[ExI] What's Wrong With Academic Futurists?

[spike]

Futurism comes in many different flavors, but there is a subject all need to
consider in order to be taken seriously: energy futures.  We have an
enormous challenge dead ahead: how to transition our energy usage to
renewable or at least long-term sources.  Regardless of our attitudes
towards global warming theory and how it has been used (and misused), nearly
everyone will agree we cannot really dig up and burn all the coal that
exists on this planet (it's too dirty.)  We know that oil and natural gas
are short term solutions.  Coal will be with us for at least the near term,
being difficult to replace, nuclear and fracking will help us in the
transition phase, but they still aren't renewable resources.  

In the long run, most of us can see we need effective use of solar power,
probably both space based and ground based.  Our immediate challenge is to
figure out how to build that infrastructure and how to use the power
generated.  If we screw up that effort, none of the rest of the things we
talk about here in the area of futurism will make much difference.

spike