These excerpts from a speech by an Exxon-Mobile exec. I don't care what personal hatred you may feel for Exxon-Mobile, but its their job to know the truth about energy. Their investors depend on them to know all about energy, both consumption and resources: (Bold added by me for emphasis.)

Yet as energy fuels development, this development in turn results in new energy demand. In the years to come, growing populations and increasing prosperity in nations such as India and China will drive energy usage to ever greater heights. As a result by the year 2030 – less than twenty-five years from now – the world’s energy needs will be almost 40 per cent greater than they were last year.

Over the next 25 years, some renewable energy options, such as wind and solar energy, are expected to experience strong growth. But most experts agree that even so, emerging renewables like wind, solar and biofuels will still only contribute about 2 per cent of the world’s total energy needs in 2030. This reflects the massive and growing scale and scope of the energy industry.

So it will be conventional energy sources – oil, natural gas and coal – that we will depend upon to meet 75 to 80 per cent of the world’s energy needs through 2030.

The resources are available. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Earth was endowed with more than three trillion barrels of conventional recoverable oil resources. When we take into account non-conventional forms of oil, such as heavy oil and shale oil, we estimate that the resource base rises to over four trillion barrels of oil.

Consider that in the entire history of the oil industry, we have collectively produced just one trillion barrels and you can see that resources are adequate for the foreseeable future.

end of excerpt.

This forecast takes into account the massive new spending on wind and solar. Even with that growth, they will only supply about 2% of the world's energy needs.
Conventional gas and coal will have to supply the bulk of the world's energy for the foreseeable future.
Nuclear, as in the French model, may provide some relief.

All this to say that those of you who actually believe that solar and wind power will have any measurable effect on the world's energy situation over the next 20+ years are deluding yourselves If you want to get off of Middle East Oil, the only practical, short term alternative is nuclear. Find a way to mitigate the problems with nuclear, and you will perform great service to mankind.
If you are opposed to oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, what are your solutions? Do you really think that there are any alternate solutions that can deliver the amount of energy required?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags