i figure it this way, "one leads by example"
(now if i can just live that way) 
personally i don't see a huge investment in more centralization of the grid as being the answer.
it really is no different than the interstate system around large metro area's, they expand lanes to improve traffic flow only to move the problem somewhere else
that is often times less able to handle the problem than the first place that they tried to correct.
basically if you provide as Tom points out quite bluntly a "tit" for the public to suckle from they will congregate their and in short order things get worse than they were before,, its the law of unforeseen circumstances" at work.
if times get much worse than they are now we will see folks leaving the metro area's, and getting back to the land. in doing so many will either choose or be forced to use alternate means of power and of course be forced to conserve.
there will be more windgenerators put up (small scale home units) and the like,
everytime one goes up it spurs the imagination of perhaps 7 other people into at least thinking that "hey maybe i can do that too"
we need more rugged individualism, more self sufficiency, its innate in all of us
part of our dna going back to our caveman roots. it is what this country was built on, and getting away from that mindset places us on the course which becomes the slippery slope we have found ourselves in.
the answer is not more government control, more bailouts, more stimulus packages, state run health care, or any of that.
government doesn't make a single dollar that it either hasn't taxed out of its citizens or printed on a press. all one has to do is remember what it is like to go to the DMV to see our government at its finest.
the government needs to work on perfecting what it is in place to do constitutionally, provide defense, take care of retired folks (social security, keep collecting the tax and keep their grubby mits off of it) and very few other things. once they have proven themselves capable of doing those jobs then maybe they can be allowed to talk about socializing medicine and all manner of other crap.
yes i could benefit from state health care, i need a very expensive spinal surgury, my wife may at some point need an organ transplant, and my 15yo daughter will be getting her gall bladder removed later this month. we will cope with those expenses as best we can thank you very much!
if we give up rights to the government, or pickens with water rights, wind power or whatever, the day will come we will not be allowed to fly a windgen because they will own the wind rights! laugh now, but mark my words that day will come.
the plains have good wind resources, folks want cheaper power let them move out on the plains and harvest it for their own use. its the natural thing to do, no different than primative nomadic man moving to where the hunting is best, or the farming is best or the climate is most agreeable.
otherwise we will all be forced to live in cities one day, won't be any way to live out in the country, you won't have any water rights, you won't have any wind rights, and likely won't have rights to solar gains either by the time some crackpot pseudo scientist comes up with some global climate change associated with solar panels shading the ground or the reflection from those panels altering the convergence zone's or the path of the jet stream.
seem off the wall? maybe
but so was global cooling and the impending iceage in the 70's, global warming of the 90's and now global climate change.
those that stand to make millions if not billions have the wherewithall to buy whatever science they need, whatever politicians they need, and whatever rights they need to assure that they make not only those millions but a return on investment for all that invest in their ventures.
you can be assured that they have armies of atty's, scientist's, stratagist's and
other less than savory folks working 24/7/365 on ways to attain those goals.
we on the other hand are individuals that can lead by example, one man/one windgen
and maybe 7 others will come to see the light of possibility, maybe of those 7 a couple will build a gen of their own which will beget 14 more...
that is the only power we have that the wealthy do not have, we can either be persistant or give in and have what they allow us to have.
rant over
bob g
