April 22, 2013

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Earth Day Begs the Question about the Future of Energy

By Mark Fischetti

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Yes, today is the 43rd annual Earth Day recognition worldwide. A number of live and online events are taking place; see a list below for some unusual items. But in 2013, to me, the day raises a central question about how to power the human race without killing the planet in the process.

Two recent publications from Scientific American tackle this question head-on. First is a new eBook called Earth, Wind and Fire: The Future of Energy. It takes a fascinating and no-nonsense tour through the potential and problems of all sorts of renewable energy options, from the familiar solar and wind to some radical research projects, among them machines that turn sunlight into gasoline and shape-memory alloys that turn waste heat inside car engines into electricity. Information about all our eBooks is at the same site, including editions on climate change and water management.

Second is an interview with Mark Jacobson, a researcher at Stanford University who has produced incredibly detailed plans for how the world could get all of its energy solely from wind, water and the sun. He has also scaled the formula down for New York State as a first real-life test case for how to implement such a plan.

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For other Earth Day fun, you can add your face to a wonderful and interactive online photo-mosaic that is growing by the hour, run by the Earth Day Network. The New York Times has posted a beautiful slide show of stunning black-and-white images of nature’s beauty that remains untouched by human hands. If you prefer movies or music, check out a music video put together by actor Ed Begley, Jr., and singer Jason Mraz about clean energy. And if architecture is your thing, you can look inside what is being called the greenest office building in the world, the Bullitt Center in Seattle, which opened … today, of course.

Image: Public domain, by Matriot on Wikimedia Commons

Mark Fischetti was a senior editor at Scientific American for nearly 20 years and covered sustainability issues, including climate, environment, energy, and more. He assigned and edited feature articles and news by journalists and scientists and also wrote in those formats. He was founding managing editor of two spin-off magazines: Scientific American Mind and Scientific American Earth 3.0. His 2001 article “Drowning New Orleans” predicted the widespread disaster that a storm like Hurricane Katrina would impose on the city. Fischetti has written as a freelancer for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian and many other outlets. He co-authored the book Weaving the Web with Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, which tells the real story of how the Web was created. He also co-authored The New Killer Diseases with microbiologist Elinor Levy. Fischetti has a physics degree and has twice served as Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture at Centenary College of Louisiana, which awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 2021 he received the American Geophysical Union’s Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism. He has appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press, CNN, the History Channel, NPR News and many radio stations.

More by Mark Fischetti

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