Push for geothermal juice picks up steam

Will bringing heat out from inside the Earth make global warming worse?

[link to www.usatoday.com]

There's good reason one of the nation's most promising renewable energies is the industry's best-kept secret: It's buried miles under the surface of the Earth.

Yet geothermal energy, which taps the Earth's natural heat to generate electricity, is making a big comeback after a decade-long lull. And a recent MIT-led report says geothermal could supply at least 10% of U.S. power by 2050, rivaling nuclear and hydropower, if afforded a $1 billion research investment over the next 15 years.