Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said that ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and solving the climate crisis will require Nobel Prize-level breakthroughs in three key technologies: solar power, electric batteries, and developing new crops for biofuels. In an interview with The New York Times, Chu — a Nobel laureate in physics — said that solar technology must become five times more efficient than it is today and that scientists must develop new plants that require little energy to grow and can be easily turned into biofuels. And even though he once termed coal a “nightmare,” Chu said that since developing countries such as China and India will be dependent on abundant coal supplies for years to come, scientists must find a way to capture and store the carbon dioxide produced by coal combustion. Chu said he was optimistic that a concerted, government-backed research effort could lead to these breakthroughs, adding, “I think science and technology can generate much better choices. It has, consistently, over hundreds and hundreds of years.”
New U.S. Energy SecretaryCalls for `Revolution’ in Energy Technology
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
How One South African Community Stopped Shell Oil in Its Tracks
-
ANALYSIS
Will New Leader End Progress in Saving Indonesia’s Forests?
-
Oceans
Dire Straits: Can a Fishing Ban Save the Elusive European Eel?
-
Climate
Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2
-
INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
-
Solutions
Solomon Islands Tribes Sell Carbon Credits, Not Their Trees
-
INTERVIEW
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
-
RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
-
Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining
-
OPINION
Despite Official Vote, the Evidence of the Anthropocene Is Clear
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?