SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

A globally sustainable energy future must understand and address many important challenges. The complex fabric of energy security and energy access, the scale of energy demand, the physics of energy density, the varied distribution of energy resources, the interconnectedness of the land, air, water and atmosphere, and the extreme disparity in global wealth and economic health. Words like clean, green, renewable, and even sustainable are vague, and therefore confusing. We must try to be as precise in our language and as truthful in our science as we can be. When we look at the full life cycle from mine mouth or drill rig, through manufacturing and production, to generation and disposal, we see that all forms of energy have benefits, and they all have environmental impacts. Sustainability will ultimately be made possible if we encourage civil dialog and critical thinking, and seek not only to be completely factual, but also factually complete. The energy-environment-economy challenge is not simple, but it is solvable. Geosciences have a remarkable role to play, and if we put our best minds to the task, working together, we will better the world.