throwyawaabcd

For me, Mt St Helens is one of the most amazing places in the continental US... It's awe inspiring to stand at Johnston Ridge Observatory and see the power of the volcano, even after all these years. I had a few questions...

1) I remember hearing once that within 100 years, Mt St Helens could rebuild/fill the crater, and 100 years after that, it could build back it's peak. What are your predictions?

2) Is Rainier the tallest cascade volcano that ever was (has it been taller in the past)? It seems that Mt Mazama was shorter (before it became Crater Lake). Were there any other Cascade volcanoes that were tall/taller before collapsing (broken top, maybe)?

A couple of questions regarding the economics of green energy.... I live in the pacific northwest of the US, where there are long stretches of overcast weather and an abundance of water power. We pay an extra surcharge to buy green energy (wind/solar) from the local electric companies...

1) Under what conditions would it make sense to install solar panels on our home? My thought process is that with marginal sunlight, we're better off encouraging the power company to build solar/wind (on the eastern/sunny side of the state) and buy from them rather than install our own panels.

2) If I'm buying green energy (and the backup is local water power), do I need to conserve energy at night (turn lights off, etc)? It seems to me that if I waste a reasonable amount of energy, it has no ill effect, because the dams on the rivers produce a fixed capacity that is likely not used during nighttime anyway. Thoughts?