On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:40:55 -0700 (PDT),
wrote in
:

The idea that electric power is green is another falsehood;

Electricity generated by photovoltaics seems pretty environmentally
friendly to me.

where does most electricity come from?

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/program...ems/cleancoal/
As the President said in presenting his National Energy Policy to
the American public on May 17, 2001, "More than half of the
electricity generated in America today comes from coal.

Hydroelectric dams (devastated valleys)

True. There is quite an environmental movement afoot to demolish dams
and restore the valleys they flood. Here's an example:

http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/hetchhetchy/
http://www.hetchhetchy.org/

coal (dirty),

Apparently there's hope that coal fired electrical generating plants
can be made more efficient and less polluting:

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/program...ems/cleancoal/
The Clean Coal Power Initiative is providing government
co-financing for new coal technologies that can help utilities
meet the President's Clear Skies Initiative to cut sulfur,
nitrogen and mercury pollutants from power plants by nearly 70
percent by the year 2018. Also, some of the early projects are
showing ways to reduce greenhouse emissions by boosting the
efficiency by which coal plants convert coal to electricity or
other energy forms.


natural gas (CO2 and an increasingly limited resource),

Virtually anything that burns atmospheric oxygen produces CO2. But
the vast reserves of methane hydrates seems to contradict your
assertion that natural gas resources are declining significantly:

http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/g...tes/title.html
Gas hydrates occur abundantly in nature, both in Arctic regions
and in marine sediments. Gas hydrate is a crystalline solid
consisting of gas molecules, usually methane, each surrounded by a
cage of water molecules. It looks very much like water ice.
Methane hydrate is stable in ocean floor sediments at water depths
greater than 300 meters, and where it occurs, it is known to
cement loose sediments in a surface layer several hundred meters
thick.

The worldwide amounts of carbon bound in gas hydrates is
conservatively estimated to total twice the amount of carbon to be
found in all known fossil fuels on Earth.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1107083255.htm

nuclear (dangerous and waste problems), and so on.

Additionally, there is the issue of the limited life span of nuclear
generating facilities, generally about 25 years. After that the
entire facility must be sawed into blocks and moved to a storage site.
When the cost of clean up from inevitable radioactive discharges and
the resulting liability settlements, short life span, decommissioning
costs, and monitored storage of radioactive waste for centuries are
figured into the equations, nuclear energy isn't very cost effective,
not the mention it's potential long-term (tens of thousands of years)
impact on the environment.

Hydrogen fuel cells, even if they worked well and were affordable,
require hydrogen, which requires the electrolysis of water, which
needs vast amounts of electricity.

While it may not be very efficient (currently), solar energy can
nevertheless provide adequate power to electrolyze water. And solar
generated electricity can be harnessed where it is needed while it
provides shade to reduce air conditioning costs. Here's what Honda is
testing:

http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c051114.html
Further advancing its vision of a gasoline- and emissions-free
transportation future, Honda R&D Americas, Inc., in conjunction
with technology partner Plug Power Inc., introduced the Home
Energy Station, which provides heat and electricity for the home
as well as fuel for a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle.



http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/f...7005373r1.html
Southern California Edison Launches Nation's Largest Solar Panel
Installation
03.27.08, 3:02 AM ET
Southern California Edison (SCE) today launched the nation's
largest solar cell installation, a project that will place 250
megawatts of advanced photovoltaic generating technology on 65
million square feet of roofs of Southern California commercial
buildings - enough power to serve approximately 162,000 homes.

"These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California's
long-term energy and climate change goals," said Governor
Schwarzenegger. "I urge others to follow in their footsteps. If
commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put
this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge
wave of renewable energy growth."

"This project will turn two square miles of unused commercial
rooftops into advanced solar generating stations," said John E.
Bryson, Edison International chairman and CEO. "We hope to have
the first solar rooftops in service by August. The sunlight power
will be available to meet our largest challenge - peak load
demands on the hottest days."

SCE's renewable energy project was prompted by recent advances in
solar technology that reduce the cost of installed photovoltaic
gen...

The utility plans to begin installation work immediately on
commercial roofs in Southern California's Inland Empire, San
Bernardino and Riverside counties, the nation's fastest growing
urban region.

"These new solar stations, which we will be installing at a rate
of one megawatt a week, will provide a new source of clean energy,
directly in the fast-growing regions where we need it most," said
Bryson.

SCE sees numerous customer benefits from its new solar program,
among them locating the new generation in areas of growing
customer demand. And the clusters of solar modules SCE plans to
install will be connected directly to the nearest neighborhood
circuit, eliminating the need to build new transmission lines to
bring the power to customers. Additionally, solar units produce
the most power when customer usage is at its highest.