Energy is the big challenge

"Energy is the single most important challenge facing humanity today."

"As we peak in oil production and worry about natural gas supplies, life must go on. Somehow, we must find a basis for energy prosperity in the 21st century for ourselves and the rest of humanity.

By the middle of this century we should assume that we will need to double world energy production from its current level, with most of this coming from clean, sustainable, carbon dioxide-free sources. For worldwide peace and prosperity, it must be cheap. We simply cannot do this with current technology.

We will need revolutionary breakthroughs to find the clean, low-cost energy necessary for advanced civilization of the 10 billion souls we expect to be living on this planet before this century is out.

The system most likely to meet that goal is an electrical-based grid that draws from numerous sources – solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, biomass and fossil fuels – for reliable energy. Nanotechnology will be a contributor, as well as other technologies, if we provide sufficient support.

Consider, for example, a vast interconnected electrical energy grid for the North American continent. By 2050 this grid will interconnect several hundred million local sites. There are two key aspects of this future grid that will make a huge difference: massive long-distance electrical power transmission, and local storage of electrical power with real-time pricing."

Link
Sorce: Small Times
See also:
The Smalley Group - Rice University
Richard Smalley - Wikipedia
The Future of Energy - Futurist.com
Renewable Energy - Orkut
Alternative Energy - Orkut
Solar Power and Alternative Energy - Tribe.net