...you know times they are a' changin' (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Boone_Pickens). Personally, I'm lucky enough to have a petroleum geologist for a brother who can debunk all this stuff for me. Only, he actually pointed out the reality of peak oil to me about two years ago. I don't buy into the typical doomer analysis that society will come crumbling down around our ears. I *do*, however, think that cheap oil is behind us. And for the folks who just shrug their shoulders and say "meh, I don't drive, who cares", you really don't appreciate how energy-dependant (and thus oil-dependant) the world economy is. For a realistic analysis, check out Jeff Rubin's book "Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller".

Uh, you fill it with helium.

A few hundred feet is a lot easier to come by when you float the turbine... http://www.magenn.com/ According to the site they can float it up to 1000 feet.