The one I speak of isn't the current political savior (I think many would be chanting Obama at this)… It's energy. And the desire to seek out the 'savior' of energy.
So far the list contains a competition. This list will be in the order of the passion it was promoted with, rather than any facts given:
Zero Point Energy
Bio fuel production
Space-based Solar panels
Electric cars (yes, it was argued as an energy resource to me since they don't run on gas)
All presented with the voracity and passion of the disciples of saviors past. And all proposed on the premise of "status quo". Keep on doing things exactly as we do now. 260 Millon+ cars & trucks, roads, power grid, food production, driving around etc... And allow the rest of the world to catch up.
With a healthy dose of skepticism and a rational regard for the facts of how energy works, here's my reply:
Current First World societies only exist because of resource extraction and importation from outside their society. For example, there's no way for China to reach USA consumption levels from its own domestic energy & resource production. It will be a net importer (as is the USA) for that to happen. So will any other country that desires to industrialize to First World levels. The cost is increased Third World deprivation and the non-sustainable extraction of Forests & Ocean life.
And to this effect, there is no one "savior" for our coming energy problems. Does the energy exist to fulfill our needs currently? yes. Hydrocarbon resources, and the Sun. In effect: oil, coal and natural gas are all solar resources. It's the Sun's energy stored in carbon form that took millions of years to create. One could call oil "Ancient Sunlight". And it's our energy bonanza.
The other being the Sun. Currently we have no technology to harvest sunlight at the production levels to match hydrocarbon energy output. Not even close. But it’s possible with enough time. And it's important to consider time with energy. Our problem is time. Infrastructure takes time (7 - 11 years), Production takes time (3 - 6 months) new technology takes time (decades). To look to any one resource (theoretical or not) as an ‘immediate savior’ is delusional thinking. Whether it be Hydrogen, bio or panels, the evolution of the technology to harvest the resource, that matches hydrocarbon output, to create the infrastructure for billions of people is decades & decades off. (Although getting started now would make sense.)
Our problem is now. Perhaps a 10 year window, most likely not. The lifeblood of industrialized society is oil. It's the liquid fuel that drives our economy, creates everything in your home & business, makes the roads, cars and transportation structures possible, and feeds you.
We've been flat in World Production since 2005. And decline rates of the massive oil fields around the world were expected to be 2-3% per year around 2030. We have 6-8% decline rates in the majority of the world's fields right now. Mexico's largest oil field (Cantrell) went into terminal decline last year (2007). Unexpected, yes. More unexpected was the huge decline rate. Since our energy problems have only come to light at the plateau of production, we're in trouble.
The #1 place to start is education, then conservation. Stretch out the timeline on the coming decline. Having oil isn't the issue, we'll have it for a long time. It's the steep decline rates without enough time to introduce the "next thing".
And the next thing is going to be a conglomeration of resources. Technology is not an energy resource, but it can extend our timeline to evolve into the next major one. The age of hydrocarbon will end after about 250 years. We're over halfway through that timeline now. If we don't fill the decline rates of hydrocarbon energy with viable, renewable resources, there will be consequences. Some are: increased warfare, deepening poverty, die-off and political strife. Anyone watching the news?
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