Quick Study: Alternative Energy (page 2 of 2)

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Chitose Suzuki/AP Images

2006
First sea-based wind farm in U.S. proposed off Cape Cod.

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The Back-and-Forth
"Enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the world's energy needs for a year."
--Al Gore, former U.S. vice president

"Nuclear energy is quite simply the only non-polluting energy source that can replace fossil fuels. It's a fairy tale that wind and solar can do the job."
--Patrick Moore, cochair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition

"It takes the same amount of grain to fill an SUV with ethanol as it does to feed a person. We don't want any more subsidies for biofuels."
--Barbara Stocking, CEO, Oxfam Great Britain

"Other places in the world have already made it happen, and you say, 'Duh, why can't we do it here?' Anywhere things can be grown that you can turn into fuel, do it."
--Willie Nelson, country music legend; founder, the Willie Nelson Biodiesel Co.

The Time Line
1854
Daniel Halladay develops America's first commercial windmills, with wooden blades that pivot as wind direction changes.

1860s
Auguste Mouchout develops first solar steam engines, forerunners of modern parabolic dish collectors, which concentrate the sun's heat to produce steam that powers electrical generators.

1896
Henry Ford test-drives his first car, the quadricycle, which runs on gasoline.

1908
Ford's Model T can run on ethanol, gasoline, or a blend of both.

1930s
Some 600,000 windmills dot rural America, grinding grain and pumping water. Their use declines after New Deal links rural communities to central electrical grids.

1939
MIT scientists build Solar I, first solar-heated house in the United States.

1941
First wind turbine to supply power to a community erected at Grandpa's Knob, a mountaintop near Rutland, Vermont.

1954
Bell Laboratories develops first silicon solar cell; produces enough energy to power common electrical devices.

1958
U.S. Navy launches Vanguard I, first solar-powered satellite. Fifty years later, it's still in orbit.

1973
Oil crisis is triggered by OPEC embargo on shipments to Western countries.

1978
Congress passes first in series of subsidies and tax credits to promote ethanol production.

1979
Jimmy Carter installs solar panels on White House roof. Ronald Reagan removes them in 1986.

1980
Congress increases tax credits for companies using solar, wind, and other renewable energies.

1985
Wind turbines in California produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.

1997
U.S. automakers begin mass-producing flex-fuel cars that run on gasoline or E-85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gas.

2002
Singer Bonnie Raitt launches Green Highway, riding to gigs across the country on a bus powered by biofuel.

2006
First sea-based wind farm in U.S. proposed off Cape Cod.

2008
Average U.S. gas price tops $4 per gallon for first time.

Congress is working to extend tax credits for solar and wind power set to expire at year's end.

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