Energy! Let's kick start this baby!

The perfect topic to set the tone of this blog! Many believe that we can achieve a clean energy that is safer for the environment without having to give up the luxuries we have come accustomed to. Obama stated last night that in his State of the Union speech that in the next 25 years we will strive to be 80% clean energy. My question is what qualifies as "clean energy"? Is this that "clean coal" I heard so much about from both parties during the last presidential elections? Coal is NOT clean. Period! It has to be mined which causes environmental degradation, and then it has to be burned  to generate heat to produce the energy. It is ashy and dusty. If there was no other option I probably wouldn't be so loud about this, but I pose the question: Why can't we invest more heavily into solar energy? Let's get the effectiveness and cost down of solar energy! What do you think?!