Google.org invests in geothermal

Google.org is investing $10 million in Enhanced Geothermal Systems, a technology that drills miles down into the earth to get that nice, hot granite under the surface, Tom Zeller reports on the dot-earth blog at the Times. As Zeller notes, $10 million ain't a lot in this field. The Energy Dept. figures a billion bucks would really get things going. But $1 bill is still not a lot compared to say the cost of the Iraq war and it's estimated that by 2050 EGS could meet 10 percent of the US energy demand. The divvy: $6.25 million to AltaRock Energy, $4 million to Potter Drilling and $490K to Southern Methodist University.