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In this solar panel price survey, they won't list cheap Chinese panels and yet you can now find panels for under $1/Watt retail: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm So those cheap Chinese panels must be doing something positive. On the other hand, China has to contend with rapidly advancing US thin film production: http://www.solarbuzz.com/Marketbuzz2009-intro.htm so no wonder they want to make their panels cheap and match the US growth rate.

Greenpeace does propose solar as an alternative. You can get amorphous silicon panels for $0.98/Watt http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm These should last over 50 years since they are less affected by cosmic rays than crystalline panels. That comes to about a penny a kWh in a typical US location. Sounds like about the most cost effective new power available. Hum, it's even less expensive than existing power (i.e. hydro electric, coal, nuclear) so maybe they are on to something.

Here you an find a plethora of companies making such devices, I hope this helps.

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/biodiesel.htm

You can find what you need to set up your own refinery, and then you'll be doing something instead of talking.

You are correct that looking at the durability of the panels is important. Aten solar sells panels for $3.00/Watt:http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_p anels.htm with a 25 year warranty (performance above 80%). So, with a cheapo ground mount (the panels are not very efficient) that you cut yourself from the woods and $1/watt for a 4000 W inverter (corrected to 25 year life) you are looking at $0.03/kWh if you are willing to keep the panels until they degrade to 40% of their original efficiency (100 years; 66 years new equivilent; you need to figure out the smaller and likely cheaper inverters for the last 75 years which might take you up to $0.034/kWh). Oh, and plus gas for the chainsaw. If you are not so cheap, or you figure you won't live that long and don't want to pass on the investment, you are looking at $0.09/kWh bailing after 25 year and just junking the panels (no aftermarket). This assumes and average of 5 h/day peak production equivilent which is typical: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/images/us_pv_annual_may200 4.jpg.

So, if you have the land, you can either match utility rates or substantially undercut them. For rooftop applications $4+/Watt is standard retail for more efficent panels. Now, mounting costs something and you need to consider the reroofing timescale. By cutting out the middleman, we match utility rates with a rental model and can fix the rate for up to 25 years: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html. This makes solar power an overall savings rather than a luxury.

Aten Solar just reduced their price to $3.00/peak Watt. These are lower efficiency panels so you'd want some yard space: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm.
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Register your home for solar power: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html

The cost of solar is coming down quickly. Aten Solar is the retail leader at $3.15/watt http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm. In the commercial sector, Walmart, Macy's, Kohls Target and BJs are all taking on solar because it is cost effective: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/06/25/morg an-stanley-to-own-finance-wal-mart-solar-power-sys tems/. We are bringing the same kind of model to the residential market: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html which is also a money saver. In these cases there is no need for batteries since they work under net metering http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/03/net-metering.h tml.

At the top of this http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm price comparison list I found Aten Solar selling at $3.15/Watt for thin film solar (minimum 32 panel purchase). They provide a 20 year better than 80% warranty similar to standard silicon panels. This won't fit on your roof and cover you power usage, but if you have yard space, this might get you going. This is amourphous silicon technology. -- Get Solar Power on your roof without the hassles: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html

At the top of this http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm price comparison list I found Aten Solar http://www.atensolar.com/14.html selling at $3.15/Watt for thin film solar (minimum 32 panel purchase). They provide a 20 year better than 80% warranty similar to standard silicon panels. This won't fit on your roof and cover you power usage, but if you have yard space, this might get you going right away and be less costly to mount. This is amourphous silicon technology.
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Get Solar Power on your roof without the hassles: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html

you might be refering to the "Smart Car"
from:
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/fuel_efficient_veh icles.htm
    * 60 mpg (unleaded gas)
    * 70 mpg (diesel)

its avalible in Canada..:)

But the thing is, it does not matter what the cause is. If the cycle continues it will certainly, without a doubt, lead to the death of us as a civilization, whether we were the cause or not.

I am fairly certain, given the existing data, that there has been and will continue to be some level of anthropogenic climate change in the past 150 years. The amount and direction of the change, and its root causes, are still far from clear (does recent warming have more to do with decreased particulate matter [soot] than with increased carbon dioxide? why have there been notable periods of cooling or stasis during this period?).

The problem I have is why this change (even if you take the higher estimates of a 4-6 degrees Celsius increase from 1950-2100) inevitably leads to the death of our civilization. It would undoubtedly be disruptive (especially in coastal areas and oceanic islands), but why would civilization collapse? Civilization blossomed during the Little Ice Age of 1550-1850, where some estimates place the global cooling at 3-6 degrees Celsius - a similarly disruptive and sudden climate change.

Higher global carbon dioxide and temperatures will likely increase crop yields. Lands lost to desertification will likely be offset by increasingly fertile areas of former tundra in Canada and Asia. Technology will undoubted advance (and at an ever increasing rate) - with 22nd century technology, power production surely be much more environmentally benign and, if needed, we'll probably have tech that will allow us to reverse the carbon trends (given real fusion power, carbon sequestration and environmental cleanup become a lot cheaper and easier).

I have no worries that climate change will wipe out our civilization. An escalating clash of civilizations, increasingly simple biotech that can be used for bad ends as well as good and nuclear proliferation are what keep me up at night. Climate change just requires some technology and willpower - once (if) it hurts enough, the willpower will be there, and I'm sure the tech will be. The important thing to do is to mitigate the damage that occurs between then and now - especially on various fragile ecosystems. We need massive biological assays (start gathering a LOT of DNA and seeds now and store them safely), protected eco-preserves and a host of other things are some things you can help do right now. I personally donate to The Nature Conservancy because they put money directly into those kinds of projects rather than activism, but there are plenty of other outlets. You could buy personal carbon offsets, invest in wind power, or buy sustainable electricity.

Stop waiting for politicians to do the right thing - do it yourself!