Page 30 - Environmental Nanotechnology Applications and Impacts of Nanomaterials

16 Nanotechnology as a Tool for Sustainability

The most developed countries, with 13 percent of the world’s popu-
lation, account for half of the world’s annual energy use. The rate of
use of energy in the wealthiest countries, per person, is about eight
kilowatts, compared to one kilowatt in the less developed world.
Developing countries, such as China and India, are rapidly increasing
their energy consumption as they improve standards of living. The
consequences of this rise in demand for energy in the developing world,
coupled with consistent rises in energy use in the United States, will
pose serious risks to the global system if new technologies are not
developed. Indeed, we are already seeing serious global conflicts that
are, in part, due to increasing concerns about meeting the world’s
energy needs.
The need for breakthrough energy solutions is all the more important
because scientists have become increasingly convinced that the conse-
quences of continuing to burn fossil fuels at current or expanding rates
will have deleterious impacts on the global climate.
Martin Hoffert, professor of physics at New York University and
author of the widely quoted Science article “Advanced Technology Paths
to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet,” has
cost the issue of stabilizing the carbon dioxide–induced component of
climate change as an energy problem. He notes that stabilization will
not only require an effort to reduce end-use energy demand, but also
the development of primary energy sources that do not emit carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. Hoffert argues that a broad range of inten-
sive research and development is urgently needed to produce energy
technological options that can allow both climate stabilization and eco-
nomic development [1].
Under a business-as-usual energy supply scenario, carbon concen-
trations in the atmosphere would rise to 750 ppm by the end of the
century, a concentration level that would melt the West Antarctic ice
sheets and erode coastlines around the globe, Dr. Hoffert told the con-
ference. In order to hold atmospheric CO concentrations to 350 ppm by
2
midcentury—the level targeted by environmental scientists as pre-
venting catastrophic changes—at least 15 terawatts of nonfossil fuel
energy will be needed to reduce CO levels to modest targets of 550 ppm
2
by 2050. To reach the goal of 350 ppm, at least 30 terawatts would need
to be derived from nonfossil sources.
The very large projected growth in world demand for carbon-free
energy in the coming decades, even under the most conservative
assumptions, cannot be met with existing technologies. New technolo-
gies will require a much larger energy R&D effort—combining gov-
ernment and industry—than in recent years. That will require
significant multiyear increases in the federal budgets for energy-related
research in several agencies; improved coordination across government