Economic, environmental, political and supply issues dictate that reliance on fossil fuels will be ephermeral on the scale of human history. While developments in telecommunications and the information age are touted as revolutionary (e.g., the Internet and World-Wide-Web), these breakthroughs will pale in their impact compared to the economic and political renaissance that a revolution in sustainable energy promise. How is it possible to engage the talent and resources necessary to drive the second industrial revolution?
Steven Chu, Secretary Of Energy and Nobel Prize winner, recently framed the role of science and technology in addressing tomorrow's energy breakthroughs (a clip of the interview may be heard here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/us/politics/12chu.html?_r=1&ref=scien…). Many of Secretary Chu's thoughts resonate with my own, among them (paraphrased):
--Science and technology can generate much better choices.
-We need a second industrial revolution that gives us the energy we need and allows us to use it in the most efficient way possible.
-There should be a new generation of photovoltaics.
-There should be a Nobel Prize on a battery that is 10x better and cheaper than current technologies.
-While Sputnik drew young people to science and engineering partly, the draw of science and technology is now a world security issue both with respect to political stability and environmental issues.
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