Reports & Discussion

The Science,Technology and Society Forum just ended in Kyoto appears to confirm the critical stage of scientific and technological progress in Energy and Environment, uncapable to find solutions for effective carbon dioxide reduction and for new energy sources really alternatives to nuclear fission, gas , oil and carbon still dominating the scene worldwide many years after the first Kyoto  treaty, and this despite  vocal world wide committements and superficial hopes being raised on nuclear fusion, energy storage and hydrogen energy for which quite more is needed and should be done more aggressively and highly focussed to make the difference. Similarly artificial photosynthesis actively removing CO2 from atmosphere, hybrid and electric in vehicles are key technologies appearing capable to reduce total CO2 emissions. In order to do this more effectively, even if biofuels, solar energy, smart grid, geothermal, wind power and zero energy could be somehow continued ,  nuclear fission on one side and iron, steel and cement utilizing fossils should be prompty discontinued mantaining only the essential carbon capture technology. Several countries appears indeed quite unlikely intentioned to do it and Paris has to face the problem with more determination (introducing other usefull alternative as thorium fuels to properly uncouple nuclear armaments from civil nuclear plant). 

The present 10 top innovations fall mostly at the crossing of Electronics, Biotechnlogy and Nanotechnology being successfully in place since 1986 within the framework of Molecular Bioeletronics (Nicolini,1996 and 215 by World Publishing), but they appear uncapable to make a substantial difference with overall energy production being still 2/3  for fossils and 1/3 for nuclear fission ( the latter is a still pending disaster in Japan due to tsunami and hearthquack , and an open referendum appears usefull to decide on the situation  as done in Italy many years ago). 

The time is running out on us also to replace fossils  close to terminate soon or later  (in 200 years humanity consumed what has been accumulated in more than 5 milion years)    This must become the World Priority along with the Asteroids recently pointed out also in world popular media (The deadly fault in our stars, Newsweek, Vol- 164, n.24, 24-33) as an additional real world priority. Quite few of Asteroids appear indeed now bigger than 1.300 feet and on the track to smash Earth more sooner than later (debate is growing exponentially about the big one approaching earth in 25 years), being able thereby to cause epochal irreversable damage to human civilization. Even if present deterioration of the international situation makes unfortunately prohibitive a cooperation among USA and RF towards a new SALT agreement capable to transfer resources from nuclear and strategic armaments to the overall key science and technology (as should be needed! ),  the world community should unanimously set up means and an organization to blow these asteroids and overcome the related problems, as Teller from USA and Kurchatov from USSR correctly and independently anticipated long time ago prior to the new emerging facts of our time. More than 150.000 asteroids are now registered in the Smithsonian’s Minor Planet Center and NASA estimates that more than 1.000 are charecterized by NASA  as NEO (Near-Earth Object) and that can be stoped only by nuclear weapons which are on the hands essentially of United States of America and Russian Federation  and which should then be both urged to joint their efforts in this direction with proper urgent actions and deliberations to save humanity once this should occur!

 Claudio Nicolini Fondazione EL.B.A. Nicolini, Russian Academy of Sciences Foreign Member,  NanoWorld Journal  [email protected]  http://www.fondazioneelba-nicolini.org 

Energy System and Conventional Energy　Advanced liquid biofuels