A new book, “Clean Energy for Centuries”, looks at global warming and climate change in a novel way.  It proposes a comprehensive plan for converting the world’s energy supply markets, which are at present predominantly based on coal, petroleum, and natural gas, into an energy supply system which uses only nuclear fuel and inexhaustible solar energy.

This changeover from greenhouse gas producing fossil fuels to emission free energies will at once end global warming and stabilize climate changes. 

Only the USA has the infrastructure and the means to lead the world in this economically transformative endeavor.  Early on, the European Union may become a strong ally, while the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will continue building economies based on fossil fuels.

There are plenty of technologies for producing electricity from nuclear fuels, hydropower, wind power, solar panels, solar heat, geothermal heat, and marine power.

Only one single technology is available for the production of petroleum substitutes.  The world’s transportation systems are critically dependent on liquid fuels refined from petroleum.  Petroleum reserves are being depleted rapidly and will soon become unaffordable due to escalating market demand.

Dr. Hemsath presents a plan for the transition from fossil fuel based energies to non-polluting solar energies.  He describes the energy conversion technologies that are already available and he defines those that are critically missing.

The transformation from fossil fuel based economies to economies that solely depend on non-polluting and permanently accessible energy sources will be expensive and will be very time consuming.  The changeover costs will be high but can be readily absorbed by healthy world economies.  Annual expenses will be manageable due to secure and large revenue streams that novel energy conversion facilities can depend on.

A modern world economy based on renewable energy will be able to produce plentiful, affordable, and secure energy supplies in the form of electricity, petroleum substitutes, and heating gases.  Nuclear fuels, solar energy, and biomass are energy sources that will last for centuries.

A few, critical technologies are missing and must still be developed.  Absolutely safe nuclear reactors, high energy yield biomass plantations, and large capacity electric energy storage facilities are most urgently needed.

What the world needs now are capable, visionary leaders that can channel many existing and a few still missing technologies into a novel concept for a future energy industry capable of producing clean energies for centuries by converting readily available, inexhaustible, primary energy sources.

It is even possible to remove carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere and convert it into a valuable, commercial commodity.  Turning back the Earth’s climate to its state of half a century ago is technologically within reach.  

All these advances can be realized after we succeed in marshaling the one critical ingredient still missing; the political will of the American voters.