing things like buying energy efficient appliances.

This section of the site is usually not going to go into the same level of detail as the pure chemistry section of the site, but it will still offer valuable information for anybody looking to "green up" their lives.

First and foremost - I'm really against the idea of using ethanol as a fuel alternative - check out why

I also have some pretty strong feelings about the use of nuclear power, particularly breeder reactors. See why here.

I am also a huge advocate of solar power. I'll write a quick synopsis of why in the future, but I found a good site about solar power facts at http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com