Should the government be responsible for funding scientific research for alternative energy sources?

Government has always been responsible for those huge leaps forward in innovation. Nuclear power, the piston engine, the internet all had their roots in government funded research.

Private sector only does research that will make it profitable in the next few business cycles. If you take away all government research and research from academia we will lose all innovation.

They pay for our education through pell grants and such, isn't this funding it to some extent? I'm sure under grads would never tackle the subject but it seems like a good graduate studies program. Sadly the main thing that encourages private research in alternative energy is high taxes and soaring energy prices which almost ensures economic hardship before effective alternatives are even attempted.

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Maybe they could do more good by getting out of the way and not making the lives of the innovators more difficult.

Remember Edison? The government's contribution was basically "Yes, go ahead and give it a try".

Thomas Alva Edison is one of America's most famous inventors. Edison saw huge change take place in his lifetime. He was responsible for making many of those changes occur. His inventions created and contributed to modern night lights, movies, telephones, records and CDs. Edison was truly a genius.

Edison is most famous for his development of the first (long life) electric light bulb. When Edison was born, electricity had not been developed. By the time he died, entire cities were lit by electricity. Much of the credit for electricity goes to Edison.

Some of his inventions were improvements on other inventions, like the telephone. Some of his inventions he deliberately tried to invent, like the light bulb and the movie projector. But some inventions he stumbled upon, like the phonograph. Of all his inventions, Edison was most proud of the phonograph.

Edison invented and improved upon things that transformed our world. Some things he invented by himself. Some things he invented with other people. Just about all his inventions are things we still use in some form today. Throughout his life, Edison tried to invent things that everyone could use.

Edison created the world's first "invention factory". He and his partners invented, built and shipped the product - all in the same complex. This was a new way to do business. Today many businesses have copied Edison's invention factory design.

A business friend once asked Edison about the secret to his success. Edison replied, "Genius is hard work, stick-to-itiveness, and common sense". But his "common sense" was very uncommon. More patents were issued to Edison than have been issued to any other single person in U.S. history: 1,093.

Yes.

Just because there is no guaranteed profit in something, doesn't mean it isn't useful.

For example:

there was no guaranteed profit from nuclear research, but it paid off didn't it?

Remember how anti-biotic research died in the 70s because there was no profit to be made?

Yeah then we had bacteria becoming resistant with no alternatives.

Guess who had to shovel money toward pharma companies ot get it going again?

Yes.

Government-funded researchers are leaving the private sector in the dust.

http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_...

The government shouldn't have to be. Unfortunately big business is so profoundly inept that they don't do anything without the government shoveling piles of money into their pockets. If we had to wait for American Businesses to start pushing alternative energy we'd have $20 per gallon gas, asthma rates five times what they currently are, massive national outbreaks of lung cancer and a blanket of smog covering the entire country first.

No doubt about it because private industry has neither the money to invest in it nor the time to wait for the R& D to pay off ...if in fact it does

No

If there is a practical way to create efficient alternative energy then the profit motive will be enough for the private sector to develope it without government money.

What Obama wants to do is shut down coal mining, shut down oil exploration, and make energy so expensive that alternative energy will be competitive. In his own words under his plan "energy costs will necessarily skyrocket"

Alternative energy is the alternative to affordable energy.

No, the politicians and appointees seem pretty irresponsible already, so why expect them to be responsible in the alternative energy source area? Think outside the box. Let some entrepreneur do it and refuse to tax him or her.