The cost I was referring to is, of cost, the short term cost. I suspect that there are not enough people into severe self-sacrifice to voluntarily undertake the kind of financial burden required to make a significant difference. The thing that would be apt to work would be some high energy taxes, combined with government rebates for alternative energy sources. Political suicide for any proponents.

The only partial solutions that or not prohibitively expensive are conservation--a popular idea, if not one that's actively practiced--and nuclear energy (more political suicide).