a 100-mile-by-100-mile solar thermal installation in the American Southwest could meet the entire country’s energy needs?

That area is just a little larger than the amount of land in the U.S. that has been strip-mined for coal .

Source: http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/05/10/solar-energy-could-power-us-many-times-over/

All of California's electricity can beproduced from 200 square miles ofsunshine - 128,000 acres of desert land.

Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, covers more than 200 square miles.

Source:http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/solarenergy.aspx

Concentrating solar power could meetup to 7 percent of the world’s projectedpower needs in 2030 and a full quarterby 2050

Source: http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2009/05/26/desert-solar-power-can-supply-a-quarter-of-worlds-energy-needs/

Covering 4% of the world's desert areawith photovoltaics could supply theequivalent of all of the world'selectricity.

The Gobi Desert alone could supply almost allof the world's total electricity demand.

Now think of all the conflicts it would solve. Or the new ones it will ignite.

Constructing a large array of solar panelsin the Sahara desert (a fraction ofit, probably the size of a small country)can provide enough electricity to supplyall the power needs of the entire Europe(only $70 billion would be needed inorder for the idea to become a reality.

Why “only”? The United States consumes nearly amillion dollars of energy per minute, 24 hours aday, every day of the year. There are 1,440 minutes perday, and 525,600 minutes in a common year.

US Oil imports Net = 10,400,000 barrelsper day. Currently, oil barrel is above$70 - that means $728,000,000 a day. Or0.73 billion dollars a day. Or 22 billionper month. Or 260+ billion per year.

Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/ene-energy

U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence: U.S. imports nearly 70% of Foreign Oil.

In August 20009 alone US imported 355 million barrels of oil and sent $25.2 billion overseas

U.S. Sent $18.6 Billion Overseas and Imported 375 Million Barrels of Oil in April 2009

U.S. Sent $18 Billion Overseas and Imported 386 Million Barrels of Oil in March 2009

U.S. Sent $13 Billion Overseas and Imported 339 Million Barrels of Oil in February 2009

Source: http://www.pickensplan.com/oilimports/

Dr. Global Warming Himself, aka Al Gore,burned through 22,619 kilowatt-hours ofelectricity at his house last August, a ratethat is TWICE the level used by an averageU.S. household IN AN ENTIRE YEAR.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254908,00.html

Al Gore’s home uses 20 times the energyof average American homes …and that isafter going “green”(http://newsbusters.org/node/11073) .

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research chargedthat the gas and electric bills for the former vicepresident's 20-room home and pool house devourednearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.(http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=5072659)

Another classic example of “Do As I Say, Not As I Do”.

More info: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/28/politics/main2522844.shtml andhttp://www.snopes.com/politics/business/gorehome.asp

Did you know any of this?

Let others know too.