How much do China and India spend on alternative energy research?

[HadItUpToHere]

They're the ones with the biggest growing thirsts for oil, trying to emulate the hedonism of the U.S.of A., and they seem to tend to plan for the future a little better than our guys do- surely they've heard of and are painfully aware of the Peak Oil conundrum that's quickly approaching our planet- and they have LOTS of quality engineers- and surely they realize the financial benefits that are sure to befall those who are most successful in developing the technologies for sale/export...

and if they can't solve some of the problems, what chance do we have to do so...?

[Maple]

1. A great deal

There was recently a huge SE Asian conference about it.

[phantom power]

2. According to one frequent poster on the E+E forum...

China accounts for most of the research in alternate fuel journals. They are also investing heavily in nuclear power research and in building new nuclear reactors.

I know less about India.

[Boomer]

3. Not sure I agree with your assumptions

>> they seem to tend to plan for the future a little better than our guys do <<

China is facing horrendous environmental damage from decades of unrestrained industrial pollution of water, ground and air. Their single-minded focus on economic development overrode any concerns about quality of life issues and millions of peasants are suffering the results.

They are also dealing with droughts brought on by too many irrigation demands on finite water supplies.

So I'd say there's not much reason to expect China to be any more prudent about oil/energy dependence than we have been.

[htuttle]

4. Regarding India

I know that they have been putting a lot more effort into alternative fuels lately, but conservation has always been in the forefront.

Go to an Indian motorcycle/scooter forum sometime. Here in the US, cycle riders boast about their horsepower and acceleration. In my experience, Indian cycle/scooter riders boast about their *mileage*. The average Indian commuter very commonly rides a scooter or motorcycle (if they don't use mass transit), which probably gets around 80-100 miles per gallon. So on that front, they are already making petroleum go a lot farther than we are.