Energy and the challenge of global climate change

The insufficient availability of oil and natural gas could be augmented by other fuels, such as coal, coal tars, oil shales, and methane hydrates. However, if we obtain energy from these sources using conventional technologies, we will release additional CO2, 

Our greatest environmental challenge is to simultaneously solve energy production and CO2 releases We must develop a whole new energy platform that produces sufficient energy while at the same time reduces CO2 emissions. Our goal must be to meet 2050 energy needs on a carbon neutral basis. 

Nuclear fission alone is not the answer. The expected availability of uranium is estimated to produce only 100 TW-h of electricity, and thus if 10 TW of power was obtained from nuclear energy the supply of uranium would be depleted in less than a decade. Moreover, we would need to build a new 1 GW plant every 1.6 days for the next 45 years Lewis and Nocera 2006). This scenario doesn t even address the environmental 

3 Bioelectricfty generation using a microbial fuel cell—the process of electrogsnesis 

Over two billion people on the planet lack adequate sanitation, and one billion do not have sufficient access to potable water. Energy demands for conventional water and wastewater processes are a large part of the problem. In the US, we use approximately 4-5% of our electricity production for the water infrastructure, which includes water treatment and distribution, and wastewater collection and treatment. Approximately 1.5% of our electricity goes to wastewater treatment alone. The costs for maintaining the infrastructure are significant, with an annual cost for wastewater treatment of 25 billion. It is expected that over the next twenty years an additional 45 billion will need to be expended to maintain and improve this infrastructure WIN200]). 

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