Speaking of nanotechnology...

Nanotech is some truly awe-inspiring and terrifying stuff. It'll be fascinating to see the direction its applications take once its evolutionary process hits mainstream consciousness.

Andrey:
While I do agree it is just the continuation of applying science, Nanotech may end up doing things taht just a few years ago would be sci-fi, if not magic (way better than the David Blaine stuff, more like realization of tall tales, and various myths).

There's no doubt in my mind that we will (in the next 20-40 years) make do without OIL/GAS (the biggest source of GHG) and that clean electricity + limited alternative fuels will replace most if not all the fossil energy we use today.

Clean sustainable Wind and specially Sun energy will be produced in ever increasing quantities at much lower cost. Today's problems with distribution and storage could be solved within 10-15 years.

Unfortunately...., today's Oil giants may become tomorrow's clean electricity producers and distributors because they will take an active part in the transistion in order to survive. Having the capital $$ required, they will also be closely associated will the production of nano solar panels and on-board + stationary electricity storage devices (ESS).

Small early nano electrical devices developers-producers will be bought out (probably at a very high price). It's just a question of time. There is no way to stop OPEC countries from doing it too with the billions Oil $$$ they already got from us and with the many more $$$$ billions they will get in the next 20+ years.

Nationalizing electricity production and distribution (a current very non-American practice) may be the only way to avoid buying high price electricity form OPEC countries dictators, 20 some years from now.

I expect big oil to get into clean energy, and OPEC dollars. And this will be bigger than the dot.com boom. However, our security depends on distributed energy production and a more flexible grid to accomodate it. That is possible with better digital controls. And it is necessary for any crisis -- whether it be bird flu, or terrorist attack.

It doesn't matter who manufactures the solar cells on my roof, as long as they feed directly into my home and I can get off the grid in an emergency. Bring it on.

Materials are always a limiting factor in mechanical and electrical engineering, so better options at affordable prices are welcome. What sets nanotechnology apart from regular chemistry/metallurgy is that it involves deliberate manipulation at the submicron scale (i.e. scales of a a few hundred nanometers are still considered nanotechnology by the marketing geniuses).

Afaiac, the hydrogen economy remains someone's wet pipedream. The only way you can transport hydrogen for a mobile application cost-effectively is when it is tied to carrier atoms (e.g. carbon) such that the fuel is liquid in ambient conditions. LPG and DME require low pressures (~10 bar) for liquefaction at room temperature, but even that is an undesirable overhead. CNG is already marginal.

Quite interesting is the progress in thermoelectric materials that exploit the Seebeck-effect. Historically, efficiencies were around 2%, but with new thin-film materials and manufacturing techniques the hope is that could go up to 20% (of enthalpy in engine-out exhaust). AIn that range, they would be very interesting for automotive applications IFF the price is right:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2004/session4/2004_deer_martin.pdf
http://www.physorg.com/news3274.html

The nanoscale supercapacitor technology from MIT may not be the breakthrough it might seem, unless it includes an improved manufacturing process:

http://www.ecass-forum.org

Rafael,
Even though the "hydrogen economy" is still a pipedream, it is a worthwhile one, wet or dry, for someones who are smothered daily due to the choking exhaust of millions of vehicle's tail pipes, smoketack from coal-burning power plants or other activities courtesy of the "carbon economy", people suffering asthma or emphysema, or people who have relatives suffering from the numerous cancer's death from air pollution or ground water pollution courtesy of the "carbon economy".

"The only way you can transport hydrogen for a mobile application cost-effectively is when it is tied to carrier atoms (e.g. carbon) such that the fuel is liquid in ambient conditions. LPG and DME require low pressures (~10 bar) for liquefaction at room temperature, but even that is an undesirable overhead. CNG is already marginal." Hydrogen can be transported quite economically in compressed form at 300 bars (~5000psi) that would give a car a range of ~100-120 miles, sufficient for daily commuting to be refilled in a few minutes every 3-4 days while you have a cup of coffee at the refill station, or even at home if you have a refill kit at home.

What we hope that nanotech can accomplish is to be able to produce hydrogen from solar or wind at a price competitive with existing gasoline prices. GE has promised to be able to do that in a few years....Meanwhile, there is no dream more beautiful than that of a future "hydrogen economy", pollution-free and disease & cancer-free.

Believe you or not (probably not), the world is moving very fast to energy production abundance and overproduction. Y-e-e, it could sound crazy, but think what would think Maltus 100 years ago if someone would tell him about food abundance and overproduction. I dismiss hunger problems of Africa and alike due to their general barbarity and inability to address ANY problem in sane way.

Once I read then potato producers of Idaho could easily meat all caloric needs of entire US… But who need this potato/starch diet? Same with energy production. Who need total energy solution of hydrogen, nuclear, biofuel, solar, or other pipedream “total solution” technology? What would millions of oil industry workers do if someone will invent perpetuum mobile (hello to German coal miners)?

There is no doubt that it would only take 0.16% of the world's land area as solar collector to meet all the world's energy needs. As more and more solar collectors are being built, and more efficient and cost effective technology developed to convert solar energy to electricity, hydrogen and methane gas, the day will come when we will have a surplus of renewable energy. The problem now is that there are still too much easily-extracted oil underground that the people who run our government want to be able to sell at cut-throat prices, such that only token effort or lip service is given to the development of renewable energy.

The laws of physics are against hydrogen storage improvements. Its only advantage over zinc may be refueling time. Since miles/liter of zinc would be at least 3 times that of liquid hydrogen the time advantage may disappear.