No Innovation Until We Run Out of Energy | Underwire | Wired.com

No Innovation Until We Run Out of Energy | Underwire | Wired.com:

"We accept that solar power and wind power are nice, but not enough to actually sustain a civilization. We accept that atomic power is always going to be toxic and disastrous. We accept that electric cars are for yuppie douchebags and public transit is for poor, smelly people. We read science fiction and dream of a nicer future, while accepting that our current alternate-energy tech is as cutting edge as it could possibly be because we’re Americans and we invented Google and the iPad and microwave popcorn so if there was something better than oil we would have created it already, right?

Don’t believe it. There’s much more to be done, and we’re not going to do much of it until alternative energy stops being a Mr. Wizard sideshow rarely seen outside of car expos and the covers of tech magazines, and starts being the only way to drag our kids to the soccer field. I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m not holding my breath."