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How about this, instead? We invest in alternative energy technologies R&D now? Then when (or if, if you prefer) the cost of oil-based energy becomes prohibitive, we'll be prepared, instead of waiting until the last moment and running around like the denizens of Tokyo when Godzilla comes to town?

Isn't that what's happening now?

Here's an example from my neck of the woods.

Hhmmm, it seems those sorts of rates are already in use.

No. You have provided four examples of the exact opposite happening. All of these rates are higher in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest.

Use of electricity during the day = $0.05/kWh. Use of electricity an night = $0.50/kWh. Now you've got to solve the battery problem AND the solar panel problem.

Nah, then all you need is batteries and a charging and inverter system. No solar panels at all. Because all you'd have to do is store electricity from the company during the day, and use it at night or when the power is down. Right now, there's no great price advantage to doing this, but the second the day and night prices diverge significantly, there would be.

Hhmmm, it seems those sorts of rates are already in use.

http://www.portlandgeneral.com/our_company/generation_transmission/crooked_river/default.aspx

http://www.centraloregonian.com/archives/story.aspx/12547/facebook-can-expand-with-approval-of-power-lines

Yeah I suppose it's not much, but it is undeveloped at the moment. And the hydro would just be used for peaking anyways.

On a related note, if you're an individual in the Portland area, you can opt to help pay the extra yourself (to the tune of roughly $7/month) and Portland General Electric will help ensure that your electricity use is offset with renewable sources (wind and biomass): http://www.portlandgeneral.com/home/products/power_options/renewable.asp

I'm writing this on a Linux box that hasn't been rebooted since March.

Which sounds nice and all, and if you were talking about server uptime, I'd agree.

But, if you're typing this on said "Linux box", it's very unlikely to be a server. Which means, it's your workstation. Probably some AMD Athlon. Running 99.95% of the time with a load average between 0.01 and 0.00, while you sleep, party, work, or doze in class.

Think of the electricity you're wasting, both in the computer itself, and the A/C to cool your room down after your volunteer space heater warmed it up.

Let's run some numbers. In the US, (I don't know where you are) Electricity costs about $0.08 per KWH. It's been on since March, and let's say you actually use the computer oh, 6 hours per day? (Typical, unless you're a coder)

That leaves 18 hours per day since March - let's say March 15th. A quick check shows this to be about 208 days. (Thank you date() and mktime()!) An Athlon computer probably burns, on average, between 150 and 250 watts total, with graphics card, CPU, HDD, etc. Let's call it at 200 watts.

18*205*175=738,000 watt hours. You pay $0.08 per KWH, so the mere fact of leaving your computer (un-necessarily) has cost you $59.04, which assumes that you don't use air conditioning.

Other than stroking your ego, what purpose does leaving your computer on 24/7 really serve you?

Really?

Here in oregon we have the option of power from all all renewable resources It's just a few bucks extra ($0.008/kWh in additon to regular billing) a month for me and the power is 50% wind 25% geothermal and 25% hydro. Nice to have power companies give you options like these.

First of all, it converts waste product into electricity. But secondly, instead of sewage decomposing into methane, it decomposes into C02, which is a much less effective greenhouse gas. Additionally, the resulting by-products make a good, smell-free compost.

Here's a blurb about a biogas plant in Oregon