Sustainable Response to the Hunger for Energy

According to the UN, the world’s population will grow to eight billion by the year 2020. In turn, rising levels of affluence will lead many people to seek a higher standard of living. More than anything else, this will require tremendous amounts of energy. Pictures of the Future reports on climate-friendly technologies that can satisfy the hunger for energy — in industrialized and developing countries alike. Such methods range from ultra-efficient coal-fired generation and the capture and storage of CO2 to energy-saving buildings and floating wind farms far out to sea. The magazine also reports on the current boom in climate-friendly technologies in California. In an interview, Jackalyne Pfannenstiel,

Chair of the California Energy Commission, explains the reasons behind the recent upsurge in innovation in this field.