So much sun energy, so little time and investment.

National Geographic recently had a fantastic feature on the state of solar-generated energy and how the world is progressing--or not progressing--on harnessing power from the sun. The article pointed out how Germany is leading the world in adopting solar power and making it a viable energy source in that country. As I was reading the story, I asked a visiting German student--a friend of our family who was spending a few days at our house--if he knew about Germany's solar energy leadership role and why it had evolved that way.

He said the German government years ago committed itself to an unwavering national policy to deploy solar power as widely as possible. Any German household with solar panels producing excess power not used by the home sells it back to the power company at a very nice price (nice for the homeowner, that is). Power companies are required by law to pay that handsome price to all residential solar resellers. As National Geographic points out, Germany has attained this leadership position not by building scores of centralized, massive commercial solar generating facilities--that would be prohibitively costly--but by advocating a do-it-yourself, empowerment policy agenda that encourages individual homes, businesses, institutions to adopt solar power solutions whenever and wherever they can. It's kind of the solar equivalent of decentralized networks and servers and PCs vs. the mainframe.

And this week, acclaimed New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote another gem of an opinion piece on the global "solar economy:" how countries are targeting solar energy as an industrial-development, jobs-growth opportunity. Friedman profiles Applied Materials, a U.S. based company that builds machines that build solar panels whose factories--all 14 of them--are located outside the U.S. Why? Because he must locate manufacturing close to where the demand is, and the demand is not in United States.

Writes Friedman: "Let’s see: five are in Germany, four are in China, one is in Spain, one is in India, one is in Italy, one is in Taiwan and one is even in Abu Dhabi. I suggested a new company motto for Applied Materials’s solar business: “Invented here, sold there.”

"The sun provides enough energy in one minute to supply the world's energy needs for one year. In one day, it provides more energy than our current population would consume in 27 years. In fact, the amount of solar radiation striking the earth over a three-day period is equivalent to the energy stored in all fossil energy sources." (Source: Alternative Energy.org)

Bacteria as fuel?

One of my favorite global analysts, Fareed Zakaria, recently interviewed a Univ. of Maryland researcher on his pioneering efforts in alternative energy for conventional vehicles. His interview is viewable here.

Oh, I forgot to mention, that fuel-producing bacterium does its thing by eating CO2. How fast can we get it on the market??!! Whether it's this or hydrogen engine commercialization or large-scale solar, shouldn't there be a government-led investment policy effort to help accelerate market formation for these promising technologies? More than just seed money for entrepreneurs. We're talking infrastructure build-out on a national scale.

Unkulhschidt: Gas wasters

More and more, I find myself getting depressed when I'm sitting in my car at stoplights. Not because it takes the light forever to turn green. It's because I'm constantly amazed at the number of vehicles that arrive at the intersection going nearly 50 m.p.h. and only start thinking about slowing down when they're 20 feet from the stoplight.

And jackrabbit starts. Drivers who have to accelerate from a stop as though they're late for their own wedding. Jackrabbit starts, especially with large trucks and SUVs which are plentiful where I live, can burn as much as 40% more gas than gradual starts. Of course there are dozens more driving tips that can help increase gas mileage. Going 65 instead of 75 can improve fuel efficiency by up to 25%.

The depressing thing is, if this country ever faces a true gas shortage again, like it did in the late 70s, I'm not sure we have the mentality and collective will to successfully deal with it.
If U.S. motorists could decrease gas consumption by just a few percentage points, gas prices might come down dramatically. According to an MSNBC column last year, U.S gasoline demand fell 7 percent between August 2006 and January 2007. Gas prices accordingly fell 28%.

I just sense that the great majority of American drivers think energy efficiency is a passing fancy, and won't be much of an issue in the long run. We're a NASCAR country. Cylinder numbers and engine displacement still rule. CAFE is, well...what's CAFE?

Is there a public information campaign in someone's mental file cabinet that could change driving habits among the everyday Jeff Gordons? Especially a campaign that directs the messaging to drivers while they are in the car?