Studies have shown that the average North American family will spend more than a quarter of a million dollars on energy in a lifetime. What many other countries, including Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, China, Brazil, and even Iceland have realized is that they can no longer depend on fossil fuels. Recently, the United States has begun to understand the importance of reducing its reliance on coal, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower plants, which comprise the majority of the nation s electricity, due to increasing oil prices.