Flying ninja monkey tears---The future of renewable energy

Just kidding, but in reference to renewable energy, I agree that it is probably too cheap. As a country, it seems that we only pay attention to a problem when it directly and significantly affects us. Now for some people it may already be too expensive but for most I think it is the opposite. How do we determine when something is too expensive? The simple answer is when we stop or limit our consumption based on the price. We all complain a bit about the price at the pump or our high electric bill, but I know that I haven’t been driving any less or turning my A/C off. Right now there are many options for renewable energy but they are currently not cost-effective enough for us to use them instead of fossil fuels. Once the price of oil becomes more expensive, it will cause a rapid transition into better, more renewable options. Was Jimmy Carter right? I think he definitely was ahead of his time in the way he was thinking but it only further proves my point that people will always choose the cheaper, more convenient option until it is no longer worth it. So why not stop the artificial lowering of gas prices and let the market steer us in the right direction? Many other countries have gas prices that are more than double that of the U.S. and they have transitioned into smaller cars, scooters, bikes, etc. Now with the technological and financial resources of the U.S., this would result in better alternatives rather than a lack of convenience. Every type of renewable energy has its pros and cons. I look to the ones that tend to have the highest potential energy output per space required and the ones that have cost as their main drawback. We will always find ways to make the process cheaper but we don’t have an excess of land due to the growth of our population and food requirements. To me, using algae as a bio-fuel is the most interesting. Algae receive their energy from the sun, (photosynthesis) which makes it renewable and it is grown in water (something the earth has plenty of).  Geothermal energy was another that I found interesting, as it derives energy from the earth’s core. Unfortunately the drilling process is an expensive one. Solar panels have been around for a while but are fairly inefficient; they take up land, and are too expensive. I did read about a company has used Nanotechnology to develop a more efficient solar panel cell which may cut the cost in half. If financially viable could we see panels on every house? The topic is an interesting one and I am excited at the possibilities some of these ideas hold.