As Germany goes, so goes our nation?

California, certainly, but more likely the entire world

Over in England, they’re working up a plan to pay poor people to do without energy for set periods each day; the rich will be offered the same deal, but since they don’t have to choose between eating and staying warm, they’re unlikely to sign on.

Down in the land of wallabies and kangaroos, the best minds in government have come up with a solution to the intermittent flow of energy generated by wind beanies and Chinese solar panels: store it, as we do with water. "The rain doesn't always fall either, but we manage to store the water - we can store the renewable energy if we have the investment". Great idea, though things may get dicey between now and when giga-capacity storage batteries are invented, “invested in”, and built. Until then, there’s always the corner deli:

“Honey, on your way back from the bar, could you pick up a bucket of volts?”