Renewable Energy? Phaktz

Most "Renewable" energy is really just Free, or should be labeled as such.

Geo-Thermal, Wind, Solar, Hydro-Electric
Calling any of these a "Renewable Resource" is misleading. There is no cycle of renewal with these. We are just tapping into available power, usually at an initial high cost up-front.
In example - it takes money/time/energy to build a water dam and install hydro-electric turbines and generators or to build a Windmill Farm. Once that initial investment is made, then you are simply tapping a power source and directing that power to where it is needed. Eventually these constructs pay for themselves when you sell off that energy, but after that point you are just tapping and selling "Free" energy. (minus upkeep)
There's nothing about it that's "Renewable". Nothing about the process cycles back into itself. It would be best to just call them "Low Pollution Energy Sources".

Do solar cells collect sunlight, then package up some hydrogen and ship it back to the Sun to be burned again? Of course not, Solar Cells only use freely available power and redirect it to where it is needed.

"Renewable" example: Food crops - plant corn, harvest corn, mulch the unused portion of the plants (stalks, roots) back into the soil. Then use some of the corn as seeds for next year. That's "Renewable". That has a cycle that feeds back into itself.

If you could build a water dam, flood a valley, have that water run turbines to produce electricity and then get the used water back up into the lake, then you'd have a renewable supply. No, we just passively wait for Mother Nature to refill the Lake for us and reap the Free Energy at will.

There's been a lot of talk recently about using alternative fuels for our automobiles. They range the gambit from Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Bio-fuel to straight Electric Cars and, of course, also include using a symbiosis of Gasoline+Alternative to just lower the use of Gasoline. Thinking that if it runs on Electricity or Hydrogen, then you aren't using Oil or Hydrocarbons to power your car, and that "Saves the Environment". Well, guess what? The largest/fastest ways available to produce electricity and hydrogen for your "alternative fuel car" are by using Hydrocarbons (oil & coal) These methods, especially Hydrogen Fuel Cells, actually use MORE hydrocarbons than if you had just used Gasoline in the first place.

Oh, Bio-fuels... churning Corn into a gasoline substitute. I've heard that every day over 1,000 children in this world die from starvation and/or lack of nutrition. How can I abide using a food source as gas for my truck when it could have saved a child from starving? I guess I really don't want to know the answer to that one, I'm sure that it's possible that someday I may HAVE to accept a bio-fuel in spite of hungry children, just to be able to get to work and feed myself. But I don't like the thought of it.

Have a nice day